Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. This is just a "what if" story.

Chapter 1: First Day Blues

It was a hot summer day in Ironberg, a small city that was divided by a river, with its two districts nestled on the banks, connected by several bridges. On the north side, it's main industrial and economical power, Terria Resources stood, it's main building, a wide, stout skyscraper with 20 stories of glass windows and steel supports, gleamed in the glaring sun.

Behind it, carved into the earth, was it's lifeblood, a huge quarry, taking up acres and acres, filled with all kind of machinery: drills, bulldozers, dump trucks, and cranes, just to name a few. However, inside the real commotion was to be found inside.

There, Felix Miranda, a young adult Latino male, walked down a long hallway in the front of the building along with 15 or so others, some in small groups talking amongst themselves. They were all dressed in variants of the same uniform. It started a military styled light gray jacket with red, blue, or yellow stripes going down it's shoulders, loose black pants with strips at the hems on the bottom that matched the jacket stripes' color. and dark brown, thick leather boots. The only individuality from the employee's came from the shirt that was visible under the jacket.

Felix wore a red stripes on his jacket and pants. He had tried to fix up his short light brown hair for his first day of job training, but now, after a whole day, he let it slowly turn back into the shaggy mess it usually was.

Soon, they neared a big set of stained oak doors, which looked slightly out of place in industrial styled building. The doors opened, revealing the inside, a huge auditorium, filled with around 100 black theater-style seats. They were arranged into three main sections, which were already almost full. Some of their occupants turned their heads to look as Felix's group walked in.

On a wooden stage, covered in black carpet, a Caucasian middle-aged man stood at a steel podium. His slightly wrinkled face held a stern look in it's steely blue eyes. His salt and pepper hair was short, giving him an even more militaristic feel. Felix gulped a little when the man seemed to look directly at him.

The man was no other than Augustus Short, Terria Resources' president and third generation owner. When the man spoke, his deep voice echoed through the sitting crowd. "Ah, so you have finally made it, new recruits! Excellent! Yes, just sit in the back there anywhere you can."

Short then turned his attention to the already seated employees. "Everyone, meet the newest additions to Terria Resource's. Now, remember, at one point of your life here at Terria, you were in their shoes, so I expect you to welcome them with amity and compassion. Soon, they'll be assigned your individual classes, so they'll be like little brothers and sisters, ready to be molded by your experience and wisdom."

As Felix took a seat, he looked over the faces in the front that stared at him and the other new employees. He wondered which class and rank they each were. For you see, at Terria Resources, all non-administrative employees were divided by 3 classes. The Classes were the specific type of job each individual was assigned to: Diggers, Loaders, and Haulers.

Diggers did all work that involved taking the desired resources, ores and minerals, from the quarries mines, so they usually stayed underground and operated drills, explosives, and mine carts. Loaders were in charge of removed what the Diggers have extracted and taking it to be refined for transport. They ran the bulldozers, cranes, backhoes, and as well the refiners.

Felix recalled that refining had once has its own class of sorts, but due to a mysterious incident, that class was disbanded and the Loaders just took on the job. Last was the Haulers, who transported resources to and from the refiners. They drove dump trucks and semi trucks and hardly ever touched the resources. Because of this, most Loaders and Diggers he knew of considered Haulers having a "easy" job.

Despite already being tested, Felix and the other new employees hadn't been placed in a class yet. That would come at the end of this orientation. As President Short addressed everyone on how to be a good Terria employee and other ethical matters, Felix caught a glimpse of a surprising sight in the room. In first two seats of the front row, two individuals, neither clad in the Terria uniform, listened to Short's speech.

Instead, they wore white lab coats, with black tuxedos underneath. The first was an older about President Short's age. He nodded along to Short's speech while he scribbled on a notepad and also adjusted his black tie every now and then.

The other person was African-American male, who slouched in the chair, arms crossed, lips pursed tightly. His eyes were tense as he darted a glance towards the employee next to him every few seconds, but he never said anything to her.

Felix pondered why scientists from the Research division would be present at a orientation meeting. Scientists never went through the same hiring process as Diggers, Loaders, or Haulers. In fact, except to collect samples for study, the two parts never met. So, what were the two men doing here?

That question would have to wait, though, as President Short finished his speech. "Now, would everyone please exit the room in a neat, orderly fashion. Veteran employees are adjourned to their specific tasks. Recruits, please make your way to the Museum in the back of the building." He instructed

A very short time later, everyone had dispersed, with Felix and the other new employees making their way to the Terria's own museum. After President Short's long, slightly boring speech, the Latino male was excited that the orientation was over. Now only one thing remained, being assigned a class. That would take place soon, when they entered the Museum.

Soon, the whole group was at their destination, two glass doors with "Terria Resources Museum" Across the top of each, with the hours of operation below that. A Terria employee opened the door for the group and everyone took a deep breathe as they went in, Felix included.

The main part of the museum was one large, square room with smaller hallways connected in it's corners Dozens of display cases and exhibits filled the room, and various paintings, sketches, and maps dotted the polished wood panel walls. Another Terria employee, this one in the worker's uniform, greet them a few feet in.

"Recruits, attention, please! I will direct each of you to one of the three senior employees behind me. Stand by them, and the will be your guides for the rest of your orientation. Enjoy the Museum, but be respectful to any visitors here. Remember you reflect the company now." The worker announced, then got to work separating them out.

Felix was almost dead last. When he finally joined his group, they were all staring in awe at the senior employee before them, a tall, sort of lanky young woman with grease stains all over her yellow striped uniform and tanned face. Her long amber hair was tousled into a makeshift ponytail. From what Felix could tell, she must have came right from the job, for the other senior employees didn't look quite so...thrown together.

"Hello! Welcome to the Terria Resources Museum. Here you'll tour our companies history and greatest finds. Allow me to introduce myself to those of you who don't know me, I'm..." The redhead started, but was quickly interrupted by cheers.

"Mason! Mason! Mason!" A couple of boys in the group across from them cheered as they put a finger up in the "We're #1" style. However, they were quickly silenced as the redhead shot a hard stare at them. She then turned back to the group.

"As I was saying, I'm Mason Camp, one of the senior Diggers here. My father, Seth Camp, was vice president of this company for 10 years. He contributed a lot of what you see here in the museum and also alongside fellow companies to improve Ironberg as a whole." She said in an lecturing manner, even though Felix was sure that everyone in the small group knew it by heart already.

Mason was the one of the most famous employees at Terria Resources, having broken many records and always willing to lend a hand to anyone of any class. Plus, the story of her father was a part of the companies culture. What Mason didn't say about her father was also pretty much common knowledge. Seth Camp had made a Terria Resources on of the most profitable companies in the area, and he in turn, had lots of money as well.

However, Vice President Camp was not a greedy man. What he didn't save to ensure his family's future or to advance Terria, he gave to the city to improve programs. He didn't like staying in the office either, and worked as a Digger in between his duties as VP. He was well-liked and everyone at Terria thought of him as a mentor or a father figure. He was riding high, until it all ended suddenly 4 years ago.

Vice President Camp had disappeared on day when out working in the quarry. Mason and President Stone never public opened up to anyone about what exactly happened, though rumors flew around that Vice President's own drill from when he worked as a Digger, the DM-5, had been involved and that he was pronounced dead. However, Seth Camp left behind a legacy, with millions of money he had invested and saved being used to fund programs and grants for Terria and its employees.

Everyone put on a solemn mood as Mason paused for a moment, but the air was instantaneously lightened when she looked up and smiled big, shaking off her sadness. "Now, I'm sure you are all eager to know what class you've been put in. Well, wait no more, I'm about to tell you. You have all been assigned..." She paused for effect as Felix moved in close, ready for her information. Felix flipped at the thought that he might be under the legendary Mason Camp as a Digger. It was every new employee's dream to be on her team.

"Haulers!" She announced. Felix's elation shattered.

"Haulers? Then, why? But, you...you're Mason! MASON CAMP, the best Digger ever!" Felix exploded with shock. Others frowned as well, sharing his disappointment.

"I know, but I'm not the best ever." She shot back quickly. "And, yes, it is tradition that it is a senior member of the class you are assigned you tells you that you've been accepted, but all the senior member Haulers are in a special meeting, so I volunteered to take you guys on the tour and get you settled in your first day." She explained, but gain a scowl.

"However, I am disappointed at your reactions. Haulers are a very important part of Terria. Your job is our life blood, moving resources in and out of our quarry. Without you, the ores and minerals go nowhere and we have no purpose. Remember that from now on and be proud of it, Haulers. Besides, some of the smartest and successful employees of the past were in your shoes. President Short himself was a Hauler back in his day, and look at him know." She reprimanded, pointing to a portrait of Stone on the wall to her right, where it hung alongside similar paintings of past Terria Presidents.

Suddenly another figure stepped up beside Felix, causing Mason to stop talking as she looked at the new arrival. Felix turned his head to, to find the young African-American male from the meeting stand next to him.

"Heh. They got you pushing newbies around now, Mason?" He said with a smirk. "Seems you got everyone in this little group starry-eyed, just like everyone else."

"Derrick? What are you doing here? Members of research team have no part in orientation." Mason retorted.

"They do if they are gathering stats on new recruits. So, which one of your "achievements..." He used his fingers in the quotation sign for that word," are you going on about now? How many irons ores you found a day? Or how you saved that one nameless dude from that rock slide last summer?" Derrick pushed pass Felix and the others, and was now only inches from Mason's face.

"It was your former boss, the head Loader and it was cave-in on the west side. Get your facts straight before even trying to accuse me of boasting!" Mason said angrily, but then took to a deep breathe. "Which I'm not doing, I'm just briefing new recruits. Now, Derrick Nelson, for the last time, could you just drop this and leave me be?"

"The day you stop treating me like just some newbie off the corner, I will." He said, pointing his finger at her.

Felix watched as Mason gently backed up, pushing it away. "The day you treat me with respect, is the day you'll get it for me. For example, I do not appreciate you acting like this in front of...!" Mason pausing mid-argument to push pass Derrick. Her eyes were glued across the room, to a small hallway.

"Wait..." She murmured and squinted to see that there was a door at the end of the hallway, and it was cracked open. "It can't be..." Mason then began to walk away, focused straight on the door, turning only towards another senior employee, this one having just announced that his group were now Diggers.

"Shawn, I got an emergency. Could you do me a favor and take this Haulers with you guys? I'll buy you lunch for the next week."

The blonde man nodded. "Sure, Mason, not a problem. Hey, Haulers, come over here with us. Shawny's going to be your new guide." He said jokingly.

However, Felix didn't go with the others. Instead, his eyes were locked on Mason as she neared the hall. He and Derrick then shot each other a confused glance, with Derrick's ending in a shrug. Felix took off after Mason. "She always does this? Stop arguments to stare at hallways?" Felix joked as they ran.

"Not funny, newbie, and I've never seen her do this. Something's up. Come on!" Derrick ordered, racing past Felix. However, he frowned when the Latino not only caught up, but passed him. Derrick growled as he pushed himself harder to keep up.

"Hey, Mason! What's wrong?" Felix said when he caught up with her, about halfway to the hall. "You look like you saw a ghost or something."

"The door at the end of that hall, it's open." She said with a calm grittiness to her voice, never taking her eyes of her target.

"Yeah, so...is that a problem?" Felix asked confused.

"The room has some of my father's collection in it, and its not supposed to be entered right now." She said. "Someone must be snooping around."

"A thief? But Terria's security is solid, one of the best in the country." Felix answered, turning around for a moment as Derrick caught up with them, making a weird sound as he tried to hide his huffing.

"Nothing like that is completely fool-proof" was Mason's answer, now at a whisper as they were at the cracked door. "Let's try to sneak in quietly, okay?" She said, and slinked into the door's opening. The boys followed, eyes glued to Mason, who immediately went toward the first case in the large, white room.

Felix came up beside Mason as she looked down into the metal case, where several label stones lay carefully in padding. However, three pads were empty, their labels having nothing to describe. "Just as I feared, a thief, in MY father's collection." She frowned.

"What now?" Felix asked

"Search the room." Derrick said as he moved away from the case. "They may be still in here. They can't be that smart, if they left the door open."

"Yeah, let's split up. Derrick, you go left. Umm...hey, new Hauler, I never got your name." Mason asked as she turned to the Latino male.

"It's Felix. Felix Miranda." He answered back.

"Yeah, that's right. Miranda. You got good marks on your entrance test. Good job! But, umm, you take the right, and I'll go down the center. If anyone finds anything, they get the other two, got it?" Mason instructed.

"Right!," was Felix's answer and from Derrick she got a "Whatever," his answer causing her to frown. However, the Digger said nothing and headed down the center to find clues or hopefully, the culprit.

However, just as they got to the center of the room, they heard a banging behind them and all three quickly turned back around. The door out was now closed.

"Everyone out! Hurry!" Mason ordered and the three charged ahead, flying out the door. They couldn't let the culprit get away. How did anyone slip past, though? Everything in the room, all the shelves and cases, touched the ground and none were above eye-level. They're hadn't be a place to hide out of their vision, so far, anyways.

However, these questions didn't matter long thought, as much as how to stop the thief. As they bolted out of the hallway, a dark figured clothed in a brown cloak was charged towards the museums front entrance to the outside world, pushing people aside, including Shawn and some of the new Hauler recruits.

"After them! Stop the guy in the brown cloak! Thief!" Felix said as he and Mason ran neck and neck through the museum, Derrick only steps behind. However, everyone in the museum was too in shock or too busy trying to get out of the way to stop the cloaked figure as he made it out the doors.

Felix began to huff as Mason gritted her teeth, pushing her body harder to come out in front of Felix and closer to the door. They slammed the front doors out of her way as she caught a glimpse of the brown figure shifting directions to go behind Terria's main building.

The chase ensued as Mason and Felix, with Derrick close behind, followed the presumed thief out of Terria property and into the brush filled land that surround the mining company and it's quarry.

"Where...is...this...guy...going?" Derrick shouted a question between huffs.

"Should...we...go...get...my...jeep?" Felix offered.

"No...we may lose... him... He's going...towards...Lovegood Crater. It's...fence...will stop him...Keep going!" Mason said, pulling ahead of the others.

Sure enough, a large 10-foot fence came into the Terria employees view and the brown spec that was their target slowed at it, eventually stopping when right upon it. However, as the group finally thought they had the thief, he began to climb up it.

"No..." Mason shout as she finally stopped out of exhaustion.

As he and Derrick caught up to her, Felix got a glimpsed of the cloak figure's hands and shook his head when he though he saw small, brown claws instead of human hands reaching in between the chain links . "This running must be getting to me." He said quietly between huffs.

"It's not over yet. We got to follow him. Come on!" Mason said, wiping away sweat from her brow as she pushing away exhaustion. The figure had now made it over the fence and jumped down into a run on the other side.

"What? That's... Lovegood Crater! We can't go in there!..It's off limits...under...President Short's...orders. He..said...dangerous things...are in..there." Derrick retorted.

"I can't let that burglar get away, not with Terria property. The President would want us to get it back at any cost. You can stay here if you like, catch you breathe. I'm going in though. That's my father's stuff that cloaked whacko has." Mason answered and head straight for the fence.

Felix looked at Derrick. "Let's follow Mason, alright? She's right. This guy can't get just get away with Terria stuff. This about honor now, Derrick." He said to the scientist, and headed after the Digger as she began to slowly climb the fence, slipping occasionally.

Derrick huffed behind him. "For honor? More like to get ourselves, killed..." However, then he caught a glance at his companions, both of which were now struggling to get up the fence, Mason almost at the top, and Felix just a few feet below her.

"They just don't give up...alright." He sighed. "Guess someone needs to come along that HAS some sense, and guess that person is you, Nelson." The scientist said bluntly and took his turn nearing the fence, looking out into the deep crater as the brown cloak disappeared off over its rim ahead. They had to hurry before they lost it completely in the crater.

Author's Note: Please review! I accept criticism kindly, especially the constructive kind.