Patrol

Posted on Thu Jan 27th, 2022 @ 8:44am by Kilena Keithron & Spencer Gustaffson
Edited on on Sat Jan 29th, 2022 @ 3:33am

1,744 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: The Invasion
Location: Angel Grove
Timeline: November 12th 2050

Kilena was just relieved to be out of the base after the last few days without Damien with her. It was hard when they were the only two rangers and their lack of gelling was getting them nowhere. No amount of training or discussion was going to fix that when Kilena felt he was not taking any of it seriously. So it was nice to be on patrol with someone else who was neither ranger nor superior officer who did not mind that she was driving nor that she was silent as she did it.

It was only once that they were an hour into the shift that she realised she was being rude and that was not something she wanted to do at all. “I am sorry. Been a while since I have been out of the base.” She admitted with a shrug look at her mirrors.

Spencer wasn't upset by the way Kilena was acting. She was serious enough about her job, and everyone had heard the rumors about her and Damien being on a "special project" together. Some people took it a step further, but Spence wasn't that kind of person. He didn't take scuttlebutt seriously, at least not personally hurtful stuff - he assumed everyone had an agenda when they started saying things like that.

The patrol assignment had been fairly abrupt, at least on his side - he'd been tasked with it only about six hours before he was due on station. This led, of course, to him being quiet as well; since he was basically waking up from a nap. The drive was actually a relief; he'd been afraid of having to go on a march. As the drive went on, he was making brief reports at each waypoint - position, unit ID, situation normal, over and out.

When she spoke, it broke the monotony. So he decided, why not be pleasant, at least. "It's fine. I've only been out one night this month too, and that was going to a training event. One of the retired NCOs has an MMA school over in Mariner Bay, and the base commander has some kind of agreement or something. I dunno, it's above my pay grade."

He smirked at something funny in his own mind as he glanced around outside the vehicle they were riding in. "Come to think of it, there's not a lot that isn't above my pay grade."

As Kilena was the driver here, it was on him to monitor the area, so he did, picking up a pair of binoculars and looking around. "Nice night, at least."

“Always above us.” Kilena said darkly. She did not want to get into the fact that she knew a lot more than a normal officer or cadet. It was not a light she wanted to put on her and Damien so she nodded. “So that is where you were before this? Mariner Bay? I was KO-35.”

Spence figured the girl knew something more than him, and decided that whatever she knew was also above his pay grade. Everyone heard rumors - about spandex and heroes supposedly training. It didn't matter. even if there were Rangers on station, it didn't apply to him for the moment. All he could do was his job. Keep his head down, and keep going. So he decided to let it pass and focus on her other question. "Yeah, I spent about half of high school there. I decided to join the Patrol there, because I figured, if I get in, great. And if I fail out, there's still jobs with OEM down in the Bay."

“I joined from school myself.” She said taking a left turn into an district that held mostly shops and bar. It was not busy at all but Kilena was sure that it was just the calm before the storm of partying. “Did the basics on KO-35 before coming to earth. Seemed a bigger opportunity at the time though now it just… a lot going on now here.”

Spence nodded at her as they headed through into the town. He gestured at one of the restaurants amidst the shops and smiled. "That's a good place - really good noodles."

That quick note out of the way, he shrugged and responded to her comment about KO-35. He didn't know what the opportunity she was expecting was, and he had no idea what was going on for her on Earth; but decided it was her business, not his. "I've never gone any farther than the moon. Not a big fan of space ships, honestly. Some family members got killed on a ship when I was very young. I know that some day I'll go up there; but I feel like there's some kind of, I don't know, some kind of power that I'll need before I can do it right."

Kilena nodded at the noodle comment and pulled the truck over into one of the many empty spots. It would not be long until the place was filled be drunk students. “Let’s get some. I missed dinner for sleep and I am pretty sure that they will keep us going all night.” Kilena said thinking about what he said. “Everything happens at the right time for a reason. You will get there Spencer.” Kilena did not believe in religion but she did in some things like fate and karma.

Unfortunately, Spencer had to share Ms. Keithron's opinion on the duration of their patrol. When it was something like this where two people had been activated off-schedule, it meant that there was something on a scope. They weren't being told what to look for, so that meant looking for anything suspicious. When the vehicle stopped, he radioed in the location and the stop for supplies. It had to be better than trying to choke down one of the MREs located in the back of their vehicle. Military ration packs were meant to keep you alive and moving - everything else was insignificant. Thankfully, they had good food upcoming. "Sounds like a plan. And, yeah, I will - but there's something I know that I need to do first. I just have no idea what that is."

“Never do.” Kilena said with a firm nod. It was not like she could tell him her situation but she fully agreed with him but she was lucky that she had found her something.

The noodle shop was quiet, but a bit tense as the staff prepped for the oncoming flood of drunk young people. To see two quiet, polite young people walk in was a relief. The pasta was being hand-stretched before them, some going into huge pots and some going into woks. Spencer looked at Kilena, wondering if she could make much out of the menu board above them, which was mostly written in Japanese. He tried to stay quiet enough that the people in the back wouldn't hear them. "I usually just order whatever the special yakisoba of the day is; haven't been steered wrong yet."

Kilena took in a huge sniff as they stepped into the shop and let out a happy sound. It smelled amazing to her hungry body. She pulled out her technology glasses to attempt to get them to translate what the menu was saying when he offered a suggestion. She nodded at it. “Two special yakisoba to take away please.” She called over the counter as the queue got to them. She held up her card paying for them both before he could argue.

He was about to reach for his card, but before he got a chance, Kilena had already paid. He shrugged and pulled his hand out of his pocket, standing at ease beside her while waiting for the food and looking around. He didn't immediately recognize the glasses, but figured he would learn if he needed to. "Something I have noticed; over the last week or so, patrols have been on much tighter grids, and more frequent. Do you think that's just a matter of Command shaping things up, or is something really going to happen here?"

She put the glasses back in her pocket and shrugged at his question. He was not the only one who had noticed but each time she shrugged and said the same thing. “Below my pay grade to think on the whys it’s my pay grade to just too.” She said with a grin in his direction. “What do you think about it?”

Spencer chuckled at her comment, but considered the situation. Things were getting stranger around them. Plus, the change in news from Mirinoi and KO-35 meant something might be going on, out in space. And that meant it would come to Earth. "Honestly? I think there's something going on. I've heard some weird stories lately, and the news has been weird, coming from the colony worlds. Something is heating up. And I don't just mean the pepper oil in these noodles."

Kilena nodded but looked at him blankly as they left the shop to return to the car. "I can not say that I am heard anything strange to be fair but I have been really busy studying and moving planets." She admitted as she wiped her mouth from the noodles as she could not resist nor wait for them to get back to the car. They were a bit hot but would be yummy and filling.

Spence nodded as he finished eating quickly and got back toward the car. "Yeah, moving anywhere is tough, I can't even begin to imagine moving between planets. But you seem to be handling it pretty well. At least it looks like it from here." He gestured to the car with a half-smile. "Would you like me to drive the next leg, and you can spot?"

“It’s not so bad.” Kilena assured quickly. Everything had been handled absolutely fine until recently in her mind when she had become the newest pink ranger in the universe. “Sure. I’m full. Not sure if I’ll fit behind the wheel now.” She said trying to sound more upbeat than she felt and threw the key thing in his direction.

Spencer chuckled at her comment about the food - he was still somewhat hungry, but more than able to consider eating more later. He sat down in the driver's seat and headed off on the next part of the route. "Sounds good."

 

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