A/N: Operation: Timeline Rescue is in part epilogue & sequel to the Power Rangers Time Force and my original ranger series: Power Rangers Data Squad. Whilst my own series is by no means required reading, those interested can find the original story on my Author Page.

Operation Timeline Rescue is updated on Tuesdays & Fridays and is crossposted across AO3 & FFN. If you like what you've read so far, I'd love to read your comments, and maybe even consider marking it as a favorite.

Enjoy!

-Code Black-

"Okay, here's a tricky one. 2130's, LA Lakers."

"Average or top?"

"Average."

"Hmmm, that is a tough one."

The control room was nearly silent, dimly lit, and empty save for the two on monitoring duty. Both leaned back in their chairs, one with the feet on the console that was littered with Cheeto crumbs, the other lazily scrolling through the records with which to quiz his colleague. Another lazy shift, with nothing to do but wait. The price of working for Time Force on Outpost One; exciting work environment at a station in a timeless void, boring menial jobs to keep it running.

Pausing for thought, Jenkins stuffed his hand into the Cheeto bag and before stuffing the contents into his mouth, crunching away as he ran the numbers.

"Okay, they took Championships in '32 and '37, so it's going to be high. But then they had those shocking years when Scarano left and they were scraping the bottom. I think I'm going to say… twelfth overall?"

From her seat, Stevens gave her co-worker a cheeky grin. "Is that your final answer?"

"Yup, I'm locking it in. You're not psyching me out of the right answer like last time."

"What's going on here?"

Hearts jolting, the officers stumbled in their seats, scampering to their appropriate positions as the hairs on their necks stood on end. Busted. Nervously they turned their heads, gulping down as they realized that a tall man in a commanding uniform was standing behind them. But their nerves were quickly quelled as their commanding officer let loose an easy grin.

"Slow night?" asked Time Force Captain Logan.

More a turn of phrase than a query of fact; existing outside the regular bounds of time, night as they understood it was non-existent on Outpost One. There was only the roster, and the ever-ticking clock until knock-off.

"No anomalies reported, sir," Stevens insisted. "Just testing Officer Jenkins on his timeline knowledge."

Logan lifted an amused eyebrow. "What'd you give him?"

"Twenty-Second Century, third decade, average ladder spot of the Lakers." Then, seeing Logan smile with patient amusement, quickly added, "Sir."

"So, Jenkins," Logan asked. "What'd you land on?"

"Twelfth, sir."

"You want in, sir?" Stevens asked.

Logan shot the two a look, knowing full well just how their league they were. Then with a smile, he answered, "Sixth,"

Stevens turned to the monitor to pull up the records as Jenkins pulled in closer, his eyes widening in eager anticipation. Logan didn't even need to look; he just knew.

"Captain's right," Stevens announced, astounded at how quickly he'd hit the answer as Jenkins groaned in defeat. "Average spot of Sixth."

"Two bad years pulled them down," Logan admitted. "But they still reached the semis in every other playoff."

"I bow to your wisdom, Captain," Jenkins relented.

Then the screen began to flash, a beeping coming from the console as the two watchers shifted back to duty. The fun was over, and it was time to get to work.

"Looks like we've got a Jumper," said Stevens, punching at the keys to pull the details into focus.

"What's the departure point?" Logan queried.

"Looks like the Twenty-First Century," Jenkins confirmed. "Four PM, November 3rd, 2009. A small city called Cranston in California's Central Valley."

"Key events?"

"Looks like a Power Ranger town," Stevens noted. "The Silver Guardians are active then, and nearby. Might be worth letting them know, let the local operatives handle it?"

"We'll keep it in mind," Logan considered. It was true that local operatives were always more ideal, and far less likely to cause additional timeline disruption through their handling. But Logon also couldn't make a call until he knew more. "Where'd they jump to?"

"Just tracking now," Jenkins confirmed. "Once we've got a hold of the tachyon trail, we should pinpoint it around…"

But nothing came, just the spinning of the loading wheel. All three stared at the screen, confused by the longer-than-normal pause, their breaths holding in nervous anticipation as lingered. Then came the answer, and not the one they were looking for. The computer buzzed, an angry retort as the dreaded words flashed onto the screen.

-ERROR-

Jenkins couldn't believe his eyes. "What?"

"Did you account for Chrono dilatation?" Stevens asked.

"Yeah, I double-checked the calcs twice before running the scan."

"What about tachyon fluctuations? That close in time to the Silver City incident, they could still be extra volatile."

"Yeah, I adjusted for all of that," Jenkins hissed. "There're no Dark Matter storms to cause any interference, either. I'm telling you, it's not there. It doesn't make any sense, we should have an exact readout of the point in time they jumped to."

"So why don't we?"

For a moment, Jenkins dared a look at Logan, but his look was neither disappointment nor disapproval; it was a concern. And that just made his heart sink further. A careless error would be one thing, but it wasn't. If their commanding officer was just as confused as they were, then the alternatives were much more frightening.

"I don't get it," Jenkins insisted. "If they made the jump, they should have a landing point, somewhere behind them that they went to."

"Maybe we're looking at it wrong," Stevens suggested. "Maybe they didn't go back; maybe they went forward?"

"But that's impossible," Jenkins insisted. And then he realized his mistake. He knew enough of the science to understand the obscene level of difficulty, but his assumption was still based on the fact that he'd never seen it done. Not because he knew for certain. Nervously, Jenkins looked to Captain Logan for confirmation. "It is impossible, right?"

But Logan shook his head. "Just extremely difficult, not to mention dangerous."

Well, that didn't bode well.

"I'm taking us up to Code Orange," Stevens decided, spinning to the secondary monitoring station to begin the alerts. But as she did, Logan put his hand down, blocking her from warning.

"Sir?"

Logan's eyes were fixed on the monitor, gaze growing sterner with every passing second.

"Sir, this machine monitors the entire timeline, right up to Time Force's present," Jenkins noted. His thoughts were barely a breath ahead of his words, and the more he thought through the implications of their problem, the darker his reality grew. This was becoming far worse than a simple unauthorized time jump. "Even if this Jumper succeeded at going forward in time, their destination should still be showing up on our scans. Unless…"

"They've gone further than Time Force's present," Stevens gasped.

But Logan's face remained stony, the kind reserved for an intensive effort to remain calm. When reality was so horrifying that all they could do was scream with terror on the inside.

"No, I don't think a bootlegged jump from 2009 could make it that far. Not in one hit," Logan said ominously. "More likely, it means that 2009 they jumped from is no longer on the path to our future."

Jenkin's eyes widened, slowly catching on to Logan's hypothesis as a lump froze in his throat. If they hadn't overshot, then there could only be one reason why they couldn't pick up on the traveler's trail. Only one reason that they could no longer observe that end of the timeline.

Because it was no longer there.

The realization stopped Jenkins dead, an idea so frightening it sent chills crawling up his spine. Both officers slowly looked at each other, color draining from their faces, breath barely daring to draw as the true ramifications dawned on them.

"But sir," Stevens asked. "Does… does that mean?"

"It means something's fracturing the Timeline, it's splitting," Logan confirmed. "Something's actively caused this point in the past to divert from its future."

Jenkin's breathing tightened, his mind spinning as he realized the possibilities, the chances of something like that even occurring. There was one thing that could cause such a fundamental break in time, something so horrifying that he didn't want to think of what it was…

Of what it meant; that the timeline they were looking at was rocketing right toward a full-blown apocalypse.

"Stevens, cancel that Code Orange and move to Code Black," Logan ordered. "Send alert straight to the Security Council and activate the investigation unit. We need to move, fast."

"Sir," Jenkins stammered. "If our entire timeline has severed from this past, that can only mean…"

"It means we need to move fast. Right the humanity of 2009 has only one thing in its future," Logan warned.

The single word that chilled Jenkins to his core. The word that until now, Jenkins had desperately hoped was just a hyperbolic overreaction. A severance timeline meant a change, a change so drastic that it completely derailed the timeline's trajectory from its otherwise natural future.

Only one type of event would have the tremendous power to cause such a fracture…

Extinction.

DSRangerRed Presents...

POWER RANGERS

OPERATION: TIMELINE RESCUE