Newtech City. For a moment Eric wondered who had thought up that name as he topped a rise in the highway and saw it spread out below. It didn’t look all that new, or all that technical either. Just another city, not much different from Silver Hills.
He frowned, his thoughts drifting inevitably back to home and its problems even as his car headed down towards his destination. He had refused to share that home because having Wes live with him openly might destroy its safety, at least in his own mind. And yet - what did safety mean, what did home mean, if Wes wasn’t a part of it? Maybe it had been a mistake to let fear keep them apart - but wouldn’t it be another mistake to let the fear of losing Wes force him to agree? If Wes’s resentment was pushing them apart, his own would do the job even faster.
Just a retread of the same tired circles his thoughts had been going in for weeks. Eric scowled at the city ahead. Probably just as well to give it a rest, get away for a while, to let both of them have a little time apart. Maybe when he got back, or Wes came here, they could talk about it, get it settled somehow and get rid of the thin, invisible wall growing between them.
Newtech City. Eric focused his thoughts on it as he passed the city limits and saw tall buildings in the distance. Newtech City and SPD - Bio-Lab’s Special Police Division, although he knew that the real meaning was Space Patrol Delta, and that this organization was the Earth outpost of a much larger agency, a secret that would be revealed publicly when the public was ready for it.
But the thought of SPD led to the thought of Nick Tate. Nick, his... his... Eric smiled ruefully. ‘Lover’ implied an emotion he hadn’t felt. ‘Guy I used to have sex with’ sounded too cold. ‘Boyfriend’ sounded stupid, but it was a little better than ‘significant other’. Okay. Nick, his former boyfriend in the Army who had turned up in Silver Hills - how long ago now? Must be about five years. Turned up working for Bio-Lab, and with a wife and child. Well, Nick had always said he was bisexual, and apparently he hadn’t been kidding.
Were they happy, Nick and his wife Lyn and baby Sky? At least they could live together out in the open... Damn, why did everything seem to lead back to Wes? Focus.
While Nick was almost certainly involved, it was Michael Zaskin who had called and asked for help. What kind of help? They had their own Ranger; Nick was using the first suit they had built using data from tests on Wes’s morpher (and there he was again) and had already started to make a name for himself. Did they need another Ranger to back him up for some reason? Someone they could trust to be discreet, who already knew what their top scientist looked like without the hologrammatic disguise that made her look human?
With a mental shrug Eric decided there was no point in wondering. He’d find out soon enough.
“Just be back soon. Our flight’s boarding in...” Collins checked his watch.
“In an hour, if it’s not delayed.” Lina leaned in her seat to kiss him, and then got up. “I won’t be long. Just want to stretch my legs and check out a few of the shops.”
“Don’t spend too much,” Collins said with a smile.
“What else is a rich husband for?” She grinned back and gave Wes a wink.
“Feels strange, waiting for a plane and not going over papers or planning financial strategy,” Collins said, his eyes following Lina as she walked away. “My first real vacation in... I don’t remember how long. And it’s a honeymoon. At my age.”
“You’ll have a great time,” Wes said.
“Don’t forget that meeting with Wilson Pharmaceutical.”
“I won’t, Dad.”
“And call if anything unusual comes up.”
“I will, Dad.”
“And make sure I get a summary-”
“Dad...” Wes grinned and shook his head. “Honeymoon, remember? The only company you should be worrying about is Lina’s.”
“You’re right, of course.” Collins gave him a smile. “You know, after we get back, you and Eric should do this. Take some time off and go somewhere. Give you a chance to spend some real time together, especially since you decided not to move into his house.”
“Yeah,” Wes said, unable to keep his voice from showing how he felt. “Maybe someday.”
His father turned to look at him more closely. “Something wrong, son?” he asked after a moment.
Wes shrugged. “Nothing you should worry about.” He gave a hollow laugh. “Especially not now.”
“Wes. Tell me.” He waited, staring with that steady, penetrating look that had always intimidated Wes as a child - and still did, a little.
“Okay already, Dad.” Both amused and slightly annoyed, Wes leaned forward and stared into his hands, clasped between his knees. “To tell you the truth, I didn’t decide not to move into Eric’s house. I asked him if I could move in, and he said no.”
“He turned you down?” Collins’ voice was neutral.
“Yeah. It’s not his fault, Dad, so don’t blame him or anything. He’s just - worried - that people will find out about us. That’s why.”
“I see.”
“I don’t know... I said nothing terrible’s going to happen if people find out. We won’t lose our jobs or anything. But maybe he’s right. Maybe I’m being naïve or unrealistic or whatever.”
“He’s got a point, and I can understand how he feels, especially considering his background. But - no, you’re not being naïve. Things have changed tremendously since when I was a kid, or even when I was your age, and they’re going to keep on changing. That said, there will always be people who will give you a bad time because of who you are. Sometimes they can change, too - just look at me. Sometimes not.” He sighed. “Yes, Eric’s got a point. But you’ve got a point too.”
“Well... I guess. But - it’s not even so much who’s right and who’s wrong; it’s that he wouldn’t even consider it. It’s like what I want doesn’t matter to him. I try to understand why, but - I dunno, things just aren’t the same between us.” Wes realized some considerable part of his unhappiness of the last months had crept into his voice as it trembled slightly. He tried to laugh. “I guess I’ll get over it. We’ll get over it. No big deal.”
Collins’ voice was very soft. “But it could be a big deal. I’ve seen marriages break up for less.”
“Yeah, well, we’re certainly not married.”
“I know.” Something in his father’s tone made Wes look up, but the older man only smiled and rested a hand on his knee. “Son, I’m going to tell you the two things I’ve learned about love in my lifetime. One: the real thing can be very hard to find. Two: when you find it, it’s worth hanging on to. Relationships take work, and patience, and compromise. It’s not always happiness and romance - sometimes it’ll make you miserable, sometimes you’ll want to just give up. But - if it’s real - the rewards are well worth the struggle.” He leaned to look directly into Wes’s face. “I think it’s the real thing with you and Eric. Don’t let it go without a fight.”
A fight. Wes felt his mouth curve into an almost unwilling smile. “You’d think that’s one thing Eric and I know how to do. Fight for what we want.”
“Don’t you?”
“I hope so, Dad. I hope so.”
SPD, that’s what the sign over the door said in big letters. Eric stopped and looked it over long enough to compare it to the tall, windowed walls of Bio-Lab, and found it similar, on a smaller scale. An office building like so many others - except for the secrets it held.
But right now the only secrets he was interested in were why Zaskin had asked for help and how long he was going to have to stay. In search of answers, Eric pushed through the glass entrance doors, spotted a receptionist, and in a few minutes was being greeted by Dr. Michael Zaskin himself.
“Eric! It’s nice to see a face from Bio-Lab,” the tall scientist said as they shook hands. “How was the drive down here?”
“Not bad. Made it in a couple of hours.”
“Good; that’s good.” Zaskin sounded slightly distracted, and Eric noticed circles of fatigue under his eyes. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”
“No problem.”
“Come on, I’ll show you around. Then I want to introduce you to someone.”
Zaskin led him towards the back of the building, pausing as they came to a model of a building on display in a glass case at the back of the lobby. “Our future headquarters,” he said. “Still in the design stages, but we’re planning to move into it in about ten years.”
“That’s a long time to construct a building, isn’t it?” Eric eyed the model dubiously. It was a tall, blocky, and very odd-looking structure.
“It’s going to be more than just a building.” he smiled at Eric’s puzzled look. “No time to go into details. Come on.”
Next, they passed a set of laboratories complete with groups of people in white lab coats. “This is where I do most of my work,” Zaskin said. “As you know, we built our first working morpher thanks to the data we got from testing Wes’s morpher and some help from the Lightspeed scientists. Now we’re working on improving the design.”
“I know,” Eric said. “Been curious to see how that first one turned out.”
“Then follow me.”
A minute or two later they were outside, and Eric found himself looking at what was obviously a training area equipped with a track, an obstacle course - and, around a corner, a firing range. Standing with his back to them, taking aim with a familiar blaster at one of the targets set up beyond him, was--
“Wes?” Eric muttered in surprise at the sight of the Time Force Red Ranger suit. But no... the stance, the movements, the lines of the body in that suit were not Wes’s. He had expected this, and yet the sight was still startling even after the man turned around to reveal the silver SPD badge on his chest.
“Eric!” the Ranger exclaimed, and raised his arm to tap the morpher on his wrist. “Power down!”
“Hello, Nick.” Eric tried not to seem like he was staring, trying to see if and how his former boyfriend had changed in the years since they had last seen each other. If there was a difference, it was a good one - Nick had an air of quiet confidence that Eric didn’t remember from before. “Nice suit.”
“Yeah, it’s a little weird the way it looks just like Wes’s, isn’t it? This is basically just a copy; later we’ll improve them and make them look different.” Nick lowered his arm and stepped closer. “I’m glad you could come. Nice to see you again.”
“Yeah, me too. Glad, I mean.” Feeling just a little self-conscious, Eric put out his hand. “How have you been doing? You look good.” For a moment he wondered if the compliment would sound out of place.
“Great. I’m doing great. You look good, too.”
Having established that they both were doing well and looking good, they both turned to Dr. Zaskin. “So - not that I’m not enjoying the reunion - but are you going to tell me what I’m doing here?” Eric asked.
“Yes. Well, not me.” Zaskin looked slightly nervous. “That person I’d like you to meet - he’ll explain it.”
“Yes, you’re in for a treat,” Nick told him, voice lowered, as the three of them headed back into the building. “Meeting Doggie Cruger is a real experience.”
Wes stayed in the airport to watch the plane carrying his father and Lina take off. Standing at one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, he stared out, following it with his eyes as it glinted silver in the bright sun on its way up and into the freedom of flight. Nice that Dad was getting away for a while. Nice...
And yet, Wes couldn’t deny the hollow feeling of emptiness inside him as he turned away and reluctantly headed for the exit, the parking lot, the highway, back to Silver Hills and the relatives waiting for him to show them a good time. Great people, he reminded himself, but none of them was who he wanted to be with right now. Dad, gone... and Eric. Gone. They would both be back soon, true, but now that Dad was married things would never be the same; he would always have other commitments now. Eric... what if that would never be the same either?
“You remember Kat Manx,” Nick murmured as they entered what seemed to be a command center in the heart of the SPD building, after passing through three different checkpoints and sets of armed guards.
Still wondering what could possibly need this much security, Eric nodded as a young woman bent over a panel covered with electronic controls looked up at them, the brilliance of her green eyes visible even at that distance. “How could I forget?” he said as she got up and approached them. “Hello, Dr. Manx.”
“So formal. Hello, Commander Myers,” she replied, raising an eyebrow. Kat was no longer wearing the holographic disguise that made her look like a human woman, and although he already knew what she really looked like he couldn’t help being startled by the sight of her fangs as she smiled.
But that was nothing compared to what he felt when his eyes moved beyond her and deeper into the room. There was a person standing at a bank of monitors and displays covering the far wall, facing away from them, a person dressed in what looked like a long uniform coat, male if the height and broad shoulders were any indication. Which they might not be, since the back of his massive head appeared to be covered with strange, ropy hair, and two large, blue, almost bat-like ears rose above it.
And Zaskin was leading the way towards him. “Commander Cruger?” he said. “Commander Myers is here. Eric, this is Commander Anubis Cruger.”
Eric hardly heard him. The man - or whatever he was - turned around and looked down at him from the face of a huge, blue, scaly-skinned dog. Eric took a step back, staring in shock.
“Commander Myers. I’ve heard a great deal about you. Very nice to meet you at last,” the blue dog was saying in a deep, strong voice. He moved forward and held out an equally huge blue hand.
“I - er - I-” Firmly, Eric tried to get a grip on himself. He knew Kat was an alien, it wasn’t like this should be a complete surprise. With a distrustful look at that very strong-looking paw - no, hand - he put out his own and blurted the first thing that popped into his head. “Uh, I see why they call you Doggie.”
“Ah.” Cruger’s face didn’t show expression well, but his voice was acidly ironic. “Do they? How amusing.”
“Um, yes.” Zaskin seemed embarrassed. Nick was trying unsuccessfully to hide a smile, and while Kat’s face was blank, her eyes twinkled. “Well, Eric needs an explanation of what’s been going on, and why we asked him here.”
“Very well.” All business now, Cruger turned to the wall again and indicated a large monitor. He touched a control and then pointed at the screen as the picture of a decidedly non-human creature with horns, a skull-like face, and red glowing eyes was displayed. “This - is Emperor Gruumm.”
“Gruumm. I’ve heard that name before,” Eric said.
“I told you a little about him back in Silver Hills,” Kat said.
“And now it’s time for you to know as much as we do,” Cruger continued. “Kat probably told you the basics: he’s a warlord bent on conquest, and he’s headed for Earth.”
“And she said he’d get here in another fifteen or twenty years. That’s why Bio-Lab set you up here, so we can be ready if he attacks.”
“Not if. When. We know his plans include Earth. That’s one of the reasons I’m here. And that’s the reason we’ve started to bring in more non-Earthers. Aliens, to you. Some want to fight Gruumm. Some are refugees. Many are both.”
“You’re bringing aliens to Earth? Already?”
“Yes.” Cruger turned to face him. “Kat was the first, then me. In the last months there have been more. We’ve hidden some, helped others disguise themselves, helped them start to make a life here, put them to work on the Ranger project and other weapons development.”
“You mean you’re just letting them loose? How do we know we can trust them?”
“Much as I’d like to say you’re being narrow-minded and suspicious...” Cruger sighed. “I can’t, because your suspicions are justified. This is why we need your help.”
“Explain,” Eric said, eyes narrowing.
“We have been cautious. However, there has been an - unfortunate incident. A small group of known criminals has managed to land on Earth, and we have been unable so far to capture them.”
“I see.” Eric felt a distinct sinking in the pit of his stomach. “How small a group?”
“Five. Four of them are nothing, only followers. But their leader - their leader is a very dangerous person, with abilities that make him a match even for a Power Ranger.” Cruger held his gaze steadily. “His name is Mirloc.”
“Nick is a Ranger now, but he’s only one guy. So they want me to stick around while they try to locate this Mirloc, since he’s supposed to be so tough. They briefed me on him; he’s also got some kind of ability to transport himself through any reflective surface.”
“Yeah? Weird.” Wes smiled a little, even though Eric couldn’t see him. He leaned back against the headboard of his bed and rested his morpher arm on his knee. Eric had called him on the morpher, saying it was more secure than a telephone, and considering what he had to say Wes couldn’t blame him. “First mutants, and now aliens,” he went on after a moment.
“Yeah. Why can’t we just have ordinary master criminals and evil geniuses?”
Wes laughed. Eric didn’t make jokes often, and this one was a nice surprise. “We’ve had a few of those too.”
“I guess.”
Wes sobered and brought the morpher closer to his face. “Sounds like I should get down there. My relatives are only here for another couple of days; they can take care of themselves for that long. I’ll tell them I have to leave, and be there tomorrow around-”
“I’ve got it covered, Wes. Nick and I should be able to handle anything that comes up.”
“Yeah, but-”
“Look, you can get here in an hour in a company helicopter if you need to, right?”
“Well, yeah, I guess.”
“So hang out. No telling how long this is going to take, and with your father gone you need to be there to take care of Bio-Lab and the Guardians. I’ll call if we need you.”
Wes frowned. It sounded reasonable, but - why did Eric not want him there? Did he think he was being considerate? Was it the same pride that always made him deny he needed help? Or - did it have something to do with Nick? Being around a former lover, when things weren’t going so well with his current lover... No, Eric wasn’t like that, and Nick’s wife was right there... but still...
“I guess. Okay. For now anyway,” he agreed reluctantly. “Just make sure you call if anything happens.”
“I will. I better go. Gotta get some sleep.”
“Yeah, right.” A whole conversation, and they hadn’t said anything more personal than ‘hello’. “Well... Take care of yourself.”
“I always do.” There was a hesitation. “I, uhh, miss you.”
“I miss you too.” Wes hesitated himself. “Listen, Dad said maybe after he gets back we should take some time off and go somewhere.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Anywhere you like. What do you think?”
“Sure, I guess. Someday.” There was little enthusiasm in Eric’s voice, but it was softer and warmer when he went on. “See ya, Wes.”
“See ya, Eric.”
Wes sighed, still staring at the morpher after the connection was broken. This distance, this discomfort with each other - at first he would have said it was his own fault, his resentment of Eric’s stubbornness, but there was more to it than that. No, it was both of them, or perhaps now mostly Eric. The question was, could either of them stop it?
Don’t let it go without a fight. “I’m trying, Dad, I’m trying,” he whispered.