Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers.

A/N: This is a story I have been planning for ages. Some of you may have read this on PRU, where I have been posting this. This is one of my Big Epic Fics, enjoy! Oh, and I'm warning people before they get too into the story...there is an unusual pairing that will be featured, however, it is not fully explained until later on in the story. (Second ten chapters, at the earliest)

"Colonel Truman, sir!"

"Corporal," Mason Truman said, turning from watching squadron drills. "What's going on?"

"Wolf Squadron brought in a refugee; she's demanding to speak with you." The young man said with a salute.

"I don't have time to speak to every refugee, Corporal," Truman said.

"Sir, I understand, but, she says she's Dr K, from Alphabet Soup. She said you would understand. Sir." The Corporal said.

Truman went still, and then said, "Have medical check her over and bring her to my office. I will be there shortly." He barely acknowledged the Corporal as another squadron entered the flight ready room. Their designation read Eagle Squadron.

Truman regarded his visitor steadily, she wasn't much, probably no more than eighteen, but her hand had designed almost the entirety of the dome program they were depending on. "Dr K," he said.

"Colonel Truman," she said, clearly nervous, and confused. "I never expected us to meet in person."

"Neither did I," Truman agreed. "I was under the impression that you never left Alphabet Soup."

"That was true," Dr K replied, "however, Venjix makes that choice foolhardy. Besides, Alphabet Soup was destroyed. I was lucky to escape." Her voice caught and for a moment she looked devastated, "Many did not."

"I understand," Truman said. "Dr K."

"Colonel," Dr K interrupted. "Your…soldiers cannot fight Venjix. Not as they are. Venjix's grinders are not his only weapons. My study of the virus says that there is no weapon available to the…soldiers that can stand for long if Venjix continues his use of metal fabrication."

"What do you suggest, then?" Truman asked, unsure whether to be amused or outraged.

"Power Rangers." Dr K said, she picked up the case that had been sitting by her chair. "I have with me the results of a ten year project. Five transformation devices intended to create five advanced soldiers to fight Venjix. I have the programming codes and designs for weapons, Zord Attack Vehicles, and more for the five."

"Power Rangers," Truman said.

"Project Ranger was a pet project for our team," Dr K said. "We successfully completed prototype morphers and attack vehicles for two others but the operators were killed in the evacuation."

Truman considered Dr K's offer, "What do you need from me, Dr K?"

"Five operators," Dr K said, "resources. Time. I'll need to train the operators in the biohardware, and to manipulate the bioelectric energy field. The Zord Attack Vehicles will need to be built, as well as the weapons. With help, I can have everything ready in six months."

"We may not have six months," Truman pointed out.

"Six months is a generous projection," Dr K replied, "it took five years before we trusted the other two morphers to their operators."

"There aren't that many resources that I can make available to you," Truman said.

"There are computer dump sites here, correct?" Dr K replied, she barely waited for Truman's nod, "I can salvage what I need from there. As long as I remove the wireless components of any desktop I reactivate, Venjix will find no access to my work. In addition, a close loop, fiber optic network will be an ideal protection for your own computers as well." She sat back, "I can spend part of my time creating computers for your people to use as well as my own."

Truman looked down at the stacks of papers on his desk and tugged one with a list of available buildings in Corinth, "I can only give you two assistants right now, Dr K," he said, "and I cannot promise that we will find five operators." He looked at the list for a moment, "I have an old military store house that I can make available now. Something else may become open in time, but I have thousands of people who need supplies and limited space."

Dr K sighed, but nodded, "Very well. In time, however, I may ask for renovations to this store house, specifically a zord attack vehicle storage facility."

Truman signed some papers and pressed the intercom button on his phone, "Lieutenant," he said, "Please send Captain Felix to my office."

"Yes sir," his secretary replied.

"The Captain will see you settled in," Truman said, "and he'll introduce you to your assistants."

"Thank you," Dr K replied.

Truman watched Dr K and her assistants from afar. There were ups and downs, and twice Dr Ashcroft, being the only male on the team, showed up to threaten to quit. Somehow, however, Dr K, Dr Ashcroft, and Dr Kendall reached a point of harmony. As the number of evacuees grew, the trio was able to attach lab technicians to their project, however, none of them stayed. Most were driven away by the sarcastic banter that Dr Kendall and Dr Ashcroft enjoyed. The rest were put off by Dr K's lack of warmth, and youth. She refused to let anyone imply they could control her or disrespect her work; as one young tech learned to his sorrow. Fortunately, they had competent surgeons and the young man would be able to have children some day. They finally managed to find a young man who could stay, named Jinx, who balanced his own sarcasm with a charm that baffled Dr K even as it secretly amused her. Jinx took over as the liaison between the three scientists and the various people who helped with Project Ranger. He approved, from afar, the hiring of mechanics to build the Zord Attack Vehicles, over the protests of others. He even convinced the group to make plans for a true base for the Rangers, complete with Dr K's network of cannons, and TV screens. It began to look like Dr K's six month deadline would be met.

Then Venjix stepped up its attacks. It was with regret that Truman asked Dr Kendall, a munitions expert, to assist in defense planning. When it was time for the operators to be selected, Jinx left. He had been too young to be considered and left in anger that his work would not gain the reward he had seemed to secretly desire. Dr Ashcroft was the last to leave, taking over the environmental mechanics division, with the intent of turning common technologies into their green counterparts to help keep Corinth's air fresh. It was his stated hope that the Ranger technology he'd been working with would transfer into ways to combat Venjix's radiation poison.

It was alone that Dr K entered the completed Ranger Base for the first time. Truman had planned to be there for his colleague, but had been caught up in the business of evacuating a continent. He was not there to see how the young woman took in the living quarters designed for her, and for the future Rangers. He was not there when she sealed herself into the command center and activated her computer system, including the cameras and audio pickups that would enable her to maintain control of a group that would certainly be older than her.

When his computer screen came on with Dr K's special transmission screen, however, he knew that she was settled in her new base. "Well?" He asked, glancing up from the stack of requisition forms; "Is everything to your specifications?"

"It is," Dr K said, and then her voice changed, "I have considered using this voice modification, Colonel, what do you believe?"

"I think it will successfully confuse any of your operators as to your true gender, much less your age," Truman replied after a moment of consideration.

"Good," Dr K replied, "then it is time."

"Time for what?" Truman asked.

"Time to find the Ranger Operators," Dr K replied. "I have taken the liberty of preparing an outline for a psychological evaluation that will enable us to sort out those with the right mental capacity to accept the power as well as noting some ideas for physical testing."

"All right," Truman agreed, "I'll have one of the military shrinks contact you to rough out the final pieces of the first tests. Do you want to look at just the soldiers?"

"Only for the Series Red Operator," Dr K replied.

"All right," Truman nodded, "I leave this in your hands, Dr K."

Cross references: Birth of the Fridge Cannon and Control Room