Scott was in the main room of the garage, once more listening to the flight recording from Marcus' plane. He had now listened to it dozens of times, but he still was no wiser as to what had happened to him. He was by far the most gifted pilot on Eagle Squadron; there was no way he should have been outmanoeuvred by mere Venjix drones.
He listened intently to the recording. Some of the communication had reached his own plane, but obviously his communications relay had become damaged, and so the message had cut off. His flight recorder had functioned for a while after the communications were down though, that was what he was listening for. The missing information, the information that never made it back to the base.
"This is Eagle 1's final communication. I'm going down, I'm going down!" He announced. Sounds of the battle raging in the background brought back all the memories of that day. He could almost feel every blast causing his plane to jolt and pitch as he listened to the communication. "I've been hit, my thrusters are down...Eagle 2, bug out!"
That part of the communication had been lost to him. He had become separated from the rest of the unit, and so he wasn't at the tail of the formation as he had been instructed. He had done everything he could to get back into formation.
"Scott, I need you to get back to Dad, I need you to take care of him in case I don't make it." He continued. "I love you both."
He then heard some mechanical clunks, and Marcus' voice screaming with an uncharacteristic panic.
"Shit! The ejector seat misfired. Negative fire on my ejector seat!" He screamed. "Scott, get out of here! You and dad are in danger...
He then heard another blast, and the recorder cut out after that. He couldn't even hear the last thing his brother had said. He had been trying to warn him that he and his father were in danger, but that was hardly news. They were under heavy attack by the forces of Venjix. They'd had to retreat into what essentially was a cage, albeit a large and highly advanced one, but they had been forced to become prisoners on their own planet.
He still didn't know what he hoped to gain from the recording, he only wanted answers. He only wanted to know what exactly had happened to his brother. At that point his morpher bleeped. Wiping away a couple of tears, he answered it.
"What's happening?" He asked.
"Tanaya's going back to the orphanage; it looks like Venjix isn't done with the kids just yet." Ziggy told him. "Dillon's giving me a ride. Summer's heading over from the therapist's office and Flynn's right behind us. We should be there in ten minutes."
"I'm on my way." Scott replied, gathering his jacket and firing up his car. "Let's just hope she doesn't do too much damage while we're getting there."
"That's the odd thing; she won't be there for about ten minutes." Flynn chipped in over the communicator. "We'll probably be there before she arrives."
"So how did you know she was going to the orphanage?" Scott asked him.
"Her communicator's on one of the frequencies we use." Flynn told him. "Dr. K's been able to see and hear every move she's made since she entered the city."
"So she's been broadcasting us her every move since she was sent to the orphanage?" Scott asked. "Why would she do that?"
Tanaya 7 made her way towards the orphanage, dreading the battle ahead. She knew that by now the Rangers would know where she was heading, and would be well on their way to intercept her. She couldn't refuse to carry out Venjix's orders, but she couldn't bring herself to carry out the terrible order either. She had been sent to destroy the orphanage and kill all of the children. She would sooner face her destruction than complete her assignment. Of course she also knew that she would only end up in Venjix's clutches again if she simply refused. She would never be free; the only way she could ensure she would never be sent on such missions again would be if she was destroyed.
She already knew that she would not be allowed to flee the battle, Venjix had her under surveillance. One of its other servants was following her to ensure its orders were carried out; the only way she could be stopped was by something that neither she nor Venjix could control. She had already resigned herself to the fact this was a suicide mission. The Rangers would destroy her, they had to.
She arrived at the orphanage, finding Flynn, Dillon and Ziggy already waiting for her.
"Turn back Tanaya; we aren't going to let you harm these kids." Ziggy warned her.
"I have my orders." She responded, drawing into a guard.
"We don't have to do this." Flynn told her as he tried to reason with their opponent. "We don't want to harm you, but we will if we have to."
"You don't want to harm me?" Tanaya asked him. "Why not?"
"I still owe you for what you did for Sam." He answered honestly. "She's going to be fine. It'll be a while, but she's going to make a full recovery."
"Why did you do it?" Dillon asked her, catching the faintest hint of a smile from her. "You have nothing to gain by helping Sam."
"Why do you want to destroy the kids now?" Ziggy asked her. "Why did you help Sam, and then come here for the kids? It doesn't make sense."
As she was about to answer, she felt a sharp, burning pain in her chest as though it was caught in a vice and collapsed to her knees, screaming. She struggled back to her feet, checking the scan from her visor. There was an attack bot, wearing some kind of console on its right forearm hidden a short way off. It had obviously activated the implant on her heart on a minimal power level to remind her of her task.
"What's happening to her?" Ziggy yelled as they watched her struggling. Tanaya was finally released from her torment as they approached. She pulled back to get some space as they approached. "It looks like she was in pain."
"Enough talk!" She snarled as she threw herself into the attack. The Rangers scattered to avoid her first attack.
"It looks like we have no choice." Flynn stated, pulling out his morpher.
"RPM, Get in Gear!" They called out together as they morphed into Ranger form.
Meanwhile, Scott was racing over towards the orphanage, still puzzled as to why exactly Tanaya was broadcasting the details of her intentions to the Rangers. Something just didn't seem right about the way this attack had gone down. She was not stupid; she had to know that she was broadcasting. Why would she want them to know what she was doing?
As he raced to the scene, he started adjusting his own communicator's frequency. Tanaya was on their frequency, but she was broadcasting, not receiving. She wasn't hearing their communications, the only way that would make sense is if she wanted them to know what she was doing, but wanted to keep their plans under wraps. Perhaps he could turn the tables. If he could find the frequency she was receiving, then perhaps he could hear what Venjix was telling her and figure out what she wanted.
Back at the scene of the battle, Ziggy was sent flying by a hard attack, hitting the climbing frame with frightening force. Tanaya saw that he was stunned and instead turned to one of her other opponents rather than press the advantage. She felt her legs give out under her as the implant on her lower spine was activated.
"What happened? I didn't even touch her!" Flynn called out as she rolled on the ground.
The feeling returned to her legs and crawled back to her feet. A voice sounded in her communicator.
"The Green Ranger was helpless. You should have destroyed him." The attack bot sneered at her.
"The Blue Ranger was too close; I had to divert my attention." She responded.
"Now instead of two Rangers, you still have three to contend with." It stated. "You know if I didn't know any better, I would start to wonder if you wanted to win."
"Of course I want to win; I do have a survival instinct." Tanaya hissed angrily as she dodged an attack from the Blue Ranger and sent him spinning to the floor with a hard kick. "Now if you don't mind, I have a battle to contend with."
"Remember what will happen if you fail." The attack bot stated menacingly. "If you really do have a survival instinct..."
"I know what you'll do to me if I fail!" She snarled. "Not just let me handle this!"
She renewed her attack with an increased vigour. So far the Rangers had been holding back, if they were going to destroy her, then she would have to force their hand. Little did she know that Scott had already heard every word the attack bot had said to her.
Dillon fired a blast into her chest from his Rocket Blaster, sending her flying into the side of a building. Scott arrived on the scene, quickly morphing and joining the others.
"Guys, I figured out why she's attacking the orphanage." He told them. "She was communicating with another attack bot in the area; it seems to have some kind of hold over her. He was threatening her."
"What could Venjix possibly threaten her with?" Dillon asked. "We've fought her before, it's not like she's helpless."
"Wait, think about it Dillon, she was holding her chest when she collapsed before." Ziggy reminded him. "Then later she collapsed, and Flynn told us that she never touched her."
"Are we fighting, or are we having a discussion?" Tanaya asked them as she mopped some blood from her lower lip.
"Why do you want to fight Tanaya?" Ziggy asked her. "Why do you want us to fight you?"
"I am here to destroy the orphanage." She told them. "You got in my way, and so we must fight!"
"That's a crock of shit Tanaya and you know it!" Ziggy confronted her. "You led us here. If you wanted to destroy the orphanage, you wouldn't have let us know you were coming. By the time we arrived here you would have already started."
"Shut up!" She screamed, hoping that the attack bot wouldn't hear. "You don't know anything..."
"I know that there's another robot in the area that's got some kind of hold over you." Ziggy interrupted her. "You don't want to harm these children, you set this up deliberately. You wanted us to stop you. You want us to destroy you."
"Don't be ridiculous!" She sneered in a slight panic as she realised that the Green Ranger had finally figured out what this was all about. "I am loyal to Venjix..."
"Then prove me wrong." Ziggy said, gesturing to the others to lower their weapons. Tanaya watched in horror as he stepped aside, leaving the path to the orphanage clear. "We're not in your way."
What was he doing? The Green Ranger had a deep emotional attachment to the orphanage; she knew that from the way he fought her before. If he knew her assignment was to destroy it, then why would he step aside?
"My orders are to kill every inhabitant of that building." She warned him. "Their blood will be on your hands..."
"You aren't getting out of it that easily." Ziggy cut her off. "There's only one person that can make the decision to attack that orphanage."
"You don't understand..."
"We aren't going to destroy you Tanaya." Ziggy told her, drawing a few uncertain looks from the others. He had to admit being more than a little nervous at this moment. If he was wrong, then he was putting the closest thing he had to family in danger. He could see how conflicted Tanaya was by the way she shuffled uneasily. "It's your decision Tanaya."
"Destroy me!" She screeched. "I do not wish to harm the young ones, but I don't have a choice! I'll be..."
All of a sudden, the pain in her chest returned, so much more acutely than before. She collapsed to the ground, curling into a ball as her heart burned, threatening to explode with the agony.
"What's wrong with her?" Flynn asked.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say she was having a heart attack!" Ziggy replied, rushing to her side. "I'm going to try and help you."
"You can't help me, it's better this way." Tanaya grunted as she felt herself beginning to slip away. "Leave me."
"It's a shame we had to lose a valuable asset." The attack bot stated as it stepped out from its hiding place. "At least when I'm finished with this battle I can take her and harvest her implants for recycling."
It was close to seven feet tall, with a smooth, shiny robotic body. Its head had only a small, narrow vision slit, which glowed a deep crimson. There was a black console of some description mounted on its right arm.
Ziggy held Tanaya closely as her heart caused her agony, trying to ease her pain. Summer arrived on the scene, skidding to a halt a short way from the others and morphing, before joining the others. She looked over to where Ziggy was standing protectively over Tanaya's prone form.
"What's going on here?" She asked them. "Why is Ziggy protecting her?"
"I'll explain when we're finished with this walking flashlight." Scott told her. "Right guys, let's do this!"
Dr. K was monitoring the battle from her work station back at the lab, trying to get a bearing on the battle at hand.
"Ranger Green, why are you not assisting the others?" Dr. K asked him. "The attack bot should be your primary concern."
"Dr. K we have a casualty down here." He told her. "I'm bringing her in."
"This isn't a hospital Ziggy." Dr. K snapped a little coldly. "Let the medical services deal with her."
"This isn't a typical casualty doc; we need your expertise on this one." Ziggy responded. "If you don't help her she's going to die."
Dr. K looked up from her desk as she heard the garage door open, and Scott's car sped into the room. Ziggy got out and crossed over to the passenger's side, picking up Tanaya's unconscious form and lifting her out.
"This is your casualty?" She asked a little incredulously.
"We have to help her, Venjix is harming her somehow." He told her. "Can you help her?"
"I have a blaster right here." She told him, reaching for a drawer. Ziggy reached forward, holding the drawer shut.
"I want you to help her, not kill her!" He screamed. "Please, she's going to die."
"That would be a bad thing because..."
"Doc, she didn't want to attack the orphanage. I gave her the opportunity to do it and she refused, even though she knew Venjix would destroy her." He explained. "Please, we have to help her. She helped Sam. We owe her that much."
Dr. K just groaned as she realised that she wouldn't be able to argue with him. One of his most annoying habits was the fact that he couldn't be argued with if he believed he was doing the right thing.
"Take her to my work bench." She instructed him. "I'll see what I can do."
Back at the site of the battle, the Rangers were dealing with the attack bot. Dillon kept it busy while the other three assembled the Road Blaster.
"Dillon, get out of there!" Scott called out. "We're ready. Engine Cell, activate!"
Dillon leapt aside as they fired the cannon. Before the blast struck, the attack bot activated all three implants at maximum power, just as it was destroyed.
At the Garage, Ziggy and Dr. K were checking over Tanaya when her heart suddenly stopped beating.
"We've got to save her!" Ziggy screamed at her. "We have to resuscitate."
"Ziggy, hand me those surgical tools over there." Dr. K instructed him. "It's the implant I found in her heart. It's preventing it from functioning. Until I remove it, there's nothing I can do for her."
"But..."
"The machines will breathe for her; all we can do is work quickly to stop her being under for too long." Dr. K told him. "Otherwise we won't be able to resuscitate."
Reluctantly, Ziggy handed over the tools, allowing Dr. K to grab a scalpel. As she made the first incision, Ziggy stood, unable to do anything to help. Instinctively, he reached for her hand, holding it warmly.
"We're going to help you." He whispered to her. "Just try to hang on."
Meanwhile at the scene of the battle, the Rangers recalled the Zords and de-morphed as they finished up with the attack bot. Summer looked around for the Green Ranger.
"Where's Ziggy?" She asked them. "Where's Tanaya? You don't think she took him..."
"She didn't look to be in any condition to take anybody anywhere." Scott informed her. "Ziggy probably took her to get help."
"Rangers, I need you back here right away." Dr. K told them. "Come at once."
"Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to be the end of a stressful day?" Flynn asked the others.
"Let's just get round there and figure out what Dr. K wants." Scott suggested. With that, they left the orphanage and made their way back to the Garage.
Dr. K came out of a secure side-room she had used to store their new patient. She had insisted on running some more tests after they had successfully removed the implant from her heart. Ziggy sat impatiently in the main room, awaiting word on her condition. Dr. K just busied herself putting her tools away.
"Well, how is she?" He asked her. Dr. K just shrugged.
"She will live." She replied. "I've built her a life support unit that will take care of her main biological functions."
"You mean like eating, drinking, going to..."
"That would be what I mean yes." Dr. K told him curtly. "She is not able to perform those functions herself, so..."
"Wait, why can't she do those things herself?" Ziggy asked her.
"I didn't remove the implants on her spine." Dr. K answered with all the empathy she'd have for a broken toaster. "She's quadriplegic."
"You didn't remove the other implants?" He screamed at her as the others arrived back in the Garage. "Why the hell not?"
"Her cellular regeneration, while fast, is clearly not as enhanced as it was before." Dr. K explained. "We don't have access to the regenerative serum that Venjix does. Her body has already been through a tremendous trauma from her first surgery..."
"Surgery?" Scott asked as they arrived, interjecting himself between Dr. K and Ziggy. He could already see that things were getting a little heated between them. "What are you talking about?"
"I brought Tanaya here during the battle. If she didn't get help she was going to die." Ziggy explained. "When we scanned her we found a couple of implants in her that didn't fit. It seems that Venjix was controlling her by threatening to shut down her spinal cord and her heart."
"So what's this about Surgery?" Flynn asked.
"In order to save her life I had to remove the implant from her heart." Dr. K snapped, glaring at Ziggy for daring to question her within her lab. "Ranger Green..."
"Ziggy!" He yelled, interrupting her.
"Ranger Green asked me...more like begged me...to save her life. I've done that." Dr. K concluded.
"You saved her life, but you left her quadriplegic!" He whined in protest. "We have to remove those other implants."
"As I already explained, her regenerative abilities are not enhanced by the serum Venjix injects her with. She'll need time to recover from her first surgery." Dr. K explained. "Also, since the other implants are attached to her spinal cord, we have to take a great deal of time and care to remove them. Since we can't re-grow her spinal tissue, if we cause any damage at all, we risk making the paralysis permanent anyway."
Ziggy backed down a little as she said this. He hadn't thought about the possible hazards involved in removing the implants.
"Besides, with the implants in place it'll make confining her a non-issue." Dr. K said casually. Dillon caught Ziggy as he rounded on her, his face betraying his anger.
"You never had any intention of removing those implants did you?" He shouted in an accusing tone. "You want to leave her quadriplegic to keep her prisoner?"
"We weren't exactly going to release her." Dr. K stated as Flynn helped to keep them apart. "She's in the secure room; her needs are being taken care of..."
"You're keeping her quadriplegic!" He repeated his protest. "It's torture! It's inhumane treatment! Have you even heard of the Geneva Convention?"
"Of course I have." Dr. K responded. "It only applies to humans."
Dillon released Ziggy and rounded on her a little angered by her statement. Summer could see that he was upset. She joined her boyfriend and Ziggy in opposing the doctor.
"So you'd feel the same way about me?" Dillon asked her. "I have much of the same technology in me as she does."
"Dillon, you're different." Dr. K told her. "She's served Venjix for months; we have no way of knowing where her allegiance lies."
Dillon couldn't begin to argue with her, he was far too angry. He stormed out of the room, followed closely by Summer. Ziggy just shook his head in disbelief.
"You know, there is an emotionless, cold hearted monster in here." Ziggy stated. He flicked a thumb over his shoulder towards the secure room. "She isn't in there."
With that, he left The Garage in order to walk off his frustrations. Flynn took a couple of steps away.
"Look, I don't have the authority to make any decisions, I'll stand by any decisions you make Doc." He told her in a sigh. "But for the record, I'm not really cool about the idea of leaving her like that."
"I understand your point of view." Dr. K responded. "However, I believe for everyone's safety it is best to keep her restrained in any way we can."
"Doc, I don't know about this." Scott told her. "I mean, couldn't we find some other way to restrain her?"
"I appreciate your input Scott, but you're only the field commander." Dr. K answered. "I still lead Project Ranger. The implants stay."
She left the room, leaving Scott and Flynn in the room together. Flynn just shrugged and made his way over to the computer.
"Well that's the end of that then." He sighed as he booted up the computer. "Fancy some tunes to calm things down?"
"Sure, why not?" Scott asked as Flynn started up the disk drive. Scott froze as the recording started. He had forgotten to remove Marcus' flight recording from the disk drive. He shut it down, removing the disk as Flynn looked at him a little confused.
"That was a flight recorder." He commented. "Eagle 1 was Marcus' designation wasn't it?"
"It's his flight recording." Scott informed him. "When I retrieved the reactor from his plane I also retrieved his flight recorder. I've had it ever since."
"That was ages ago!" Flynn reminded him. "Why haven't you given it to Col. Truman?"
"Because I wanted to find out what happened to him." Scott responded. "I knew if the military had it, they'd just file it under closed files."
"Look, why would you want to do this to yourself?" Flynn asked him sympathetically. "I know your brother meant a lot to you, but he's dead."
"That's just the thing Flynn, I never got closure. I don't know what happened." He replied.
"Scott, you saw his plane." Flynn reminded him. "I know it's hard to lose someone you care about..."
"The cockpit was almost completely intact." Scott interrupted him. "When I collected the flight recorder, I looked inside."
"God, that can't have been pretty." Flynn sighed. "Sorry to hear about..."
"You don't understand Flynn, the cockpit was empty." He interrupted the Blue Ranger. "It was almost intact, if he'd been in there I'd have expected to see something at least, but there was nothing there!"
"You think he ejected?" Flynn asked him. "Look, I can understand what you're thinking, but he never made it back to the city. If he had he'd have been found. Being sealed out there with Venjix's entire army? You have to face the facts Scott, even if he survived the crash. He's dead."
"Dillon survived out there, hell even ZIGGY did!" Scott protested. "I know the odds aren't good, I know he's probably dead, but I've just got to know."