Chapter 1: The Assignment

"I'm telling you Booster, this girl's everywhere. She might even get bigger than Vicki Vortex!" XR said with certainty as he shoved a magazine in the face of his large, red-skinned friend.

Booster paused between mouthfuls of curly fries to glance at the picture in the magazine. It was a centerfold advertisement for an upcoming film: "Shooting Stars" staring Luna Stellarous. The woman on the page wore a purple ball gown over her pleasing figure. She was holding her dress up to reveal the compact blaster that was tucked into her thigh-high boots. Lush, chocolate brown hair curled around her cream colored face, which bore a cute, half-smile. Her eyes were a peculiar shade of violet, and glinted with a knowing light. Altogether, she looked as clever as she was beautiful.

"She's okay, I guess, but there's no way she's better than Vicki Vortex," Booster mumbled through his lunch.

"Honestly, guys," came a voice from behind them. XR's gears made a slight whirring noise as he turned to face his blue-skinned comrade. Mira rolled her eyes as she sat down. "We just saved the galaxy from a sentient black hole, and all you guys can talk about is your super models."

"Whoa, whoa. Luna Stellarous is not just another super model. She's also a singer, an actress, a dancer, and an author. Not to mention that she's absolutely smokin'! This girl's the whole package," XR argued.

"Fascinating, XR, simply fascinating," Mira responded with disinterest as she ordered a salad from a passing waitress.

"Mira, where's Buzz?" Booster asked. It wasn't like Buzz to miss out on lunch at Cozmo's Diner.

"Oh, that. You know Sally, that waitress that's been eyeing him for weeks? Well, she stopped him at the door as we were coming in, and I thought it would be best to give them a little space to talk alone," Mira answered with a smirk.

The three rangers turned to the door. Sure enough, there was their captain, standing awkwardly with the pretty little waitress.

"I don't know about you guys, but the suspense is killing me!" XR exclaimed as he pulled a listening device from the compartment in his chest. He pointed it toward Buzz and the three of them could clearly make out the Space Ranger's words.

"XR!" Mira whispered, admonishingly.

"You shouldn't listen in on a private conversation!" Booster added.

"Hey, don't tell me you guys don't want to know what's going on too," XR argued back. With that, all three Rangers quieted themselves and listened. To all of their dread, things didn't seem to be going well for their comrade.

"It's nothing personal. It's just that Star Command is the only lady that I have time for right now. Do you understand?" Buzz, with all of his good intentions, never did know how to be gentle with the ladies.

Over the device, the eaves-dropping Rangers could hear the dejected waitress mumble an "I understand," followed by a stifled sob.

"Nice goin' big guy," XR said sarcastically as Mira slapped herself on the forehead in disbelief.

"Oh, poor Sally," Booster's head was drooped, sympathetically.

The waitress scurried off, and Buzz made his way over to the table, a guilty look on his face. XR tucked away the listening device and feigned innocence. Buzz sat down and looked ready to put the whole scene behind him.

But Mira wouldn't let the matter be forgotten, "Buzz, you can't keep blocking people out."

"I am not blocking people out. I just don't have time for personal relationships right now."

"You don't have time, or you're just afraid to try?"

"Let's get this straight: I'm not afraid of anything. The safety of the galaxy is my number one priority. Nothing else is as important as that," Buzz responded, clearly frustrated.

Mira was concerned for him. Buzz Lightyear was the best Space Ranger in the galaxy, and he had managed to save countless lives during his time at Star Command, but he had always worked himself too hard, putting his own life and happiness aside for his job. Mira couldn't help wondering if he would be better off with someone in his life.

She was going to question him further on the issue when Buzz's wrist communicator beeped. He opened it to reveal the face of Commander Nebula.

"Lightyear, we've got a situation. I need you and your team to get back here pronto," Commander Nebula barked through the communicator. Buzz had heard the same urgency in Nebula's voice before, and it told him one thing: the Evil Emperor Zurg was up to something.

"Of course, Commander, we're on our way," Buzz responded and hung up. "All right, team, let's move out." The others swiftly obeyed and within seconds, Team Lightyear was in their ship and headed for Star Command.

Upon their arrival at Star Command, the team reported to the Briefing Room. A long table set with chairs occupied the center of the room. Above the table hung a large, flat monitor.

Once they had assembled, Nebula began to fill them in on the situation. "I'm sure you guys have heard of the famous performer, Luna Stellarous?" At the mention of the name, the overhead monitor displayed a glamour shot of the violet eyed super star. XR's eyes bulged and a mechanical tongue flopped out of his mouth.

Nebula continued, "Well, she was supposed to perform at a charity concert to raise money for the Planet of Widows and Orphans, but she never made it to the concert. Her robot body guards were later found beat to pieces in a dumpster outside of Stellarous' dressing room. A security camera in the area managed to catch this:"

The monitor played the security tape. It showed the entrance to the alley, where the robots were found. After a few seconds, a tall, dark figure walked down the street and entered the alley. The film was blurry, but even with its poor quality, Team Lightyear knew who the figure was: Warp Darkmatter, a henchman to the Evil Emperor Zurg.

"This tape was taken minutes before Stellarous disappeared. It seems pretty clear that Zurg is behind this. Our best guess it that Zurg plans to hold Stellarous for ransom. If so, we need to get her back before he has the chance. Whatever he's planning, it's up to you guys to stop him. Be quiet, be fast, find Stellarous and get out," Nebula concluded.

The team saluted their commander.

XR looked positively giddy, "Don't worry, Pop, I've got this mission under control."

No matter how many times he heard it, Nebula had never gotten used to the robot calling him "Pop," but he wasn't in the mood to argue. "I hope so," was all he said in response. He sounded sincere, and almost sad. Buzz was the only one who seemed to notice.

"Okay, team, head back to Forty Two. We leave immediately," Buzz commanded.

"Wow, XR, you might just get to meet your super star after all," Booster said as they left the room. Even from down the hall, you could hear the robot cheering.

Only Buzz Lightyear lingered behind. The sadness in his commander's voice troubled him. "Sir, if you don't mind me asking, this mission is personal to you, isn't it?" Buzz asked, gingerly.

The commander sighed. "Lightyear, I guess I'll let you in on something," Nebula said as he pulled a photo out of his desk drawer. It was a picture of Commander Nebula with a young girl who bore a striking resemblance to the missing performer.

"You knew Luna Stellarous?" Buzz guessed.

"Knew her? Yeah I knew her; back before she started using that phony stage name. Her real name is Nebula. Hayley Nebula. She's my niece," Nebula's usually emotionless face was as hard as ever, but it seemed to be frozen now, like a mask.

"Your niece?" Buzz looked confused, "I'm sorry sir, I didn't know you had any family."

"My sister and I never really saw eye-to-eye, so I don't see much of her or her daughter, Hayley," Nebula paused for a second. "She's a good kid, Lightyear. Would've made an excellent Ranger. She used to idolize you, you know. Wanted to be just like you,"

A proud smirk crept across Buzz's face. "Sounds like a smart kid, but I'm guessing that something changed?"

Nebula nodded, "As she got older, she began to hang around a rough crowd-"

"And they led her astray," Buzz cut in, "I've seen it happen far too many times."

"The Nebulas are stronger than that!" Commander Nebula barked. "It was her friends that changed. She kept them out of trouble, they stopped skipping school, and their grades even improved. Within a year, no one recognized them as the trouble-makers they were. And it was all because of her. It was at about that time that Hope decided not to enroll at the Space Rangers Academy. She told me that if she was going to make the universe a better place, she would find her own way of doing it," Nebula paused and smiled, "She was always independent like that."

"So that's why she became a performer?"

"I think so. Dancing, modeling, and all that: she's trying everything to find out where she can do the most good."

"Is there any chance of Zurg knowing about your relationship with her?"

"She's done a good job of keeping her personal life a secret, but if Zurg has learned of her connection to me, he might try and use her to get to Star Command. We can't let that happen."

"We could be walking into a trap, sir."

"That's why I'm sending you in. You've slipped past Zurg's defenses before. I'm counting on you to do it again."

Buzz wore a broad, assured smile on his face. "Don't worry, sir, Team Lightyear is on the job!"