Memories: The Orange Ranger Story
Chapter One: Breaking the News
By angellwings
Maurhee Peterson, Orange Astro Ranger, sat on the command deck of the Astro Megaship Mark 1. The Mark 1 was a new prototype ship that she and Andros were testing out for the Kerova's inventors. Sadly Maurhee had only been able to stay on earth for a few month after Zordon's destruction. Over the past couple of years sleeping had become an activity that she seldom took part in. So, here she was, at 1:35 a.m., searching through D.E.C.A.'s files for something to keep her entertained for a little while longer when she stumbled across a video file marked "Maurhee's Departure". Her eyebrows merged with curiosity, and she quickly gave the command to play the video. It took her a while to realize what this was. She watched as footage of Tommy Oliver's house lit up the screen. The footage must have been transferred to the Mark 1 from the Megaship.
She grinned as she thought about her living arrangement with the Oliver's. She and Tommy had grown up together in Peace haven, California, until their sophomore year of High School when Tommy and his family moved to Angel Grove. She went up there to surprise him, and instead stumbled upon her best friend's only secret from her, He was the Green Ranger. As soon as she found out, she had been taken to Zordon. She became fast friends with the other rangers and was caught in the middle of an attack during a weekend in Angel Grove. She stole a box Goldar had been stealing and was suddenly transformed in the Orange Morphin' Ranger. Zordon had hidden an extra coin, and it was held in that box. A few weeks later she moved into the Oliver's guest bedroom, permanently. She had told her father that Angel Grove High had one of the best Art programs and Volleyball programs in the state just so he would let her move to Angel Grove. Her parents owned a state of the art technology business in Peace haven called Spy Ware Technologies which made it impossible for them to move.
This footage took place several years after that, though. She saw herself sitting on the Oliver's living room couch staring at a blank television screen. It was easy to see she was deep in thought. Then Tommy stepped out of his bedroom, and stretched and yawned as he walked towards the living room. She took one look at his morning face and freshly tangled hair, and knew immediately what this was footage of.
"D.E.C.A., how did you get footage of my last day on Earth?"
"The day before you were to arrive Commander Ryland told me to gather background information on you. So, I set my computers to follow your movements." D.E.C.A. said in her normal computer fashion. Maurhee nodded silently and turned her full attention back to the video.
Tommy plopped himself down on the living room couch beside of Maurhee and sighed. He looked over at Maurhee and examined the expression on her face. It was like a mixture of sadness, fear, and confusion. He then followed her gaze and grinned.
"Rhee? You do know you have to turn the TV on before you can watch anything, right?" Tommy said mischievously. Maurhee chuckled and turned to face her "big brother".
"Sorry Tommy, I was just thinking"
"About?" Tommy asked inquisitively.
Maurhee bit her lip, and looked up at him like she was dying to tell him something, then returned her gaze to the TV screen. When she didn't answer he decided to try again.
"Maurhee, what's wrong?" Tommy asked sternly.
"Nothing's wro-"
"Don't you dare try to pull that B.S. with me Maurhee Danielle" He said angrily in his brotherly voice.
Maurhee sighed heavily, looked at Tommy sadly, and then returned her gaze back to the floor.
"Tommy, I-" She was thankfully interrupted by the familiar ring of their communicators.
"What's up Zordon?" Tommy answered without hesitation.
"You are both to meet the others in the park immediately" Their mentor's voice boomed through the tiny device.
"We're on our way" Maurhee said assuringly. As she morphed she glanced at her zeonizer for what could be the very last time. She savored every tingle teleportation caused, and burned the scenery of Angel Grove into her memory because she knew this could be the last time she would do this with these people ever again. The only problem was telling them that.
Her thoughts had begun to distract her on the battle field. This gave the Machine Empire's random monster a free shot at her. The blast sent her crashing into a tree.
"Maurhee!" she heard someone yell. A few seconds later the Blue Zeo Ranger was at her side. "You okay, Spots?" He asked in a concerned tone.
A warm smile grew underneath her helmet as he spoke that nickname. He had come up with it on Phaedos shortly after Dulcea proclaimed that her animal spirit was the cheetah.
"Yeah, Rock, I'm good" she said as he helped her up.
"Good, cause for a minute there I thought we were gonna have to cancel our post-battle date" He said good-naturedly. She turned to him and rested a gloved hand on his forearm.
"I'd never let that happen, Rock" She said warmly then took her hand away and ran back toward the battle. "Especially not today" she murmured under her breath. When they arrived back at the battle, as was the routine, the monster had grown about 10 stories.
"Good luck guys!" Maurhee yelled as the others called on their zords.
She was the Orange Lightning Zeo Ranger, and as such her crystal was separate from the others. She had unique armor, a weapon called "The Lightning Staff", a sword shaped like her symbol, and, the one and only drawback to being The Lightning Ranger, She didn't have a zord. So, as always, she was forced to watch her team go on to victory without any further assistance from her. She had come to discover a feeling worse than being helpless, and that was not being needed. She hated that feeling! It really deflated a person's ego, and spirit. She was brought out of her reverie by a familiar rumble.
"Maurhee" Zordon called over the communicator.
"Yes, Zordon?" she asked even though she knew fully what he was going to say.
"I feel you are at risk there without a zord, return to the Command Chamber immediately"
"Yes, Zordon" she said disappointedly as she teleported away in a flash of orange light.
She arrived in the Command Chamber with a sigh which garnered a sympathetic glance from Billy.
"Nice job out there, Rhee." He told her as he came to stand beside her with a friendly smile.
She smiled falsely in return, "Thanks. Billy?"
"Yes?"
"Would you mind staying behind after every one leaves? I've got something I need to tell you, Tommy, and Jason." She told him nervously.
"Of course." He responded with a nod. He had a feeling he knew what this was about. Zordon and Alpha had hinted at something earlier.
A few minutes later her six teammates joined her with victory stamped all over their faces. It was almost as if they were bragging, but she knew that her friends would never do that to her, intentionally.
She greeted them with an artificial smile she had gotten so good at pulling off. Rocky smiled brightly at her and headed her direction. As he walked toward her he noted that her smile didn't reach those baby blues of her's. He knew she hated not having a Zord and not being able to catch the action all the time. Anyone who knew Maurhee like he did could see that.
Jason looked over at Maurhee as she nervously ran a hand through her thick copper-colored hair, and also noted that her smile was not genuine. He leaned towards Tommy and whispered,
"She's doin' it again, Bro."
"I know, I just wish she's talk to me about what's bothering her. Instead of, ya know, covering it up" Tommy replied in a hushed tone
Zordon began to speak to the rangers about their superb job in battle, but Rocky wasn't listening. He was watching Maurhee. Lately He'd been concerned for the petite, fair skinned, red-head. Her artificial smile, and shaky hands had become so common place for her. Her eyes which were normally bright and full of life had become so lonely and cold. He asked himself what the cause for all of this could be, but quickly dismissed the question because deep down he already knew the answer. Although the cause had taken place nearly a year and a half ago. It was still obvious that one man had caused Maurhee damage that would take years to repair, and if that creature hadn't already been destroyed Rocky would have done some unrepairable damage to him for how Maurhee was acting now. Once Zordon finished Maurhee turned to face her boyfriend.
"Rocky, instead of you picking me up could we meet at the clearing?" She asked referring to the place in the woods in Angel Grove Park that had come to be known as their "spot".
"Uh Oh, what did I do now?" Rocky asked seriously. Maurhee grinned whole heartedly at him.
"You didn't do anything. I just need to talk to you about something" she said. Rocky had picked up on the sadness in her tone, and was very curious as to what, exactly, she was planning on talking to him about.
"Yeah, okay sure" he said nonchalantly.
"Good, is 5:00 okay with you?"
"Yeah it's perfect"
"All right, see you at 5:00"
"See ya" Rocky said as he watched her hurry over to Tommy and Jason.
Tommy watched with concerned eyes as his childhood friend approached him. "Rhee, you okay?"
"No, but I'll hopefully be better in a minute. I need you guys to stay behind. I asked Zordon if I could use the Chamber to talk to you guys about something." She said shakily.
Jason and Tommy looked at each other apprehensively, then turned back to Maurhee and nodded. Maurhee let out a breath she never realized she was holding, and replied.
"Thanks guys"
Billy joined the three of them, and they quietly waited till the other rangers left. Once they were sure everyone had cleared out, Tommy turned to Maurhee.
"So, what's up?" he asked in a concerned tone.
"Well . . . do you guys remember when Zordon told us about the planet KO- 35?" she asked nervously biting her lip afterwards.
"Yeah, that's the planet that's on the brink of a war and has defenses that pretty much don't exist, right?" Jason said crossing his arms over his chest wondering where she was going with this.
"Right, and do you remember him saying that he might have to send some or one of us up there to help?"
"Yeah . . ." Tommy said expectantly. Maurhee took a deep breath and exhaled before saying her next sentence.
"Well, he decided to send one of us" Maurhee said as she swallowed hard.
"He's sending you isn't he?" Billy asked knowingly.
"Yes."
Tommy and Jason's mouths dropped open in shock.
"You're not going are you?" a soft familiar voice asked from behind her. Maurhee took in a sharp breath, and her eyes grew two times their normal size. She quickly turned to face the origin of the voice.
"Well, Rocky . . . I . . Yeah, I am" she said meekly as she glanced down at the floor. She could tell by Rocky's breathing that he was teetering the line between sadness and anger.
"When?" He asked through clenched teeth.
"Tomorrow morning at 7:00" she said shakily. He felt his throat tighten as he heard Maurhee's reply. Tomorrow morning? He thought he might at least have a week to try and change her mind, but tomorrow morning? He couldn't do anything between now and tomorrow morning, and why hadn't she told him about this earlier? Yes, telling him would have been hard, but isn't springing it on him at the last minute harder? He just didn't understand what was going through her head.
"Why?" He asked hoarsely.
"Because I'm the only one who can. No one needs me here any more" Maurhee said tearfully as she raised her eyes just enough to see Rocky's hands balled tightly into fists resting at his side.
"Bullshit" he said quietly as he temper rose. "Bullshit Maurhee! It's because of what that jackass, Ivan Ooze, said to you when he had you up there on the moon isn't it" He asked angrily "ISN'T IT?" he yelled.
"Rocky, man, calm down" Jason said walking over and putting a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"No. Dammit No! I will not calm down until she realizes that all the shit Ooze drilled into her brain was lies!" Rocky yelled as he walked over and put both of his hands on Maurhee's forearms and pulled her toward him. "Don't you get it? He said all of that to break you down. So, he could take advantage of your wounded mental state! And if you leave now because of what he said to you than he will have won! No matter how we destroyed him or ruined his plans HE WILL HAVE WON!" he yelled angrily. He kept hold of her waiting for her to respond, but when she didn't he let go. By now tears were quietly flowing down Maurhee's cheeks, and Tommy and Jason were wondering what they should do. They knew Maurhee needed to hear what Rocky was saying, but the way he was telling her was starting to worry them. Rocky glared at her then backed away a couple of feet before saying,
"FINE! Maurhee fine, leave, run away, but if you do leave tomorrow I can guarantee you that I WON'T be there to see you off!" Then he turned and began to walk away. Maurhee picked her head up to look at his retreating form.
"Well, you know what, Rocky?" She yelled. He stopped walking, but didn't turn around. "If that's how you feel about it then I COULDN'T CARE LESS!" She screamed as hard and loud as she could before hot, angry tears blurred her vision. Rocky looked down at the floor, sadly, then back up and teleported away. As soon as he was gone Maurhee broke down into sobs. Jason and Tommy stayed to comfort her while Billy glanced back sympathetically and then quickly went after the Blue Zeo Ranger.
When her crying stopped she stood up with a sniffle, and said, "I gotta go tell the others"
"No you don't, Maurhee" Jason said with concern. Over all the years they had known each other she had done so many favors for him, and now it was his turn to do something for her. "I'll tell them"
"No, Jase, thanks, but no. This is my decision and I should be the one to tell them" Maurhee said as she sniffled again.
Normally, Tommy would have agreed whole heartedly with Maurhee, but after the display that had just taken place he could tell she was in no condition to tell anyone any thing. He also knew he was going to have to have a serious talk with Rocky. "Maurhee do you honestly think that you would be able to tell them?" Tommy asked sternly.
Maurhee quietly shook her head no.
"Then it's all settled, we'll tell them for you" Jason said with a sad smile on his face. Maurhee smiled faintly at them.
"Thanks guys"
"For what?" Tommy asked curiously.
"For staying and being here for me and . . . taking it better than Rocky did" Maurhee said tearfully.
"Yeah right, we're kinda your big brothers, it's our job" Jason said with a wink. Maurhee laughed lightly.
"Well, I'm gonna go pass out, I'll see you guys later" she said with a wave as she teleported away. Jason and Tommy watched her leave then turned to each other.
"Man, if Rocky doesn't show up tomorrow I might just punch his face in" Jason said seriously.
"I know exactly what you mean, bro" Tommy said with a nod before him and Jason teleported to the youth center.
Maurhee heard footsteps coming from the hallway, and quickly gave the computer the command to exit the file. She turned to see Andros coming down the hall in his crimson cape that he used to wear when he would sneak around Astronima's lair to try and found out Zordon's location. He put the cape away when the other four rangers joined the team.
"D.E.C.A. wake Maurhee." He commanded just before he noticed her figure in one of the chairs, "Maurhee? What are you doing up so late?"
"Couldn't sleep" she said as she shrugged her shoulders. "What's up? Are we being attacked or something?" She asked with a furrowed brow.
"Close, I need you to set a course for Terra Venture" He said as he dumped his cloak into his command chair.
"Terra Venture? Why There? Don't they have their own ranger's to protect them?" She asked suspiciously. He looked at her gravely.
"The Psycho Rangers are back"
"Back? How? I thought we took care of them?" Maurhee asked as she pushed all the necessary buttons and typed in Terra Venture's coordinates.
"So did I, but apparently we were wrong. Some one got a hold of the data cards." Andros said as he tried to contact Terra Venture by vidlink.
Okay, this is basically the same chapter but I fixed some MAJOR continuity errors. When I wrote this I knew very little about Zeo, and Lost Galaxy. SO forgive my ignorance and know that I have fixed it.
angellwings