ONCE AGAIN, DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN STARSHIP.
Please enjoy part two of my two part fanfiction. Thank you for your kind reviews, and I look forward to more.
Taz rubbed her eyes, sitting up in the cave she temporarily called home. She ran her hand through her black hair, telling herself it needed a wash.
She had given much thought to how she would get back to base, but had no luck. Her emergency communicator had been broken during the battle. How could those idiots leave her behind? She watched the Commander fall, so she leaped to avenge him by taking out the alien that had taken him down. She got knocked back off her feet into some nearby bushes and rendered unconscious by the impact. When she woke and found out that they were gone, she sought refuge in a nearby cave.
Food was easy enough; on the planet there were many species of small mammals, just like there had been on earth. She used her knife to kill them, preserving her zapper's juice for if she ever really needed it. She knew that she'd be here for a while.
Commander up walked through a main hall bitterly looking at the pictures on them. Usually, when there was a mission where numerous rangers died, they'd post a framed picture of them in the hall for a few weeks in memorial where people could come and pay their respects. He stared at the one of Taz for a few minutes. She stood in her battle outfit, arms crossed, staring down the camera. She did not enjoy pictures. He shook his head, resisting the urge to rip the photo off the wall. Taz wasn't dead- it couldn't be possible. He wouldn't allow himself to believe it. Not yet.
2 years later:
The mission of New Hope had long been dismissed. Commander Up threw himself into the training, showing no mercy to the new recruits. Some would argue that they no longer saw him crack a smile.
One day, in the cafeteria, he over heard a young male ranger; "I hear he's still a wreck over that Lieutenant who disappeared two years ago- pathetic."
He turned on a heel, pushing the ranger against the wall. "You better fucking watch your mouth boy," he said through gritted teeth. The boy looked at him with fear in his eyes and nodded, "Y-yes sir."
Up continued to glare at him, and then finally let him go where the boy proceeded to tumble to the ground. Up simply walked away without looking back.
Taz had to venture further and further away from the cave to find mammals for food. They were learning not to stray close to the cave, so she had to go to them.
This meant venturing into the forest like area to the right of the cave. Today she was further than she'd ever been in the forest. She felt the cool breeze pick her hair up. On the planet, it was difficult to tell the difference between night and day, so she judged the time by how much her hair had grown. Her hair, once short, was now where her shoulder blades ended. She didn't like the length, but she did like having some idea of how long she'd been there.
She stopped walking when she spotted something very alien to this planet. It was a Starship Ranger bag. It looked tattered and torn, but still recognizable. She knew immediately what it was. She set aside the hunting and lifted it off the ground gently, taking it back to the cave to examine.
"Commander, it's been two years, you have to let her go," Rosa told him gently, laying a hand on his shoulder.
He angrily moved his shoulder away from her grasp. "Rosa, I don't know what you're talking about."
Rosa frowned. "Yes you do. After two years, you still have not set your mind at peace with Lieutenant Taz's disappearance. It's been affecting your performance since you first found out."
Up shook his head, "You're mistaken," he said simply, leaving her.
Taz began digging through the bag once she got it to her cave. She found the files that they had been there in the first place for and set them to the side, continuing to dig. Then she found what she hoped would be there, the ranger's emergency communicator. She looked it over, it looked a little beat up, but hopefully, combined with some parts from her broken one, she could get it working in a day or so.
So walked to her own bag, pulling out her ruined communicator and got to work.
The Commander sat on his bed, not wanting to go to the weakly meeting, but sighed and gave in. He stood and glanced at himself in the mirror, making sure he was presentable.
He opened his door and walked towards the meeting room.
Mid-day the next day she smiled with accomplishment. She felt like she was done, it began to make a buzzing noise. "Time to test it out," she whispered. It wasn't in the best of shape and looked pretty much like it had been pieced together- but that's basically what had happened.
She sighed, mentally crossing her fingers, praying to dead God that it worked. She pressed the button and began to speak.
The Commander who was speaking paused when he heard a noise coming from the radio in the corner. He glanced over at it, everyone now silent. There was no starships currently out on a mission, so everyone was slightly confused.
"Lieutenant Taz to base. Lieutenant Taz to base." The reception was making the voice crack, but it was still audible.
Up, who was sitting at the table, looked at the radio with wide eyes. His heart seemed to stop in his chest. Rosa stood quickly, looking at Up. She gestured him to the radio.
He stood and walked briskly to it. He cleared his throat, unsure if his voice would work. "G-go ahead, Lieutenant Taz."
He heard her voice falter; she immediately recognized the voice addressing her. "After two years stranded on the alien planet that New Hope had been sent to as a mission, I found the bag that we had been sent here to find. I have all of the files and found an old emergency communicator. I pieced it with parts from my own broken one. I am requesting immediate rescue." Her voice was as strong as ever and still so full of determination.
He thought for a moment, looking over at the other Commanders, he motioned to one of them to get a team together quickly. "Roger. We are getting a team together as I speak. We will get your location from your emergency call. We will be there as soon as we can, Taz… O-over." his voice began to waver a little. He gave a small sigh. The line died.
As his legs shook, he grabbed a nearby chair and sat in it. Taz was… alive.
With a sigh of relief, Taz laid down the radio. She was going to get off these damned planet- finally. She knew by immediate rescue it would be at least a week- that'd be with the Starship going at maximum speed. But, that didn't matter. She was leaving. Finally.
Commander Up walked to the boarding deck, seeing rangers lined up outside the Starship Ripple. One ranger spoke up, "Commander Up, all of the Rangers are ready but we do not have a Commander because all of the Commanders were in the meeting when the mission was-"
Up cut him off by gently pushing him out of the way and saying, "Get in the ship. I'm the Commander. We are leaving in ten minutes."
"B-but, we have no Lieutenant…Who is our Lieutenant?"
Up glared at the young boy, "Taz. Lieutenant Taz."
5 days later:
Taz slowly blinked her eyes open. She stretched slightly. She stood up, she didn't have to look at herself to know how she looked. The only baths she had been able to take was in a nearby lake, but she didn't do it often because she didn't trust the water. She slowly braided her black hair into a tight braid so it didn't look as greasy as it was.
She made everything was packed away where it was easy to carry. There was her small bag, and then the tattered ranger's bag. She sat at the edge of cave entrance like she had done for the past few days.
She was about to drift off she when heard the noise of rockets. Starship rockets. Her eyes flew open and she stood, the wind from the engine causing her braid to flow like a flag in the wind.
"Landing now, Commander. A human is spotted," the ranger at the controls stated.
"Identify her," he said, suiting up. It was simple. Him and one other ranger would go out and get her. Up would stay with Taz while the other ranger ran behind them, watching.
"Darker skin, long black hair…" he started.
Long? He asked himself. He then went to controls himself, looking at the view. Sure enough, the girl on the ground had a longish braid. But- it was no doubt Taz. "It's her, just hurry up and land this damn thing."
After a few moments, the ship jerked slightly as it landed. The other ranger ran to his side and gave him a nod to show he was ready. "What's you name, kid?"
"Ranger Perry," he said with a nervous smile.
He patted the boy on the shoulder, "Well, Ranger Perry, let's go rescue a Lieutenant."
Taz smiled slightly when she saw two Rangers emerging from the landed Starship. The side of the ship read Ripple. Her smile grew when she saw that one of the Rangers was Up. She picked up the two bag and walked towards them as they sprinted towards her.
When they reached her, Up took one of the bags in her hand, her put his other hand on her back, leading her to the ship.
They were almost to the ship when they heard the squeal of one of the aliens. They turned in time to see it inches from Taz. She caught her breath, closing her eyes, not enough time to grab for her laser. Nothing. Then a scream. A male scream- but not as deep as Up's. She opened her eyes to see the young ranger thrown to the side.
"Perry!" Up yelled after him, running to him.
Taz's eyes grew with fury, that boy just saved her and he didn't even know her. She pulled her zapper to the front, the same zapper she hadn't used in two years. She set it to maximum power and fired at the alien. The alien, since it was pointblank range, blew up. It's guts flew everywhere with an ear piercing screech.
She then, wiping her face off, ran to where Up was. "Is he okay?"
As if in answer to her question, the boy moaned, sitting up.
Up smiled, "Just shaken is all.: Up stood, offering his hand to the kid.
When they finally arrived in the starship, and after Up paged headquarters, Up walked over to where Taz was sitting. She then stood when she saw him. Up began to walk towards her. She smiled, "Trust me, you don't want to hug me."
He gave a smile, "No… no I don't." She was confused… until he reached under her chin, pulling her head up. He met his lips with hers. She was taken aback at first, her eyes wide. But after a few moments, she closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss, resting her hand on Up's chest. Up then pulled away.
Taz looked at him with confusion.
"Don't ever scare me like that, again, Lieutenant Taz, and that's an order…" he said with a bright smile on his face.