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The Reluctant Ranger Chapter 25 - Training
🕑 Added 2024-11-09 08:09:12 +0000 UTC“That is concerning,” Carlos said, leaning over a claimed table under a pavilion at the same park they had wrecked a little over a week prior. Whatever the training session had been intended for originally was now thrown out the window in favor of a crash course on hostile Rangers and what that meant for the team, as well as the city. “You’re sure this is the Ranger you saw?”
An image was being displayed on a tablet set between them, a bit blurry, but depicting a Yellow Ranger alongside an Orange one. Carlos zoomed in to show a yellow sunburst set against the white of the chest of her uniform which strongly resembled military fatigues.
“Positive,” Devon said. “There’s no mistaking that symbol.”
Carlos nodded, then started flicking through the images, all looking to have been in the aftermath of the same attack. Both Rangers were surrounded by destroyed automatons, directing what looked to be salvage operations, but that was where the similarities ended. There were other people in the fore and backgrounds, armed with military style rifles and wearing tactical gear.
Nicole looked over the images on her own phone, the packet having been forwarded along their group chat by Carlos. They weren’t wearing any insignia to denote allegiances, but the team itself all seemed to share a common theme which meant they hadn’t been gathered from cast offs. They were organized and determined, something she couldn’t say about her own team just yet, hopeful as she might be for the future.
“So, who are they?” Nicole asked. “A group of evil Rangers or something?”
Carlos shook his head. “Nothing of the sort. You know that we’ve had Rangers die in the line of duty.” When everyone nodded, he continued. “What most don’t know is that we’ve also had Rangers desert their teams. Groups like this tend to attract such Rangers, or often approach them for potential recruitment.”
“Not surprising,” Grace muttered, her eyes flicking towards Devon for a moment. “Clashing personalities and ambitions could always fracture teams. Add in how power can corrupt, and yeah, makes sense.”
“Speaking from experience?” Devon asked, his lips twisting into a snarl.
Grace glared at him with a thunderous expression. “Grew up in what could best be called a cult that tried to sell me off to a man nearly a decade older than I was, so yeah, I suppose I am.”
He held up his hands in mock surrender, but Nicole could tell that would be a source of contention for some time to come. As long as the asshole didn’t try anything stupid, she would tolerate the prick, but nobody was going to mock Grace in front of her and get away with it.
“Oh no,” Nicole snapped. “You don’t get off that easily. If all you’re going to do is poke and prod because we don’t fit into your worldview, maybe you should just fuck off and join those pricks and spare us the frustration!”
“Enough of that,” Carlos said sharply, cutting off any further retorts. “Teams fall when divided, I’ve seen it happen too many times in my years as a Ranger. Devon, two members of my team are married, both women. My best friend is married to my brother. I will not tolerate homophobia in any form, even indirectly.”
Devon looked away, but didn’t protest his words. That was when Carlos turned his attention to Grace and Nicole, his expression less furious but still firm.
“Change doesn’t happen overnight, and all your snapping at him does is reaffirm the beliefs he has been taught his whole life. Be an example, not a source of strife. Rise above pettiness and prove yourselves more stout of character.”
“Understood,” Nicole said even as Grace nodded.
Devon just looked away.
With a heavy sigh, Carlos sat back against the bench, eyes drifting skyward. “I wasn’t expecting to have to brief you on external threats beyond the Sylan forces today, so I don’t have much prepared otherwise. I’ll be sure to get some of the reports we have about this group sent to each of you as soon as possible.”
“There is one other thing you need to be aware of,” Carlos said, pulling up a blurry photo. The figure pictured had four arms and towered over the other people around him. A primal chill ran down Nicole’s spine at the sight, some nameless fear awakening within her instincts. “This is Commander Bartran, assumed to be the leader of the Sylan invasion force here on Earth.”
Nicole swallowed, reaching towards the tablet before she pulled her hand back. “Is there a reason even a picture of the man is making me want to run the fuck away?”
Carlos grimaced, his eyes tracking over each person present. “Probably because he’s only ever taken the field once, and when he did, he left seven Rangers dead in his wake.”
The entire group recoiled at the blunt admission and it finally clicked. “He’s the one who killed the White Ranger and his team.”
“Bingo,” Carlos said with a nod. “White was working on building an elite group with the goal of eventually taking the fight to the Sylan. He had a visiting Pink Ranger and two others from her team with. They’d been working together for nearly a year when the Commander struck. Rumors might persist that White survived, but the others weren’t so lucky.”
With a heavy swallow, Nicole accepted the blunt truth that Carlos was trying to impart upon them. If this Commander came for them, they should treat the situation as if they were courting death. Scattering to the winds was probably the safest option, yet the idea of leaving one of her own to die didn’t sit well with her.
“On that note,” Carlos said, getting to his feet, “there is something we can do to help you prepare to face the dangers that are yet to come.”
“How are you going to do that?” Kayla asked.
Carlos grinned, then in a flash of gold, a Ranger stood in his place. “Trial by fire, now come at me and let’s see how you stack up.”
Nicole shared a glance with her fellow Rangers and soon they all formed up.
“Roll the Dice!”
A prism of color flashed through the vicinity, and their full team stood, transformed and ready. Nicole adopted one of the stances she could remember from her karate classes as a child and a few of the others also fell into loose stances. Carlos walked over, inspecting each of them. He stopped in front of Jeff first.
“You’ve had some combat training,” Carlos said.
“I have,” Jeff said, his purple dragoon helmet bobbing in a nod. “Ten years of Judo, and I took up HEMA a few years back since I liked the whole look that ended up becoming the core of my Ranger motif.”
“That’s good,” Carlos said. “This goes to all of you, if you have a weapon but no experience using it in a fight, we’ll be working on that. You need to be intimately familiar with each and every tool you might bring to bear in combat. That will be a major focus of this training.”
He moved on, inspecting Kayla next. “You’ve never fought before becoming a Ranger.”
Nicole could almost picture her smiling sheepishly up at the man. “How could you tell?”
“Your fists,” he said. “Thumb on the outside, otherwise you risk breaking fingers, Ranger or no. I’ll be running you through some basic karate drills and sparing.”
“It’s a date,” Kayla said, cheekily.
Carlos continued on, seemingly unphased by Kayla’s blatant flirting. He stood in front of Devon next, eyeing how he held his sword and shield. “You’ve had some experience with this arrangement.”
“LARPed for the last five years,” he said with a shrug that bobbed his shield. “Also dabbled in HEMA for what it’s worth.
Next, Carlos stepped in front of Nicole. “Now, I’ve seen you do some fire and rescue stuff, but how well can you fi—”
Carlos barely stepped back, dodging her foot by less than an inch. A few shouts of surprise sounded from her companions, but the whole purpose of the time they were spending in the park was to train, and the fastest way to see where someone needed to improve was to do a practical evaluation.
So, Nicole put her gymnastics experience to use, snapping off acrobatic kicks and well grounded punches towards the veteran Ranger. He blocked or redirected each and every attempt she made to hit him, but she didn’t let up for a moment. If he wanted her to stop, he was going to have to make her through an application of force.
She could almost see a grin on Carlos’ face, despite the helmet. Nicole knew she was outclassed, she just didn’t care, not when there was a point to be made. Their acrobatic contest was brought to a sudden halt when Carols decided it was done. He hooked his arm under her chin, slammed her into the ground, and promptly pulled Nicole into a crippling joint lock before she could recover. She wasn’t in pain, her flexibility was better than ever since becoming a Ranger and she doubted that he could actually make it hurt without breaking something.
“Good initiative,” Carlos said, then nearly jolted in surprise when his limbs, tight from his grapple, contracted as Nicole phased out of his grip. She rematerialized a few feet away but didn’t resume her offensive. “That is quite the handy trick.”
“It has some uses,” Nicole answered.
Carlos moved on from there, glancing over Grace’s loose form. “You have experience with the tools, but not with fighting. We’ll be fixing that.”
Grace nodded yet Nicole could feel the concerned eyes of her girlfriend on her. Much as she wanted to, Nicole she wasn’t going to show weakness just yet. Carlos then moved back to his starting position and Nicole fell back into her original place in the lineup.
“Each of you will need to be able to fight far better than that if you hope to survive your first months as Rangers. Pay attention when I am demonstrating something, don’t drift off just because you think you’re good enough. It is your life that you are wagering when you do. I’ve lost good friends over the years to hubris, seasoned veterans who knew what they were doing, all because they allowed themselves to grow complacent.”
Nicole shook her arms loose the moment his attention left her. They weren’t in pain, but she had pushed herself and she knew that even if she felt okay, it didn’t mean she was. Grace reached out, taking hold of her free hand and squeezing it, her helmet tilted in question.
“I’m fine,” Nicole said. “He wasn’t trying to hurt me.”
“Were you trying to hurt him?” Grace asked.
All Nicole could do was nod, because she had been trying to land a blow, to show him that she could do something. She’d only known him for a few days, but he had already earned her respect, and she wanted to show that she wasn’t some helpless girl just waiting for a solution to fall into her lap.
“Weapons out!” Carlos shouted.
Nicole summoned her daggers even as the rest of the team did as instructed. Well, aside from Devon who already had his weapons summoned, but it sort of made sense for him given his whole knight theme.
“You know how to use that axe?” Carlos asked.
Grace held the weapon up, regarding it for a moment. “Ah, I know how to chop wood. Did a lot of that before moving up here.”
“Better than I expected,” he said. “I’ll see if I can find a proper tutor for you.”
“I’ve already lined up an instructor,” Grace said, rubbing the back of her helmet. She flinched when she realized it was blocking her hair. Nicole giggled, only for Grace to playfully smack her. Kayla chuckled down the line and the moment of levity spread just long enough to lighten the mood.
“I actually made arrangements with my HEMA group,” Jeff said. “We’re all going to join up to learn to fight better.”
“Good,” Carlos said, clapping his hands. “In that case, let’s get started on combat drills, no weapons. I want you all to be able to fight without them, and a lot of the skills you learn from this will translate to your weapon training as well.”
From there, he had each Ranger pair up, and took Devon for his demonstrations. Naturally, Nicole made sure she ended up with Grace, leaving Jeff and Kayla to flirt with one another. It was cute how noble and clueless Jeff could be when it came to himself. Nicole couldn’t wait to tease him about things, but she was waiting for the perfect moment to get a bit of payback for what he did to her. She couldn’t exactly reward Kayla by hitting HIM with the clue by four, that just wouldn’t be fair retribution.
Carlos demonstrated a basic form that worked through attack and defense in a sequential loop, working with Devon first until it was demonstrated in full with each participant and the entire group was repeating the drill over and over. Nicole couldn’t help but note that it wasn’t meant for combating machines or mutants, but other people.
“This isn’t for fighting our true enemies,” Devon said, pausing after a rotation. “How does this help us fight the machines?”
Before Carlos could answer, Jeff spoke up. “It’s fundamentals. Do not fear the man who knows ten thousand techniques, fear the man who has practiced one technique ten thousand times.”
Kayla giggled, nudging Jeff’s shoulder with her own. “That’s one way to put it, ya goofball. You’re building up muscle memory so that we don’t panic in a fight.”
“Exactly,” Carlos said. “When a blade comes for your throat I want you to defend, not flail.”
As if to punctuate the point, he brought his arm up in one of the basic blocks he had drilled into them by that point, deflecting some unseen strike. It was a bit flashy of a lesson, but Rangers weren’t exactly known for being subtle.
“Now, let’s get into another set of techniques that are worth knowing.”
Various techniques were shown, and he ran through them like an instructor for a two day self defense class would. Spending just long enough on each one to make sure that the students understood the basics and started to develop some muscle memory.
She’d taken one such class shortly after her parents were killed, just to try and reclaim some semblance of something in her life. It hadn’t worked, which was partially why she had devoted so much of her focus to her gymnastics only to fall on her face when it mattered most. It didn’t escape her that she was now doing the same with her Ranger activities.
“This is so weird,” Grace said, moving through the motions of a throw, making sure she had each step down before attempting to speed up. “When people think of Rangers, this part of things doesn’t really come up.”
“It rarely does,” Carlos chimed in, having overheard Grace’s comment. “Yet, it is essential that a Ranger knows how to fight. There’s only so much you can do with random flailing and superhuman strength.”
“We aren’t randomly flailing,” Devon said. “I know how to fight.”
“Yes, you know the sword and shield well enough to look like you know how to fight with them,” Carlos said, summoning his own weapon. It was a hefty looking hammer with a pry bar built in. “But can you honestly say you have extensive experience fighting to the death with these weapons? What about with your bare hands? Have you killed someone with nothing but your fists?”
“We’re fighting mutants and machines,” Jeff chimed in. “Why would we need to be prepared to kill?”
“Because you never know when someone else will decide to try and kill you instead,” Carlos said, his voice suddenly soft. “The world isn’t a cheery, simple place. There are groups that want to welcome the Sylan with open arms, and some of the more extreme members will kill a Ranger if given the chance. The Atlanta team lost a member to a suicide attack by one of those extremists.”
“You’re shitting me,” Kayla said. “There’s idiots like that out there?”
Carlos shrugged. “There’s idiots of all shapes and sizes, and people of all walks will find things to believe. Just go online and read some of the conspiracy theories out there. Some are convinced that the Rangers are government actors and the invasion is all a false flag operation to curtail our freedom.”
Nicole had to snicker at the sarcasm he had layered into his voice for that last part, hell, she could practically picture the eye roll that went with it. Despite that, she wondered just how widespread those beliefs were, and what role Maraline might have had in spreading them. Was that the entire purpose of her little act? To sow doubt?
It made an unfortunate amount of sense, and was certainly a valid strategy for a conquest. Information warfare was every bit as important as military might when waging war. At least it was in the games Nicole enjoyed playing when she was younger.
“That’s so stupid,” Grace muttered.
“Is it though?” Carlos asked. “You’re the first documented group that’s had mundane contact with an actual Sylan that didn’t end in bloodshed, how do we know they aren’t trying to flip you to their side? How do we know they haven’t done that in the past with other Ranger teams?”
“I didn’t get that impression from her in any of our conversations,” Nicole said before amending her statement. “That doesn’t mean she wasn’t, she could be a far better actress than any of us give credit for, but she seemed to truly believe every word of what she said.”
“Propaganda isn’t limited to just our side,” Jeff said softly. “Just think back to some of our past civilizations. The Spartans and Feudal Japan especially, with the warrior culture, they were willing to do things we would never consider in the name of honor. The Sylan probably aren’t much different. Maraline might very well be every bit the victim in this.”
“Even if she is, it doesn’t mean we show mercy,” Carlos added immediately. “In a battle for survival, not every death will be justified. Innocents die, those misinformed of the righteousness of their cause die. It’s nothing new, and each side will believe they are fighting for what is right. Such is the nature of war.”
Right, they were at war. That truth was something she knew, but it really hadn’t settled into her mind just yet. People were fighting to survive, and there wasn’t much normal people could do in the face of the Sylan invaders. The Automatons that made up the bulk of their army were nearly impossible to damage with regular guns, and heavier ordinance was difficult to bring to bear against foot soldiers.
Nicole had to accept that she was now a soldier, preparing to fight in a war for the future of the human race. The stakes were far too high, and the responsibility was positively suffocating. She reached out, pulling Grace into a sideways hug, taking comfort in the closeness. Her fellow Ranger hugged her back.
“Okay,” Nicole said, stepping back. “I think we’ve talked enough. We’re here to learn to fight, so that’s what we need to be doing. We can worry about other things once we’re sure we won’t be dying on the battlefield to stupid shit.”
Carlos gave a sharp nod of his golden helm. “Well said. Back to work everyone!”
Nicole turned back to her partner, to Grace, and squared up. She knew she had a lot to learn, and she could think of nobody she would rather be going through her training with.
***
Nicole practically limped back into her apartment, Grace helping carry her through the threshold. “You didn’t need to do that,” her friend muttered. “But no, you had to step in and be all noble and shit.”
“It worked, didn’t it?” Nicole said with a chuckle. “A bit of pain now is worth it to remind that asshole to watch his mouth.”
“What am I going to do with you?” Grace asked, shaking her head in exasperation.
Grinning cheekily, Nicole answered, “anything you want.”
In answer Nicole found herself dumped without ceremony onto the sofa. She let out a squawk of panic as she hit the lumpy old thing, her leg hissing its displeasure at the sudden motion. Sure, it hurt, but it had been worth it.
Looking down at her, Grace crossed her arms. “On a related note, did you really need to juggle your fucking knives like that?”
Nicole pouted up at her girlfriend. “Dexterity matters!”
“Not getting cut up by your own blades matters too!” Grace said in exasperation.
Rolling her eyes, Nicole snaked her good leg out and entangled it with Grace’s and pulled her off balance. She yelped, and promptly fell over, landing atop Nicole in a mess of limbs. The pair struggled for a moment, giggling as they did before Nicole paused, finding Grace’s face so close to her own.
“Hi,” she said, voice barely a whisper.
Grace looked back, biting her lip as she did. “Hi yourself.”
Becca came out of the bathroom at that same moment, hair up in a towel and toothbrush in her mouth. She took in the scene, blinked twice, then turned around and shut the bathroom door behind her. Nicole looked up at Grace, who was looming over her red-faced with an impressive blush.
“So, back to my place?” Grace asked. “My roomie should be out for the evening.”
Nicole couldn’t help but laugh, nodding her head in agreement.
