Power Rangers: Chrono Storm (Game)

Samara sighed as she changed back into her normal clothes, gun strapped back to her hip. She shook her head, knowing she'd need to talk to Leon, but the desire to do so really made her stomach churn, especially with how he'd yelled at her earlier. She sighed to herself as she walked out of her room, heading for the bridge.

Ledger sat on the floor of his room, shaking his head. He planned on staying far away from anyone that could start a yelling match.

"Sir Ledger is wise." Augustus muttered to himself as he retreated to his quarters, sitting on his bed and resting after battle, visibly concerned as to how this mission would affect the team.

No sooner said Sam came out her room, Leon ran into her. "Sam, look before you start and rip my head off and shove it up my ass.... I'm sorry. I really am sorry. This whole situation.. I was an asshole towards you and you didn't deserve that. Hell, none of you did and I don't blame you if you wanted to take that gun and put a bullet right between my eyes. I wouldn't blame you at all. I was blinded and me not being able to speak to women and being scared and then when I seen how much you were enjoying Auggie's presence, it made me go bonkers in the wrong kind of way and honestly that's all my fault. I was blinded by rage and I shouldn't have been but it happened and for that, I'm truthfully sorry. I'll understand if you never forgive me or if anyone on this ship doesn't forgive me for being selfish, but I'll have to live with that." Leon said, his words coming from the heart and for the first time, not a stutter came from his mouth.

Samara was silent as she listened to Leon. She folded her arms and let him ramble, and after he was done, she lashed out and slapped him across the face, the sound resonating in the hallway. "I don't care about today. What you did was selfish and stupid, and if it was my call, I'd bench your ass for a few missions and give you the worst clean up duties in the TMB," she said. Her breath shook as she clenched her hands. "What I care about, Leon, is that you never gave me the chance to talk. You saw what you wanted and let your insecurities override any logic you're supposed to have."

She took a step back from the Green Ranger, resisting the urge to hit him again. "What bothers me is that you never allowed me to tell you anything. You just assume, from the way I am with Augustus, that things are happening between he and I. I don't know what's happening there. He's easy to talk to, because outside of me, he's literally the oldest person on the team. I enjoy all of your companies in different ways, like it's relaxing to me to sit and watch Lalah paint, watching the magic she makes with the brush, or watching Ledger play his computer games, and finding his anger at losing over and over until he finds a new strategy makes me laugh. I enjoy Augustus' presence because he's a calming soul, one I can go to when I'm having a bad day or need someone who won't question anything and lets me talk. So no, while you may have your crush on me, I do not feel the same. You just wouldn't get your head out of your ass long enough for me to tell you any of this earlier in the day." She took a deep breath, hands shaking.

"And after today, I don't know that I can trust you for a while, Leon. It'll take time, but right now, I want you to stay away from me unless we're fighting Calen. That's the consequence that you pay for your ignorance and stupidity. So please, let me pass before I go through you," she said, tears stinging the corners of her eyes as she tried to keep her composure.

The flight back to HQ was the quietest that this ship has experienced. The air was riddled with fear, anger, hurt, and unresolved feelings over the events kicked off by the Green Ranger. While Leon lucked out and got what he wanted after risking everything and everyone, others may not be so lucky.

Augustus was looking forward to speak with Samara, hoping to gain clarity regarding their connection, but after her chat with Leon, even he was smart enough to know that now wasn't the time. Samara was hurt and frustrated by today's events, especially after not being heard or her words being appreciated. Mateo was still furious, less over the fragile love triangle and more Leon's selfishness, risking everyone's lives for a pat on the back from a man he never knew when he had an entire family right here supporting him. In addition, this could lead to dire consequences from TMB leadership for breaking the rules again in such short order.

And poor Ledger and Lalah were the innocent bystanders who weren't involved with any of this, yet still may suffer, depending on HQ says. The Rangers made it back to HQ. Saying nothing to the team, Mateo walked off of the ship with his hands in his pockets, heading towards his debrief or his execution, depending on who you ask. He could feel his Chrono Com getting warm in his pocket. It was Sensei's own way of silently supporting him, which did cause Mateo to smile briefly. He walked past some other Agents who got wind of what happened and were eager to see Mateo get punished as they were not fans of Bishop's personal mentee.

He opened the door to see TMB high leadership along with Senior Agent Bishop. Mateo sat down, ready to receive whatever punishment awaits.

*********

Nearly a month has passed since the mission to save Duncan Steele took place and for the Rangers, it's been the worst month of their tenure as a team. After Mateo met with TMB leadership and explained his version of events, the decision was made to ground the Patricia and pull Mateo's team from active duty for a month, leaving them confined to TMB HQ and their quarters on the ship.

Mateo was handling things as best he could, dealing with the fallout and the ridicule from his haters as he received an incompetency rating for choosing to take someone on a mission with direct contact with their ancestor along. What most people don't know except for the Rangers themselves, Bishop, and Sensei is that Mateo was offered an opportunity to get out of this cleanly by throwing Leon under the bus. With the Green Ranger's behavior, he would have surely been returned to his time with his mind wiped, making his trip for nothing while a new Green Ranger was recruited, but Mateo refused to sell out a friend and played stupid, allowing Leon to maintain that gratification he so richly sought from Duncan, causing damage to the Red Ranger's reputation across the TMB.

Currently, Mateo was sitting alone in his captain's chair on the Patricia, gathering his thoughts with a glass of wine in his hand while the others were off doing their own thing either on the ship or at HQ.

In a month followed, Lalah was doing her best to use her time wisely here. Things between the team remained on the stale due to Leon's actions. He got what he wanted from his ancestor, but at what cost.

The Pink Ranger did her best to be there for her friends, be the person they could lean on. When she's not with them, she did her usual work. Lately though, she studied Indian martial arts. She practiced the basics of kickboxing but she never had the chance to practice the martial arts derived from her ancestors. The process was enjoying. Gave her the connection she never thought she wanted.

After leaving the training department of TMB, Lalah headed back to Patricia for her quarters when she noticed Leon's room still shut. While she showed sympathy, she had to admit his self-isolation had become annoying as of late. With a huff, Lalah knocked on Leon's door.

In the last month, Ledger had spent most of his time training or gaming in his down time. With Leon isolating himself in his room, the Blue Ranger had half a mind to kick the door open and yank him out, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. He walked into the cafetira and sighed, shaking hsi head as he got some food and sat down.

Samara, meanwhile, had become almost isolationist. The Black Ranger kept to herself, running scenarios through her head since she still needed to talk to Augustus, having been avoiding it for a month. She sighed as she stepped out of her shower, drying off and getting dressed before heading into teh TMB proper, hoping to find the Gold Ranger and speak with him.