The Youth Center hadn't been damaged too badly, Kat noted with a lot of relief. She'd had to reassure Skull that yes, she'd seen Tommy, and he was okay, but helping elsewhere. Hal wasn't there, and she was worried he'd been hurt in this attack.
She then saw his car pull up – the two bumper stickers were there. Hal did have an odd sense of humor, she noted, arguably it wasn't her cup of tea, but at the same time, right now, she wouldn't mind hearing a joke or two of his – even if it drove a fellow Ranger – well, former Ranger – crazy.
Hal Elliot walked into the Youth Center, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jacket, scanning the room for Kat. Despite the warmth of the setting sun outside, he still felt the chill from hours of adrenaline wearing off. The dogfight earlier had been one of the most intense engagements he had ever faced since the first day the Machine Empire had shown up—six kills, an ace in a day, taking his total to an even twenty. He should have been proud, but all he could feel was exhaustion.
Keep it together, Hal. You're not here to think about that.
He spotted Kat at their usual table, a textbook open in front of her, a strawberry milkshake to the side. She glanced up, and the relief in her eyes was almost imperceptible—but it was there. Hal felt a twinge of guilt.
She had no idea what he had been through today. And he had no idea what she had been through. But tonight wasn't about that. Tonight, they were just Kat and Hal.
"Hey," she greeted him, closing her textbook. "You're not too late."
"Miracles happen," Hal said with a smirk, sliding into the seat across from her. He nodded toward her drink. "Strawberry, huh?"
"Of course," Kat said, amused. "Did you want to order before we start?"
Hal shook his head. "I called ahead. Ernie's got my usual coming."
Kat smiled, stirring her shake absently. "So, how was work?"
Hal hesitated for just a second. "Busy. You know how it is."
Kat tilted her head slightly but didn't push. "Yeah. I do."
Neither of them spoke for a moment. There was an unspoken understanding between them—both of them had been through something today, something neither could talk about.
After a beat, Hal changed the subject. "So, how'd the AP Government assignment go?"
Kat's face brightened. "I got a B! My first one in that class!"
Hal grinned. "Nice! See? You can conquer the Bill of Rights."
Kat chuckled. "I'm pretty sure I still have no idea how the Second Amendment works, but at least I managed to put together a decent argument."
Hal leaned back in his chair. "That's half the battle. Nobody really knows how it works—people just tend to argue about it."
Kat smirked. "Well, I appreciate your help. Honestly, American government is so different from what I grew up with. Australia doesn't have an electoral college or a Second Amendment. It's been… an adjustment."
Hal chuckled. "Well, if you ever need help with civics, trigonometry, or history, I charge reasonable rates."
Kat rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh? And what's your price?"
Hal leaned forward, smirking. "Milkshakes or soda, the occasional order of nachos or fries, those two are negotiable, to be honest. Your company's the best part."
Kat laughed. "A fair price, I suppose."
Just then, Ernie walked by and set Hal's chocolate shake and nachos down in front of him. "Here you go, kid. Try not to get too lost in studying."
"No promises," Hal said, taking a sip.
Kat sighed, flipping open her trig textbook. "Alright, before I get too comfortable, we do need to go over this test material. I am so lost."
Hal glanced at the textbook, scanning the section. "Trig identities? Oh yeah, this is the kind of stuff that makes people hate math."
"Tell me about it," Kat muttered.
Hal picked up a pen and reached for her notebook. "Alright, let's break this down. It's just a matter of recognizing patterns. Once you see the trick, it's a lot easier."
As Hal explained, Kat found herself watching him more than the equations. He was patient, surprisingly good at simplifying things without making her feel stupid. And despite whatever weight he carried from earlier in the day, he seemed comfortable here, in this moment, helping her.
For a moment, she allowed herself to just be. To forget about monsters and Ranger duties. To ignore the ever-present weight of secrecy.
She could tell Hal was doing the same – about something.
They worked through a few problems, Hal guiding her through the steps. Kat found herself feeling more confident—both in the math and in something else.
Hal.
Eventually, she sighed, setting her pencil down. "I think I might actually understand this."
Hal grinned. "See? Told you. It's all about patterns."
Kat smirked. "And if I get stuck?"
Hal shrugged. "Guess that just means another study date."
Kat raised an eyebrow. "Study date?"
Hal smirked, unfazed. "What else would you call it?"
Kat rolled her eyes playfully but didn't argue. "Alright. But only because I refuse to fail this test."
"Whatever you say, Ms. Hilliard."
As they finished up, Kat realized something.
Despite the secrets, despite the chaos in their lives, despite everything—she liked being around Hal.
And that was enough for tonight.
"I think we can definitively say that the United States military has acquired and partially replicated Thunderzord technology," Billy said. "The readings of that dogfight over Angel Grove are conclusive."
"An F-16 chased down a Quadrafighter," Rocky said, shaking his head. "They souped it up good, and that pilot had to be good, too."
"Have you been able to figure out what else we can't account for?" Tommy asked.
"Still working on it," Billy said. "The inventory is taking far longer than expected."
"Zordon, we have an urgent signal from Aquitar!" Alpha called out.
"On the viewing globe," Zordon said.
Delphine and Cestro's faces appeared, looking concerned.
"Zordon, we have an urgent matter to discuss," the leader of the Alien Rangers said. "We are going to teleport to you shortly."
"You are always welcome. Alpha, engage the intergalactic boosters," Zordon said.
In less than five minutes the two Alien Rangers were in the Power Chamber.
"Delphine, it is good to see you. Your assistance is greatly appreciated, and we owe you a debt that we may never be able to repay," Zordon said by way of greetings.
"Zordon, we appreciate that. But there is an urgent matter. The United States government has been taking some actions we have observed with great concern," Delphine said.
"We're aware of it," Billy said. "Some of the Thunderzord technology has apparently fallen into their hands and has been reverse-engineered," he said.
"Then that makes two matters," Cestro said.
"What is the other one?" Tommy asked.
"Corcus was investigating near the Angel Grove International Airport after we picked up unusual readings from the Machine Empire's first attack," Delphine said.
"Yes, United States military forces engaged the Machine Empire," Billy said.
"We detected some of your technology, and Corcus infiltrated a 'special weapons storage bunker.' When he returned, he tripped radiation sensors," Cestro explained.
"A what?" Tommy asked, confused.
"A special weapons storage bunker," Cestro said, repeating the coordinates. "In this latest fight, we detected similar radiation readings on some of what appear to be fighters."
He checked his notes.
"Enola flight and Boxcar flight," he said.
"Radiation?" Tommy asked. "Like nuclear radiation?"
"We thought 'special weapons' meant the Ranger technology," Delphine said.
"It's how the military refers to nuclear weapons," Billy said.
Everyone turned to Billy.
"Nukes?" Tommy asked. "They haven't…"
"The safest bet is that the nukes are a back-up option in case we were to fail," Billy said.
"We managed to infiltrate some of the communications networks," Delphine said. "Many are pretty secure, but we found a network that was somewhat open, and pulled some details."
She handed over a data disc as she spoke. Alpha took it and inserted it into the computers.
"We can transmit some audio intercepts later," Cestro said. "By the way, what does 'Too close for missiles, switching to guns' mean?"
Tommy shrugged. Billy, though, frowned a little in concentration.
"Hal has that bumper sticker on his car," Billy said.
"I thought he was a test pilot," Tommy said.
"True, he is a test pilot…" Billy said, stopping to think. "But I question exactly how he is testing things."
"Well, that is not the only problem," Delphine said. "When Corcus did his search, he came across rockets known as the AIR-2A and devices called a B61 Mod 10."
"Those are tactical nuclear weapons," Billy said, causing the Aquitian Rangers to turn pale – which, given Cestro's complexion, was quite an achievement. "They're likely a backup option if we – meaning the Power Rangers here – fail."
"Tactical nuclear weapons?" Cestro asked.
"Yes. I'm not an expert, a friend of mine knows more than I do. But my understanding is that these are small weapons – much less powerful than…" Delphine cut Billy off.
"Billy, that is not going to matter. Under the Miranoi Accords, if nuclear weapons are used, for any reason, then there is one of two options Zordon would have," Delphine said. "He either has to withdraw your team of Rangers, or he needs to replace the government responsible, and submit it to an intergalactic tribunal."
"The Miranoi Accords?" Billy asked, turning to Zordon.
"Delphine is correct. The use of nuclear weapons would present us with some very hard decisions," Zordon said. "Delphine and Cestro, thank you for this information."
"What are the Miranoi Accords?" Tommy asked.
"Rules of conduct among my order," Zordon said. "With the power from the Morphin Grid and the Zeo Crystal comes responsibilities. We may need to figure out how to reach the United States military and advise them of just how much thin ice they are on."
"They're gonna want something that they'd see as a better option than nukes," Tommy said.
"I would concur with Tommy on that," Billy said.
"What might they want?" Delphine asked.
"We'd have to talk with them," Tommy said. "I'm just not sure how. I don't think we can just walk on to the base."
Inside the Pentagon, there are a number of SCIFs – Secure Compartmented Information Facilities. The most sensitive of topics were discussed there. In this case, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were there, and Colonel Kevin Martin was on via a secure satellite link.
"So, we can assess that someone accessed the monitored back door," Martin said. "Exactly who, we are not sure, but with the report from some security personnel, we think it may have been the Alien Rangers."
"In a special weapons storage facility?" the Chief of Naval Operations asked.
"Yes, sir," Martin said.
"Had they come to you, what would the plan be?" the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked.
"At this point, we'd answer any questions they might have," Martin said. "Provided they can verify they are Power Rangers. The possibility of imposters can't be discounted."
"Wish we had some idea of where their base is," the Air Force Chief of Staff said. "We have some stuff turned in by local citizens, but… we're still looking at a lot of desert in Southern California."
"Use recon assets?" the Commandant of the Marine Corps asked.
"Any command center is going to be hard to locate with our existing technology, and they have probably designed it with precisely that intention." the Air Force Chief of Staff replied. "We've been lucky to extract what we can from the Zord components we recovered. From what our experts at Groom Lake tell me, despite about two dozen prodigies and some of the best scientists in the United States, in some cases, it's a case of having to build the tools and tech to build the tools and tech to build the tools and tech we need to build Zords that would be combat capable. The ThunderLancer program is the closest we are to that – and even then, in the best-case estimates, we're two decades away from something that could supplement Strategic Command, as opposed to being a prototype."
"So, what options can we present to SECDEF to give to the President besides hurling a bunch of ICBMs and SLBMs at the moon?" the Chairman asked.
"We need to be able to get in touch with the Rangers to coordinate the defense of Earth with them. Or at the very least get some sort of working arrangement. We don't know how they'd react to us crossing the nuclear threshold, for instance," the Chief of Naval Operations said.
"Agreed," the Chief of Staff of the Army said. "I have a lot of National Guard on the ground, usually helping with evacuating civilians from the lines of fire, but we've had a couple of times where troops shot the Cogs and some Putties and Tengas in the past. So far, no blue-on-blue situations have arisen, but we'll have our luck run out sooner or later. We may need to provoke the Rangers into making contact with us."
"How?" the Vice Chairman asked.
"Boxcar Flight," the Commandant of the Marine Corps asked. "We have a Sentry give Boxcar flight the order to scramble and make a run. Ideally, against one of those gear ships while the Rangers are busy with a monster."
"We think that will get a response?" the Chief of Naval Operations asked.
"My counterpart in Russia was among those who got an earful after they hit those gear ships with Galosh anti-ballistic missile interceptors – the ones with the five-megaton nuclear warheads," the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. "I understand the Russian President fired the Minister of Defense shortly afterward."
"Doesn't the Russian president order the nukes to fire?" the Vice Chairman asked.
"He called the Defense Minister a bad advisor," the Chairman said dryly.
"Okay, so we send Boxcar Flight at a gear ship. Broadcast the scramble order in the clear, give the okay to arm the Genies…" the Air Force Chief of Staff said. "The possibility of nukes going off might prompt them to make contact."
"We've kept it conventional so far. It's a fair bet they have some sense of our thinking. We don't have any solid proof they've accessed our networks, but it's a fair bet with their advanced tech, they've already done so. Scrambling Boxcar flight towards an approaching gear ship will show we're on their side, and the order to arm Genies would get their attention," the Chief of Staff of the Army said.
"We may need to also get a military space arm as well. The proposed National Air and Space Agency for the Defense of America can be authorized in the classified portion of the defense appropriations bill. In light of the Machine Empire…" the Vice Chairman let the thought hang.
"Okay, John, inform NORAD to have the 4450th implement the Boxcar Flight option at the first opportunity. We'll also carry out some recon. General Norquist will likely see NASADA come under his command in any case, so he will be the best option to serve as liaison with the Rangers," the Chairman said to the Air Force Chief of Staff.
With that done, the six four-star generals adjourned the meeting. They at least had a plan. All of them had seen enough action, though, to know that no battle plan survived the first shot. But it was the best option they had.