Mission 11: Part 1
Within the depths of the Xeno Machina flagship grounded on the moon, Warmaster Hellspont made his way down to the vessel's grisly laboratories to supervise the latest experiments of their scientists. While their backdoor invasion of Earth had been repelled, the Xenos had still succeeded in capturing a handful of Terran prisoners: both civilians and soldiers. As he strolled past several murky birthing tubes where artificial foot soldiers were created, Hellspont neared a blood spattered table to supervise the progress of a science drone as it performed some experiments. The subject on the table was a severely wounded UNAF soldier who was undergoing surgery to be recreated into a Xeno battle drone.
What the Xenos needed right now was time to regroup and marshal their forces for a new push on Earth. The Xenos had taken a gamble but another frustrating stalemate was setting in and that unnerved the Warmaster. He wanted action and desired the chance to prove his strength, especially against the Nova Rangers. For now, he would have to settle for a means to distract the humans. He ambled over to one of the senior lab technicians, a freakish Xeno with multiple spidery appendages protruding from his back.
"Doctor, I'm growing impatient. Have you made progress on any more of the hybrid warriors yet?"
The spidery scientist who wore a sinister rebreather folded his multiple arms and gestured to another lab table, "Yes Warmaster. Come see for yourself."
On the platform lay a large Xeno warrior who looked to have the appearance of some kind of large reptile. Heavy gladiator style armor was fitted in various places over the monstrous alien creation who upon closer inspection bore some physical similarities to a humanoid crocodile.
"Isn't it wonderful?" the Xeno scientist asked, "The biomechanical augmentations we've designed for this warrior have increased his strength and endurance, and should allow him to be best suited for amphibious attacks on population centers."
"Excellent. I know exactly where I'm going to use him," Hellspont said with a smile, "There is a city on Earth where many humans have been gathering from of late. They've been coming to celebrate a traditional period of peace and athletic competitions. We will strike there when their guards are down in hopes that the death and destruction will demoralize the humans."
He gestured to the warrior on the table and began to make his way out of the lab, "Prepare the hybrid and launch its pod immediately. I don't want any of those Terrans to know what hit them."
It had been a busy morning in the Atlantis Base Research and Development labs as Lt. Erin Reilly stood at a computer imputing codes while Julian West worked to test some of the circuitry for the device they were working on. The electronic gadget was a compact and simple looking circular disc with a few buttons and what looked to be a small audio speaker from the side. "Okay Erin. Try it now."
The Yellow Ranger cleared her throat and walked over to the table speaking in Chinese. Julian listened and sighed as half of the words came out in English while the rest devolved into a garbled mess. He set down the device and crossed his arms with a thoughtful frown, "Well… it was better than last time, but it looks like we've got a ways to go yet."
Erin picked up the device and bounced in her hand, "Well… Rome wasn't built in a day. I guess we should expect a ton of setbacks when we're designing a universal translator device, right?"
Julian smiled brightly, "Well I still think it's a brilliant idea. Just think, if you can wind up using this to eventually help us understand the Xeno's own language, it'll be a big step forward in understanding them and the Adventi aliens too."
Erin chuckled and put down the faulty translator while gracing the young Australian tech with a smile, "Well Julian, I really appreciate you coming in on your off day to help me out. It was really sweet of you to volunteer your time."
"Oh… well, it was nothing really. I'm always happy to help you Erin," he replied with a slightly shy stammer, "I'm just glad Dr. Beckett let you borrow me for this project. She's been acting kinda weird these past several weeks."
Erin glanced over and caught sight of Dr. Beckett across the lab scrutinizing the work of some of her staff. She looked a bit frazzled and tense and the Yellow Ranger could only wonder if the reason was because of something personal. "I guess so. She does look a little more wound up than usual. I guess that means we should take a break, huh?"
"Good idea!" Julian said cheerfully, "Maybe you and I could go over to the mess hall, grab some lunch, and…"
Julian was cut off as Erik and Ella entered the lab. The Blue and Pink Rangers immediately spotted Erin and headed over to her table. They waved hello to Julian before Ella bounded over and gave a smile, "Erin! There you are! Erik and I were looking all over for you!"
"Oh? Is something wrong?"
Erik grinned and gently popped Erin on the forehead with his finger, "Yes. We have an off day and you're here working in the lab being a nerd. I was thinking we should do something fun instead. How does going swimming sound? I mean for God's sake, we're surrounded by the ocean!"
Erin scratched her chin, "Well… it is getting a bit warm outside. I guess swimming sounds fine."
"Huh… and here I just thought Erik was looking for an excuse to see us in our swimsuits," Ella smirked while gently poking him in the side.
"Darn. You saw right through my brilliant plan," Erik said playing along in a deadpan voice.
At that moment, the Rangers' morphers sounded and the three of them looked down to see them blinking. Erin switched off the signal and gave a sigh, "I guess swimming will have to wait. The General calls. Let's go."
Much to poor Julian's dismay, he gave a deflated sigh and plopped back down on his stool, "Oh well... I guess we'll just have to take a raincheck on lunch after all."
Bharata Timothy shifted his weight on the padded floors of the gym training room as he blocked a right cross from Martin and hooked his forearm around his opponent's. Turning the momentum of the Red Ranger's attack against him, Bharata rolled sideways and dropped Martin to the ground with a swift judo style shoulder throw.
Bharata shook his head as he crouched down and offered a hand to his friend on the ground, "Are you okay Martin?"
"I'm fine Bara. Let's try that again," the Red Ranger mumbled while continuing to lay on the ground.
Bharata sighed, "Captain, I think we should take a little break from sparring. You're just getting your ass kicked now."
"I think I just need to practice more then," Martin grumbled letting the Green Ranger help him up.
"And I think you're a little distracted sir. Trust me. Take a break."
The two got off the sparring mats and sat down to rest. As they drank some water from their water bottles, they enjoyed the relative moment of peace and quiet. Several weeks had passed since the Nova Rangers had stopped the Parallax Crisis and an unusual calm had settled in across the globe. Spring had given way to Summer and the Xeno Machina aliens were likely regrouping after having been repelled in their last great push for Earth. Still, not everyone had been enjoying the interim tranquility.
The Red Ranger took another swig before tossing aside his water bottle and stretching out, "You know Bara, I've been spending a lot of time at the pistol range, flying patrols, and now getting my ass handed to me in the gym and I'm still not feeling much better."
The Green Ranger nodded pensively while thinking over Martin's vague words. He had been referring to a recent rift between himself and Dr. Beckett over a personal matter. The Red Ranger had remained tight lipped about everything, but the whole squad knew in no uncertain terms that his romantic feelings toward Dr. Beckett must have been rebuffed, otherwise the two of them wouldn't have been in such gloomy moods recently. Bharata lay back and tried to put on a positive face, "Tell you what Captain. Why don't we go out and blow off some steam in the West End tonight? Just you, me, and Erik. We can shoot some pool, have a couple beers, and make it a guy's night out... you know?"
"Thanks Bara, but I don't know. I'm just not feeling it."
The Green Ranger hopped up to his feet and offered a hand to his C.O. "Come on Martin. You've been in a bit of a funk lately. It's not going to do you or the team any good to have you moping around over some girl... err, even if it is Dr. Beckett."
The Red Ranger stared at him a moment before giving a sigh and taking Bharata's hand, "Well... maybe you are kinda right. I'm guessing the whole team knows about this?"
"Umm... the topic might have come up here and there," Bharata said evasively which earned him a mild eye roll.
Before they could talk any further, their Nova Morphers chimed and General Caldwell's voice was heard, "Martin? Bharata? I want you both to report to my briefing room. There's something I'd like to discuss with your squad... good news actually."
"We could always use more of that," Bharata smiled as Martin raised his own morpher in reply.
"Right away General. Sterling out."
After leaving the gym and heading to the command tower, the two Rangers met with the rest of their team in Caldwell's briefing room. They took seats at the table and looked on curiously while the older base commander stood with a pleased look, "Thank you for coming Nova Squad. Like I said before, I had some good news I wanted to share with you."
"Are we getting new weapons?" Erin asked hopefully.
Ella gave her fellow female Ranger a gentle nudge, "You're not thinking big enough girl. Are we getting promotions?"
Caldwell laughed gently and waved it off, "I'm sorry girls, but no. I do have something that's just as good. With the Xenos laying low for the time being, I've decided to give your team a little bit of R&R. I'm authorizing the five of you to go on a little working vacation."
Martin blinked in surprise and struggled to comprehend the unusual order, "I'm sorry sir... a vacation? Where?"
Caldwell gestured to a holographic display of a map and pointed, "To the city of Rome, Italy."
"Italy? Really? I get to go home?" Ella exclaimed in excitement.
Erik scratched his chin curiously, "Wait... Rome? Isn't that where the Olympic Games are being held right now?"
"Precisely Lieutenant," Caldwell grinned, "I've been notified by the International Olympic Committee that they'd be honored if Nova Squad would come to visit and serve as goodwill ambassadors of the UNAF."
Bharata frowned in confusion, "General, the Olympic Games are all about peace and cooperation. Last I checked, we're military people and its our job to well... fight."
"Very true Lieutenant Timothy, but the IOC believes your team embodies a lot of positive things too. To them, Nova Squad is a multinational team who promote cooperation and working together towards one goal, which in this case is fighting for peace against the alien threat. They've offered you tickets and accommodations if you're interested."
"Well, I guess it is for a good cause... and some good PR for our team and the UNAF couldn't hurt either," Erin smiled to herself.
"Va bene! We're going to the Olympics!" Ella cheered in excitement while letting some of her Italian slip into her speech.
Martin crossed his arms, "Hold on Ella. I feel like there's still some sort of catch here. General, you said a working vacation, correct?"
Caldwell folded his hands behind his back and nodded, "Indeed Captain. While the five of you would be going as ambassadors, I'd like you to keep a lookout for any threat of Xeno attack there and serve as an extra layer of security for the events."
Erik couldn't help but smile, "If that's the only condition, then I'm sold! Count me in sir!"
Caldwell nodded and turned back to the Red Ranger in amusement, "Captain? Do you think your team is up to the assignment?"
The whole table turned to him and Martin gave a sigh while limply pumping his fist, "Wooo. We're going to Rome."
The next day, the five Nova Rangers packed their bags and teleported in to a large open plaza in downtown Rome. While they wore their light summer uniforms, they could immediately feel the Mediterranean heat and the bright glare of the summer sun above. Here and there citizens and tourists strolled about while a large stone obelisk rose up and cast a tall shadow over the square flanked by a few small basilica buildings. Over the communicators, Lucy spoke in a subdued voice, "Transport complete Rangers. Welcome to Rome. You're in..."
She was cut off as Ella excitedly paced about and looked around with a big smile, "I know exactly where this is. Piazza del Popolo. We're not far from downtown and Vatican City is just to the West of here across the Tiber River."
"I see you all won't be at a loss for a tour guide," Lucy sighed in resignation.
Bharata chuckled, "Not to worry Doctor B. You sure you don't want to come along and sightsee for a day too?"
"That's quite all right Lieutenant. I've got... other things to take care of in the lab," she replied quickly.
The others exchanged a knowing look with each other before Martin cleared his throat and spoke in a short but professional military tone, "Understood Lucy. We'll meet with the IOC rep and check in with Caldwell at nineteen hundred hours. Sterling out."
He cut off communication and glanced over to see Ella continuing to walk around the plaza grinning ear to ear.
"So, is it good to be home?" Erin asked while coming to join her female comrade.
"Actually the city of Milano up north is where I grew up," the Pink Ranger explained drifting into her local accent again, "But I've still got a lot of family here and I've visited Roma fairly often."
Erik glanced around at the old classical architecture and the impressive size of the plaza, "Well if that's true, then I'm looking forward to a good tour full of the best wine and pasta around."
"I think that can be arranged," she winked before Erin waved them both off.
"Hold on now. We've still got the Olympics going on here, remember? Free passes to the events?"
She was interrupted as a tall clean cut middle aged man in a fine suit approached the Rangers to greet them. He had tanned Mediterranean features along with salt and pepper hair and a surprisingly strong build for a man his age. "Buon giorno and welcome to Roma! You are the Nova Rangers I take it?"
The others nodded as he continued, "My name is Gianlucca Rossi, local representative of the IOC. It's an honor to have you visit."
"The pleasure is ours Mr. Rossi," Martin answered politely as he shook the man's hand and introductions were exchanged. After exchanging a few brief words and a laugh in Italian with Ella, Mr. Rossi gestured toward a waiting SUV.
"The Olympic Village is set up not far from here and your hotels are nearby too. We'll give you a lift there and go through the agenda that General Caldwell forwarded to us?"
"It's a free trip to Italy guys. Whatever we have to do, it's worth it," Erik reminded his teammates as they loaded their bags and piled into the cab.
After checking in to their rooms and sitting through an events briefing, the Rangers left their hotel a few hours later and made their way out to the scenic promenades and beautiful grassy parkways of the Villa Borghese Gardens located nearby. Ponds and fountains lined with white marble dotted the public park as citizens and tourists alike milled about enjoying the beautiful afternoon. While they walked together, they chatted idly and tried getting acquainted to having idle free time to roam about and explore... a far cry from their normally structured and disciplined schedules of military life.
"I don't know guys. I can't decide," Erin mused while paging through an events listing, "I kinda wanna watch some Track and Field events if anyone is willing to go with me."
"I'll go if you come with me to the Judo competition. Then you've got yourself a deal," Bharata said before he and the Yellow Ranger shook hands on their agreement.
Erik scratched his chin, "Hmm, Basketball and Volleyball should be fun. I've heard Germany finally has some good teams this year so maybe I could watch that."
"Unless any of you want to go get a taste of the local food and culture?" Ella suggested, "I was thinking of taking a little time out to visit some of my aunts and uncles."
"Do they err... cook as well as you do?" Bharata asked hesitantly.
"Oh, they're much better than me. My Aunt Michelina is actually a professional chef with her own restaurant."
Erik chuckled, "Okay then. In that case, I'll volunteer for duty. How about you Captain? Anything you wanted to see or do?"
Martin gave a noncommital shrug and a half hearted sigh, "Oh... I don't know, maybe see the ruins? Or catch some of the Swimming events? The U.S. always seems to do pretty well there."
"You don't sound too thrilled Martin. Lighten up for a change," Ella said as she patted his arm encouragingly, "It's no secret that you're bummed about the umm... situation with Dr. B so just forget it! You're on vacation! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the magic of this city. Have some cannoli and drink a glass of wine. You'll feel like yourself in no time. Trust me."
The Red Ranger smiled slightly from his friend's positive encouragement, "Thanks Ella but..."
"But what?" Bharata asked giving a frown as their leader trailed off.
"But I think we've got a little more work to do," Erik answered while pointing dead ahead to where another monstrous Xeno Machina hybrid warrior erupted from one of the waterways running through the parks. The alien monster was a large humanoid except it had a thick hide of dark green armored scales and ridges down its back along with a powerful tail and an oversized steel crocodilian jaw to add to its menacing appearance.
"Oh geez! We're off the clock! Is nothing sacred?" Erin groaned but Ella was already charging forward and reaching for her morpher.
"Oh hell no! You are not trashing this place! Not on my watch!"
Erik and Bharata dashed after her and followed suit with morphing in a bright colored light, "Ella! Wait up!"
As the three Rangers pulled their Nova Striker blades, Erin and Martin held off on morphing for the moment and scrambled to direct some of the panicked civilians safely away from the area. With the extra tourists present, it unfortunately didn't make things any easier to direct traffic and manage the violent chaos.
"Where did this guy come from?" Bharata asked as he swept into melee range and slashed with his blade only to have it glance off of the Xeno's thick armored hide.
"He must have slipped in under the radar. Swimming up through the waterways or sewers?" Ella guessed as she also slashed with her weapon and got the same result.
Erik threw his shoulder into the crocodilian Xeno trying to push it back, "We'll figure it out later. Right now we need a new approach to take on Croc Bot over here. Dr. Beckett?"
On the other end, Lucy hurriedly put on her headset as she arrived to her station at the Command Tower in response to the sudden attack, "Croc Bot... very cute Dobermann. We're scanning now. Stand by Rangers."
The Xeno didn't give them any more time as it snarled and swept its powerful tail around to knock Erik, Bharata, and Ella backwards into the grass. The newly dubbed Croc Bot swiveled its head aroud and clamped down on a stone park bench with its oversized robotic jaws. Using its great strength, the Xeno violently whipped its head around and hurled the stone bench through the air to smash into a nearby café that had been set up along the walking path of the park.
While several civilians screamed and scattered, Martin turned and saw one young woman in a red white and blue sports jacket trying to flee from the table she was at, only she was directly in the way of the flying bench. The Red Ranger threw himself forward and tackled her to the ground in order to get clear of the projectile just in time. They tumbled to a stop on the grass several feet away as Martin stopped and rolled the civilian off of him before giving her a quick glance. She was a pretty girl in her mid twenties with long dark brown hair and tanned features that could have hinted at Mediterranean or possibly Middle Eastern heritage. At the moment, she stared at him wide eyed in shock while he spoke quickly, "Are you okay Miss?"
She nodded dumbly as the Ranger sprung to his feet and raised his morpher, "Good. Just stay down and try to get to cover. Energize!"
In a flash of red light, he morphed and pulled his blaster pistol while Erin followed suit across the walkway. The Yellow Ranger leveled her weapon and switched her Nova Blaster to overcharge mode. "Let's give our friends a hand Captain. Give em the one two punch?"
"Sounds like a plan Reilly. Ladies first," Martin answered as he charged his pistol and readied an attack with his comrade.
Just as their other three allies rolled clear, the Yellow and Red Rangers fired their overcharged pistols together and the energy blast momentarily staggered the Croc Bot. While the supercharged lasers seared part of his skin, the resulting burst of light stung the sensitive eyes of the Xeno causing it to recoil and lurch sideways. The other three Rangers used that moment as an opportunity to strike and leapt at the Xeno hammering him with combined sword slashes. Dazed and disoriented, the crocodilian Xeno roared and dove back into the waters to retreat from battle for the time being.
"Damn! He got away!" Bharata grumbled as he deactivated his vibro sword and folded it up again. "Did you pick up anything useful Doctor B?"
Lucy's voice replied over the comm in what sounded like she was shaking her head, "hard to say Lieutenant. We picked up some data, but we're going to be working on sorting through it."
Erik nodded and shot an appreciative thumbs up toward Erin as the Nova Rangers all powered down. "Let's all just be grateful for some quick thinking by Erin over there."
Off to the side, Martin turned and offered a hand to the young woman who had been cowering on the grassy ground. If he had to guess, she was probably an athlete in the games and by the looks of her apparel, she was a fellow American too.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he helped her stand.
She nodded again in a daze before giving a grateful smile, "Yeah… um, thank you for saving my life. I honestly wasn't expecting to run into a real life Power Ranger today."
The Red Ranger glanced down to find her hand still grasping his. She gave a sheepish look and withdrew it, "Oh, err… sorry about that... near death experience and all."
"It's all right. Hopefully that'll be your only one," he said politely while returning the smile, "I'm just glad you're safe."
He gave a dutiful nod and walked back off to join his teammates while the local authorities and rescue workers arrived at the scene to survey the incident. Erik was already busy chatting with Erin and the two wondered if they would have to prepare a formal incident report for Caldwell. As Martin approached, Ella rushed over and immediately grabbed his shirt collar while shaking him in excitement, "Oh my gosh! Captain! Is that who I think it was? Do you have any idea who you had just saved back there?"
"Uh… no. Should I?"
The Pink Ranger slapped her forehead and shook him some more, "Mama mia! Don't you know a famous person when you see them? That's Christina Lasky! She's a decorated gymnast and captain of the American team this year!"
The other Rangers exchanged blank expressions before Bharata shrugged, "You seem to be a follower of the sport. I'm guessing you're one of her fans?"
"Of course!" Ella replied, "Christina's only a couple years older than me which is all the more impressive. Twenty four is relatively old for a gymnast."
"I guess that makes you kinda old too," Erin playfully sniggered causing Ella to huff defensively.
"No! That's just more inspiration for me to do amazing things!"
"Like being the Pink Nova Ranger wasn't amazing enough already?" Bharata pointed out only to earn another exasperated huff from Ella.
Erik rolled his eyes gently before turning to Martin with a sly look, "So… did you get her number or something sir?"
The Red Ranger gave him a mildly reproving frown and started walking back toward the hotel, "Of course not. We're professionals here and we've got way more important things to worry about right now. Now I'm going to go clean up and figure out what to do about this new Xeno. Who's with me?"
The other four exchanged another look before Erin shrugged and began to follow her commander along with the others, "Well Xeno or not... I for one am not going to let some oversized handbag or my C.O. ruin my fun here. Who's with me?"
A/N: Part 1 of 4