The TV flickered to life.
"This is a great moment for all of Humanity, What we have here is the world's finest rangers from across the globe. Pink ranger from the Central Europe region, Yellow ranger from the West African region, Green ranger from the United Kingdom region, Blue ranger from the Japanese region and..."
"The red ranger from the United States region." I chime in.
"These 5 rangers will now embark into space past the moon into the Rift! Before they depart is there anything you will like to say, red ranger?"
"Yeah, to all those who want to achieve greatness its all about one thing. Understanding your advantages and jumping on opportunity!"
"And with that, we say goodbye to them as they venture into the beyond!"
I turn off the TV. The DVD spinning in its player comes to a halt. I inspect the disk - spotless as always, I put it back in its case and arrange it among an array of other DVD cases.
30 years ago. That's how long it has been since the space ranger force went into The Rift. It was routine for me to watch the words of space ranger red in the morning before my shift. Today was a unique day however, the C.O.D.E ratings for this new sub-rift was as high as it was 13 years ago. I think I needed the motivation today more than ever.
"I'm going to be late" I mutter, I shouldn't worry about things like the sub-rifts, the rangers are here to handle that kind of thing, my job is to just keep the public safe if anything was to go wrong - not that it will ever come to that, the current rangers have an amazing track record of no loses even against two Great Villains. I can't be worrying about them, I should be thinking about myself at the moment. I bolt downstairs and glance at the aged door as the constant usage has left the handle loose. I open the door with care and is greeted to the sight of my bicycle. Typically, people my age would be driving cars, especially a commute from my place of work. However riding a bicycle is a great morning exercise - who doesn't want to ride a bike at 5am? Also, managing a car is more expenses I just can't manage at the moment. I love the mornings where the city hasn't awoken yet, the entire streets being bathed in yellow light as few cars reflect it's rays. It's a city worth protecting, but again, that grand duty is left to the rangers. I must have been spacing out, because before I knew it I was already at the precinct office. I departed from my bike and powerwalked over to the building where a blond woman greeted me. Her build was rather small, even for a woman, her freckles made her even appear more youthful but gave her an almost "cute" vibe.
"Good morning Sergeant Road!" She says saluting me
"Good morning Jen"
"Here two hours before your shift starts again I see"
"You know what day it is today"
"I'm aware sir, I have already notified all the members of your team"
"You can also stop pulling my leg, we don't speak to each other like this at all."
"Alright Kyle" She says finally dropping the act. "So, are you worried? I heard its going to be as bad as the one from 13 years ago"
"A Great Villain"
"Yeah, one of those! Last time all of them had to work together to defeat it, there was tons of injuries and a few deaths, but the rangers won in the end didn't they?"
"The Great Villain had a C.O.D.E. Wave Amplitude of 9.200, its designated name given was-"
"And there you go nerding out about ranger stuff again." she jokingly pokes at me.
"You do understand being cautious and analysing our surroundings IS our job right?" I sigh. She simply shrugs her shoulders. Sometimes this woman can really be mischievous, however in all honesty it's all done in good spirits. Most people don't even listen to a single word of my ramblings about the rangers, she is better than most if I'm being honest. Her laugh, her blue eyes tearing up, these things are of subtle comfort to me. Many people have lost loved ones to villain attacks, she is no exception, I too...
I'm getting off track. I arrange my thoughts and finish my morning exercise routine, arms, chest, back, legs, and endurance. In order to stay on top of my game, and be alert exercising daily is a must. After a shower, I put on my police uniform. I arrange all the badges, they are meant to be symbols of honour, signs I have done good to uphold peace, but the rangers are the ones that truly do that. These hollow rewards bring me no gratification, they just feed into my drive to achieve better. Just as I was staring at myself in the mirror the rest of my squad comes rolling in.
"You're all late" I say, chastising them.
"Sergeant , I simply think you are early"
"Semantics, now everyone get ready for the briefing on the Great Villain attack."
The rest of the team changes into uniform as I arrange the slides.
"A Great Villain is coming through that sub-rift. Firstly, what do you guys know about villains?" A well built, dark-skinned man puts his hand up. "Yes Spider?" I ask.
"Sir, you know I don't like that name. Devon is fine"
"Oh is it? By the way DEVON there is a spider under your seat."
"WHERE!" he yelps jumping into the air, he looks around and calms down after realising there was no spider. "May I, SPIDER, speak sir?"
"Yes you may"
"Villains are creatures that come from the 'Rift', Ever since the 1800's, there was a rift that opened up in the sky, astronomers had no idea what it was, and ever since the appearance of The Rift; smaller rifts, called sub-rifts appeared on Earth. And from those sub-rifts entities known as Villains emerged and terrorised our people."
"That's not a bad answer. "I replied "However, there are a few key details you are missing. Firstly, when The Rift formed in the sky the people of Earth started to change. From this, the scientists studied these people and discovered C.O.D.E. Furthermore, when Sub-rifts initially appeared the villains were weak enough to the point where even conventional weaponry was enough to take them out. They have been getting progressively stronger and in turn humanity also had to follow suit. So, they gathered people with unique abilities and put them through gruelling training and selection processes. Only the MOST elite could be selected for a team of 5, the ultimate defence against the villains and the force that now keeps us safe, THE RANGERS!" At some point I started screaming and didn't even realise it.
"Sir, the presentation?" A tall man stated, adjacent to Spider and he spoke in a gravelly tone. "You was meant to talk about Great Villains."
"Ah, Cliff thank you for reminding me. *ahem*. A Great Villain unlike a normal villain is a real force to be reckoned with, even for the rangers. They are not only stronger than regular Villains, they are also more intelligent and possess unique abilities that make them more unpredictable and dangerous. Thus, we have to uphold the perimeter as police officers by keeping civilians away of active villain attack zones, especially when the rangers are engaging, and we watch out for any villains that may approach the perimeter to ensure public safety. Our main goal is to just set up The Barrier and maintain the line. Any questions?"
"Just one sir."
"What is it Cliff?"
"For all that ranger talk why didn't you just become a ranger yourself? I'm sure the academy has a few people that has been held back a few years too so you can join them as well."
The entire squad started snickering
I hate my team.