Chapter One

A not so normal Saturday night

It was a normal Saturday night. The lieutenants were celebrating their latest victory against the robots, all except one lieutenant. The commanders were finalising last minute things that they had to do before their next missions, all except one commander. Commander Up (having finalised everything for his next mission) and lieutenant Taz (having no interest in the other lieutenants) were watching The Karate Kid (the good one with Jackie Chan).

It was a normal Saturday night for Up and Taz, they always watched The Karate Kid, but this time something was different. The following day Taz and Up would be leaving on different missions. The Robot War was nearing an end so the Galactic League had decided to send out as many people as they could to the different robot bases in the hope that this could be the end of the robot wars. This saw many promotions as new teams were created and the separation of Taz and Up for the first time since that fateful day when the robots attacked Taz's Quinceanera seven years ago.

There was silence from the two starship rangers as they sat and thought about the next day when they would leave and possibly never see each other again. The Karate Kid played on, forgotten in the background.

Up had never said no to a mission before in his life but when he found out that Taz would not be coming on this mission he had to refuse, but the head of the G.L.E.E wouldn't hear of it, telling Commander Up that he had no choice in the matter. No matter what he did Taz would not be joining Up on this mission.

Taz had never been disappointed to be chosen for a mission before. She worked hard so that she was as tough as she could be and was always excited to go on a mission, to kill some robots and to show why she was one of the most feared starship rangers. When Taz heard that she would not be with Up on this mission she was furious. How dare they split them up. Taz and Up were the toughest rangers around and together they were an unstoppable force.

Ever since Up saved Taz from the robots at her Quinceanera he knew that she was special. He knew she was tough as he watched her take in the sight of the bodies of her family as the tears fell slowly down her face. That was the moment that she vowed never to cry again. It was that moment that Up fell in love with Taz. She promised that she would repay Up for saving her and when she did Up knew that she was the greatest starship ranger he had seen. Together they fought, they conquered and they saved each other. Taz was all Up had and he was all she had but that didn't matter because they had each other.

Up could tell her, he could tell her how he felt, but what if she didn't feel the same way? What if he told her and she laughed at him for caring? What if she called him soft? But what if he didn't tell her, what if she went off and fell in love with some other lieutenant? What if she came back from the mission engaged? Or worse what if she didn't come back at all? It was decided he would tell her. It was simple, four words, all he had to say was 'Taz, I love you'. He could do this. He was the toughest ranger ever. He could tell her.

"Taz" he said turning towards her. Taz rolled over, her breathing light as she slept peacefully. Up sighed as he covered her with a blanket and turned off the TV.

"Taz, I... I ... I love you" he whispered as he leaned over and gently kissed her forehead before lying down next to her and joining her in the land of dreams.

Up rolled over in his sleep, his arms instinctively going around Taz, protecting her from anything that might try to hurt her as she slept. Tomorrow they would be separated but tonight they had each other.