Tommy heard the word "come" from the githkin outside, and headed out of the small crevice. As he opened his mouth to tell the githkin more specifics pertaining to the situation, they weren't the brightest after all, he noticed that Oliver had apparently gotten into a scuffle with an elite githkin. He quickly closed said mouth. Perhaps it had already started? He had heard rumors... Well, regardless of what may or may not happen today, he couldn't just let Oliver die in the grips of this githkin.
Tommy quickly sneaked out of the crevice, trying to make as little noise as he could. He might be able to save his friend if the other githkin did not restrain him. The minute he had both feet on solid ground, he began running as fast as he could (which unfortunately is not saying much) toward the githkin that held his friend aloft. Tommy clearly did not have the weight to tackle this githkin to the ground, even with a head start. However, if he tried to grab its legs, he might be able to make the githkin lose its balance.
Sitting in the back of a black limo, Mable looked out the slightly tinted windows to the city on the other side. The weather was nice today, Galatec likely had made sure of that. Knowing that made sunny days feel less special, like a present given to a child by an abusive parent. Rainy days were more befitting this city, because they fit the mood better, of course. Looking through the darkened glass she saw few people in the streets, if you could even call most of them such a thing. Githkin peacekeepers patrolled the streets as a constant reminder that any show of discontent would be punished to the fullest extent of their perverted laws. The city was full of the hopeless and the brainwashed, it was peaceful alright, but it was something else that was the worst of all. It was boring.
No one was allowed to have fun unless it played into the hands of Galatec, as a result most forms of entertainment had the stench of a sham made with an ulterior motive. Unfortunately she was a prime example of this. She would love to perform the many songs she'd created, but they'd never see the light of day under Galatec rule. This city was far too dull, it was an example of the entropy of the universe and the death of the soul. It needed a dose of chaos to liven things up, to free the populace.
"These lyrics are pretty bad." Mable said, her signature grin unwavering. She waved the papers containing the lyrics to her new song in front of her manager, fanning him. "Super duper bad- who wrote this, was it some githkin that had been lobotomized?" She laughed. "And three hours to learn this? I don't even know the tune, the beat, and this is supposed to be a song about what's in my heart?" Her grin turned into a toothy smile. "Octo-manager, you wouldn't happen to hate me, would you? I've worked very hard for Galatec, I've given complete creative freedom up for my position, but it isn't enough?" She tossed the lyrics onto the floor of the limo. "It's a good thing I love a challenge." She said, opening the sunroof. She stood up through the sunroof, allowing the wind to blow through into her face and lift the thick strands of her red hair.
"New Angel Grove, I'm going to be the pilot light that sets your heart on fire!" She sang, raising her arms into the air. The venue was just ahead, and as expected a small crowd had gathered, being looked over by more than a few peacekeepers. Many in the crowd heard her, and proceeded to lose their minds upon seeing her. If it weren't for the peacekeepers the limo would have been ransacked. The limo pulled into the back of the building, passing the large signs displaying her full name and entering a significantly gloomier parking lot. Mable climbed out of the limo from the sunroof, and waited for her manager's directions.
Adelram noted the military grade electric device on the Foreman's arm. Obsolete technology, but the background check on Foreman Jo'ones confirmed Madam Ruthalia's claim that Adelram's new opponent was ex-military. When the reptilian humanoid nimbly escaped his grasp, Drax did not anticipate that he would begin pounding against his lower body. In most situations, one in the Foreman's position would attempt to flee or make an escape. Unfortunately, this criminal outburst lowered the probability of Madam Ruthalia's direct orders being accomplished. Adelram quietly calculated that perhaps just mortally injuring the Foreman would satisfy the Regional Manager.
Either way, the veteran Foreman's death by Adelram's, and by extension, Madam Ruthalia's, hands was inevitable.
"Your transgression has been noted, Foreman Jo'ones."
Whilst informing the criminal suspect of Adelram's awareness that the Foreman has, in fact, committed a crime, Drax cocked his previously zapped right fist and angled it downwards. He jutted his massive mace of a hand rapidly forward, leaning into it. A crippling injury to a common man, but there was a high probability it may just send the Foreman flying backwards with a concussion if his quick punch connected. The punch was launched just as Adelram finished saying, "-noted-".
The android also made note of Foreman Jo'ones' advice, that the position on which he stood is the preferred location of dismemberment.
A thunderous roar bellowed heated rock and dust, scattering the fine material against him and down the long dark maw of the tunnel. Michael felt tiny bits pierce his skin. The feeling was like pin pricks, pin pricks he could take, that pain was small compared to what he had been through over the years.
He raised to his feet cautiously, looking for any hint of weakness in the walls of the mines; explosions could rock the very structure of any mine and that brought a tinge of fear to him. To die in the mines without doing anything avenge Courtney's death would be ashame. He couldnt' imagine forgiving himself if he had.
Michael tossed that thought aside as he neared the charred, smoldering entrance of the once sealed doors. Inside, he saw spacious elevator shaft freighter. It was... old, how far back he was unsure; his education in historical tech was fruitless and not at all touched on. His lips pursed tightly as he pulled himself through the blowned hole.
Is this what they were hiding? he asked unbelieving. Why hide this?
He paused for a moment before stepping into the elevator and absentmindedly checking to see if it worked. His powerful hands motioned towards a random button, his thumb pressed down on it without caution. Soon afterwards he chided himself for his one-track mind.
"Maybe they aren't hiding this? Galatec could be pushing me... do they know they can't brainwash me?" His right fist clenched at his side while the other thumbed the scar on his nose.
Location: Dumas Mine Interacting With: The Twins @ProPro
Jackson jumped off the drill, rubbing his dusty, dirt-filled hands on his once-white shirt, creating two brand new, hand-shaped dirt stains on the poor thing. Today was a great day for him. He got to use the drill, and now he had a whole three minutes break! He sure was lucky to have such great and awesome people like Galatec looking after him. Speaking of, he glanced back towards the Ghitkin that he’d been provided with to keep him company, before towards the twins he’d spotted nearby him. Mr. Ghitkin didn’t really look in the mood for a little bit of conversation - which Jackson understood; we all have our grumpy days - so he decided to approach the ladies, grabbing a dirt-caked bottle of water and taking a big swig. Gulp! Boy, Galatec was so nice to give everyone water after having fun working.
“Hey there! How are you? I know I’m great!” He said, flashing a friendly smile to the twins as he pulled a sandwich out of his pocket, peeling the cling film off and taking a bite. Mmmm, ham, cheese and cucumber was his favourite! As he waited for the girls’ replies, he took a mental note to buy some more of said ingredients when he got home. Though, with the amount of fun he was having today, he never wanted to leave!
"Ah, Cheif Kylo, It's a pleasure to meet you, my name's Clementine Mayweather, and I'm just doing an audit of the facility," Clementine introduced herself. "Oh, and this is Jonah Fallen," she added. Though it wasn't common practice to introduce security personnel, Clementine wanted him to feel included despite the awkwardness.
"I just want to double-check the expenses that have occurred here. One thing that popped out at me is the 'driller' went missing? While it's all good that the vehicle has been recovered, production was understandably lower during its absence. Is there any explanation for where it went during that time? Finding a reason should help prevent future, ah... disappearances," Clementine smiled at Kylo in an attempt to appear non-threatening, as most people easily become defensive when being audited.
Oliver smashed the rock down on scar-face as hard as he could. Turning to the other kid, "Get out of here man." When he looked back up scar-face had already recovered. It grabbed Ollie's throat and lifted him up while choking him. *Dang. I've done it now. No getting out of this one.*
Knowing that no matter what he did he was probably going to be killed he just stared defiantly at scar-face as if saying, "You haven't really won." Suddenly Tommy showed up plowing into scar-face's legs. On instinct Ollie lifted his knee up into the chin of the Githkin holding him. Know Ollie was worried, and it clearly showed on his face. He didn't care if he died, but he didn't want anyone dying for him. He had to figure out how to get Tommy out of there.
Ruthalia decided that it would be a good idea to maintain a watchful eye on the two humans with Loyalty Privilege. So far they did not seem to be doing anything unbecoming. The camera's scanners displayed subtitles of their words for the regional manager's viewing pleasure. Apparently Clemetine Mayweather had been charged with performing an audit on spending in various departments and divisions, and decided to come to the vehicle station first. She spoke with Chief Engineer Kylo, a Mercurian woman, about how one of the vehicles had gone missing, but was found in its station about a week later. A vehicle had been missing for an entire week?! How was that not reported as a priority issue?!
Kylo appeared to be personal and friendly to the two. She was going along with the questioning, giving them her full participation. Then Chief Engineer Kylo stood alone, looking terribly confused. In a bright flash of light, the two had vanished from sight. Kylo scratched her head, perplexed, then pulled out a radio to report the strange phenomenon to her supervisor.
The now ex-foreman Jo'ones did not relent in his furious assault upon Drax's battle armor. Had he been facing most any other enemy, his great strength and form would have already won him his life and freedom. Against Galatec's top of the line android general, he was lucky he hadn't already broken his arms. As Drax motioned to punch the lizard man, Jo'ones finally ceased his attack and brought up both arms to block, having already lost any time to dodge. It was a move he would not live to regret.
The robot's fist struck his crossed arms full force, and Jo'ones flew backward in a shower of sparks. His back collided with a railing, bending the rail a good foot. Jo'ones stood up, both arms broken and hanging limply at his side, but the fire in his eyes had not died down. By Drax's sensors, he should have been in tremendous amounts of pain, but the former soldier seemed to have little issue powering through it. Instead of standing down, or running, instead he lifted his leg pointed directly at Drax's chest plate. As he did so, a small energy blaster slid out from some kind of mechanical arm, and Jo'ones caught it with his foot. That's right, the data files in Drax's memory core confirmed that Jo'ones' species had fully articulate toes.
Jo'ones fired the laser with his foot, emitting a beam of red light which struck the robot square in the chest. For the first time since the fight began, Jo'ones looked worried. He barely scratched the paint.
The elite githkin with the scarred face actually laughed, laughed at Oliver as it held him up by the neck. The githkin designated as Oliver's "supervisor" stood on the other side of Oliver. Without emotion, it lifted a single fist and struck Oliver in the back. The pain was tremendous, but luckily nothing broke.
At that moment Tommy took a running dive at the elite githkin, slamming into its legs. The creature's eyes opened wide as it was taken by surprise and lost its balance. In that moment it released Oliver, then stumbled over and onto the ground. When it looked up, its eyes made contact with Tommy's. It did not look happy.
The second githkin helped up its superior, then they both faced the belligerent workers. Damn. Well, today could have gone so much better. Still, we all have to die sometime, right? The githkin charged forward, each with a raised fist. They lashed out, each one inches away from connecting with a human face. And then... Nothing. Tommy and Oliver saw a bright flash of light, blinding and disorienting. When the spots went away, the two were... Actually, where were they?
Chief Kylo nodded along as Clementine spoke, waiting for her turn to interject. "Yes, it's very understandable that you would come up here. To be honest, I've been preparing for this audit since the driller originally went missing. Unfortunately, I have no idea where it was or who took it during that week."
The Mercurian walked the two humans over to a large vehicle with a drill on the nose. The roof to the cab was apparently convertible. This fine piece of machinery was clearly very expensive, and its disappearance had cost Red Rock no less than 450,000 Galatokens.
"Here's the phantom driller in question. Serial number 7x-y25-349. I put in a request for forensics to examine it, but nobody has responded to my request yet. Anyway," Kylo turned to Clementine, holding out a small data disc. "This hold all of our costs of operation, our inventory, and anything else you might need for your audit. Is there anything else I can do for you?"
Before Clementine or Jonah could respond, they found themselves suddenly blinded by a bright light. After a brief moment if disorientation, their vision returned, only they weren't in the vehicle station anymore. They were underground, surrounded by several people they've never seen before...
With the thunderous roar of an ancient leviathan waking from its slumber, the freight elevator came to life. Slowly it began its descent. The sound was loud and echoed throughout the mines. If anybody were in this lifeless area of tunnel, they would surely hear it. Too bad Michael was all alone. Or maybe that was the blessing? Either way, slowly the elevator brought him and only him downward.
The ride had taken nearly three full minutes, but finally it came to a stop. The light ceased to flicker, instead it burned brightly as though the bulb or power had been replaced. The doors opened up and on the other side was no doubt the biggest surprised Michael would receive that day.
People. Armed people. They were packed in the tunnel as tightly as they could be. Human beings, like himself, wearing makeshift armor made from whatever materials they could get ahold of. They carried guns, laser blasters, baseball bats, mining drills, all manner of things that could make you dead. Then one approached Michael, a young woman wearing leather and carrying a laser blaster.
"Michael Sonnen, you made it! Huzzah! Hopefully our contact was correct and you can join us. Tell me, what do you think of Galatec?"
The mentor straightened his tie as Samara went into initiating the Refraction Displacement System. The computer hummed to life as it began to draw more power than they had ever used before. After a few seconds of intense calculations, the computer... Stopped? Drat, it froze! Samara just knew they should have swiped the latest processing chip! And that's when the four dots on the monitor vanished, while the light projector in the center of the headquarters roared to life. Well maybe it was good enough after all.
Disoriented, but recovering, four young adults appeared in the center of a large cavern chamber. It was a few thousand square feet, with mine cart hovertrack leading to multiple pathways, each one closed off by a large metal door. Multiple work benches and computer stations had been setup around the cavern, while they each stood on a central platform below some kind of light projector. It wasn't the only source of light, though. Strings of lights ran around the ceiling, powered by a portal generator. Finally, two strangers were among them here. A young, dark-skinned woman sitting at a computer station, and what appeared to be a middle aged human man standing before them, looking composed. Before they could question too much about what had happened, the alien-man in front of them began to speak.
"Tommy Reese. Oliver Johnson. Clementine Mayweather. Jonah Fallen. Welcome. I apologize for the sudden discomfort, but it was necessary given our circumstances. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Joniminum Lorel'ammit Jorgenschmidtl, but you may refer to me as John Jorgen. I am a former employee of Galatec, a high ranking scientist in the departments of Robotics, Physics, and Engineering. I am also Galatec's foremost expert on the Morphing Grid, which brings me to you. I have studied your culture, your history. Many races across the universe have been able to access the Morphing Grid, but humanity appears to have the most experience with it. Throughout time, human beings have faced perilous threat upon disaster, and they always come out on top, thanks to your special connection to the Morphing Grid. Now your world faces such threats again, in the form of my former employers. So I have taken it upon myself to give you the fighting chance that you deserve. Each one of you were studied and hand picked for one reason or another to join a special team to defend your people. My associate and I," the man gestured to the woman at the computers, her name still a mystery, "offer you a choice. You can decide to go back to your lives the way they were before you met us. You can work and toil for minimal pay, no appreciation, for the benefit of those taking advantage of your kind... Or you can choose to stand up and fight for what is right. You can honor your people's proud history and become... Power Rangers."
Mable's manager sighed in irritation at his client's antics. Well, technically Galatec was his client, but in the end she was the one he had the most contact with. "Please Mable, my name is Gajoon, not 'Octo-manager.' And you know I don't hate you. I know the situation isn't ideal, but nobody ever said that being a star was easy."
That was the truth. Gajoon was one of the good ones. Sure, he was technically an employee of Galatec, but then again so was Mable. He may get fatigued by her energy and was weary of their entire situation, but in his squishy, cephalopod heart he was a good guy.
When Mable tossed the lyric sheets onto the floor of the limo, he let out a soft sigh and began picking them up himself. All the while, his phone blew up with messages, texts, alerts, notifications, and other assorted business-related material. While he was on the floor, he missed Mable's sunroof antics, but he was quick to react once he got his footing back.
"Miss Love! Please control yourself! Do you want to incite something here?!" Mable knew he was just being stuffy and cautious.
Once the limo had parked, Gajoon got out and began walking in the direction of the dressing room, gesturing for Mable to follow. "Now as you said before, this one is going to be a challenge, but I know you're up for it. The practice band is already setup backstage, so you can get the hang of this new piece. Remember, it's the grand finale to tonight's performance, so it must be absolutely perfect. I don't need to remind you of how important tonight is, since Galatec is looking to renew our contract. We don't want you getting deported."
The twins stopped their conversation as Jackson approached, something about lima beans, and turned to face the young man. The first one to speak was the twin with the dreadlocks.
"Oh, we're doing fine. Just enjoying our break before we get back to work."
"I'm glad we could get such a good job, and stay together as a family," piped in the twin with her hair in a bun.
"I'm Shawnee and this is my sister Sarah. Who are you?"
Trepidation racked his insides. The three minutes in the elevator felt longer... way longer. He could feel his heart beating in his chest, heard the raucous elder metal grinding outside the heated cage, he saw nothing in particular as he readied himself. It was not the knowing that held his thumb in place on his scar.
When the doors finally opened, Michael's eyes went wide with shock.
An... army? he thought, too unsure to step forward or backwards.
For a long, literal, second Michael attempted to understand. The group... the rebels perhaps, were packed tight in the hallway; were they getting ready for a raid? Really it didn't matter, all that mattered was his answer to her question. He could see it in her eyes; he was already too deep in. His answer would be detrimental to something.
"I think you're gonna end up dead going against them," Michael said tensely. "The devils aren't normal."
Adelram said nothing as the beam struck his armor. Judging by the Foreman's expression, Drax concluded that the weapon was at full power, and bringing up shielding would be unnecessary for winning this engagement. One thing Drax did not understand was the Foreman's willingless to die at his hands. Adelram calculated what the Foreman's best moves would be, and escaping seemed to be the most sensible route of action. Perhaps, he wondered, if the Foreman was on a suicide mission to distract Adelram for reasons unknown. He self-countered this thought, as the Foreman did not initiate this fight through physical means, but rather that Drax was the aggressor in this situation. If the Foreman had not incurred the kill order by Madam Ruthalia, the current combat situation would not be happening.
At the same time, he reached down to the comically large firearm at his side. Gripping the handle, he ripped the gun out of it's holster and leveled it towards the lizard man.
Two shrieking pulses of yellow energy exploded from the barrel in rapid succession, powerful recoil cancelled by Adelram's strength and inner gyroscopes. The first shot was aimed to collide with the Foreman's core, a hopefully direct hit. The second shot slanted slightly downwards, as to explode at Jo'ones's feet to propel him upwards.
After the stunt Tommy has pulled in an effort to save his friend's life, he fully expected to die. After all, he was on the ground looking into the face of a very angry elite githkin, he was physically frail and had never fought anything more threatening than a household pest, and to top it all off, Oliver and him were outnumbered. The collision with the ground had opened new wounds in his knees, which spread fresh blood onto the floor of the tunnel. Even worse, he couldn't muster the energy to get up at this point, as the sprint and dive had taken all the energy he could muster for the moment.
Tommy gave Oliver one last little smile, the sort of knowing smile that meant he knew what was coming next, and he was fine with it. It really was all fine though! all living things die eventually right? Besides, ditching the mortal coil for whatever awaited beyond would make sure he would never be hungry again... Closing his eyes, Tommy waited for the end.
And somehow, as Tommy awaited the pain that would eventually be followed by death, he felt nothing... there was a flash of light that he could see even through his closed eyes, and... nothing. Was this death? It felt a lot like life, and he was still hungry which was probably the biggest disappointment to come out of the whole ordeal. But as he heard the voice of (ERROR: FILE NOT FOUND), he knew that for the moment he had avoided death.
Looking around the room, he could see that there were four other people in roughly the same predicament he was, and luckily Oliver was one of them! If Tommy had had any time to worry during the last few moments of his life, that would certainly have been a weight off of his mind. And with all of these observations he hadn't even gotten to the room! There was a lot of advanced machinery, that given the proper time and training, he could probably learn how to operate, and maybe even construct. Oooooh, nothing more exciting than learning new things! Well, except perhaps for the prospect of saving the world, which he had just learned about now.
Suddenly, Tommy jumped up from his previously lying position and inspected everything in the room. "That looks like it might... transport particles?! How exciting, that's how we got here!" He exclaimed, looking at the displacer. "And these are... no idea actually, but they're color coded and look pretty neat." He said looking at the morphers. Speaking at roughly the speed of a supersonic jet, Tommy began to bombard the room in general with questions."How does all this work? Can I learn to build it? I'm Tommy, who's who here?" He continued, wearing the biggest grin on his face.
"Oh, sorry." He said turning to (ERROR: FILE NOT FOUND). "I never answered your question... ugh, yes, that sounds rather good at the moment. Also, does anyone have any food?"
Clementine was glad to see that her first stop along her audit journey was going so smoothly. it was rather amazing that Chief Kylo responded with such compliance rather than adopting a typical defensive stance. Clementine wrote a note to herself concerning the failure of the forensics department to analyze the driller, then reached out a hand to take the disc from Kylo when she was suddenly surrounded by a bright, disorienting light.
When the light disappeared, Clementine found herself somewhere else in the mine, somewhere that didn't look like any of the few places she had already seen. She listened with growing trepidation as the alien spoke. One man among the people here sprang into action, inspecting the machinery and spit-firing questions and introduced himself as Tommy. Then the unthinkable happened: the man agreed to help the alien fight against Galatec.
Clementine's eye twitched.
"HAH!" Clementine barked uncontrollably. "Haha...heh..." Clementine laughed nervously, "Th-that's not how you're supposed to answer...silly." Clementine looked almost drunk as she continued, "I-I know what this is...this is one of those corporate team-building exercises, right?" She looked around at the people nearby, visibly shaking, turning to look at the as-yet-unnamed Samara and at the alien for some confirmation. "Y-you really threw me for a loop you know, whisking me here suddenly...you almost had me for a second...almost had me...But we know where this goes, right? Now we all share stories of how much we've benefited from Galatec: all the great opportunities, awesome products, and what an ideal work environment it is. We all love Galatec here, right? ...right?" For some reason Clementine couldn't stop talking, afraid that the silence would expose some horrible eventuality. Something was definitely wrong here, so she clung to the comfort of the sound of her own voice.
The growing hum from the computer did not distract Samara, nor did its sudden silence. This location was not powered by some of the greatest technology on the planet, but it was going to have to be enough. They had never summoned four people at one time before, so some slack had to be cut on the system itself. Her expression didn’t shift at the silence, instead her eyes kept focused on the platform this group would appear. The faith in their system—and her own abilities—was promptly rewarded with the materialization of the four targets. As the Mentor began to explain to them the situation they now found themselves in, Samara was watching their individual reactions from a distance.
Tommy was by far more enthusiastic than she expected. He looked around erratically to examine his surroundings, smart of him, but she couldn’t tell if he was actually listening to her colleague about why he was here. He began to go on a tangent and speak of what he noticed. It pained her to even think it, so she dare not say it: Tommy actually caught on quicker than she expected him to. Typically she associated excessive cheer for lack of interest in the technological, but a living, breathing contradiction to that theory was right in front of her. The RDS did convert their physical mass into light. He wasn’t wrong, but he was closer than she believed anyone could get within a minute of getting here. Samara found herself smiling. Maybe he’d be a bigger boon than she once thought.
He introduced himself to his peers and agreed to take on this new responsibility, almost too quickly. When he complained about food, Samara glanced to the corner beside her own little workstation. Just beside it was a small cache of purified water, completely absent of Galatec’s chemical meddling, and a collection of protein bars as an easily disposable snack. Standing up and moving over to it, she knelt down and pulled out a bottle of water from the dust-covered duffle bag they were stored in, as well as two protein bars. It wouldn’t be much, but for a guy as slim as him it would be enough nourishment and energy to carry him through the next couple of hours minimum.
She stood up just as Clementine had begun to have a breakdown. There had to be at least one of them that believed this was some sort of elaborate trap to test their loyalty to Galatec, and as expected it was Clementine after all. As she wrapped it up, Samara had spoken for the first time since they arrived.
“Not quite, Clem,” she started before her eyes rested on Tommy. “Head’s up Blue,” Samara tossed the bottle of water to him first, followed by one of the protein bars she carried in the opposite hand. “Protein bar and water—before you think it’s got any of that poison Galatec feeds you, it doesn’t.”
Whether or not he chose to believe her would be up to him. Moving the free hand to her hip, Samara’s attention returned to Clementine. “You’re half-right; everyone standing beside you is about to become your new teammates against Galatec, so I guess you could consider this an introduction that will lead into team-building. Galatec is not our friend, and they aren’t yours either.”
This was all assuming Clementine would not refuse this offer. As John said, they were free to return to a life of willing slavery, but Samara wanted to believe that Clementine, like all of them, could become a vital part of the team and help free New Earth.
Despite her ragged appearance—a sheen of sweat across her exposed forearms, neck and face, and an untidy length of hair tied back in a ponytail—Samara still stood with confidence.
“I know it’s sudden. If I’m being honest, I’d have kept a couple of you out of this,” Samara was careful not to let her eyes linger on any of them for too long, fearing that they would be offended that she might think little of them. “We recognize your potential as individuals, but the things you could accomplish together far exceed anything you could hope to do on your own. Power Rangers in the distant past were able to come together when a world, or a space colony, or even an entire sector of space needed them the most. Now we hope you four can do the same.”
Digging into her back pocket, Samara removed an ID card showing a neater, cleaner appearance with a brilliant smile, and her name on clear display. “I’m Samara, and I’m asking you to trust us. You may be this world’s last hope.”
With little else of interest happening in the mines as of yet, Ruth decided to watch the two lone sl—ahem, employees walking around the mine. She didn’t like seeing the humans in groups together without supervision. She didn’t give a flying Gulliet if they had Loyalty Privileges. It always made her unhappy. She had every confidence in the abilities of the suggestive and influential powers of Galatec but she had never taken a great liking or trust towards humans. They were so… repugnant? Irksome? Insignificant? Yes, that seemed the right word. Humans were so insignificant.
She folded her arms across her chest and drummed her fingers on one arm with one hand while the other zoomed in and out, following the two humans wandering around, her fingers clicking buttons to switch camera views when the need arose. She read the subtitles and felt her brows knitting together in a most unattractive manner. Ruth expected to be informed of a missing vehicle after an hour of being missing, let alone an entire Groth damn week. She could feel her temper rising and she had to wonder where their supervisor was. It was most unprofessional and she began to hope that the supervisor also had a particularly vibrant skin that she could appropriate.
It was a good job she was such a wonderful multi-tasker or she’d never have seen what happened next while thinking of how to best dress herself with her destroyed subordinates. The humans were gone with a flash of light! Ruth turned to look at the workers at the terminals that had remained behind to work over their lunch break like good little insects. If they didn’t already regret that decision, they soon would be.
“What in the damn just happened there?! What was that light?! Where did those humans go?! DO NOT MAKE ME ASK AGAIN, MAGGOTS!!!!” She let out a loud huff of anger, and took a deeeeeeeeeep breath. She was extremely close to losing her self-control. This was what she had been expecting but she hadn’t expected it so soon! She watched the workers in the terminals, examining their every move uncomfortably closely in the off chance that they had been responsible for the glare of light in the cameras. She listened out for their thoughts as she began to stretch her mind to reach the Githkin within the facility.
“GITHKIN. This is your Regional Manager speaking with an order for all of you that can hear me. We have missing human employees that have vanished in a flash of light. If you have witnessed any of these events, come to the Foreman’s office IMMEDIATELY. The rest of you must search for the missing human employees. Detain any human employees that are of a low loyalty level for questioning by me. Ensure they are unable to cause any trouble. Ensure that they have no access to anything that could be used as a weapon. Ensure that you do not keep me waiting long. I expect the missing human employees to be found within the hour. MOVE.”
She was going to get wrinkles. Someone was going to pay.
Ruth strode forward and slapped the nearest terminal worker square across the face and glared at them, daring them to challenge her. This would not do. She couldn’t even get hold of Drax in her usual method! Having an android subordinate really did have its drawbacks. She sighed as she clicked her communicator on to contact him. “General Drax, we have a situation. Return to the Foreman’s office now. If the lizard isn’t dead yet, bring him too.” She flicked it off and gave a stern gaze at the workers in her vicinity.
The pain was massive. Being hit in the back by a Githkin was no joke. Oliver, despite this, quickly tried to see if there was anything he could do to save his friend. Unfortunately, there was no way out of this one. When Tommy smiled at Ollie it made him feel sorry for dragging someone else into trouble he caused. He said, "Sorry."
Just as Ollie turned to face the fist that would destroy his head a light appeared and had engulfed him. It was so bright that Ollie couldn't keep his eyes open. It took him a couple of seconds to get the spots to go away, but when they did he saw a room filled with work stations and computers. He then saw three other people standing on a platform with him. He only recognized one but thankfully it was Tommy. Ollie looked at the other two until he heard a voice.
The man gave this whole monologue about how he thought he and the other three could save the world. Ollie thought it wasn't possible for so few a number until he heard a two words that Ollie had jotted down as myth- Power Rangers. When Ollie was younger his mother had told him stories of amazing warriors for the human race in order to keep his hopes up. His father told him that the stories weren't real and that he should focus on waiting for the right chance to eliminate Galatec.
Ollie really didn't know if he could believe what this man was saying. On one hand Ollie was hoping that something good would happen, and on the other the man said he use to be high-ranking among Galatec. How could he trust him? When Tommy started running around with random questions, Ollie actually laughed a little. For some reason this place made Ollie more at ease. He couldn't tell why though. Unfortunately the only girl on the platform that seemed to have been poofed in started saying how this was probably a trick to test their loyalty. It made Ollie start to doubt if his hopes were coming true, but then he thought about it. Tommy and he were about to die. They also knew he was immune so why do this? Everything that was happening just confused Ollie so much until the associate of the ex-Galatec guy spoke up.
As this woman addressed Clementine's doubts Ollie got up and walked around. If this was a trick he may be able to find some proof of it. He first walked over to Tommy and asked quietly, "Hey, are you alright? That was pretty close. You know you didn't need to worry about me though." Before Tommy could answer Ollie's eyes landed on six devices on a table. The ones Tommy had mentioned earlier. For some reason Ollie felt drawn to them. They were all different colors. One was red, another blue, green, yellow, violet, and the last Ollie couldn't really tell cause he was still a little blinded from the light earlier.
Ollie eyed each of them and remembered how the woman, who had introduced herself as Samara, called Tommy Blue. He then noticed how six people were standing in the room. Six people and six-uh-things. This combined with the constant talk of Power Rangers made Ollie very confused, "Wait. How do we know for sure we can trust you? Aren't Power Rangers just stories told to kids to make them feel safe? Supposing you are telling us the truth, and Power Rangers are real. How are the six of us going to stop Galatec alone? Didn't the Power Rangers in the stories have some sort of guy over them that helped them?"
Mable let out a yawn as her manager proceeded to let her know once more how important this concert was. He said she could be deported if she messed this up, Mable raised a brow at him. "Deported? I'm just a pop star Gajoon, what's so important about my performance here that they need to threaten me?" She asked, her eyes sincere and innocent. She knew she was being used, but there were many details missing. Who was giving the orders, who was truly overseeing her career, and who the hell was giving her these god awful songs? She shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "Never mind, I'm probably overthinking things." She said. Gajoon likely didn't know much, and even if he did he wouldn't talk, lest he risk being disappeared by Galatec.
She left the parking lot and entered the back of the stage. As Gajoon had said, there was a band waiting for her, a group of people she'd never met before. As expected they all quickly ran up to her, excited to meet her and of course honored to work with her. Mable greeted them back as if she were seeing old friends, quickly breaking the ice. "Alright everyone, we don't have much time, so let's get started!" She said, grabbing a mic. Thankfully the band Galatec had given her to work with was decent, and as far as she could tell weren't in on what the purpose of this song was. Galatec was likely forced to use outside help, she couldn't imagine it was easy to find talented musicians in their ranks.
Soon enough Mable had the performance memorized, from the song lyrics to her dance routine. As the final preparations took place she was put into a flowing colorful outfit and told to wait until the show was to start
The young woman seemed amused by Michael's initial shock, but that amusement faded rather quickly. There were important matters at hand that deserved her attention. After Michael answered her question, she smirked and chuckled.
"You're darn right they're not normal. But you called'em devils. That tells me you're on the level." She i holstered a sidearm, an archaic weapon from a bygone era know as a 9mm pistol, and held it up in front of the confused miner. "I'm glad our contact was right and you're immune. Like us. We're here to free as many humans as we can, and cripple Galatec's biggest mining operation on the planet. They have to be stopped."
She gave pause for a moment, taking the time to look Michael right in his eyes. He could see something there. Hatred. She was consumed by it, like an inferno raging in her very soul.
"I heard about your cousin. She needs to be avenged, don't you think think?"
The foreman was forced to drop his weapon in a desperate leap to dodge the blaster Drax had fired. By twisting himself in the air he managed to narrowly avoid the first shot. As for the second, it had exactly the effect Drax intended. Jo'ones flew upward into the air in a shower of sparks, his scales burned and scorched. The lizard man fell downward, over the railing, but he did not fall to the bottom. Jo'ones made use of those fully articulate feet of his and grabbed the edge of the railing.
Just as Drax determined that the foreman was still alive, and hanging on for dear life, he received a transmission from Ruth's communication frequency. “General Drax, we have a situation. Return to the Foreman’s office now. If the lizard isn’t dead yet, bring him too.”
The workers kept going, despite Ruth's temper and slapping. Her mind probing revealed their thoughts. The first assistant was absolutely terrified of Ruth, but was using that fear to stay focused on the task at hand. She furiously tapped away at the computer, desperate for results. The second resented their treatment. He was angry with Ruth, but knew better than to complain. He too put his all into his work, but was completely flummoxed about what to do or what had happened.
As the mental commands went out, Ruth could feel the githkin of Red Rock scrambling about to complete their orders. Both in her mind and on screen Ruth could see the cloned soldiers checking under every rock, in every cranny, gathering all of the slaves that were immune to "reconditioning," and all manner of other deeds. One in particular stood out, however. Ruth felt the mind of an elite githkin reach out to her, which she recognized by his serial number XJ-47. Ma'am, I obey and have much to tell.
Meanwhile, the assistants made a breakthrough. "Madame Ruth, I found something!" called out the frightened female. "It's accounting director Shplorn!"
Indeed it was. The view screen displayed Shplorn, the director of accounting, and the currently assigned supervisor of the two slaves that went missing. She was in her personal quarters talking on some kind of communicator, but the view screen couldn't interpret what she was saying. There was some kind of interference. More than a little fishy.
The team, or the people that he had hoped would make up their team, had doubts. It was to be expected. At least Tommy instantly jumped to the cause, just as John predicted. Clementine had the biggest doubts, which seemed to express as some kind of nervous breakdown, while Oliver was simply hesitant. Jonah had been quiet so far, but that was to be expected based on the personality file John had compiled.
"My assistant is correct. You all may be this world's last hope. And no, Oliver. Power Rangers are not just stories. They simply... Haven't been needed. Not for humanity, not for some time." He took a moment to straighten his tie, then pressed a button on a remote control, which activated a view screen. Images of various power rangers throughout the ages played before their very eyes. Formidable warriors in bright colors battling evil monsters throughout time, inspiring and benevolent, they struggled for the good of the people all around them. "This is your legacy, young ones. These have been your protectors and they were very real. It has been a proud tradition of humanity. Perhaps I should show you the... Proud tradition of Galatec."
John pressed another button, and the view screen changed images. What played out before their eyes now was terrible. People forced into hard labor, some working to death. Entire planets strip-mined until they were made hollow and collapsed in on themselves. Entire species being experimented on. John switched it off just before a Galatec scientist was about to perform an autopsy on some kind of sentient alien creature... While still fully alive and aware.
"I understand why you may not be entirely trusting of me and my associate. I don't blame you. However, I want to assure you, no, promise you that I am fully trustworthy and ready to guide you. Mentor you. Please, direct you attention to the obituary on the screen." Indeed, there was now an obituary on the view screen. The name was the same the man had given as his own, with the date of death almost six months ago. However the image did not fit in the least. He was clearly a human, while the image was of some kind of tall, gaunt looking alien. "Six months ago, I faked my own death and escaped Galatec with classified technology and research equipment. I have since taken on this form in order to better blend in. I have taken a great many risks so that your people can survive and thrive in this universe. Samara has been phenomenal help, but we've reached the limit of what we can do alone. Now, it's up to you. It's time to be a hero."
[Remember PL, this is a more traditional RP, meaning that you only control and decide what your own character does. GM controls the world and all NPCs. For the time being it's not a big deal since most of this is, for the moment, fluff, but it will become a problem soon.]
Practice took a little more than a couple hours. Thank the stars that this band was actually good enough to keep up with Mable, or there was no way she'd have been able to perfect the performance. That said, after the final practice run, Gajoon stood up from his seat and began clapping, giving Mable three separate applauses with his many tentacle-arms.
"Splendid, just splendid Miss Love!" he congratulated, moving toward her and the band. "I knew you'd be able to do it. Just make sure you're as good when the lights are on and the people are out there, and we'll have ourselves a perfect show!"
Mable had herself about half an hour before she was due to report to make-up for show preparation. For now, the band began packing things up so they could rest up. Each one stepped out, heading off to who-knows-where, while Gajoon went back to conducting business on his mobile communicator. He began rattling off a list of show dates for the future, meetings they needed to conduct, all the day to day minutiae that didn't really concern Mable that much, but was Gajoon's job to deal with. In that time, there came a knock on the door. Soft, yet persistent, like someone was excited but worried about waking someone at the same time. Gajoon either didn't hear, or didn't pay it any mind, as he continued to rattle off their schedule for five weeks from today.
It was there now, an anger and resolved forged by fire. He saw then that there was no changing her mind. That was okay, he decided a split-moment afterwards. It wasn't his life or anyone he loved. Cramped in the tunnel was readied warriors, men and women whose armor left much to be desired but whose eyes spoke of hope, fear, and a cauldron-stew of other emotions. Among them all though it was their hope for today that shone the most. Michael's breathing became even as he near-instinctively tried to calm himself. The situation was awakening something
He hadn't noticed how tensed his fist were, how strong his veins were pushing against his scarred skin. Then... like the explosion from earlier, an inferno blazed in his hazel eyes. They were shaded by suddenly down-turned brows and a tightness was in his jaw. Those words were all he needed to hear to drive his nightmares of Galatec into a corner. A corner that was wrapped in a impregnable fortress, a defense unlike anything he could conjure. It wasn't hard to figure out why but not many had strayed towards the topic of his cousin.
The pickaxe in his hand was nearly forgotten until he felt the chafing of his skin against its wood. Michael loosened his grip on it before touching the old weapon in her hand. It had some of the same features of the newer model weapons; a barrel, a trigger, but it held a kind of style that simply fitted him, he thought awkwardly.
He eyed it with curiosity, hefting the ax onto his powerful shoulder while doing so.
He spoke next without looking up, "An entire three-sixty at the mention of one word." Because to him it was really only one that sparked him. "Cousin". That single word often invoked alien emotions in him. "Either way, I'm on board but you'll have to show me how to use this," he told her finally.
She was growing in instability, obviously shaken by the context of the discussion and while he understood her concern, that wasn't what they needed right now. They needed to think calmly, assess the situation and these people to determine their real motives. This was most likely a trap anyway, and even if it wasn't, there was no reason to just go along with whatever they said.
Though, one of them seemed to be totally unaware of their situation. If Jonah wasn't so focused on the task at hand, he'd slap the toy-maker across the face for acting so ridiculous in the face of a serious problem. Did he think this was some sort of game? Well, it didn't matter in the end. If this was a test, Jonah was pretty sure that guy just failed it.
The other one had his doubts, he seemed slightly more rational than the rest and rightfully questioned their chances of success. Than the woman, Samara, began talking about plans of hope and dreams and freedom. Their "mentor" even gave a speech of his own.
And then it hit him, the final conclusion born from his philosophy.
He laughed at the sudden realization, every other thought seemingly just passing by, washing away in the face of what stood before him. The possibility, the potential reality, all hitting him at once as he took a step forward after silently contemplating for a moment.
“I'm gonna say I believe him since I'm doubting that this is an exercise. Given the circumstances required, it's far too unlikely that we'd be given so much attention and planning just for a simple trust exercise or screening. We're simple workers with no great power in the system, they'd more likely just kill us if they had that high a suspicion. ” His sharp eyed glare never left his target. “And besides, even if he sends us back, the security cameras would have clearly seen us all disappear already. There will be questionings, investigations into our lives, that's how these things work when an empire loses track of its workers completely. Whatever freedoms we had before won't be there when the dust clears. So, you're either a liar or you just gambled with all of our lives for a self righteous ideal. Like I already said though, I'm assuming the latter option.”
But, with all of that being said, there was still only one option, only one course left.
“I'm in.”
Because the objective truth was, his life was over, the hope speeches and ideological resolves didn't matter. His plans were gone, whatever trust Galatec had in him would probably be broken by the time he showed his face again so he might as well go all in. What is is and what is not is not, he'd deal, that's how he lived.
“But let me make something clear, I don't believe in heroes or a righteous cause. I'm doing this because I want to.”
But even more than that, more than the logical conclusion; he had wanted this to happen, an excuse to not care. Let's face it, he'd been waiting for something like this to push him ever since he let that girl go at the mines, ever since he saw her name plastered on a random TV screen that said she had joined the rebel army officially.
Adelram calculated his next course of action. With the Foreman over the railing, a swing of his axe would be very problematic for the ex-soldier. He grabbed the end of the handle of his axe that was attached to his back, but halted when a sudden communication fizzled through his communication.
His new directive was to take the Foreman captive once more, if he was not already dead. Drax's mission was just extended as the Foreman was currently still alive. He also began to consider the possibilities as to why the Regional Manager wished to see the Foreman once again. However, it was not of his concern. The mission will be completed.
"Foreman Jo'ones, Madam Ruthalia wishes to have an audience with you. Your compliance is not necessary but may be appreciated." Drax said, voice predictably even and clear. As he spoke these words he quickly paced over to where the Foreman was hanging and attempted to grab his legs with his giant left hand.
