Thanks to another Captain Power fan (waves hand in grateful thanks), I've found out that the episode Wardogs was scheduled to be the second episode aired. However, according to the air dates listed on IMDB and TV.com (which are two sites I used to get the episode list), Wardogs aired after episode #9 The Intruder. This might be a case of the producers having to reschedule an episode instead of airing them in order as originally planned. Wardogs is needed early in the series to establish certain plot points for future episodes (Pariah and Eden Road to name two).

I've also found out that there were two episodes that were never aired – I don't know if they were filmed. One is The Room which was to take place between #5 A Fire In The Dark and #6 The Ferryman. The other is The Rose Of Yesterday which was to take place between #9 The Intruder and #11 Flame Street. It appears that Wardogs aired in place of The Rose Of Yesterday.  I only have a brief synopsis of these two unaired episodes, but I want to write a tag to those as well.

Since I've already posted The Abyss tag as story #2, I'm posting Wardogs' tag as story #4.

 

 

Episode 4 – Wardogs

Jon's Point of View

The team discovers a resistance group in Sector 24. Their leader, an old friend of Hawk's, is convinced that the war is lost and is planning to lead her team to Eden II despite the fact that the place  is considered a myth. She invites Hawk to join her as Hawk tries to convince her to stay and fight Dread.

~*~*~*~*~

Eden II.

Was it possible for such a place to exist? How could a peaceful paradise with green grass, tall trees, and clear water be hidden in the north? How could such a location go undetected for all those years? How was that possible given Dread's surveillance over the entire planet?

It'd been a quiet flight so far as Jennifer piloted the jumpship toward the Dread facility Tank and Scout were watching. Both were thinking of Vi's plan.

"Do you think it's real?" Jennifer asked.

Jon thought for a moment. What did he think? "I don't know. Eden II has been around ever since Dread came to power. I've never believed in it. I always thought it was a story that people made up because of what Dread was doing, but something has convinced Vi and the Wardogs that it's out there. Maybe they found proof or maybe they just need to believe that it's out there and they can find it."

"A mythical place to believe in," Jennifer mused. "That's like Camelot or Avalon. I wonder if it's like all the stories we've heard."

"If Vi finds it, maybe she'll send back word someday and we'll find out," Jon said. "It could be that the stories we've heard are exaggerated. Instead of green fields, they've got hydroponic greenhouses, water filtration plants that fill up man-made lakes, artificial lighting --"

"Not very mythical," Jennifer commented. "I like the stories better. It might look like a picture Mentor showed me of the countryside before the Metal Wars. It was taken of the base about fifty years ago. He found it in the archives. There was a snow-covered mountain, green grass and trees. There was a lake with birds flying overhead. It looked so peaceful."

She was describing Old Colorado. It was a fond memory for Jon, a one-dimensional picture for Jennifer. He remembered the carefree fun he had in his childhood playing outside, what it was like to breathe clean air and have the sun shining down on him. If Eden II were like Old Colorado, it'd be like going home again for him. For Jennifer, it would be a picture come to life. He pondered for a moment about how she might like to walk through a grassy field at the foot of a mountain or wade barefoot in a clear stream. If Eden II was real, maybe they could find it themselves and she could have those experiences. Again, he was reminded that things he took for granted, she didn't know existed. He could imagine it though. For a brief moment, he could see her standing in that green field with the bright sun shining down on her for the first time. She could see a natural world in all its majesty, not in a one-dimensional picture of what used to be. So much of their world was gray. That was the only world Jennifer had ever known. The sun didn't shine brightly through the ever-present pollution. Green wasn't a color nature produced. Blue was hidden by smog and smoke. Yellow, orange and red didn't gleam through the dreariness. To Jon, a place like Eden II was a return to what used to be. To Jennifer, it would be more like a fairy tale come to life.

Only it wasn't a story. Others like Vi and the Wardogs remembered how the world used to be. That's why they needed to find Eden II. It wasn't just because they were tired of fighting a war they believed was lost. They needed to know that there was life still out there, that it wasn't all mechanical metal monsters out to destroy everything that was alive. If they could find it, if it was real, maybe there was a chance for humanity after all.

Eden II was sounding better all the time.

"Maybe Vi's right and it's out there," Jon suggested.

Jennifer smiled and nodded. "Maybe. She wanted Hawk to go with her."

That was a surprise. "You think so?"

"Did you notice how she was behaving around him? It was almost as if she were trying to convince him that it was a good plan, not just us."

No, Jon didn't notice that... or did he? Vi had stood relatively close to Hawk when they were looking at the map, and she did seem to be trying hard to convince Hawk that the Eden II contact was going to be there. Giving it careful consideration -- yes, he'd missed it. Vi wanted Hawk to go with them to Eden II.

"I don't think we have anything to worry about. Hawk's not ready to retire just yet," Jon hoped he sounded more convincing than he felt. Hawk had mentioned Vi a few times in years past as the 'one who got away.' He'd cared about her then. Jon knew that he still cared. Would that be enough to tempt him to go with her to Eden II? Hawk had been fighting a long time. It'd been a long war and maybe he was beginning to feel like it was already lost.

But would Hawk go off with a lost love? Was he ready to holster his weapons and give up the way of the warrior? Was the memory enough to tempt him?

It wasn't a situation that Jon had any experience with personally. Not even with Athena. True, she had asked him to go with her, but he couldn't. It wasn't a thought he entertained. She didn't hold that place in his heart since, unlike Hawk and Vi, Athena wasn't Jon's lost love. Even his younger self never thought his feelings were stronger than they actually were. She was a close, dear friend he cared for deeply but nothing more.

Emotions were the double-edged sword in the human condition. They could harm and hurt. They were certainly confusing. They were what kept you going when everything seemed hopeless. They were what connected you to another human being, and that was the most confusing of all.

That reminded Jon of something Hawk had told him years earlier. It was one of the few times that the older man had discussed his personal life. He'd mentioned Vi, and the teenage Jon was interested in knowing more.

"So why didn't you marry Vi, Hawk?" young Jon asked him. "How'd you know Joanna was the right one?"

"I met Vi a few years before Joanna. We dated some. Got close. Then she was transferred to Fort Worth , and we lost touch with each other for a while. That's when I met Joanna. She was like this whirlwind that came into my life. She's the one who turned my life upside down. We got married, had two great kids, and I met up with Vi again a few years later." Hawk laughed at the memory. "I knew I'd made the right choice. Joanna was the love of my life, but that didn't change how I felt about Vi. But believe me, there is nothing more stressful than having your wife and an old girlfriend in the same room at the same time unless it's when your wife and ex-girlfriend become good friends. Hope you never have that happen to you. Let me tell you, I had more than one scary moment." Hawk lost himself in the memory momentarily. "Then the Metal Wars came and Vi and I had to go fight."

"You were still friends?"

"Yes, we were still friends, but we were more than that. We were teammates, fellow soldiers. You see, Jon, even though I had strong feelings for Vi at one time, that's all they were. I loved Joanna. When that happens, you'll know. There's no way to describe it. Sometimes it sneaks up on you or you could wake up and realize that it's been there all along. Just don't let the opportunity pass you by or you'll never forgive yourself."

Opportunity . That was one thing Jon hoped he'd recognize when it knocked. More than that, he hoped he wasn't so unaware of it that he didn't answer.

"I hope he's not ready to retire," Jennifer agreed as she started their descent. "I like having him around. Still, if Eden II exists, it'd be something I'd love to see."

"If we find out where it is, we'll go," he promised her. Yes, war or no war, if there was an Eden II, if there was a chance to walk through a grassy field or wade barefoot in a clear stream, then Jon wanted Jennifer to see it, and he wanted to be there with her.

The End