-Approach on Area 51-
Bio-signs stable. Minimal biofield fluctuations. Energy output consistent. All signs pointed to a perfect test.
Which meant that things were progressing as she'd hoped. K's heart skipped a beat, the delightful thrill of possibility shuddering through her chest as a smile stretched between her cheeks. As she dared herself to hope that her dreams could be realized.
It could happen! It could actually happen!
If she could get the suits operational, consistent, and engineered well enough to be replicated and mass-produced, then maybe, but just maybe K could convince the Soup to give her one of her own. And then, with every inch of her body sealed inside the toughest armor known to man, at last, K could reach for what she had long only imagined. She could reach toward the moment, the feeling, that until now had been long beyond even hope. To the warm longing that she still felt when she closed her eyes, calling from the echoes of memory every time K surrendered to the enveloping darkness of sleep.
At last, she could see the sun.
She could finally see the world outside her concrete bunker.
She could be free!
And all she needed were a few more adjustments…
The pencil flipped in K's fingers, tapping at the keys as the levels shifted in response to the day's collected data. Down to the fine-tuning now, tricky and tedious as it was. But it was essential, she had to get it right. Anything less than perfect risked an untimely end to her plans.
And then something flicked in the corner of her vision.
K almost jumped, shocked at the intrusion that jolted her from absorbing concentration. A trill of panic zapped her heart, the sudden shift in her tedious regimen momentarily short-circuiting her instincts. But just as quickly, K stopped, and she stared in absolute awe at the surprise intruder.
It was a butterfly.
Its wings patted, vibrant stained-glass windows of black and burned orange, softly beating like a heart as the six, minuscular legs crawled curiously along the edge of her keyboard. Two black orbs, enormous compared to the rest of its head, turned curiously as they stared at K's hand beneath a pair of long, protruding antennae. For a moment, just one, the antennae turned further, and K could have sworn that stared right at her.
It was impossible; the compound was sealed, a hermetic binding that protected it from all outside contaminants. That was what kept them sealed in; kept them safe. The fact that it was here could only mean one there: there had been a breach. And yet, there had been no alarms, no flashing lights or blaring klaxons, nor had her handlers rushed to spirit K to safety. Instead it was just her and the butterfly, a dangerous, unknown trespasser.
As if sensing her concern, the insect took off, fluttering around the room before dancing behind K toward the long and daunting hallway. She knew should leave it alone and stay where she was, away from any spreading contaminants. The quarantine sensors would find it eventually, zap it to a crisp, and return the facility to its sterile sanctity. Being obedient and still was the responsible thing for her to do. It was safe.
And yet…
Wasn't it equally responsible to follow, perhaps uncovering where the seal had broken? So that she could report it? Given the lack of fanfare or panic, the Soup leaders clearly had no idea that there'd even been a breach at all. They needed to learn how it happened. People could be in danger if she didn't follow, after all.
And… she couldn't help but wonder how it had even been allowed to enter in the first place. Curious, as if her body moved on its own to a siren song of wonder, K left her chair and moved to the door. The butterfly was just outside, hypnotic wings beating as they called her to leave the bounds of her quarters. Luring her to follow.
And follow she did.
-5 Hours to Judgement Day-
The Time Ship was loaded, stocked, and ready, and as Kyle Mason strode across the new hanger, he couldn't help but gawk at the sheer magnitude of where they were standing. He was on the Space Station! Outside of time! A few years ago he'd have balked at the notion, and yet now it seemed to be his every day.
Carter and Dana walked beside him, backpacks slung over their shoulders and filled with tech. Eric was just behind them, making a few last-minute checks on the now-loaded Quantasaurus before joining them.
Kyle breathed in deep, quelling the knotting in his stomach and the quickening breathing that always came before a mission. The nerves that were all too aware of what he was walking into.
Of what was at stake.
"Kyle?"
He turned around, seeing Benson now dressed in fatigues. The fit was slightly baggy, like they couldn't quite find a pair to fit him. Still, it was better than the slacks and blazer he'd been wearing earlier. Might be something to ease Jen's dislike of his joining. A dislike Kyle had to admit he agreed with.
Part of him felt like the hypocrite; with the Digitizer gone and his Morpher fried, Kyle was practically running naked into battle when compared with the others. But he'd also seen his fair share of combat and knew how to handle himself without the Morphing Grid to empower and protect him. Doc had nothing.
"You sure you know how to handle that thing?" Kyle asked, nodding down the chrono-pistol that Benson had taken from the armory.
"Relax, I've got it," Benson assured. "Or are you forgetting that I was a combat engineer before I did my PhD? No way they'd let me do that without completing basic training."
"Sure…" Kyle conceded. "But we're not talking like that was just last week. I'm pretty sure we still had a movie star for a president when you were doing that training."
"Hey, watch it," Benson warned with a grin. "This old timer could still teach you a thing or two. Want me to put an apple on your head and prove I've still got it?"
"You know what?" Kyle decided. "I'm going to choose to believe you."
"That's what I thought."
He was about to turn and enter the ship when Benson stopped him again. "Hold on, I've got something for you."
Reaching into the satchel beneath his arm, Benson rummaged through the contents before his hand emerged with what he'd been looking for. A silver device, too big for one a one-handed grip but slightly too small for two. Buttons on either side, the screen was folded neatly into the casing.
His old Morpher.
"You fixed it?" Kyle realized, mouth gaping as he carefully took the device from his old friend and stared at it. When the Rangers destroyed the Digitizer, unleashing the pulse that wiped all data in the area, Kyle had assumed when the dust settled that his Ranger days were done for good. To see his Morpher again, now, it almost felt too good to be true.
"Not quite," Benson warned. "It's not connected to a Digitizer, which means it's only got its internal power and projector to work off. It'll only be good for one morph, and that will only last about five, maybe ten minutes."
"So, I better make it count," Kyle agreed.
"It's got sword and pistols," Benson explained. "But nothing flashy like your ATV."
"I'll make it work, thanks Doc."
But as Kyle stored the device in a pouch at his belt, Benson looked back at him nervously. "I wouldn't thank me just yet. I'm still the one that dragged you on this mission."
"Nowhere else I'd rather be," Kyle replied. There was no one he owed a greater debt to than Julian Benson. Standing by his side while he tried to stop the end of the world was the least that he could do. "Besides, no need to tell me what's at stake here."
There was a lot of that going around, and as the duo turned to ascend the ramp, they caught a look at Dana and Carter. It was only a moment, a brief second of shared tenderness as they stared into each other's eyes, but to Kyle it was unmistakable. The quivering worry in their gazes gave it away, the same look Kyle would sometimes see among his brothers in arms in the army. A refusal to say goodbye, despite the feeling that they should.
Just in case.
They both broke away as they heard feet hit the boarding plank, collecting their gear and heading deeper into the time ship. The others weren't far behind.
"All aboard," Jen ordered as she appeared behind them, eyes shooting an especially withering warning at Benson. "We haven't got a second to spare."
The mission hadn't even started, and she was already in a bad mood; Kyle decided it was best to find a way to her good side and stay there. "Yes, mam'!"
They strode inside, taking the two remaining seats around a circular yellow table and strapping in tight. Having scanned the team to make sure they were ready, Jen reached for the com button on her arm and buzzed it. "We're ready, Lucas."
"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for returning to Time Force Airways," the voice crackled overhead. "As we take off, please look for your nearest emergency exit, taking note that they may be behind you."
The ship began to rumble, the same yanking feeling pulling at Benson's stomach as the ship began to hover off the ground and turn to move out of the hanger.
"We'll run a recon once we hit the Time Zone," Jen told them all. "We'll run a surveillance sweep, so keep your eyes sharp and look for an entry."
The team nodded.
"Please note that while entering the Time Stream we may encounter turbulence," Lucas continued. "I would like to assure everyone onboard that this is perfectly normal, and your pilot has only crashed the Time Ship once."
Kyle's face dropped, along with Benson, Carter, and Dana's. But opposite, Wes and Eric were chuckling.
"Every time," Eric snorted.
"He just can't help himself," Wes agreed, smiling sweetly at Jen as he did. To Kyle's surprise, a grin flickered across her lips as well.
"As if I'd ever let him live it down anyway."
By now the ship had pulled into space, gliding through the void toward the ethereal strands that danced around the station. And Lucas was flying right toward it. "Engaging Time Drive."
"Here we go," Jen muttered before looking at the other passengers. "You guys might want to hold on tight."
"Could it really be that bad?" Kyle asked. "I mean, we felt it on the ride here so-"
But there was nothing that could have prepared him for the hit. The ship surged forward, going from zero to a hundred in an instant as Kyle's head slammed into the seat behind. It was like every force on earth was pushing into his body as the Time Ship rocketed into the void, pressed down so tight he could barely even move.
Then, as the Ship peaked in speed, forces so great Kyle could've sworn they were flying in machs, it hit one of the strands surrounding. The entire vehicle flashed a vibrant electric blue that sizzled through the chamber, humming with a strange sensation as every hair stood on end. Like the vibrations resonating throughout were pushing deeper, pulsating to his very core. And it was taking all his efforts to stop his internal organs from rushing in a desperate escape through his throat.
Then, with a lurch and blinding flash, as quickly as they had hit maximum speed, it stopped. Still queasy, Kyle turned his head to the viewscreen, staring out at the bright blue sky that stretched across the sprawling Nevada desert.
"Time-Jump successful," Lucas announced proudly over the income. "Orders, Jen?"
The Pink Timeranger was already unstrapping, flicking on the com over as she commanded, "Do a flyby around the perimeter. I want as clear a picture as you can get."
"Copy that."
Although Kyle could still feel the movements of the craft, by comparison to their entry they felt smooth and minor. Like something was compensating for the turning of the plane.
"Gyroscopic stabilizers," Wes explained, noticing Kyle's gawking expression as he looked around. "They're great for standard flights, but not enough to withstand the forces of the Time Jump. Trust me, what you felt was the dampened version."
"Why was it so much rougher than the flight in?" Dana asked, rubbing her neck as if part of it was still cemented into the headrest.
"The bigger the craft, the stronger the force required," Eric continued. "This girl's pretty big, so she needed the push to back her up."
While the two Guardians were explaining, Jen had turned her attention to the table, punching at the small control panel to summon a fresh holographic display. As the Time-Ship moved around, a three-dimensional map of the valley began to materialize.
"Lucas, what's the radius of this?"
"Five hundred clicks. I can't get closer without risking them picking me up. If you want to get closer while avoiding radar, you'll need to take the Shadow Winger."
"It's perfect Lucas. Thanks."
As Kyle stared at the map, the cogs churned as he examined it inch by inch. The surrounding ground was windy and open, providing zero cover for an approach. There were the rocky hills behind the base, but even if they had the equipment, Kyle doubted they had the time to stealthily traverse the crags. The time of day made it worse; much worse.
"How far away is sunset?' he asked.
"Three hours," Wes replied, pulling up the local readings on the table.
"Which means there's nothing to hide us," Eric confirmed. "They'll see any direct approach coming from miles away."
With a wave of her hand, Jen enhanced the image, zooming into the base for a closer look. "Mason," she said curtly. "You've got experience with military bases from this era, what're we looking at?"
"This is a domestic airbase," Kyle confirmed. "Which means its defenses are more geared to preventing snooping civilians than full-on assaults. Their biggest concerns would be espionage leaks rather than enemy soldiers."
"If your goal is to rescue, then frontal assault won't be an option," Carter pointed out. "Even if we did have the firepower to storm it, without knowing where K is being held, we'd only be putting her at risk."
And that meant it was not an option. Every head across the briefing room nodded at once; a unanimous agreement on their goals. But all the noble idealism wouldn't help them with their current challenge.
"So, a ground approach is out," Jen recounted. "What about air?"
"Well, I think it's safe to assume either they're not looking up or that they haven't seen us yet," Kyle admitted. He reached over, pointing to the runways along the base. "They're not pulling anything out of the hangar, so it looks like there's no hurry to scramble their jets. And if they were going to fire from the ground they'd have done it by now."
"Do you think we can make an aerial drop from the Shadow Winger?"
Not an idea Kyle was particularly fond of; as an infantryman, he was far more comfortable with his feet flat on the ground. But if it would get them in there, there was nothing he wouldn't consider. But as Jen zoomed in closer for a more in-depth sweep of the premises, Kyle's heart sank.
They had surface-to-air weaponry.
"Looks like they've got live air defenses," he confirmed. "And from what you've told me, the Shadow Winger's invisible to radar but not the naked eye. One look up and they'll fire up those barrels for a really hot landing. Better save the aerial maneuvers for a quick extraction."
Again, Jen nodded, brow furrowing as the went back to examining the terrain. "What if we're looking at this the wrong way?" she realized. "What if instead of avoiding the front door, we use it?"
"Could work," Eric agreed. "We've got a doctor on board; could we try to get in by feigning a medical emergency."
"If we get close enough, I might be able to crack into their visitor logs and get us listed as approved entrants," Benson offered.
The flaws in that plan were immediately apparent to Kyle, but Dana beat him to it.
"No," she disagreed. "They'll have medical personnel on-site for that exact reason. They'll airlift their men out to other facilities for anything more serious. Even if we're using the door, that excuse won't carry us through it."
Which put them back at square one. All of them stared in silence, the weight of frustration hanging in the air as they studied for another option. None were coming to mind. And then they hit another problem.
"I've got a question," Benson sounded, voice cutting through the tension like sudden cracking glass. Across the table, Jen's eyes immediately narrowed in annoyance as they flicked toward him.
"What is it?"
"This holographic display can capture minuscule people, right?"
"That's correct."
"Then where are they?"
Jen's back shot straight, scrolling around the map for some clue that would prove him wrong. But he wasn't, there was not one image on the hologram showing personnel on base. Like it was abandoned.
"Lucas?" Jen called out. "Can you engage a thermal imaging scan? I want a look inside those buildings."
Moments later, there was a flicker on the map, the internal machining lit up in vibrant yellow-orange as their excess heat betrayed them. And still no people.
"It's empty?" Carter scoffed.
"That's impossible," Eric noted. "There's no way no one's there."
"You're right," Kyle agreed. "It's got to be a trick, to lure anyone watching into false security. Look."
His finger pointed to a spot on the map, to a single troop transport chugging across the runway. Even then the hologram indicated that no one was inside; like it was driving all on its own.
"So why can't we see anything?" Benson asked although Kyle could tell from the tone that he was dreading the answer. Like he knew it and was hoping to be wrong.
"Something must be shielding them from our scans," Jen realized. "Making them invisible to the hologram."
"But shouldn't that be impossible?" Eric insisted. "The tech on this ship is all from the year 3000. We should be way more advanced than them."
"And yet it doesn't look like anyone's down there," Wes admitted flatly. "Which means either our tech isn't as advanced as we think is, or…"
"That base is a lot further ahead than it should be," Jen agreed. "Whatever they've got down there, it's capable of defending against our own future technology. They must have some of their own."
"But that's impossible," Dana gasped. "How could someone from our time have technology from the future? Wouldn't Time Force have caught up with them?"
Again, Jen nodded, her assessment a cold concession that only further darkened her brow. "You're right, we should have."
There was more than concern in her voice, an underlying anger that softly hissed into every breath. But as their commander glared at the readout, Kyle wasn't sure where her anger was being channeled; at her invisible enemy or somewhere else.
"A mystery to solve on the ground," Carter decided, bringing the team back to their scheming. "Accurate numbers or not, we still need a way in."
The rest of the statement was left unsaid, but well understood by all; without a way in they were dead in the water. And they were running out of time.
Kyle stared at the readouts, racking his memory for time spent on similar bases. There had to be a weakness somewhere. But even if there was one, would they even be able to exploit it with limited resources and notice? It was only then that his eyes flicked at the ground radar, heart daring to hope as a tiny blip caught his eye.
"Hang on, he realized. "Can you zoom out again? All the way so the display lines up with the radar?"
Jen nodded, hands shifting over as the image snapped back to a full-sized aerial view. Kyle then lined the radar with the renewed overlay.
"There, that dust trail," he instructed, gesturing to the radar. "Can you zoom in here and track?"
And as the view snapped back in, the whole mood across the room elated at the sight. A line of trucks, driving single file down the desert road towards the base. A convoy.
"Trip, are you seeing this?" Jen called out.
"On it, Jen, calculating route and ETA…" a few seconds and the punching of keys as an orange line traced from the edge of the forward vehicle to base. "At current speed and conditions, they'll reach the front gate in a little under an hour."
"It could work," Eric admitted. "Seven cars, seven drivers. Hold them up, and take their uniforms. Have we got ID systems on board?"
"We do," Wes confirmed, already at the keys.
But Kyle was less convinced, already running through his own knowledge of security protocols for ways that it could go wrong.
"Hold up," he suggested. "Trip, can you run a scan of those vehicles? I want to see who's inside."
Again a pause before, "They're reading as empty, just like the base."
"If they've got an ID method we're not ready for," Kyle pointed out. "Then we'll be sitting ducks inside those vehicles."
"Although it might still be our way in," said Eric. "Maybe we don't even have to stop them. Wes, did you stock the magna-clamps and camo sheets?"
The other Guardian nodded, face slowly shifting to a grin as he caught on to Eric's plan. Beside him, Jen's were narrowing with the same realization.
"Okay, guys," Dana suggested. "Want to let us in on what you've got cooking up there?"
"The camo sheets will make us look like part of the desert floor," Jen explained. "They don't hold up to close inspection, but it'll be enough to fool a driver into going right over us."
"All we'll have to do is position ourselves on the road and clamp on to the bottom of the vehicles as they drive over," Wes finished. "They'll carry us right inside."
"Not to be a killjoy here," Benson cut in. "But all this assumes that they're not going to run a security sweep at the gate. Then we'll have the same problem as before, only be even more cornered."
But Kyle's wheels were still turning, plans unfolding as he ran the security protocols. Security checks would definitely happen, but they could be interrupted, so long as those in the base had something more important to do. All they needed to figure out was a way to break the gate's routine, to make a window where they could slip away from the trucks and get inside. Which meant…
"We're looking at this the wrong way," Kyle realized, watching as all eyes shot to him. "We don't need to be quiet, we need to go loud. We need to give them something big they can't ignore, something else to worry about instead of sweeping the trucks."
"That could work," Jen agreed, now leaning over the table again as she traced the project route of the convoy. "Their isolation works both ways; out here those trucks will have nowhere better to run than the base. There's no other defensive position they could divert to."
"Especially if we wait until they're within sprinting distance," said Carter. "They'd risk a run for it, swerve to where they've got the guns to back them up."
"Think you could do a bombing run in the Time Shadow?" Dana suggested. "A plane like that flying out of the sky would certainly send them running."
But Jen shook her head. "Too risky. With all the AA they're packing, they could shoot it down if we make an aggressive approach. It might help get the team into position, but that's about it. Whatever we want to use, it would need to be on the… ground…"
She trailed off as if coming to a thought before regretting it instantly. From where he stood, Kyle watched as Jen's face shifted from ponderous to annoyed, turning her head with a roll of her eyes to glare at the now-grinning Wes and Eric.
"No," she insisted sharply. "Absolutely not!"
"Come on, Jen," Wes pleaded. "You know it's our best shot."
"You've never run this play before," Jen reasoned.
"Well, we haven't had a chance until now," Eric replied. "Besides we've been wanting to give it a shot."
"I'm not sure missions that are this high stake are the time to be 'giving things a shot'."
"Well, if you've got any better ideas," Eric retorted.
Jen shut her mouth with an angry glare, her jaw clenching in spiteful surrender.
"Jen," Wes said more tactfully "It'll work."
From their side of the table, the others couldn't help but watch the standoff with tense anticipation. Jen's icy resolve versus Wes's warm and excited pleading. A silent battle waging without any words spoken while Eric smirked between them. Then at last there was a shift.
"All right, fine," Jen relented with a roll of her eyes. The two men cheered, chuckling as they high-fived in celebration, and at last Kyle decided he'd had enough of being in the dark.
"What on earth are you three on about?"
Relenting, Jen gestured to the two to explain, clearly in no mood to deal with any more of their boyish musings. Wes and Eric turned to the group with wide-eyed excitement, unable to hide their beaming grins as in unison they announced their plan.
"Distraction Quantasaurus!"