Chapter 7
Boot Day
Okay, folks. Le't get moving after a quick trek over to the reviews.
jeremiahkelly93: Thank you.
Guest: I do plan on them having a Dino Thunder team up.
jster1983: Glad you liked that reference.
adamlawor: I'm not sure if I could pull off recreating that.
Mr Haziq: Yes, we will.
DragonEmperor999: Glad you liked it.
zdforrest: Lincoln is still avoiding them at this point in time.
UltraLSSJRed5: The opening scene of this chapter will make that clear.
Pedro Alnonso Buby Huayanay Zam: Glad you liked it.
And now, dear readers... Let's kick it up!
An all to rare day of sun and peace had come over Newtech city. The birds were chirping, the children were playing and nearly everybody was in a peaceful mood. Almost everyone. Lincoln was clad in a red shirt, dark blue jeans, brown boots, and a black jacket with orange lining on the trim and pockets sitting down at a park bench.
"Hey." Lincoln heard before looking up to see Ronnie Anne who then sat down next to him. "The guys told me I could find you here." She said before the two of them looked out at some kids playing basketball.
"On days like this. Charlie and I would come down here play some one on one. She said it was good cardio. But honestly I think she was just trying to help me feel at home." Lincoln said with a soft smile on his face.
"You two sound really close." Ronnie Anne said as she leaned on Lincoln's arm.
"Honestly, after everything that happened in Royal Woods, she basically become another big sister to me." Lincoln said with a wistful smile.
"You know we're here if you wanna talk about it." Ronnie Anne said, gaining a nod from Lincoln.
"I know. Sky even said the same. Even gave me an invitation for the support group he's in for relatives of fallen Rangers." Lincoln said with a chuckle before they both heard beeps from their Morphers. "Back to work." He said before the two Rangers got up and left the park.
Back in the command room of the Delta Base, Lincoln stood next to Kruger in front of the rest of the Rangers.
"Rangers, I have been discussing the situation with the missing A-Squad to high command. It has been agreed upon with the increasing threat of the Trubians that we must increase priority to the training C-Squad to become ready to be Rangers." Kruger explained before nodding to Lincoln.
"As such, Boot Day has been moved up to today. Each of us will be assigned a member of C-Squad to take with us on patrol. But let me make one thing clear. Having the Boots with us does not mean we take it easy. We answer calls like normal and if an attack happens, we will be putting them on crowd control while we handle it. Understood?" Lincoln asked, the rest of the Rangers answering with a simultaneous "Yes, sir."
"Uh. Question. Where does that leave Lucy?" Bridge asked with his hand raised.
"He has a point. Every other day is Boot day for her." Syd said in agreement with Bridge.
"Which is why she'll be doing mostly administrative work today. Sending off prisoners, filling out request forms, checking in on the lab, etc." Kruger explained to the Rangers.
"Alright. Let's get out there." Lincoln said as he and the other Rangers left the command room. "Sky. A second." He said. "Your being assigned Oliver." He said.
"High pedigree right there both his parents and godfather were..." Sky began before a realization hit him. "Are you using me as a cautionary tale!?" He all but shouted when he asked.
"Yes. I am." Lincoln said bluntly. "Sky, the reason you and I aren't wearing the opposite colors right now is that you let ambition and ego get in the way. Always trying to lead the team. But not be a part of it. JJ needs to learn quick not to let that happen to him. Who better to teach him than someone with exact same pedigree as him?" He asked.
"I mean... I'm still second in command of the squad." Sky muttered before he and Lincoln laughed. "I'll take care of it." He said while giving Lincoln a slap on the arm. "So who you taking?" He asked.
"Skullavich. Lucy says he's having some confidence issues. So, I'm gonna do a little work on that." Lincoln said before he and Sky nodded at each other.
"Well, good luck. He's got a lot of potential." Sky said, the two of them nodding to each other before they went to get to work.
(Meanwhile)
Lucy walked in to the the Delta Base lab where Lisa and Boom were working at the computers.
"I hear that you are to be doing work around the base today." Lisa said while looking over one of her files
"Yeah, I am. Those the designs for the C-Squad's Morphers?" Lucy asked while looking over her younger sister's shoulder.
"Yup. Kat got the idea from the Earth 4 Rangers. Sadly, we're only in the concept stage. We have to be careful not to make the powers too close to each other. Can't risk an overload after all." Boom explained.
"Well, those will definitely be good when they are ready." Lucy said before noticing another couple of files. "Wait a minute. What are those?" She asked.
"Dr Manx commissioned this one and my inability to stop my self had me to do work on the other one." Lisa admitted as the two sisters began to laugh together.
"What about Lincoln's special project?" Lucy asked.
"That is proving to be a real challenge. Even simply getting the material in to a malleable state is proving to be a massive challenge. In addition, I find myself worrying since I will have only one chance to form it in to the desired state." Lisa said, the frustration clear in her voice.
"Makes sense. Some circles say that stuff came from the Grid itself. So forging stuff from it was always gonna be tough. We'll figure it out." Boom said, always being the optimist.
"I hope you're right, Boom. I don't like being at a standstill. Nor do I enjoy not being able to help with a project for Lincoln." Lisa said, Lucy understanding the feeling all to well.
"You know, there is someone else you can call in for help." Lucy suggested with a lite shrug, Lisa knowing exactly who she was talking about.
"I have considered it. But she is quite busy running her pit crew. However perhaps I'll give her a call if only for a second opinion." Lisa said before shaking her head and getting back to work. "At any rate here are the forms for the parts required for Zord maintenance and the navy file is for Dr Manx's eyes only." She said, handing a small stack of papers to the Gold Ranger before she nodded and left.
(With Lincoln and Spike)
"Where are we, Boot." Lincoln randomly asked while driving in one of the patrol cars.
"Uh. A few blocks in to Second street. Which puts us... South west of Little Aquitar, five minutes out from the nearest ER, and pretty equal distance between a good coffee or smoothie place, depending on your mood." Spike replied, getting a shrug and a nod from Lincoln.
"Not bad. You know the city pretty well." Lincoln noted with a smile.
"Yeah. Well, I gotta have have some advantage." Spike said while looking out the window.
'There's that confidence issue Lucy was talking about.' Lincoln though while searching for the words to give to Spike.
"You know, I've been going through your file. You did a lot of good work in Panorama city." Lincoln complimented.
"I didn't do much. I just got people out of the way and got lucky with a few pratfalls." Spike replied in a dismissive tone.
"Hey. Don't downplay crowd control. Main part of our job is keeping the people safe." Lincoln pointed out.
"Thanks, Officer Loud." Spike said, his feelings softening slightly.
"Hey. Don't be formal. Just call me Lincoln." The Red Ranger said with a smile just then an alert sounded inside the car. "Check that for me, would you?" He asked before Spike folded out the in car computer.
"Looks like a break in a smelting factory got broken in to." Spike noted.
"Okay. What's the protocol here?" Lincoln asked the cadet.
"We see who's available to give us backup and meet up at the location." Spike answered, gaining a nod from Lincoln before he grabbed the radio in the car. "Delta Bravo One requesting backup for an alarm.
(Elsewhere)
Around the same time Lincoln and Spike were having their conversation, Sky and JJ were finishing up a check on of the local gathering spots for one of the gangs in town, having found nothing.
"I don't know if I should be happy or disappointed that we haven't seen a lot of action today." JJ joked as he and Sky got back in the car.
"Go for happy. You'll be wishing for more quiet moments at the end of over hectic shifts." Sky responded before he began driving. "So, how are things going with your team?" He asked.
"Good. Since Lucy's been working with us, we've kicked it in to gear." JJ said.
"That's good. Though I wonder if you guys have established your own command structure." Sky pointed out, gaining a chuckle from the C Squad.
"You don't have to worry about that. We all made a pact to keep things equal until we get assigned our colors." JJ assured Sky, gaining a nod from the Blue Ranger, impressed with the maturity of JJ and his squad. Just then, the two heard a beeping, JJ looking to it to see that it was Spike and Lincoln calling for backup before Sky began driving.
A short time, later Sky and JJ arrived at the factory within seconds of Lincoln and Spike.
"What's up?" Sky asked walking up to Lincoln who then signaled to spike to give the brief.
"Alarm went off a little bit ago. Cameras showed some Krybots inside." Spike explained before Sky and Lincoln looked to and nodded to each other.
"Alright, Boots. How do you think we should go about this one?" Sky asked.
"I think the best plan is to put two of us on the upper levels for cover fire while the other two deal with the force at the bottom." JJ suggested, both Rangers liking the idea.
"Sounds good to me. Sky? Mind giving them a leg up?" Lincoln asked, Sky nodding before forming a series of energy fields for the the two cadets the use as a staircase.
Upon reaching the outer part of the upper level, JJ and Spiker looked in and were able to see at least a dozen or so Krybots moving around.
"What I wouldn't give for a Proxy Coin right now." Spike said in a whisper.
"I'd settle for at least having a rifle." JJ joked before giving Spike a pop on the chest. "Don't worry. We got this. Just focus." He reassured his teammate before the two made their way inside.
Upon entering the building, JJ and Spike were able to get a clear view of just over dozen Krybots being organized by a blue head. The two cadets then put got in to the ideal position before nodding to each other. Spike then pulled out a pocket com and signaled for Lincoln and Sky before the Red and Blue Rangers breached through the ground level already morphed.
The fight proceeded quite quickly as Lincoln ducked and slid between the six or so Krybots, blasting and pistol whipping all the way. For his part, Sky sliced and punched at his group of Cry bots with little issue, forming his force fields to catch and group blast from several of the Krybots and sent it flying in to them.
The two Rangers then turned to the Blue Head, rushing it as the cadets sniped the remaining Krybots. The Red Ranger utilized his shadow walking to get down and behind the Blue Head, spin kicking it in the back, making it move towards a slash from the Blue Ranger before he delivered a rapid volley of blasts from his Delta Blasters, damaging the robot to the point it lost power.
"Well that was easy." JJ said with a smile before Spike took notice of something behind his squad mate and tackled him to a avoid a blast, breaking his fall with his shoulder on the lower level.
"You had to say something." Spike said while holding on to his shoulder before the two looked up to see another Blue Head which they hadn't noticed. The Red and Blue Rangers then shifted their weapons in to their rifle modes before and blasted the second Blue Head apart before powering down and running to the cadets.
"You guys okay?" Lincoln asked as he knelt down too look at Spike's shoulder.
"Yeah. But I'm gonna be feeling that in the morning." Spike said while being helped to his feet.
"We definitely get that looked at." JJ said, pulling out a pocket com. "I'm calling in a cleanup team too." JJ said.
"Be sure they take the Blue Head heads back to the lab. Hopefully their memory cores can get us some info why they were here." Sky instructed, JJ nodding and complying before making the call and the four waited.
Sometime later, the Rangers were sitting together in one of the meeting rooms of the Delta Base.
"So, did Lisa manage to get anything out of the Blue Heads?" Syd asked while being handed a takeout box from a local Chinese place.
"Sad to say, nothing. They have a fail safe that burns out their system." Lincoln said while taking a bite of his fried rice. I'll give this to Grumm. He's thorough." He begrudgingly complemented. Part of him was thinking that if he, Sky and the cadets had just waited to see what the Krybots had been aiming to take.
"We'll figure it out." Ronnie Anne reassured while throwing a pot sticker in her mouth. "In the meantime. How did the Boots do in their?" She asked.
"Well, Oliver did great. Operated completely by the book. Hell of a shot too." Sky complimented.
"Same with Skulavich. Plus he didn't hesitate to take a hit to keep JJ from getting hurt. Both of them proved themselves Ranger material today." Lincoln said before looking to the remaining three Rangers. "And you guys."
"Our day was a lot less loud. No pun intended. But Sophie did really good on every call we took." Bridge said, Ronnie Anne, and Syd confirming just the same for Clxz and and Jazo respectively.
"Okay. So that leaves us with one question. Are we all in agreement to moving ahead with C Squad?" Lincoln asked.
"I'm in favor." Ronnie Anne said.
"Same here." Bridge confirmed." Syd said, Sky nodding in agreement.
"The ayes have it then. I'll tell Kruger." Lincoln said before he and the rest of the Rangers finished their meal.
A short but later, Lincoln walked to an outside area where Kruger was looking out at the city.
"Boss." Lincoln said, getting the commander's attention before handing him a file. "The guys and I agree. C Squad's ready for stage two." He said.
"Excellent. We'll start them on patrol routes effective immediately." Kruger replied before looking back to Red Ranger. "Off the record. How are you dealing with the current situation?" He asked.
"Which squad are you asking about?" Lincoln asked, getting a knowing look from Kruger. "I'll be okay. The guys are there for me if I need it. Plus... I'm trying to focus on them only being MIA right now." He said.
"Sometimes not knowing is worse." Kruger commented, getting a raised eyebrow from Lincoln. "It's admirable that you are keeping your focus." He said in a kind voice before once again adopting his official tone. "Now go get some rest." He said getting a smile and salute from the Red Ranger. The two of them then began making their way back inside before Kruger's ear peaked up and he turned around for a moment?
"Everything okay?" Lincoln asked.
"Yes. I must just being hearing things." Kruger replied as they continued to walked as several rooftops away a single red eye was glowing as it watched Kruger moving before a large bladed hook opened and closed.
And there you go, guys. Really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also, I hope you like the very obvious set up to C Squad's powers eventual powers. Well, until next time and as always... keep on keeping on.