Mission 11: Part 2

The next morning, the Nova Rangers donned their dress blue uniforms and were taken to the city's downtown center where the Olympic events were being held. Upon reaching the central stadium, the five Rangers were brought to one of the building's large reception halls to be introduced to the news media as well as all the local admirers who turned out to see the new arrivals.

Throughout the short press conference, the team's liaison Mr. Rossi sat with them and helped moderate the event. As the interview wound down, a female news reporter raised a recorder and asked a few more questions, "Do you think it's possible that the alien who attacked the other day did so because you were here? And if so, how do you Rangers plan to respond?"

Erik sat up and fielded the question, "For now, it's probably best we don't speculate or assume anything about the Xeno that showed up yesterday. What I can tell you is that whether or not it shows up again, the five of us will be here to respond quickly and keep everyone at the games safe."

Erin nodded and added in the microphone, "Again, we'd like to thank Mr. Rossi and the IOC for inviting our team and letting us represent the brave men and women of the UNAF. We're hoping we can do our part to support the continued unity and friendship between nations that this whole event stands for."

Another young male reporter from the local press stood up and caused the crowd to laugh with a joking question, "One more question please, and this is for Miss Catalano. Are you single and if so, would you be willing to give me an exclusive interview over dinner?"

He spoke the last part in Italian and Ella laughed, replying back in her native tongue, "Ah! Sorry! That's very sweet of you, but I'm already spoken for."

She jokingly reached over in an exaggerated way and patted the cheek of Erik who was sitting next to her. "Thanks for the questions everyone!"

As the press dispersed to get back to the games, the Rangers were mobbed by a group of admiring civilians and several Olympic athletes who wanted to get pictures with them.

"Wow, I think I could get used to this!" Bharata laughed as he signed several autographs and shook hands, "I honestly feel like a rockstar right now."

"No complaints here either," the Blue Ranger smiled as he took several photos with some female volleyball players from Brazil and got a few kisses on the cheek for his troubles.

Meanwhile, Erin and Ella had their hands full taking selfies with the Japanese track team and laughing over a few jokes with some swimmers from the UK. While they did, Martin turned his attention back to his line and took a photo with a young female archer from Greece as well as shake hands with some of the men's cycling team from America. Once the crowds died down a little, he felt a tap on the shoulder and turned in surprise to see the familiar face of Christina Lasky again.

The young woman was still in her team apparel but she had tied her hair up with a red ribbon while wearing a sheepish smile and extending a hand, "Hi. Martin Sterling? We meet again."

"Oh… right. Seems that way," he said in surprise while returning the handshake, "Christina, right?"

"Oh. So you do know who I am?" she asked in amusement.

He shrugged and gave a mild chuckle towards Ella, "Actually, my teammate Ella over there is in your fan club. She pointed you out to me yesterday."

At the mention of her name, Ella turned and came over with a bright smile to shake hands, "Oh my gosh! Miss Lasky! I'm a huge fan of yours! You're so talented and graceful! I watched you kick butt in the last summer games in Tokyo! Can I get a photo with you? Oh, and maybe an autograph too?"

While the Pink Ranger occupied Christina for a few minutes, the other Rangers came over to regroup and plan their next move for the day. Erik folded his arms, "Hey boss, Ella and I are going to go visit her family's restaurant across town. Do you want to… oh? What's this? You have an admiring fan?"

"Don't say anything Dobermann," Martin huffed while raising a finger in warning.

He was interrupted as Ella tugged at his sleeve "Hey sir! Your visitor had something to ask you."

Christina smiled and nervously brushed aside a loose strand of her long dark hair as the other Rangers turned toward her to listen in, "Oh… well, I actually came today because I was wondering if I could borrow your captain for the afternoon."

She turned to Martin, "I wanted to say thank you again for saving me yesterday and offering to buy you lunch was the least I could do to repay you."

The Red Ranger blinked in surprise as he was caught off guard again, "Oh geez, um… that's very nice of you but you really don't have to…"

"What he means to say is that he'd love to join you for lunch," Erin cut in while giving him a gentle shove forward.

"But…"

Erik smiled and patted Martin's shoulder, "Relax boss. We can take care of things here. Go out and have some fun today. Ella and I will be out on the town while Bara and Erin will be around here watching some events. If Croc Bot shows up, we should be able to get there in time."

Erin rolled her eyes and sighed, "Seriously? Croc Bot? Is that the name we're really going with for that Xeno?"

As the younger Rangers devolved into a petty squabble amongst each other, Martin shook his head and turned back to Christina, "You know what? Maybe lunch doesn't sound so bad after all. I did see a nice little bistro a few blocks away."

"Great! It's a date then," she said in relief as they began to walk out of the stadium hallway.

As they passed the four squabbling Rangers who were still embroiled in their argument, Erik turned his head, "Captain? Will that be all?"

"Err… yes. Carry on Lieutenant. Clearly I can see that the squad is in good hands."

Later that day, Erik Dobermann and Ella Catalano took a short bus ride to the eastern districts of the city and got off near a crowded boulevard not too far from the ruins of the Coliseum. As they strolled past an old cathedral, they came across a shady parkway lined with olive trees where a row of apartments and neighborhood restaurants lined the path. They arrived at a quaint restaurant with stucco walls and a vaguely tuscan style décor. The sign above the place read "Buona Fortuna" or Good Fortune and upon entering, the two Rangers stopped as an older portly Italian woman with graying hair and a gentle face stopped near the kitchen and almost dropped a plate of fettuccini.

She set the food down and immediately rushed to the door giving a joyful cry as she threw her arms around Ella and covered her face with kisses, "Carmella! Welcome home bambina (baby)! Everyone! Ella is here!"

Erik could only watch in amusement as a large gang of Ella's family members filed out of the kitchen and gathered around with smiles, hugs, and kisses for her. Among the loud boisterous crowd was an older gentleman who Erik guessed was the uncle along with several younger men and women who were most likely the cousins.

"It's good to see you again Zia (Aunt)" Ella said as she greeted her other relatives. She turned to her fellow Ranger and gestured towards him, "Everyone, this is Erik Dobermann. Erik, this is… well... My-Big-Fat-Italian-Family."

"Pleased to meet you guys," Erik said timidly while offering a polite hand.

The portly woman wearing chef's clothes took his hand with a kind smile, "Welcome to my family restaurant my boy. I'm Ella's aunt, Michelina Castaldo. Come in! Come in! Sit down, and we'll get you two some food and wine!"

"Oh, I like her already," the Blue Ranger said as they were ushered toward a corner table and given a red carpet welcome.

After sitting down, the two Rangers were treated to a hearty meal of fresh bread, olive oil, pasta, salad, chicken romano, and a bottle of wine. After finishing the meal, Erik leaned back in his seat and gave a content sigh, "Oh wow. That food was amazing! Thank you so much Mrs. Castaldo."

Mrs. Castaldo smiled and patted Erik's shoulder, "You're very welcome! Ella, your ragazzo (boyfriend) can really eat. I hope you're feeding him well."

"Wait… what?" Erik asked in surprise as he glanced over to Ella.

"Ah, there's no need to be so secretive about it," Mr. Castaldo laughed from across the table while drinking some coffee, "We all watched your interview with the press on television earlier today. Carmella, you didn't tell us you were dating one of your fellow Rangers. Your Nonna (grandmother) will be very happy to hear it. She was always pestering you and trying to fix you up with every eligible man in town."

"Oh I remember," Ella muttered darkly.

Erik glared at her while the Pink Ranger stopped and gave him a helpless look. He leaned over and hissed quietly in her ear, "Ella? What is going on? What the hell kinda situation are you dragging me into here?"

"Umm… it's complicated," she whispered back, "Erik, can you please just trust me and play along for now? I promise I'll owe you big time for this."

Erik sighed and gave Ella's relatives a polite smile while putting a hand over hers on the table, "Well no need to worry. We just wanted to uh… do things right and try to um… make the announcement in person. Whoops."

Ella mouthed a silent "Thank you" to him before Federico, one of Ella's older cousins raised a wine glass with a smile, "Well, we're all still glad Ella's found a nice guy. She looks really happy but you've gotta understand something too…"

"Oh? What's that?"

Federico glanced over to another one of his brothers and then cast a sudden pointed glare toward the Blue Ranger, "To us Italians, family is important. You mess with one of us, then you mess with all of us."

"Uh… noted," Erik replied hesitantly.

"No no. I don't think you understand amici (friend)," Federico said with the severity of a mafia hitman, "If you break Ella's heart and hurt her, we'll have to hurt you too."

"What?"

"We're gonna killa ya E," one of the other cousins answered before all the men at the table broke out into fits of laughter.

"Oh man. Did you see the look on his face just now?" Federico cackled, "He thought we were really gonna kill him. You're a good guy Dobermann. I like you."

Ella huffed and kicked her cousin under the table, "Very funny Rico! Too bad you're not actually smart enough to be a Mafioso!"

Mrs. Castaldo wiped her eyes and settled from her laughing, "Come on now kids, don't fight. Rico, don't tease our guest. Now, would anyone like some gelato for dessert?"

Erik nodded and glanced over toward Mr. Castaldo who made the pistol gesture with his hand before laughing again. He felt Ella give his hand a squeeze and he rolled his eyes thinking this stay in Rome was suddenly going to be more interesting than he originally bargained for.

Over at the central stadium, Bharata and Erin sat together in the stands watching the track and field events going. As they watched a few of the prelims for the sprinting races, Bharata glanced over and caught Erin eying the small datapad that she had brought. He raised an eyebrow and nudged her shoulder, "Erin, what are you doing? I thought you wanted to watch the events. Why are you doing work?"

"I am watching the events," she insisted looking up in time to see the next 400 meter prelim race go on, "I figured I'd do a few little calculations in between the heats."

"Oh brother. What are you scheming this time?" the Green Ranger sighed.

"Do you know how people make a ton of money betting on horse racing or sports matches? I was trying to think of a way to legally gamble and predict winners for a bunch of events."

Bharata shook his head, "Oh geez. I hope you're not actually serious about that. What would you even do with the money you won... assuming you even won?"

The Yellow Ranger put a friendly arm around her comrades shoulders and gave a smile, "Just think about it Bara. With all that money, we could take a few side trips here in Italy. Maybe Ella and I could hit the trendiest boutique fashion shops in Milan. You and the guys could go to the ritziest casinos in Monte Carlo and do the whole James Bond thing."

"Hmm... you may be on to something there," Bharata said thoughtfully while scratching his chin, "But orders are orders. Martin and Erik told us to keep an eye out for trouble remember?"

While the track races took a brief pause, the two Rangers stopped when they overheard a couple Australian spectators talking about a rumor of some strange recent alligator attacks in the city's sewers."

"I guess we spoke too soon. A lead on trouble might have just found us," Erin said while putting away her datapad, "Come on Bara. Looks like we've got work to do."

Meanwhile, bright sunlight lit up the parks as Martin and Christina sat under the shade of an olive tree at a rustic outdoor bistro. As they sat eating some panini sandwiches and drinking iced tea, they admired the view and enjoyed the peaceful afternoon.

"So... Lasky, that's an Eastern European name?" Martin prompted during the meal.

Christina nodded, "Hungarian on my Dad's side and Israeli on my Mom's side. You?"

"Anglo on my father's side and a little bit of Spanish on my mother's," he replied raising his glass, "Here's to us crazy hybrids. God bless America."

She clinked glasses in agreement before giving a curious look the Red Ranger across the table when a short companionable silence set in, "Martin? Is everything okay? You've seemed kinda tense since we sat down."

"Oh, sorry Christina…"

"Please, just call me Chrissy," she laughed while waving it off, "No need to be so formal."

He nodded and corrected himself, "Chrissy. Right... I'm sorry. If I can be totally honest with you, this is all just a little unusual for me."

"What? Going to Rome? Seeing the Olympics? Or going on a date?"

Martin laughed, "All of the above I guess… maybe a little more emphasis on the last part? I mean, for one thing, don't you girls tend to go out with pro athletes or movie stars or something?"

"We do… but not all of us," she said with a playful smile while drinking some iced tea, "Some of us are different and like taking chances on Power Rangers too. Lucky me. I picked the American one."

Martin met her playful smirk with one of his own, "Oh really? And here I just thought you were treating me out to say thank you."

"I am. But if I can be a little honest too, I thought you were kinda cute and my younger teammates were encouraging me to do this as well. They can be a real handful, and kind of a headache... but in a good way."

Martin nodded, "I know the feeling. The way my own team can be sometimes, I'm surprised I haven't started getting any gray hairs yet."

Chrissy laughed, "Well, if twenty seven is old for a Power Ranger, then I'm just as bad. Compared to most gymnasts competing here, I'm a geezer at twenty four."

"Ella actually mentioned that to me the other day," Martin said giving a curious look, "If you don't mind my asking… what's keeping you in the game? Ella said you've already won a ton of competitions and medaled several times in past games."

Chrissy stopped and looked away wistfully, "Oh… well, you probably wouldn't be interested. You'll just think I'm being kinda stupid."

"No, it's okay. You can tell me," he said gently while putting down the remains of his sandwich.

Chrissy looked back to him and shrugged, "I want to win a gold medal in this year's All Around competition. It's something I've never quite been able to do and I think this might be my last shot at it."

"I'm not exactly sure I understand. Is there a special significance to winning that particular event?" he asked.

She shrugged, "I don't know. I guess in a way, it proves that you're really 'The Best' and since I started my career in sports, lots of people and sports commentators believed that I could do that... that I could achieve that goal on top of all the others. Unfortunately, it never quite panned out in the All Around. Over time I've had to listen to a whole lot of negativity and doubt from others. Even now, I'm under a bit of scrutiny and criticism from the sports media… but I'd love to prove them wrong and do this for myself."

"Well I think it's a great idea and I wish you luck," he replied with a supportive nod, "If it makes you feel any better, we Rangers know a thing or two about fighting against stacked odds too."

"Thanks," she said with a grateful smile, "But I guess I shouldn't be complaining. After all, I don't have to go back to fighting a war when these Olympics are over. It must be kinda difficult and lonely to deal with all that sometimes, huh?"

"Yeah, but you find ways to learn to live with it," Martin said absently, "There's still my teammates, General Caldwell who's kinda been like a father figure to me... and Lucy..."

He stopped himself as Chrissy looked down at his wrist morpher and tapped it with her finger, "Oh right. You mentioned that Dr. Beckett girl to me a few times on the way here. Did she really design and build those Nova Morpher things for you guys."

"She did."

"Wow. That's incredible," Chrissy said while admiring the Nova Morpher, "She must be brilliant. Sounds like you'd really be lost without her."

"Yeah... I guess you could say that," he said quietly brushing off a few nagging thoughts from his mind.

"So... the name of your squad... I'm guessing Lucy came up with Nova too? Does it have to do with outer space or something?"

"Kinda," he answered, "These devices were engineered from the technology of an alien race far beyond the stars. She thought it would be a fitting tribute as well as the other meaning of the word. Nova means new and it referred to the light of distant stars that become brighter in the sky."

Chrissy nodded thoughtfully before taking one more sip of her tea, "You mentioned the aliens. The Xenos... have you given any thought about what you would do if the war with the aliens ended tomorrow?"

Martin stopped and frowned to himself, "Well… no. I guess not. I've been training and fighting for so many years, it's never really crossed my mind about what might happen afterwards."

Chrissy reached over and put a sympathetic hand over his, "Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be too serious or get you feeling down just now."

"No… it's okay. You're actually kinda right," he admitted, "The future is something I should still think about too."

She smiled again and squeezed his hand, "All right. In the mean time, how do feel about having some cannoli for dessert?"

"No!" the Red Ranger replied quickly, "I mean... no thank you."

Chrissy raised an eyebrow as he gave an apologetic look, "Sorry... I had a bad experience with cannoli several months ago. I guess you could say it was a near death experience of my own."

Chrissy giggled at his echoing of her words and then shrugged, "Okay. We'll pass on dessert. Would you want to stay out a little longer and enjoy the day? Maybe a walk in the park? My All Around competition is still in a few days and I don't have to get back for some practice until this evening."

"It is a nice day," Martin agreed while leaving some money on the table, "Sure, as long as we stay in the shade. I'm personally not a huge fan of hot weather."

"Oh, tell me about it," Chrissy agreed while taking his arm, "I'm from Minneapolis so any kind of heat makes me feel kinda gross too."

"Really? You're a Minnesota girl?" Martin laughed, "We're basically neighbors then. I'm from Chicago."

"Ah yes," Chrissy said with a wink, "The land of deep dish pizza, blues music, and mediocre football. Go Vikings!"

Martin sighed and rolled his eyes patiently, "Right now I'm beginning to wonder if there's going to be a second date here."

She patted his arm as they crossed the street and continued to walk together, "Oh, it could always be worse. I could be one of those cheesehead Packer fans from Wisconsin."

"You're right. That would be a disaster," he said before the two broke out into laughter and continued on their stroll unaware of the dangerous threat of the Xeno Machina agents still lurking in the underground catacombs of the city beneath them.

A/N:
Apologies to all my friends and readers from Wisconsin. Those jabs were all in good fun. I'll freely admit that Wisconsin is in fact a nice state and while I still hate the Packers, I really do enjoy the cheese and beer that comes from there too. Thank you guys. ;)