Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own Power Rangers, sorry.
A/N: The Yellows Part Two is begun. Please to remember that I don't know Lost Galaxy through Wild Force as well as I do the others...
Maya stared at the screen that reflected the stone colored planet that had been her home. She kept her hands in her lap, terrified of touching something and causing this…ship to become unsafe. Beside her, the new pink ranger moved, a hand brushed her shoulder and she looked up. "I'm sorry," the girl said. "I wish we could have stopped them."
For a brief moment, anger reared up, but Maya quashed it in favor of a brief smile, "It's all right, I know that we will return one day and free my people." She had to believe that. If there were people who could travel between planets, and Rangers to fight, then she could save her people.
"I'm Kendrix," Kendrix offered. "I know we were rushed earlier, but I thought I should introduce myself again."
"Thank you," Maya said, "I am Maya."
Kendrix turned slightly to point, "That's Kai," she said, Maya looked at the blue ranger and nodded; an easy name to remember, almost Mirinoian, in fact.
Kai, hearing his name, lifted a hand before turning back to listening to the green ranger. "Hey, I'm Leo," said the new Red Ranger, quietly. His lips twisted into a mockery of a smile. "My brother Mike pulled this out of that rock," he lifted the sword.
"And he gave it to you," Maya said, with a smile.
"I'd rather he gave me himself," Leo muttered, turning away.
"I'm Damon," the green ranger said, to the group at large, "I'm supposed to be taking care of the Megaship, before Kai here stole it."
"I prefer the term, commandeered." Kai said, stiffly.
Kendrix laughed, "Oh, Kai," she said, "I know that Maya, at the least, will need to ask for sanctuary, but will we need to do the same for you?"
"Absolutely not," Kai said stiffly.
"DECA," Damon said, "we need to return to Earth with all possible speed."
"Hyperrush nine engaged," replied an odd female voice.
Kendrix say Maya's glance around the room and smiled, "DECA is a…a computer program. She takes care of flying the ship and such."
"All right," Maya said, her mind forcing her body to relax. "This is all so new to me," she admitted.
"You aren't the only one," Kendrix replied.
"I have a question," Kai said, "what are we going to tell people? I mean, we're not going to be able to hide any of this."
"What do you mean?" Leo asked, Maya thought he was sounded like he was only pretending to care. Kai didn't seem to notice, however.
"Leo," the blue ranger said, "Mike isn't the sort of person who can just disappear from Terra Venture. Not with all the work he put into the program. Colonel Stanton, at least, deserves to hear what happened to him."
"Besides, if creepy sword dude and his mutant bees show up on Terra Venture, there should be some form of an advanced warning," Damon pointed out. "They were after the swords in the first place."
"And?" Leo asked, "Let the freak have them, what do I care?"
"Care?" Kendrix exclaimed, even as she put a hand on Maya's arm, "What do you care? Leo, those people just destroyed a planet to get these swords. I think it's safe to say that they wouldn't let much of anything get in their way. You have lost, but I think Maya might have lost more."
"She's right," Maya said, reluctant to speak up, but knowing she had to. "Furio and his master, Scorpious are no doubt trying to find us right now. They will not give up on the Quasar Sabers just because we have vanished."
"He wants them for the power, right?" Damon asked.
"Yes," Maya said. "They are a great source of power, as you saw."
"Kind of hard to miss the spandex," Kai muttered. "What do you know about the swords, Maya?"
"They are great weapons of amazing power," Maya replied, "and they are said to answer the call of great need." She glanced at Leo before adding the last, "Some stories say that the power comes easily but can extract a price."
"For me," Leo said, standing up, "the price was too damn high." He walked off the bridge.
The remaining four looked at each other for a long moment, and then Maya stood, "I will speak with him," she said. "You must decide what we are to say to your Colonel Stanton."
She didn't have to look far for Leo; the young man had simply gone through the first open door and stood in the center of the room as if lost. "I'm sorry," Leo said as she approached.
Maya smiled, "It's alright, Leo. You seek to ease your pains in your own way." She glanced around the room, and to one side she found something familiar. "Sit down, we need to talk."
Leo followed her over to the table and they sat down side by side, "Maya…" Leo began.
"Leo," Maya replied, "I know that you're hurting, I am too. I know that I cannot dare compare my pain to yours, but I do know that you cannot lose sight of who you are in the face of what they have taken from you." Leo stared at her, as if she was his savior. Maya thought she must be in this moment. "You came for my people, and you are good enough to become the Red Ranger. There is so much to you that this team we must put together will need. I have lost everything I ever knew to Furio, the same being who killed your brother." Leo's eyes darkened, with grief and rage. "Please," Maya said, she reached out and lay her hand on his gently, "I want to rage and scream and cry, but will not, in honor of my people. Instead, I seek vengeance for what was stolen. Will you help me make Furio pay for what he has done?"
For a brief moment, Maya allowed her rage and grief to show. Its answer flared again in Leo's eyes and he nodded slightly. Then he smiled at her as Maya summoned up her calm. Moments later, when Kendrix found them, neither showed much sign of what was hidden beneath. "We have a plan," Kendrix announced, looking at the pair of them. "Since we have a while yet before we get back we'll have plenty of time to perfect the story."
Leo nodded as Maya smiled, "Let us hear this plan," she added.
The trio returned to the others, and Damon offered Leo his sword. "You should be careful with that," Kai offered, with a slight smirk. "Someone could steal it."
Leo accepted it, "Right," he said, not looking at Maya. "So, what's the plan?"
The five newly made Rangers faced Colonel Stanton in his office, alone. "So," Kai said, finishing their report, "we took the Megaship and left the planet. Although we do not know if it is true, Maya says that it is possible that Furio and his master Scorpious will follow."
Maya stood in the back of the group, preferring to let the other Rangers speak to this man in his fancy clothes. Leo, hiding behind the other three as she was, gave her a faint smile. She could almost hear him saying something irreverent if he wasn't afraid he'd cost Kai his job. "So, what am I supposed to do with you, then?" Stanton asked.
Kendrix and Kai, the default spokesmen, exchanged glances, and then looked back at Leo, who nodded slightly. They stepped aside, "Sir," Leo said, "I'm Mike's brother, but I'm not Mike. However, if what Kai and Kendrix have said is true, Kai isn't that far behind Mike in rank. That means that you have a Ranger in your command team. He'll know the ways to interact with your people, and can liaise between the team and yourself. Kendrix works in the science department, although I haven't been given the full details; but she's smart and I'm sure there are many things a science officer can do to help my team. Maya, she's the one who knows the beings, who want these swords, and I'm not all sure, but she probably knows the most about the power too. Damon's smart, he said something earlier about MIT, and that he was an engineer. Me? I'm just Mike's brother, but I know two things. Mike gave me his sword, and Mike never did anything in a hurry. And, Furio killed him. I can't even begin to tell you how much that hurts. I want to keep Furio and his bastard of a master Scorpious from stealing from anyone else what they stole from me. And Maya.
"You can say what you want, or do what you want, but this is the Ranger team that has been sent to you. I won't ask Kai and Kendrix to leave if you don't want us here, but I also point out that two Rangers who have never done this before are more likely to lose than five. And Scorpious can track us, I'd imagine, he'll know that the swords are here, or were here if we leave. Furio turned an entire planet into stone, what is going to stop them from destroying this colony on their way to capture and kill us. Honestly, I'm not sure that I can leave, knowing that the blood of this colony will be on my hands. Hell, I'm not sure I could live with that knowledge. Can you?"
Maya kept her smile from her lips, because if Leo couldn't understand that this was why he was the Red Ranger, she wasn't going to let him think she was laughing at him. Stanton, on the other hand, looked stunned. Then he nodded slightly, "Fine, Mr. Chen, Ms. Morgan, report to your duty stations. Damon, just what kind of degrees do you have, and who do I need to speak to one Earth?"
Damon blinked, "Uh, nobody, actually. My parents and I don't talk anymore. I'm an MIT graduate, sir, rocket science and engineering. I haven't finished my Masters, though, that's why I was doing summer work at the Megaship Museum. I won't say I'm a genius, but I'm not dumb either."
Stanton nodded, "I'll contact the Head of Engineering and see if they could use you if you want."
"Really?" Damon's face lit with joy, "Sir, uh Commander sir, that would, well, that would be wonderful."
"Of course, the Head of Engineering will know your status, as will the people who need to know." Commander Stanton said.
"Of course," Damon agreed.
"Ms. Maya," Commander Stanton said, eyeing her for a moment, "I cannot imagine what you have gone through, but you are certainly welcome here on Terra Venture. I cannot see fit to assign you anywhere, not knowing what you are familiar with and what you are not."
"She can stay with me," Kendrix volunteered. "I don't have a roommate and that will keep at least the two of us together if there's an emergency."
"All right," Mitchell said. "You'll have the same level of access to Terra Venture that Mr. Chen and Ms. Morgan already enjoy." The Commander stood, his eyes on Leo, "Mr. Corbett, tell me, what can you bring to Terra Venture."
"Not a damn thing," Leo replied bluntly. "Except that damn sword. I'm not Mike, and I don't intend to play the part of your pet soldier. Just tell me where I can sleep, or I can take a bunk on the Megaship, and I'll do my best to keep out of your hair. I'm not a scientist, or an engineer, and I sure as hell don't belong in the military. And I don't care to make myself into some little science project because I'm a Ranger." He crossed his arms, and Maya took a deep breath, this was not even remotely close to good.
She put her hand on Leo's shoulder and tugged gently, turning him away from Stanton and towards her. He looked at her brokenly for a long moment before he crumpled, his head falling onto her shoulder to hide the tears he couldn't control. "Perhaps," Maya said, looking at Stanton, "That can be enough for now."
"I, yes," Stanton said, startled at both Leo's outburst and his sudden breakdown. "Mr. Chen, I'm going to put Damon and Leo with you for now. I'm sure better accommodations can be arranged later."
"Yes sir," Kai saluted.
"I'd say take time, but this is a busy moment for us," Stanton reminded them. "Ms. Morgan, you will see the Rangers settled while I figure out how to explain this." He surprised them all by smiling, "You cannot imagine how much better I feel, knowing that you are here, Rangers. We consulted with the Astros and that red ranger, Andros, told us that it was just as likely for us to have Rangers just show up if we needed them than to have a team picked out from the beginning."
Maya smiled at him and gently steered Leo from the room, Kendrix and the others following. Kai hesitated a moment, then gestured, "I should go. I'll see everyone later."
"My place for dinner," Kendrix said firmly. "We'll be waiting."
"Right," Kai agreed.
Kendrix's rooms were large, much to Maya's surprise. Complete with a convenient couch for her to steer Leo, who had gone from sobbing to numb in their trip away from the tower. Now, he just lay against her side, sniffling on occasion, seeming to soak himself in her warmth. Kendrix produced a blanket and covered him up. "Thank you," Maya said as she made herself comfortable. "Not a problem," Kendrix said as she sat down on one of the two chairs. Damon sprawled in the other. "Now what?" She asked, looking from Maya to Damon.
"I want a nap," Damon announced. "Fighting aliens takes a lot out of a guy. Especially when I'd put in my eight hours of work before that."
"Do you want to know where Kai's room is?" Kendrix asked, "or do you want to borrow one of my bunks? I'm supposed to have roommates, but, Tamera got pregnant and left the project; Nicole was screened out after she nearly killed one of the GSA guys for grabbing her butt; Cami asked for a new roommate. Apparently I freaked her out. Since there was a place she could transfer too and she spread doom on me as a roommate, I have my own place."
"I'll bunk here," Damon replied, he stood, "If you don't mind. I don't think I want to be alone right now."
"I don't mind at all," Kendrix said, she gestured, "Just not the one with the pink sheets."
Moments later, Damon had toed his shoes off and was sleeping in one of the 'bunks' against one wall. Maya shifted under Leo and looked at Kendrix, "Thank you," she said simply, "for giving me a place to stay."
"I like having roommates," Kendrix said. "It keeps me from thinking about all that airlessness out there."
"You do not like space?" Maya asked.
"I like it," Kendrix said, "as long as it's out there and I'm in here." She nodded at the blackness outside the window, "It's a bit frightening to think about the fact that we're not that far away from…" Kendrix trailed off, "I don't want to think about this."
"Then do not," Maya replied. "Do you have family here?"
"No," Kendrix said, shaking her head, "nobody came with me. My parents are determined to die on the family farm and my brother is prepared to take care of them and their dream. My cousin was going to come, but she backed out last minute. They're supportive, but not willing to follow."
"Oh," Maya said.
Kendrix rested her head on the back of her chair, eyes closed. Maya began to hum, softly. After a bit, Kendrix assumed the relaxed position of a deep sleeper. Maya smiled and shifted herself into a more comfortable position and nodded off herself.
Kai found them there and smiled. He took the other two blankets off their bunks and tucked Maya and Kendrix in. He'd come back for dinner another day.