The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 3 - Heather Ray (chapter books to read to 5 year olds .txt) 📗

It was afternoon in Angel Grove, California, and Jason Lee was in his office in the Angel Grove Police Department, working on bothersome paperwork. Of course, since the 21st century began, computers have become more common, and now such work was much easier to handle. While he busily typed away, his desk phone rang.

"Hello?" he asks into the receiver, still typing his report.

^Hey Honey,^

said a feminine voice. ^How's my chief of police doing today?^

"Its been a pretty slow day, Emily," Jason answered. "But, I guess almost every day is. Angel Grove isn't exactly New York City or Los Angeles, you know."

^I understand. Listen, Hon, could you please remember to pick up some pickles and sourdough bagles on your way home? Oh, and some lemon sherbert would be just fabulous!^

"You got it, Sweetie. Now, make sure not to exert yourself or anything."

^You don't need to worry about me, Jay! I'm fine. See you later.^

"Bye, Em," said Jason, hanging up the telephone.

He smiled to himself.

Pregnant women always have cravings, but Emily really takes the cake! Every evening, its something different. Oh well, its not asking much, so long as she's happy.

Then, the telephone rang again. Jason smiled and picked up, expecting to hear his wife's energetic voice. He was rather surprised to hear another woman's voice, one who's all business.

^Jason, we've got a real problem.^

"Kim? What's happening?"

^Will's spaceship was destroyed by the Moon, Jason,^

said Kim sternly, ^Katherine said she saw some strange energy coming from Zedd's lunar palace.^

"I knew they'd be back!" said Jason, slamming his fist into the desk. "Okay, then, we've got to get to the CAC now."

^I know. Do you still have the special equipment Will designed ?^

"Yeah, I got it in my house. Do you have the equipment you were supposed to create?"

^Yes, I call it Project Terra. Listen, I've got a plane to catch, so could you please call Adam for me? I'll call Zack in Atlanta, and I'll call you when I'm close to the Angel Grove airport.^

"Which flight are you taking?"

^I'm flying over myself. I'll see you in about five hours.^

"Take care, Kimberly," Jason said, hanging up. He then grabbed his coat and ran out the door.

"Where're ya going, Chief?" asked a rather rotund officer, who was pouring a cup of coffee.

"There's an emergency, Farcus," said Jason, "I've gotta call it a day."

"Does it have anything to do with Will?"

"How'd you know?" asked Jason, turning to face his old friend since high school.

"Sheesh, where've ya been, Chief? Its all over the news! The Endeavor was supposed to come home awhile ago, but NASA's given a press statement that the ship's been destroyed, and the three astronauts are presumed dead. I'm sorry, Man."

"Yeah, this is really tough on everyone," sighed Jason, "I'll see ya tomorrow, Farcus."

"Right. Take care, Jay."

At a large lecture hall in the Princeton University campus in New Jersey, Professor Thomas Oliver had just finished his final Native American Studies lecture of the semester. He stood before a group of over two hundred undergraduates, outlining the final exam that they would be taking in a week.

"Okay, gang," he said loudly, loosening his tie, "make sure to study both your class notes as well as the text for the final. It'll be two hours, and it'll consist of one-hundred multiple choice questions and two essays, so make sure to study hard this weekend. The teaching assistants will be hosting a review session Sunday evening, and the exam will be in this lecture hall at ten o'clock Monday morning. Good luck, everyone!"

With that, the group of students filed out of the lecture hall, with about a dozen or so students staying behind to ask the young professor questions.

"Okay, people," said Tom with a laugh, streaking back his short brown hair, "I know you've got questions, but I really don't have much time. We'll have to go to my office, alright?"

Tom gathered his notes into his briefcase and lead the group through the hallway to the upstairs offices. In the hallway a low chime could be heard from Tom's pocket. He picked up his beeper and read the number listed.

That code!

he thought as he read off the number. That's the code to use Will's Ranger-Com system. Something must be wrong!

Tom turned around to face his students. "Guys, there's been an emergency. I'm afraid I can't review your questions at this time. I'll tell ya what. I'll schedule an hour or so over the weekend for a group review, and I'll e-mail all of you with the place and time. See ya!"

Tom hurried down the hallway, and entered his office. He was shocked to see a fellow Princeton professor, his fiance Vanessa Stevens, sitting at his desk. Her eyes were red and filled with worry.

"Vanessa?" he asked in surprise. "What happened?"

"Didn't you hear the news?" she asked, standing up and hugging him. "The Endeavor vanished about an hour ago! There's debris all over by the Moon, and the crew's presumed dead. I'm so sorry...I knew your friend Will was the captain of that mission."

"Oh my God," said Tom, taking his seat and burying his face in his hands, "I can't believe it. Will's...gone? Maybe that's what the message is about!"

"What message?" asked Vanessa.

"I got beeped by one of my friends from high school. Listen, Van, I...I really need to be alone for awhile, and I have to return this call. I'll call ya tonight, okay?"

Vanessa looked at him worriedly, and then picked up her purse and stepped to the door.

"Don't you forget to call me, Mister Oliver," she chided with a small smile tossing her ebony hair over her shoulder.

Tom immediately picked up the receiver and attached two small red disks he always kept in his briefcase in case of emergency. He dialed the number of the sender, and waited patiently.

^Hello?^

came a female voice, with a noticeable Australian accent.

"Kat!" he said. "Did you hear about Will?"

^Yes! That's why I called you! Listen, I'm on my cellphone, and I'm on an airplane. Hold on a minute, I'll go to the bathroom for a bit of privacy.^

Tommy waited for a moment, twiddling his thumbs anxiously.

^Okay, Tom, here's the deal. I'm the one who found the debris of the Endeavor. The odd thing is, there's some kind of strange energy coming from Zedd's lunar palace, and I think it has something to do with this strange anomaly I monitored earlier.^

"What kind of anomaly?"

^It was some kind of comet, that traveled at warp speed. I just don't understand its motion, but I think it has something to do with what happened to Will's ship. Listen, all six of us are meeting at Jason's house in Angel Grove. Get there as quickly as possible, and when we're all grouped together, I'll explain my theory.^

"Okay, Katherine," he said quietly, "I'll catch the first flight to Southern California. See ya in a few hours. By the way, where are you now?"

^The plane's somewhere over the Pacific Ocean. I called you right before we boarded, and I guess it took awhile for the Ranger-Com to access your beeper number. We've only been in the air for a couple minutes. It'll take several hours before we get across the ocean. See you at Jason's, Tom.^

"Right. Take care, Katherine," said Tom, hanging up the phone. He then grabbed his briefcase, and hurried out of his office. Just down the hall, Vanessa was waiting for him, leaning against the wall.

"Tom!" she called. "Where're you going?"

"Listen, Van, something's come up. I'm...I'm flying to Angel Grove."

"Oh, I see," she said quietly. "You wanna be with your friends during this difficult time. Okay, Tom, but remember you promised to call me."

"And I will," he said, kissing her forehead. "Thanks for understanding, Van. You're the best!"

"Right," she said quietly, waving to him. She then sighed inwardly and walked away.

In the late afternoon warmth of Atlanta, Georgia, Zack Taylor, Olympic gold medalist in track and field, was busy tearing up the track near his spacious suburban mansion. His trainer was busy scrutinizing Zack's stride as the athlete passed.

"Zachary!" cried the elder man, "I keep telling you, you have to watch those turns! You keep slowing down too much!"

"Chill out, Reed!" said Zack, jogging over to his coach and longtime friend, "I'll get the hang of it. What am I losing, half a second? A quarter?"

"Zack, you have to take this seriously. In a year and a half, the world will expect you to win the gold. There are some very skilled kids out there, anxious to whip ya!"

"And they won't," laughed Zack, wiping his forehead with a towel. "Now, don't I have a commercial to film or something?"

"Yeah, Zack. You've got a Reebok Zack Attack running shoe to advertise, but that's not in a week. Keep focused on your training, or someone else will become the fastest man in the world."

Zack sat down on the grass beside the track, sipping his water bottle. He heard a ringing from his gym bag.

"Telephone?" asked Reed in surprise, "I didn't know anyone had this number, besides your parents."

"Hang on a minute," said Zack, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

^Zack?^

came a voice. ^It's me, Kimberly.^

"Kim!" he said in surprise. "What's up, girl?"

"Who's Kim?" asked Reed, leaning over to hear Zack's conversation. Zack threw him a dirty look.

"Look, Reed, this is important. Can I please have a bit of privacy?"

"Fine," sighed Reed, walking towards the bleachers.

^Zack, you're not gonna believe this, but Will's ship has been destroyed by the Moon.^

"You're joking," Zack said with an