Cats and Dogs – Freezing
The command center lost all power 17 and a half hours ago, due to rolling blackouts on their coastline. The storms have knocked out all heat, water and electricity. While everyone was evacuated due to the slowly descending temperatures, Cruger volunteered to be the one to stay behind and contact supreme command. Although he was able to persuade his rangers to leave, as his alien blood would serve him well in the below freezing climate, Kat also remained. Cruger tried his very hardest to get her to leave but she won the argument with one point: she is the only one who is able to restore all running technological functions to the base from the interior.
However, that was a contact–less 17 hours and 45 minutes ago.
Now, the rangers are working with Boom to restore power to the command center from the outside power channels. They're worried, and frustrated with Birdy pestering them, and tired, but most of all they're cold! The temperature is frigid and what's worse is that it will be no warmer in the command base until the power has been restored for a good twenty minutes.
"Come on, Boom, how much longer?" Jack asks while jumping from one foot to another. He is quite unused to all this snow.
"Don't rush me, man! This is a delicate procedure and I don't have Kat's eyes to see all the teeny tiny bits for me!" Boom, dressed for the ice age, is also tired and cranky.
"Guys, stop arguing, we need to get to Cruger and Kat!" Syd shouts over the harsh winds and her pink, fuzzy earmuffs.
"They're probably frozen by now anyway! It's been below freezing in there for fourteen hours now!" Bridge says, though Z smacks the back of his head for it. "What?!"
"We can't assume anything until we actually go in and check for them," Sky says authoritatively.
"Okay, I got it! The full heat will be up again in twenty minutes." Boom watches on as B–Squad rushes into the base for their friends. "Please, be okay."
"Where would they be?" Z asks as she rubs her arms up and down through her yellow coat. "Where would you be?"
"I'd be up high to get all the heat I could," Sky puts in while thinking carefully. "Cruger's quarters are on the second top floor of the building."
B–Squad rushes as much as they can. There's frost encroaching everywhere, covering the metallic elements of the base, and most of the floors. The trip up to Cruger's room is like molasses, and filled with tense silence. Their chattering jaws help fill some of the empty silence. When they do reach the right floor they head straight to Cruger's room, only to find the keypad frozen.
"What now?" asks Syd.
"This," Jack supplies before simply smashing the pad with his elbow. It sparks a few times before the door opens. "I didn't actually know if that would work."
"Commander?—Dr. Manx?" Sky calls in.
When their blue ranger stops just through the door the team joins him and stops also. The two bodies in the bed are covered in multiple blankets, but show no signs of movement. Frost is everywhere in the room, including on the blankets and the bits of dark curls sticking out of the top.
"Oh, no," Z breathes, devastation in her voice. "We're too late."
"No, no, no," Syd sniffles and feels her tears begin to freeze on their way down her cheeks.
"Damn," Jack shakes his head, the end tips of his dreads sticking out of his hat.
"Hey, wait," says Bridge.
When they look back an ear twitches. There's an audible cracking of ice crystal as it moves a few times before twitching, irritated. The head of dark hair attached to the ears moves as well. Some frost shakes out of it, the light layer of pre–snow falling off. A feminine hand sneaks up only to pull the blanket up further and disappears again.
"Kat?!"
The head turns their way, but only its top and two pointed ears are visible. The body under the blanket wiggles up until the top part of her face is visible. She blinks away her sleep and lets out a yawn that sounds like a kitten's. "Rangers?...I take it you got the power working again."
"Thank goodness you're okay!" Syd makes to run over and hug her friend but as Kat rises from the bed, she stops.
It's clear that Cruger is still asleep, but alive. Kat seems to be lying/sitting between his legs. As she sits up, clutching the many blankets to her form it's clear that she's completely naked. When Cruger stirs a bit they can see that he is also naked. The boys turn away in respect to the woman with bare shoulders. "Yes, we were able to maintain our body heat thanks to the Commander's Sirian blood temperature."
"Thank goodness," Syd giggles nervously, avoiding eye contact. Z chuckles a little.
A low grumbling comes from Cruger as he sits up, bare chested. He is as groggy as Kat is, but aware of what's happening. "Well done, rangers. I'm proud of you for beating this cold front and working to get the command center working again."
"Thank you, sir," Sky thanks him, scratching the back of his neck but still not looking in their direction. "We'll leave the two of you to, uh, get... "
"Warmed up," Z puts in quickly before rushing everyone out.
Kat watches them go and rubs at her eyes in a swiping motion. She does the same to the back of her ears. "You okay?"
"Yes, you?" Cruger asks, cracking his thick neck.
"Mm," Kat says with a pleased tone, especially glad to have him sitting up against her chilled bare back. "Power won't be back up for another twenty minutes or so. Go back to sleep, Doggie."
As the two lie back again, Kat on top of his firm torso, they snuggle up. Doggie sniffs Kat's hair and, by instinct, ends up peppering wet–nose–kisses over the speckles on her cheeks. Kat, by instinct, ends up nudging him for more, purring loudly. "Should we tell them how we really kept our body heat for 14 hours in below freezing weather?"
"If they find out, they find out," Cruger supplies gruffly before stroking her hair and drifting off.