CHAPTER 06

Just as Cruger and Charlie had agreed during their discussion in the Command Room, the planet's defenses needed to be strengthened in preparation for the possible arrival of the Troobian army. Luckily, for at least half a year, Dr. Manx had been working on a defense system to detect and attack any foreign intrusion into Earth's orbit.

The system consisted of a series of artificial satellites placed around the planet, like buoys in the sea, forming a network that practically surrounded the entire planet. These buoys had proximity sensors that were very sensitive to the nearness of any object larger than a small asteroid and were also armed with powerful anti-aircraft batteries that would open high-powered destructive laser fire at the said object. Finally, each one had its own inhibitory shield to protect it from any attack, capable of resisting at least ten direct shots.

Long before receiving the imminent threat, Kat had already been working on placing the buoys into orbit one by one and carrying out different tests of their effectiveness with the support of the defense personnel at the space stations. And that day, it was time to launch the last ones to complete the entire network. The urgency of what was happening in Merlandia made them hurry.

Their allies at NASADA had taken charge that early morning of launching the buoys into the stratosphere and putting them into orbit. From then on, it was up to Kat and her assistant Boom, from their laboratory at the S.P.D. base in Newtech City, to activate and place the buoys in their position within the network. Both were each at a control console, on whose monitors a spherical image of the Earth was projected and a distribution with points of the position of each buoy, as well as a green area that marked the range of their sensors.

"AR345, online," Kat reported quietly, just as a new green dot lit up on the planet's graphic, accompanied by a new range area.

"AR346, online," Boom added shortly after, getting the same result.

"AR347, online," Dr. Manx said again.

"AR348… It's not responding yet," Boom muttered, noticeably worried, but a second later, the green dot in question lit up like a Christmas light. "Oh, forget it. It's already online, too."

And so they went one by one, as the buoys were placed in position and activated, creating a large green area between them that covered almost everything.

Physically accompanying them in the lab was Commander Cruger, who watched everything over their shoulders with patience and expectation. But Cruger was not the only one observing the progress of the delicate operation. Connected online, with their respective images projected on another split monitor, were two essential elements of the Earth's S.P.D. and directly of the planet's orbital defense.

On one side was Captain Taylor Earhardt, the head of the space fighters squads, currently stationed at the Red Lion-III Space Station, along with several of her pilots. And on the other side was Captain Eric Myers, stationed at the Green Dragon-I Station, in charge of directing and supervising all maneuvers in Earth's orbit, and whose next responsibility would be precisely monitoring this new defense network once it was finished. Between the two of them, they directed the first line of earthling defense against any threat approaching from space. Two roles that took on greater relevance in this pressing situation.

After almost an hour of work, Kat and Boom managed to place and activate the last buoy in orbit, without any setbacks. Months of hard work on this project were finally bearing fruit.

"Okay, it's done," Kat said, sighing in relief. She leaned back against the backrest, exhausted. "All space buoys are now online and orbiting the planet. Their anti-aircraft batteries are calibrated and fully charged, ready to open fire on any unknown object that approaches the perimeter of the Earth. Captain Myers, you should already see the data on your computer."

Eric turned to his computer at that moment, and everyone could see him typing and looking thoughtfully at the monitor. His grave, intense eyes carefully analyzed the same graph that Kat and Boom had in front of them.

"It's amazing," the Captain murmured with just a hint of excitement. "But I see here that we haven't yet achieved a completely all-encompassing network. The data still show several blind spots in the buoys' sensors, which change as they orbit the planet."

Cruger, Kat, and Boom all turned to look at the diagram on the monitor beside them. You had to be very attentive; otherwise, you would miss it. However, he was right. As the buoys moved around the planet, their ranges would change, overlapping each other. And often, small red zones would appear indefinitely between one green zone and another. These red areas were, in effect, blind zones, which none of the buoys' sensors could cover. They lasted only a few seconds at a time and were small compared to the entire green zone. Of course, only if you looked at it from a planetary perspective because we were actually talking about areas of several kilometers; sometimes more, sometimes less.

"We're aware of that," Kat replied seriously. "The orbit of a planet like Earth is still a too big area to cover. But even with those blind spots, the buoys will still easily detect any approaching battlecruiser or large-scale fleet of ships."

"However, a single small enemy ship, or a single monster sent by teleportation, has a chance of getting through," Eric said somewhat brusquely.

Kat sighed. She wasn't really bothered by the questions because, objectively, they seemed pretty valid. But her intrinsic perfectionism played tricks on her anyway. Looking at those red areas on the chart was like a reminder that, despite all her effort, she hadn't achieved a result with a zero margin of error.

"It is a possibility," she muttered with some regret, "but within the expected parameters. We could try to mitigate these blind spots by adding more buoys. However, simulations show that by increasing the number, even by one more, we run the risk of them colliding with each other during their journey or their signals interfering with each other. At least until we design a more precise system, this is the best result we can get."

"That will have to work for now," Commander Cruger stated firmly. "They will serve as a means of persuasion to buy us more time. This way, Grumm will have to think twice before sending his entire fleet against Earth, at the risk of losing more than half of his units before they even reach the atmosphere."

"And for the other half, I have twelve thousands of my fighter pilots stationed at the various space stations," Captain Earhardt exclaimed with remarkable confidence. "They're all ready to take to their fighters at the first warning call, shoot down those Troobians, and repel whatever they throw at us."

"I love that fighting spirit of yours," Captain Myers murmured, flashing one of his rare smiles. The comment made Captain Earhardt a little uncomfortable, but she forced herself to maintain her composure. "Okay, we have our defenses tuned and ready," Eric added, crossing his arms. "But in the end, when push comes to shove, we all know our best weapon will be your Rangers, Cruger. And I'm not too comfortable with that task being left to a bunch of rookies."

Kat and Cruger exchanged a quick glance. They had both expected Captain Myers to bring up the subject; neither was surprised that he shared Officer Grayson's opinion that A-Squad should be here on Earth, repelling the impending invasion, not fighting somewhere else where they didn't belong.

But Captain Myers couldn't be entirely objective about it. After all, Kat knew full well that he viewed the A-Squad almost as if they were his children, whom he personally selected and trained to create the strongest Ranger Squad. And he certainly succeeded.

"I assure you, Captain Myers," Cruger interjected without hesitation, "that the team we have selected will be more than capable of taking over the duties of A-Squad and defending Earth from any enemy that dares to threaten it."

Kat glanced at him, trying to be as discreet as possible. She was surprised by the remarkable conviction with which he said that, but she couldn't help but wonder if he really thought that way or if he was just pretending pretty well.

"Call me distrustful, but I'll believe it until I see it for myself," Eric said, somewhat insistently. "I should go down there and put those five cadets through their paces myself. That would put us all at ease."

Kat couldn't help but tense up upon hearing this proposal, mainly when he referred to the five cadets. Again, Commander Cruger seemed relatively calm and responded to the suggestion with remarkable poise.

"Currently, you're much more helpful to us overseeing things up there on the space station, Captain. We don't know when the enemy might arrive and must be prepared. Besides, I assure you that Dr. Manx has that task well covered."

"Yeah, Ric," Taylor chimed in with a mocking voice. "Just let the others do their job for once, and you focus on yours, will you?"

Now it was Captain Myers' turn, always firm and self-assured, to get nervous. He seemed to falter a little at Captain Earhardt's sudden critique and cleared his throat, trying to hide his reaction. Kat had seen firsthand that only she was capable of causing such a reaction in him or persuading him of some idea he was clinging to. A great skill indeed.

"Okay, okay," Eric muttered, his voice resigned. "After all, if Dr. Manx is involved, I have nothing to fear. I know she will choose the best candidates, just like we did back then with A-Squad."

Kat smiled slightly at that comment, trying her best to hide the knot that had formed in her stomach. She knew well where that apparent confidence came from; if Captain Myers was in some way the father of A-Squad, she would indeed be its mother. She had also actively participated in selecting the candidates and, of course, in the series of tests that displayed all their outstanding abilities. Something very similar to what she was doing at that moment, although now she was focusing on other things than back then.

But of course, she wasn't going to explain that to him, not at the moment, at least. She was sure he would disapprove of her approach, which would only complicate things further.

"I can also assure you, Captain Myers, that B-Squad will be more than capable of fulfilling its role," Kat emphasized, seconding what Cruger had said a moment ago but with no intention of going into further detail.

"Any news from Merlandia?" Taylor asked, visibly dismayed.

"Nothing new at the moment," Anubis said seriously. "The battle continues, and the Troobian troops are not giving any consideration. But they continue to resist."

"You've fought Grumm before, Cruger," Eric pointed out. "What kind of enemy are we up against?"

Kat was a little worried. She had seen how the Commander was affected by this issue before. However, this time, the Sirian was limited to just lowering his gaze a little, thinking about the question for a few seconds before answering it.

"Grumm is ruthless, a being with no regard for life. He is cruel, mean, and, most importantly, very cunning and patient. If he cannot attack us with everything he has at once, he will have no problem besieging us, sending in his soldiers one by one if he so requires."

"Sounds like the usual crazy guy of the week to me," Eric commented, a little offhanded, even amused.

"And you really think he'll lead the attack on Earth himself?" Taylor asked, apparently a little skeptical.

"I have no doubt about that," Cruger replied. "He will come here. He has business to settle with me, and I with him."

"Just let's not make this a personal conflict," Captain Myers said harshly. "Defending Earth is our priority. And if the boss himself comes here, it'll just be the perfect opportunity to finish these morons off once and for all, starting with their head."

"I wouldn't put it in those words, but I agree," Captain Earhardt added with conviction. "If we defeat Grumm here on Earth, it could mean salvation for the rest of the universe."

"I count on it," Cruger replied, nodding. "If we all work together, this battlefield will be the end of this war."

"Let's fight to make it so," Eric agreed, and a few seconds later, he hung up. And after a more appropriate farewell, Taylor did the same, and the images of the two captains disappeared from the monitor.

With the call and the morning's complicated task over, the Commander and the head scientist took a moment to digest everything and go over it in their heads. The earthling defenses were already in place, and the main leaders were all on the same page. The situation was not perfect; never close to zero margin for error. Still, they were optimistic. Everything was going well, and there was a chance that they might actually succeed... Well, except for one detail that was still missing.

After a few pleasant seconds of silence, they both suddenly heard Boom let out a sudden amused giggle. They both snapped out of their thoughts and turned to look at him at the same time.

"That's funny," the assistant blurted out.

"What do you find funny about this whole situation, Boom?" Cruger asked sternly, immediately indicating to Boom that he had perhaps reacted a little out of place.

"No, well, I was just saying… Captain Myers said he wanted to come and test the new five Rangers himself. It's funny because we only really have three."

He laughed again in the same way as before and looked at the two leaders, hoping that one of them would join him. However, all he received from them was a pair of cold glances, far from reflecting fun in them.

"Or maybe not so funny, actually," Boom muttered quietly, somewhat embarrassed. He turned away, pretending to see something interesting on one of the monitors, just to avoid those piercing stares.

Although she didn't share his sense of humor, Kat recognized that Boom had just pointed out the most important item on their to-do list that they hadn't quite figured out yet: they didn't have a fully formed B-Squad yet.

"I assume the topic of how many candidates we currently have for B-Squad hasn't been shared with the rest of the organization, has it?" Kat murmured, looking at Cruger with a questioning expression.

"They don't need to know those details," Cruger replied immediately, though not with the certainty one might expect from him. "Like I said, we're working on it, and that's what they need to know. And while we're on the subject, what were the results of the latest tests?"

"Oh, great," Boom said excitedly before Kat could respond. He turned back to them, making it clear he was paying attention to their conversation rather than the monitor. "Sky and the others are great, the best. Almost no civilians get hurt whenever we put them in a combat simulation."

"Almost?" Cruger muttered with slight concern.

Before Boom could say anything else that could be damaging, Kat was quick to intervene.

"The results are good," she said confidently, immediately handing the Commander her tablet. "Look for yourself. Reaction speed, use of combat maneuvers, rescue of civilians… everything is in order."

Cruger took the tablet and quickly reviewed the latest tests performed on the three candidates. His face remained unchanged until he finished.

"Good results, but not ideal," he said thoughtfully, handing the tablet back to its owner. "Not like A-Squad. But that was to be expected, wasn't it?"

"There's nothing to be alarmed about in their results, I can assure you," Kat defended herself, but without being aggressive. "I'm convinced that these cadets only lack experience in the field. And once they're assigned missions, they'll start gaining it quickly."

"I think so too," Cruger replied, nodding. "But they also need something else: two companions. Anything new on that?"

Kat's mouth twisted slightly in immediate reaction to that comment, almost as if it caused her some sort of pain.

"I have a list of the best cadets who meet the minimum requirements, but…"

She did not finish her sentence, but the Commander could quickly get an idea.

"But none of them convince you, do they?

Kat shook her head slowly.

"But we don't have time to be picky anymore, do we? We'll have to choose two of them soon."

"Perhaps I have a second option," Cruger said suddenly, taking her by surprise. "If you want to hear it."

"Of course," Kat replied immediately. "What is it about?"

"It's a bit delicate. Would you accompany me to my office so I can explain it to you?"

"Surely."

With that agreed, the two headed out of the lab together, heading to the Commander's private office. Halfway to the door, however, they noticed that they weren't the only two and that Boom had, in fact, joined them on their walk.

"Just Dr. Manx, Boom," Cruger said sternly, pausing momentarily to turn to the assistant.

"Ah, yes, that makes a lot more sense," Boom said nervously, quickly taking two steps back. "Well, then I'll stay here and... watch the fort. And see that the buoys stay online."

He put his hands on his waist and turned to the monitor with the diagram of the planet and the defense satellites. He stared at the image, nodding in agreement.

"Yes, they are still there," he said, pridefully pointing to the monitor.

Cruger and Kat looked at each other, and it was evident they both held back a small laugh.

"I won't be long, Boom," Kat said out loud as they walked away.

Author's Notes:

Here, as you might have guessed, by introducing this defense system designed by Kat, we tried to give a little additional justification as to why Grumm doesn't attack Earth with all his troops from the beginning, as they evidently describe he has done with other planets (including Sirius). In the series, they justify it by saying that it was because Grumm wanted to obtain the materials he needed one by one, but there are still times when that reason seems to contradict itself a little. So, in this scenario, let's imagine that, in addition to his final plan, it was also because it didn't suit him at the beginning, as we commented above.

Additionally, two familiar faces appear in this episode: Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger from Time Force, and Taylor Earhardt, the Yellow Ranger from Wild Force. Both appear here as captains of the S.P.D. Their full stories in this timeline between the last time we saw them and this point, I don't think we can cover much of them here (if I get around to it, maybe we'll see that in another story more focused on them). But to put you into context, let's summarize it like this:

As second in command of the Silver Guard, Eric became an officer in the S.P.D. when it was established on Earth. He soon took up a position as an instructor and trainer of cadets at the Academy and is currently engaged in directing defense maneuvers in Earth orbit. He could have taken Wes' place as Commander after his retirement, but administrative and bureaucratic matters don't interest him, so he turned it down even before he was asked.

Taylor returned to the Air Force, as shown at the end of Wild Force. However, it wasn't long before Wes and Eric recruited her to join the Silver Guardians, specifically for a program to pilot space fighters for planetary defense, which immediately caught her interest, and she became one of the best pilots in the program. When the S.P.D. was officially established, Taylor was in charge of leading and training new recruits for the Earth's Space Air Force, a position she still holds today.

All I just said, of course, is totally out of my imagination. And if anyone is wondering if something more happened between Eric and Taylor after we saw them together in that crossover between Time Force and Wild Force, well… that's a good question. Let's see if we can answer it.