A/N: Sorry about any confusing alerts in anyone's inbox. To explain, I HAD posted Chapter 10, but suddenly had a change of heart about some of the content, and quickly re-worked it. I try not to do this, but admit I was hasty in posting it. So apologies for that. Hope you enjoy the chapter.
Orion made his way back to the ship as quickly as he could. The city wasn't like anything he had ever seen before, but Gia and Emma had taken care to make sure that Orion memorised a few choice landmarks in order to be able to find his way back to the ship, which was hidden by its cloaking technology at present in the event they had become separated. In Boston, the city that had seen most of the defining events in the country's founding days, it wasn't hard to find memorable historical landmarks for him to use.
He managed to make his way back to the harbour, and checked around, trying to remember where the ship was. As he looked, he heard something nearby, and stopped still. He didn't turn immediately, but after a moment, he started to walk again. He felt the hair on the back of his neck standing up. When he had been marooned, he hadn't always been alone. There were no other Andresians, or even any other civilised creatures, but there were still animals. After the bombardment, a lot of the planet had been left more or less desolate, barren. What little was left, the edible plants and animals and fish became commodities more valuable than the minerals he had spent his life dragging out of the ground. Creatures that normally avoided Andresians, after days at a time without food suddenly used their hunger to steel their natural fear. He had developed strong instincts for when he was being followed, instincts that served him well when he had been on Lafitte's crew.
He started to analyse his surroundings as he walked, keenly aware of the fact that he was unarmed. His first instinct was to look for weapons, something that he had a knack for. Another thing he had developed in that time was a certain sense of inventiveness, especially when it came to improvising tools or weapons in times of desperation. Although there were other people around, something that complicated matters, he listened out for any sign of any sound that gave away when someone was approaching. As he got close to his journey's end, he tensed up his fists, and raised his heart rate, preparing for a battle. As he spun around though, he could see no one, at least...no one that seemed to be paying him any attention. As he looked around though, he could see a puddle nearby, only just coming to rest, and some goods on a nearby market stand still moving as though someone had only just brushed past them. If someone had been following him, then they had fled when they realised Orion knew he was being followed. He couldn't guarantee that they were gone, but since he knew he'd be safest when he was back on the ship, and had his morpher in his possession once more, he continued his journey.
Meanwhile, a short distance away, the man following Orion shifted into view, stepping out of a haze, as though appearing from nowhere at all. He had long hair, a little short of his shoulder and a thick, dark stubble across his jaw line and upper lip. He had dark flesh, appearing to be Hispanic, or perhaps of Filipino decent. He was wearing a black leather jacket, and dark blue jeans. He pulled out a communicator, and held it to his ear.
"It's me." He said, coming back out onto the harbour as he kept his eye on Orion. "I've found him; he's just like the description you pulled."
"Are you certain?" The voice on the other end asked. Almost as he said this, Orion disappeared from view. The man just smiled.
"I'm certain of it." He replied. "Do you want me to keep eyes on him?"
"That shouldn't be necessary, it's enough that we know he's here." The voice stated. "Return here, there was another gateway opened, we're not alone."
"Are you sure about that?" He asked.
"We're close; this is everything we worked for!" The voice replied. "We can't let anything get in the way, not even Time Force!"
"I'm coming back." The man sighed.
"And try not to be seen." The voice told him.
"Trust me, that won't be a problem." He replied as he hung up, and walked away, disappearing from sight.
Orion got back to the ship, and had just finished putting his bags in his room when he came into the main room, finding the other Rangers arriving back after their battle.
"Did you enjoy shopping?" Jake asked him in a gruff tone as he took a seat.
"It was definitely different." Orion responded, pretending not to notice the sarcasm in Jake's tone. He had already picked up on the fact that Jake wasn't fond of the idea of him being around. "Sorry, I would have come, but I didn't have my morpher, and the girls insisted..."
"Yeah, that was probably my fault." Noah conceded, going to his work bench and picking up the morpher, handing it to Orion. "I should probably have waited until you got back to continue my studies. I'm still certain we've only just scratched the surface of what this can do."
"Well, those questions will have to wait for now." Troy stated pulling out the chair by the computer banks. "I want to know what's going on with those time portals."
"Time portals?" Orion asked.
"Yeah, that was what you missed while you were out." Jake told him. "As near as we can tell a couple of time portals opened up in the city."
"The first one opened up in Boston Common." Noah continued, showing him some computer images. "That's where we encountered Vekar's killjoys."
"So...Prince Vekar is using time-travellers now?" Orion asked.
"I don't think so." Gia told him. "From what I saw, they were there to have a look around. I think they were there to investigate just like us."
"One of them was carrying this." Emma added, putting a device on the table. "It looks like some kind of scanner. I think Vekar's just as interested to see who came through those gateways as we are."
"More importantly, why two gateways?" Jake asked. "Why take two trips when you can take one?"
"You HAVE seen the Terminator pictures right?" Noah asked. "Or Back to the Future? Or...just about any other time-travel story? Why does more than one person normally go back to the same time period?"
"They both want to change something." Emma answered. "But for different reasons."
"So which one's the Terminator and which one's Kyle Reece?" Noah asked.
"I guess that's what we have to find out." Troy sighed. "Good news Tensou, it looks like we're not going to be looking for the next clue any time soon."
"I'll put a trace on the emergency services' communications." Noah answered. "It should alert us to anything unusual in the city."
"Where are you going?" Jake asked as Orion headed out onto the deck. The Silver Ranger looked back."
"I'm going to train." Orion told them.
"We'll go with you." Troy answered, getting up. "Noah, set the computer to an alarm."
"Troy..."
"We can't do anything until these time travellers make a move." Troy interrupted Jake. "When they do, we should be ready."
Up on The Armada flagship, Damaras was on the bridge, tracking events on Earth. Lavira came onto the bridge, carrying a tablet with her.
"I have that data you requested." She told him. "There isn't much, the Rangers wrecked the recon team at the first site. The second team got to the second location after they left."
"What can you tell me?" He asked her.
"Shouldn't we get the Prince?" Argus asked him.
"The Prince is still in a depression over recent events." Damaras informed him. "He shouldn't be disturbed from his rest."
This was a polite way of saying that the Prince was sulking over the fact he'd been handed decisive defeats on a regular basis by the Corsair Rangers. In his last, and most ill-advised plan to date, he had opted to try and defeat them through exhaustion, throwing waves of his troops at them until they fell; unfortunately Orion's timely arrival had not only put a major kink in that plan itself, but exposed a glaring weakness in it. Now, the prince had all but depleted the few forces he had. He was still waiting for reinforcements from the rest of his empire, and the troops he had left took time to assemble and charge up. He had successfully managed to decimate his own army.
"The Prince requires his rest." Lavira agreed. "Besides, perhaps we will do better without him."
"Perhaps?" Damaras responded with a slightly sarcastic laugh. She handed him the tablet.
"It's exactly as we first believed, the radiation is most definitely fourth-dimensional. They were time portals." She told him. "There were residual signs of life signatures in the area."
"So someone did come through those portals." He said with a smile. "Well, I guess it would be interesting to find out about the future."
"Only if it's good news." Lavira suggested.
"We need someone on the ground, someone with some brains, not one of these drones." He replied.
"I have someone in mind." Lavira stated. "I already took the liberty of summoning him."
"Brief him and send him into the city. Tell him to be subtle for now. I have a feeling it won't be long before these time travellers reveal themselves." He stated. "Tell him to take Argus with him for back-up. Frankly, I'm starting to tire of his lack of personality."
"We DID program him that way." Lavira reminded him. "But I guess I know what you're talking about."
With that, she took Argus and left the room, leaving Damaras on the bridge to continue monitoring events.
Meanwhile, in a cheap motel in Boston, Jen, and Trip were in a motel room, setting up their surveillance equipment. They needed to work quickly to catch the fugitives that they had been chasing for close to a year already. It had begun as only one, but across that year, he had acquired a couple of allies on his travels through time.
"We're set up." Trip told her. He noticed that Jen wasn't really listening. This search wasn't just a job for her, it was personal. It was an assignment that Jen had insisted they take; despite everyone pleading with her to let someone else handle it. The only reason she had managed to convince Time Force Command was because she was the best officer they had. "Jen?"
"I'm fine Trip." Jen told her, turning her attention to the monitor as she rang her hands together intently. He just sighed and returned to his work.
"The police reports from the area are inconclusive." He told her. "I've put out a couple of APB's for people matching the descriptions."
"I doubt that'll help." Jen told him. "But it's better than nothing I guess."
"Jen, if this is difficult..."
"Stay out of my head Trip!" Jen put down flatly. "I've warned you about that before!"
"Jen, you don't need to be Xybrian to see that this is getting to you." Trip said sympathetically. "You and I both know that the only reason we've gotten this close is because of you. The playbook doesn't work here. He knows our protocols, our moves...everything we do, he knows as well as any of us! The only reason we can keep pace is because..."
"Because I know him better than anyone alive, I know that Trip!" She stated.
"All I'm saying is, I know it can't be easy to think about what we have to do." Trip told her. "When we make the move, one of us can...you know..."
"No, I want to do it." Jen told him.
"But Jen..."
"I didn't volunteer for this thinking it would be easy Trip!" She interrupted him. "God knows I don't like it, but...I want answers. I have to know why. I need answers Trip."
"We'll get them." Trip assured her. "I'm kind of good..."
"No, not like that Trip." She told him. "I want to look in his eyes and get the answers from him."
Just then, Katie and Lucas came into the room. Katie was carrying cardboard cartons of take-out. She had to step over one of two roller-beds as she made her way into the room. It was more than a little cramped in the tiny, less than stellar motel room.
"I hope everyone's hungry." Katie said as she came in, putting the food down where she could find space. "It might not be the best, but it's in the budget Time Force is willing to spring for."
"I still can't believe they counted the period clothing into our budget." Lucas replied, sitting down, taking a bag with some crispy pancake rolls.
"What did you find?" Jen asked him.
"Nothing useful." Lucas answered. "The cops were crawling all over the place. I managed to get a bit of information from some reporters, but nothing useful. The authorities are trying to call it a gas explosion, but the tabloids are having none of it."
"No wonder, why would the Rangers care about a gas explosion?" Trip asked in response. "Say, is there any chicken and sweetcorn soup?"
As they started to dig in, Katie could see Jen just glaring at the screen. She made her way over, stumbling over the beds as she went, putting a container down next to her.
"Come on Jen, starving yourself won't help anyone." Katie told her. "We'll find them. Trip's got the system searching for them."
"We just...we can't let him get away again Katie." Jen told her.
"We won't." Katie assured her. "Besides, would you really want to miss this classy meal time?"
Jen just looked back to the others, seeing Trip and Lucas fighting over a spare rib. She just laughed.
"Come on." Katie said with a smile. "Besides, we have a budget. Where do you think they'll be hiding out?"
"Nowhere as luxurious as this I'm sure." Jen answered as she went back to the group. "If someone's eaten the sweet and sour pork, there'll be hell to pay!"
Meanwhile, in another part of town, in a penthouse suite overlooking the city, the fugitive, the very one they were looking for, was waiting for his accomplices to return. He poured himself a measure of bourbon as he stood on the balcony looking out over the city.
He was a tall man, with a muscular build, wearing a tight, red t-shirt and white denims. He had black hair which he had slicked back. As he waited for his accomplices to return, he couldn't help thinking about how close this all was to being over. Unfortunately, the second gateway opening so close to where they had come in had presented him with a serious problem. He checked his cell phone again for any new word from his accomplices.
There was a good reason he had avoided them for so long. He knew everything about Time Force. He had mastered their protocols, and knew every one of their techniques. In fact, he had written a good number of them himself. He had been one of them. There was nothing that anyone at Time Force could teach Alex Drake about how to hunt a fugitive.
He looked to his hand, to the wedding ring still sitting on his finger and sighed.
"I'm sorry Jen." He said sadly. "It'll all be over soon. I promise."