A little after 0800 hours, Taylor and Mark were stood waiting outside Aaronsdale High School. To avoid attracting attention, the two Air Force officers were dressed casually with Taylor in yellow shirt and trousers and Mark in an open grey hoodie and red vest combination. Shaking his head and checking his watch, Mark commented, "She's late, I knew this wasn't a good idea."

"Give her a break," Taylor replied, "Jazz is a civilian who's been through a lot in the last few days."

"And I," Mark caught himself before amending his statement, "and we haven't been through a lot."

Taylor sighed, "I've given you a bit of leeway Lieutenant, I know you're hurting and I'm not expecting you to get Adrienne's death immediately but I am expecting you to function as this team's leader, am I making myself clear?"

"Yes Major," Mark hissed back, "not like you have a choice, I am the only one qualified to be your red ranger."

Stepping forward slowly into Mark's personal space, Taylor said quietly and deliberately, "Listen to me Mark because I will only say this once. I know plenty of red ranger's who would smack you into next week for taking this position lightly. You need to be the example to these civilians and if you can't, I will not hesitate make that call."

"Erm, hi", Jazz greeted, "are we interrupting something?"

"No, I think I've made my point," Taylor turned around but to her surprise, Jazz wasn't alone, "who is this?"

"One of our new team," the Scot replied, "turns out the Avian Waves found their way to my housemate, what are the odds." Taylor raised an eyebrow but didn't comment further, "This is Ricardo Gutierrez, an engineering major at U of A," the nervous looking Ricky offered a small wave.

"Great," Taylor finally replied, judging by the man's attire he was most likely the latest yellow ranger, "how much has Jazz explained about Project Jet Force?"

"Enough to know that I'm not qualified in the slightest," Ricky stated honestly, "and you can call me Ricky if we're going to be working together."

The two Air Force officers looked at each other with Taylor giving Mark a less than subtle nod, "Welcome to the team," the red ranger offered Ricky a handshake. The dark haired man accepted but flinched slightly under his grip, "So, do you have any martial arts training?"

"I've played Mortal Combat a lot, does that count?" Ricky replied with a sheepish grin. When the officers didn't return the smile, he quickly continued, "I do have a sim racing set up in my basement, full immersive experience."

"I can second that, Ricky even engineered the hydraulic system so his rig moves with the car," Jazz added.

"Well," Mark carefully chose his words, "at least you'll like our flight simulators," spotting Taylor glare he quickly moved the conversion on, "let's get inside, we're running late as it is."

The quartet entered the school and quickly found their way to the Principle's office. Inside they found Principle Guest sitting behind his desk with Stevie standing behind him next to the window, "Major Earhardt," Principle Guest greeted, "welcome to my school, although I must say I'm a little confused by your request."

"Understandable," Taylor replied, "but this is a national security matter, we couldn't say too much over the phone."

"National security," Principle Guest looked over to Stevie who offered him a confused shrug in response, "what's Miss Chang done to attract the attention of the Air Force?"

"Hey, yesterday I was so dumb you were going to hold me back a year, now you think I'm a criminal mastermind," Stevie snapped, "make your mind up."

Principle Guest sighed, "I never called you stupid Miss Chang, just that your grades could improve."

"That's why we're here," Mark interrupted the argument between Principle and student, "we need Stephanie's help with a project that will count towards her credits."

"Really?" Stevie frowned, "does this have something to do with my run yesterday because unless you're with Sports Illustrated, I'm not interested."

"This really is a national security matter that we need to discuss with you," Taylor stated, "alone," she added towards Principle Guest. The older man looked a little affronted at being kicked out of his office but begrudgingly stepped out, "Perhaps you should sit down for this Stephanie," Taylor continued.

"Stevie," the dark haired girl said defensively, "I don't know what the Air Force wants me for but trust me, you've got the wrong girl."

"We know you're a good runner Stevie but your performance yesterday grabbed our attention," Taylor began, "tell me, has anything weird happened to you?"

Stevie chewed her lip, thinking of her response, "You were hit by lightning a couple of days ago, right?" Ricky said hesitantly, "I was too."

"Now you feel strong, powerful," Mark added, "like you could run a top speed all day with stopping."

The teen shook her head firmly, "Nope, I'm not doing this, like I said you've got the wrong person." Stevie had been holding onto the windowsill and without realising, she had been gripping the wooden frame tighter with each second. Suddenly there was a loud crack and the wood snapped within her hands. In shock she tried to pull away but still had the frame in her hand. The entire strip of wood dislodged from the wall, leaving the confused teen holding the frame in her hand.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Mark said, "Trust us, you're the one we're looking for." The awkward silence was broken by the sound of screaming from the campus field. Everyone rushed over to the other window to see what the commotion was about, "It's them," Mark grumbled under his breath after seeing the same creatures that attacked the space station.

"Doesn't look like they're alone this time," Taylor added, "the footsoldiers have brought some monster backup this time."

"Then you'll need these," Jazz placed the metal case she had been carrying onto the Principle's desk. Popping it open revealed five pairs of devices, "This one's for your left wrist," she handed the piece to Mark. It was mostly silver with a small non-numerical pad on one side with a blue flap covered by the Jet Force logo, "It's a communication device so you can keep in contact with each other and control."

As Mark strapped the communicator to his left wrist, the other half of the equipment began to glow red, "The morpher itself," Jazz continued, handing the diamond shaped device to the red ranger, "when you push the centre you'll morph into your Ranger form."

"Ranger form?" Stevie asked, "you want us to be Power Rangers?"

The cries of panic grew louder as the footsoldiers drew closer to the school building, "The Avian Waves found you for a reason," Taylor began but quickly waved off further questions, "there will be time to explain later but right now, you need to protect the students."

Stevie looked out the window, watching her classmates running for cover. With a sigh she grabbed a communicator and morpher which glowed blue in her grasp, "Being a Power Ranger better pay well, I need some serious danger money for this."

Taylor shook her head in exasperation before turning to Ricky. His hands were shaking as he fixed the morpher to his wrist, "How will we know what to do?" he asked.

"You're a Power Ranger, the yellow ranger at that," Taylor stated, "when the time comes, you'll know what to do."

"So make it up as we go along, got it", Stevie replied sarcastically, "come on big guy, let's get this over with," she added whilst pulling Mark towards the door.

As Jazz watched the trio leave she said to Taylor, "Are they gonna be alright?"

Taylor paused for a moment before replying, "Maybe we should clear the school, just in case."

Outside the school, the three new Rangers pushed past the crowd rushing in the opposite direction. Reaching the sports field the trio spotted a giant bug monster, it red and yellow pincers snapping as it ran towards the athletics team trying to find cover. The beast shot out its tongue towards the nearest student, latching onto their neck. A faint glow pulsed along the tongue, through the monster's body and into it's large thorax, "That's the most distressing thing I've seen," Ricky choked out between a dry heave.

Stevie knelt beside the fallen student, he was ghostly pale with the exception of an ugly red bruise on his neck, "He's still breathing," she commented.

"Then he's lucky," Mark replied dryly.

"Lucky?" Stevie snapped, "he's been drained of his energy and knocked out, not sure I'd call that lucky."

"He's still alive," Mark continued to the blue ranger, "that's more than can be said for others."

Before Stevie could respond, a mechanical voice called out, "I see you've met our pet," they turned around and met Kane for the first time, "it has no name that we know but we call it the Vampire Bug." He looked directly at Mark, "You must be the one that escaped our initial attack, you will not be so lucky this time."

Mark clenched his fist, "I will make you pay, they were my friends," he paused at the memory of his lost girlfriend, "I will avenge Adrienne's death."

The other two Rangers looked wide eyed at their leader but any response was cut off by Kane, "I have heard this statement across many dimensions and I do not wish to hear it again." With a snap of his fingers a sword appeared in his hand, "I sense great power in you three, let us see what you can do."

"Oh we'll show you," Stevie brandished her new morpher at Kane. There was a long pause as the blue ranger looked at the device, "How does this thing work?" she whispered to Mark.

The red ranger took a step forward, "Watch and learn rookies," he raised his right arm vertically against his chest, then his left arm to show the morpher and communicator, "Jet Force," he called before touching the red diamond in the middle of the morpher with his left hand, "Take Flight."

With a flash of red light and waves followed by the cry of a bird, Mark morphed into his Ranger form. His suit was predominantly red on top, with long white gloves and the Jet Force logo cross his chest. The suits legs were white with long red boots and his red helmet was accented with the yellow beak and features of a hawk, "Jet Sword," the red ranger called and charged towards Kane.

"Alright, our turn," Stevie said to Ricky, the yellow ranger looked a little apprehensive but eventually presented his morpher, "Jet Force, Take Flight," they called in unison.

Their suits were similar to Marks, other than a blue skirt on Stevie's. Her helmet was styled after a swallow with a small yellow beak. Ricky's was an owl with a small white and yellow beak, "No way," Ricky inspected his gloved hands, "I'm a real life superhero," he gasped. His jubilation was short lived as the newest rangers were soon surrounded by Gougers, "Erm, hi," the yellow ranger nervously waved.

"Less talking, more hitting," Stevie jumped at the nearest pair of Gougers, using her enhanced strength to send them flying across the field, "Yeah, take that," she cried. Almost immediately though, a Gouger raked their axe across her back, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"Hey," Ricky called, turning attention to himself, "can't we talk this out?" he continued once he realised the Gougers were coming his way. He swung for one, accidentally knocking the soldier away. He was soon engulfed by Gougers who picked him up and threw him onto the ground next to Stevie.

Mark had his hands full with Kane, their swords clashed repeatedly as the red ranger struggled to repel his attacks, "Not bad, for a human," Kane said, "too bad the same can't be said for your friends." Mark could see the yellow and blue ranger's struggling with the Gougers, all whilst the Vampire Bug was heading towards the school, "This conquest will be easier than I thought," Kane chuckled.

He swung his blade toward Mark who barely managed to block the attach with the Jet Sword. The two warriors were locked together, fighting for leverage on the other, "I'm not letting you win," Mark hissed towards the robot.

Something which sounded like a chuckle came from Kane, "You do not have a choice," he said whilst pushing Mark away with his foot. The red ranger rolled away, kneeling on the ground with his sword levelled at Kane, "The Vampire Bug will soon have all the energy it needs and when it does, your world will be doomed," Kane added. Mark wanted to disagree but we couldn't take on Kane, the Bug and the footsoldiers without backup. Stevie and Ricky were trying but they had been thrown in at the deep end. Right now, it looked like this would be the first and last battle for the Jet Force.