A/N:
Aright, time to get back to form and I'm sticking with the SPD crew for just one more. This short story is set after the main series and not related at all to my other darker grittier SPD fic, Crucible.

Power Rangers at its core should be light hearted and fun, and special thanks go to TheFirstRedRanger for a little inspiration to write this story. This one's for you buddy.

"Come on Sky!" Sydney Drew begged as she walked alongside her teammate.

"Nope." Sky shook his head again as the two officers continued patrolling through the busy gardens of Centennial Park. It was late afternoon, but the oppressive heat of the summer sun still hung over New Tech City.

"Please?" Sydney whined again while stepping aside for a passing cyclist, "It's hot out here and I need to cool off! Why can't we just stop and get an ice cream cone?"

The Red Ranger gave an amused smile and wagged his finger, "Regulations Syd. Officers are required to adhere to a strict balanced diet... plus, it's almost dinner time. You'll ruin your appetite."

The Pink Ranger stuck out her tongue petulantly, "I don't think that part was in the manual smart guy."

Sky crossed his arms officiously, "Ok, what if we had to respond to call while you were eating? Are you really telling me you could handle an armed criminal with a scoop of cherry ice cream in your hand and a Delta Morpher in the other?"

"I guess we'll never know until we try, will we?" Syd smiled with a playful wink.

She laughed, seeing her straight laced teammate sigh in frustration as she poked his arm, "Ok then. When we get off our shift, do you want to go grab a bite to eat together?"

Sky hesitantly glanced to his teammate a moment, "Just you and me?"

"Sure, why not?" Syd smiled, "It'll be fun. Besides, the others will still be on duty anyway. What do you say?"

Sky stopped and took a long moment to consider it.

"Sky? Were you even listening?" Sydney prompted snapping her fingers near his face. Before he could answer, the two heard a shrill cry for help and turned to see an attractive young brunette woman being dragged away by a large reptilian alien. The girl was dressed in running clothes and struggled as the alien held her tightly by the forearm, all while trying to look subtle.

Shooting a look to Sydney, Sky began to give chase to the attempted kidnapper "Hey! SPD! Hold it right there."

The alien spun around in surprise and gave a growl while trying to escape, pulling the girl along roughly. Startled people in the park quickly stepped aside as Sky and Syd charged down the walkway. As they ran, Syd reached for her comm, "Dispatch, this is Officer Drew, we have an attempted kidnapping at Centennial Park. Requesting immediate backup."

As the female jogger continued to struggle and slow down the alien, Sky charged in and threw himself at the kidnaper, tackling the villain into a nearby volleyball pit. As the jogger broke free, Sydney pulled her aside to safety while Sky continued to grapple with the alien on the ground.

While Sky and the alien furiously wrestled, the alien reached out and grabbed a handful of sand from the volleyball pit. In one swift motion, he threw it straight into Sky's face.

The Red Ranger sputtered in surprise as the alien shoved him off and leapt up, continuing to push through the crowd until he reached a waiting car at the edge of the park. "Sky! Are you hurt?" Syd cried as she ran over and helped her teammate to his feet.

"Only my pride," he angrily muttered wiping sand from his face and uniform. "Did you see where the perp went?"

Syd shook her head, "Sorry. I lost sight of him in the crowd too. I called for backup though."

Sky nodded, "What about the victim? Is she ok?"

The Red Ranger suddenly had his question answered as the young woman they had saved threw her arms around him in gratitude while the nearby people in the park began clapping and cheering. As he stood in momentary confusion, Sky gave Sydney a questioning look which she answered with an amused shrug and a clapping gesture too.

Later that evening, the reptilian alien stepped out of his getaway car as the driver parked in the large lower level garage of a downtown office building. He nervously took a few paces into the dark parking lot as he saw a man wearing an expensive suit. The businessman waited patiently for him at the other end of the lot flanked by two other burly men in suits. The businessman was handsome, with patrician features and light slicked back hair. His sharp eyes tracked the alien as it approached apprehensively and stopped several feet away.

"Where's the girl Goram?" the well dressed man calmly asked while slowly lighting up a cigarette.

The reptilian growled, "I'm sorry Mr. Lucien. SPD got in the way."

"I don't want to hear your excuses Goram. I gave you a simple task and you failed. That is not what I paid you for." Mr. Lucien said blowing out a slow string of cigarette smoke.

"I won't screw up again sir!" Goram pleaded, "I promise! Just give me one more chance!"

Lucien angrily threw down his cigarette and crushed it with his shoe saying sharply, "You are in no position to make demands on me!"

Goram cowered as the two bodyguards reached into their suit coats, most likely for weapons, but Lucien slowly waved them off and took a calming breath.

"You realize there is a city alderman election coming up in a month. I've campaigned too long and hard to lose. Now, if we can't force my opponent to drain all his finances through ransom and drop out of the race, it's going to be that much more difficult to win. You have one more chance Goram. Bring me the girl."

The reptilian nodded and exhaled in relief as Lucien turned around and departed the garage with his men, leaving the failed kidnapper to contemplate his next uncertain plan.

The next morning, Sky sat with Bridge and Z in the rec room of SPD Headquarters, killing some time before they had to report for duty. "So, I heard you were quite the hero the other day at Centennial Park." Z smirked toward Sky as she lounged on a sofa next to Bridge. "Saving a girl from an attempted kidnapping? What was her name again? Jackie?"

Sky calmly sat back in his own seat taking a sip from a water bottle, "Yeah, what about it?"

"Well, was she hot?" Bridge grinned, "Did you take down her number afterward?"

Sky smirked as Z punched Bridge in the arm before answering, "The only thing I took down was her written statement... but she wasn't too hard on the eyes either."

"Syd wasn't jealous was she?" Z asked playfully as Sky frowned in confusion.

"No. Why should she be?" he asked curiously.

At that moment, the doors of the rec room opened and Sydney entered, marching quickly up to Sky. She shoved a piece of paper in front of him and put her hands on her hips indignantly, "Sky? Just what is going on here?"

He looked at the paper and then to her in confusion as she continued, "The duty roster is all screwed up! I'm patrolling with Mary Dufour from C-Squad today? I thought we were partnered up for the week!"

From the couch, Z and Bridge exchanged an amused look at the Pink Ranger's outburst.

"Sorry Syd." Sky answered, "This is out my hands. I was only told that I'd be reassigned for a while."

"You're the Red Ranger!" Sydney exclaimed, "You already have a say in the patrol assignments!"

"Except I'm giving him a special one," came a authoritative voice from behind.

The Rangers scrambled to their feet and saluted as Commander Anubis Cruger entered the room and approached them. The dog faced commander looked about the room for a moment before giving a nod, "At ease."

Sydney gave a sheepish look where she stood, "I'm sorry Commander. I just wanted to know what was going on with all this."

Cruger turned to Sky and said, "Officer Tate, you've been assigned to personal guard duty for the week."

Sky frowned slightly, "For a valuable witness? Visiting diplomat, maybe?"

Cruger grimaced and gave a soft growl to himself, "More like babysitting a socialite."

The other Rangers waited in confused silence as Cruger continued, "Sky and Sydney, you recall that young woman you saved the other day at the park? Jacqueline Linton?"

The two nodded as the commander produced a newspaper highlighting the story, "It seems she is being targeted for kidnapping."

"I still don't understand sir, what does this have to do with us?" Syd asked curiously.

"Miss Linton is the daughter of a senior city alderman." Cruger explained, "You'll recall that he's been a longtime political ally and proponent for the funding of SPD. There's also an election coming up and we suspect the attempts on his daughter are somehow politically motivated."

Sky wrinkled his brow, "I understand sir. SPD is doing Alderman Linton a favor here, but why me? I mean, isn't that kind of a waste of our resources? Any other officer could be assigned that duty."

Cruger shook his head uncomfortably, "Except you were specifically requested as a body guard by Miss Linton herself. She said she'd feel safest with one of SPD's top officers and her father seems to agree. I'm sorry Sky, but city politics have tied my hands on this matter."

Sky gave a reluctant nod as Z caught sight of Sydney doing her best to suppress a disapproving scowl.

Cruger turned to the other Rangers, "Sky will be protecting Miss Linton at least until a big charity gala at the end of the week. In the mean time, I want you three to track down whoever is responsible for this plot. I'll have you report to Kat Manx's afterward for further details. Sky, if you'll come with me?"

Cruger turned around and made his way out of the room quickly, "Dismissed."

The Rangers saluted again as Sky gave Syd a helpless shrug and followed the Commander out the door. After they left, Bridge turned to the Pink Ranger who remained standing in place with a frown. "Uh, Syd? Our shifts start soon. You coming?"

"Hmmph." Sydney grumbled as she brushed past Bridge and strode briskly out the door, all while the Blue and Yellow Ranger exchanged another look while shaking their heads.

Later that day, Sky and Commander Cruger were driven uptown to one of the more affluent areas of New Tech City. As they stepped out of the car and looked around, they were greeted by the sight of green manicured lawns, large stately townhouses, and clean well maintained streets. After getting out of the car, they were greeted at the door of one of the town homes by an older well dressed man. He was clean cut and wore a friendly smile as he extended a warm hand to Cruger.

"Commander Cruger. Thank you for coming. Please, come in."

Cruger shook the man's hand back politely as they entered the house, "Thank you Alderman Linton. It's good to see you again."

Once inside, Mr. Linton led them to the living room and turned to Sky, "This must be SPD's Red Ranger... Officer Tate, was it?"

"Yes sir." Sky answered standing at rigid attention and shaking Linton's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"Well," the Alderman smiled, "I can see my daughter will be in good hands, and you have my thanks for saving her at the park. Jackie is upstairs right now cleaning up, but she should be ready to go back to her place in a few minutes."

Cruger instinctively looked around the well furnished room for any opening to outside threats before saying, "Rest assured Alderman, I have my best officers rushing to get to the bottom of this kidnaping business."
Linton gave a somewhat faint smile, "I know you will Commander, though part of me hopes that you don't rush too quickly." Turning to Sky, he muttered quietly, "I'm actually hoping some of that SPD discipline and self control will rub off on my daughter."

At that moment, the same young brunette woman from the park came down the stairs with her suitcase. She was dressed in expensive clothes and looked very pretty, having put on some makeup too. She caught sight of Sky and flashed him a bright smile, "Officer Tate! Thanks for coming! It's good to see you again!"

Sky and Cruger exchanged a slow sideways glance before the Red Ranger answered hesitantly, "Err... likewise Miss Linton."

The girl laughed and waved it off, "Please, Miss Linton is so formal and stuffy. You can just call me Jackie. I'm all packed up now so we can head back to my apartment downtown."

Sky felt Cruger give him a pat on the shoulder as he headed out the door. "Well Officer Tate, I'll leave you to it. Be sure to check in at 21:00 hours."

"Good luck son." Alderman Linton added quietly before walking back in the den.

As Sky picked up the luggage with a nod and followed the bubbly young woman out the door, he wasn't sure what he was getting himself into and whether or not he should feel worried, scared, or a little bit of both.

Meanwhile, back in the lab of SPD Headquarters, Bridge and Z gathered around the desk of the scientist Kat Manx as she presented them with a small petri dish and a file folder. Off to the corner, Sydney sat at a chair busily looking over a datapad.

"Rangers, I'm glad you came." SPD's chief scientist greeted them, "I have something special for you all."

"It's not anthrax is it?" Bridge asked glancing at the petri dish skeptically. "Because you know, it kinda looks it."

Kat stared at Bridge incredulously for a moment and narrowed her eyes while Z shook her head in frustration. The feline held up the dish and passed Z the file folder. "As much as I wish I had a sample right now, we'll have to settle on a lead in your investigation. I've managed to recover some scale samples from the suspect Officer Tate tried to catch yesterday. I've run some DNA tests and it matched up with a known criminal that's already in our system."

"Wow! Way to go Kat!" Z grinned thumbing through the file. "At least we've got a name on our perp, Goram Quigg. Looks like he just got out on parole and isn't doing a very good job of keeping his nose clean."

Looking to the corner, Z called over, "Syd? Are you even listening over there?"

"Yeah, yeah..." the Pink Ranger muttered without even looking up from her datapad. "Lizardman Goram. Out on parole. Got it."

"Well, at least now that we know who our guy is, he shouldn't be too hard to find." Z smiled ambling closer to look over Sydney's shoulder. "Hey Syd! Come on! Now is not the time to be reading the tabloids!"

Syd wrinkled her nose and turned the pad around to Bridge and Z, "For your information, I was doing research on the victim, Jackie Linton. Looks like the little princess Sky is looking after is quite the party girl and a lightning rod for scandals."

"Well... yeah Syd," Bridge shrugged, "Cruger did say she was a socialite. I mean, your family is wealthy and you partied and ran in the same kinda crowds before. Wouldn't you know all about that stuff already?"

"Well... yeah," Syd retorted indignantly tapping the article, "But I never let myself get this crazy!"

Z sniggered to herself, "Oh, this should be a riot. A wild party girl with eyes for our own Mr. Rules and Regs? The poor guy is in over his head."

"You're right Z!" Syd exclaimed bolting upright, "We've gotta go help him!"

Before Z could reply, Sydney glanced at her watch and hurriedly excused herself out the door, "Oh, look at that. I've gotta run. I'm due out on patrol. I'll see you all later!"

The two remaining Rangers turned to Kat who gave a pensive frown and simply shrugged. She had the feeling that this was going to be one interesting week.

To Be Continued...