Part 1
Tommy had been tossing and turning all night. He was more than a little happy to be with his wife again especially after all this time. They had spent weeks talking, Tommy had been catching Katherine up on everything as well as hearing the nightmare that she had been going through all those long years that she had held as a prisoner.
Everytime she told him about the torture that was inflicted Tommy would seethe and boil over with anger. He already had a strong hatred for the Vandairre but had never truly wanted to see them destroyed. But things were different now. When he thought that she was dead it hadn't been personal. He was hurt but with time was able to accept that she had been taken from him and he would never see her again. But things as he found were not that simple. Instead of being dead she was held aboard Emperor Nicandros royal command ship. He would come in and taunt her, letting her know that she had no hope and making her believe that her husband and son were dead.
Tommy had been telling her how they were forced to surrender and how the aliens had swarmed over the planet. Then he had to tell her how he took his son into hiding, how they moved into a Tommys old house and were forced to live in fear of their lives, hoping that Nicandros would never find them.
Then came the part that Tommy was almost scared to tell her. He told her about how Kimberly had lived with them and raised Jason as her own son. Katherine didn't seem the least bit upset. As a matter of fact she seemed happy and grateful that Kimberly had been in their lives. Happy that this other woman, a woman that her husband had spent years being in love with was there to take care of them.
Then came the part that made Katherine truly happy and had given her hope that one day the nightmare of the Vandairre rule would be truly over. The second Pink Ranger was even happier when she learned that her son had become a Power Ranger himself. Not only had he become a Ranger but he had become the White Ranger. He had gone on to follow his father footsteps and was second in command of what just might a new chance for the universe to finally be rid of the Vandairre at last.
Tommy and Katherine sat up and stared into each others eyes, silent for a what seemed like an eternity. Tommy had just opened his mouth to speak when someone entered their tent in the make shift camp that they were in.
"Tommy and Katherine. Queen Xanya would like to see you." Audra told them.
Tommy nodded his head and stood up. She had been one of the people that rescued Katherine and himself. The two had become fond of the girl. The Queen had pretty much assigned her to them. The two former Rangers had spent a lot of time learning about Keldeha and in exchange Tommy had been teaching her martial arts. Audra picked it up quickly and strived to get better.
Katherine had also taken a liking to the girl and sat looked forward to hearing stories about Keldeha before the Vandairre arrived. Audra had painted the picture of a place that Katherine saw as the setting for some fairy tale and she desperately wanted to help restore the planet to its former glory.
As they walked through the camp Tommy could feel the tension in the air. Something big was about to happen and whatever it was had everyone on pins and needles.
They entered the tent and everyone quickly achieved a uneasy silence. The Queen sat at the end of a long table and next to her sat General Ferin, who Tommy and Katherine knew to be one of the Queens planners. Next to him sat several assistants that they didn't recognize.
On the other side of the table were faces that Tommy and Kathrine were more familiar with. On the right sat Laran and next to her was Jerrin. Jerrin looked angry (They had gotten used to it. Jerrin always looked angry about something.)
Laran looked over at them as they approached the table and gave a quick nod, smile and lipped this is going to be interesting.
Queen Xanya stood up and cleared her throat. "Hello Tommy and Katherine." she said. "I'll be straight and to the point. I have asked you here to assist us in our battle against the invaders."
"Of course." Katherine said. "Well do anything we can."
Tommy frowned slightly. He had been hoping to find a way home but if this is what Katherine wanted to do he would go along with it. "Okay what do you need us to do?" he asked.
"Well we have discovered that a large supply of equipment and weapons are being delivered to the castle. We need these items so that we can free start to free our what's left of our forces." the Queen informed them.
"Okay what do you have in mind then?" Tommy asked.
"Well Audra and Laran have given me details about your escape from the prison and apparently you are a mighty warrior." the Queen praised.
Tommy blushed slightly. "Well if I was that good I wouldn't have been caught."
"Oh come on Tommy you're amazing in a fight." Audra said.
Jerrin began to grumble under his breath.
"Is there something that you have to say Jerrin?" the Queen questioned.
Jerrin slouched back in his seat. "we don't need him. I can lead us in there."
"Yeah just like when we found him." Audra pointed out. "The guy that we tried to rescue ended up saving us."
"Hey that wasn't my fault." Jerrin argued. "If we would have left him like I suggested we would have gotten out of there."
"Yeah but it turned out better this way Jerrin. We managed to free two people that could help defeat the Vandairre." Laran snapped back.
"Like we really need them. I mean look. We freed them." Jerrin gloated.
"Enough!" the Queen interjected. "This is not a matter that is open for debate. I have called them here becuase they obviously know far more about this than we do." she then turned to face the former Rangers. "Will you help us?" she pleaded.
"Yes we will. What do you need us to do?" Tommy and Katherine said in unison.
"I want you to lead the raid." Queen Xanya smiled.
Jason sat in his room looking at the picture of his dad that he had hanging on his wall. He constantly thought about and the desperately wanted to find him. His mind was constantly distracted by the thought that if he hadn't forgotten his morpher his dad would be there now. His mom had been trying to reassure him that even if it were under the best circumstances that the same thing could have happened.
Knowing that she was right and that Goldar was a fierce opponent either way didn't change that fact that he felt miserable. Jason held his morpher in his hand staring at the Power Coin that it contained. One good thing had happened becuase of his mistake however and that was the fact that Tara made sure that no Ranger would ever be without his morpher again. She had created a way for the morpher to be stored away in the same small pocket dimension that their weapons were stored in when not in use. She had even tickered with the idea of storing the Zords there as well but realized that the amount of energy that would be required to summon them would place a heavy strain on the Morphin Grid.
Jason had spent much time around the house just moping around. As a matter of fact he only left when he was needed on Ranger business. The rest of the time he stayed in his room or out in the backyard dojo. He had sealed the place off and no one was allowed to enter except for his mom. Kimberly had tried to talk her adopted son out of his depression but nothing seemed to be working.
To try to take his mind off of his dad the White Ranger had taken to going on extended patrols during all hours of the night. He would sneak out after his mom went to sleep and the scour the desert looking for signs of Vandairre. Usually he would come up with nothing, but every once in a while he would encounter a few of the soldiers out there in the cold of the desert.
Lately however taking out a few soldiers hadn't been making him feel any better so it was back to moping in his room until he was needed by the Rangers.
Tonight Jason had decided to patrol and get some fresh air. He waited until everyone fell asleep and then made his way out the back door. He walked through the city and towards the outskirts of the city and into the desert.
A figure followed Jason from the shadows and watched as he crossed the desert. The figure stayed far enough behind that Jason didn't notice him. He had thought about approaching the the young and but decided just to observe him for a while longer.
He continued to watched as the young man stalked a trio of soldiers and quickly dispersed them. The fight had lasted only a few moments and it was obvious that the soldiers were way overmatched. The stranger found himself impressed by the this kids figthing ability.
The stranger watched on as Jason walked through the desert and took out any soldiers that he encountered. At one point he thought about going to help him but he seemed to be handling himself very well.
The stranger had been a Ranger himself and had even fought along side the young mans father. He observed that Jason had a similar style to Tommy with a few differences and realized that if he was only a little more concentrated he would have been able to beat his dad.
The man thought back to the first time that he had seen Jason fight. He had come to Angel Grove because of a rumor that the Power Rangers were back. If the Rangers were some how reformed he would be there to lend a hand in anyway that they needed him to. Upon returning to Angel Grove e quickly discovered these were not the Power Rangers that he had known but instead a new team, with new members and a tougher mission. He watched the new Rangers closely, observing them and learning about them. He had even considered going to the Power Chamber and offering his aid but quickly let that idea go. Instead he decided to go visit his old friend Tommy Oliver only to witness his kidnapping by Goldar.
He watched as Tommys sons morpher was returned to him and saw him transform into the White Ranger. It didn't come as a complete surprise to him that it Tommys son was a Power Ranger and he felt a certain amount of pride in the young man.
A few days ago he learned of Vandairre communications facility near Angel Grove and had come to tell the Rangers but had seen Jason leave his house looking depressed and decided to keep an eye on him. He was impressed that Jason hadn't morphed yet and had taking down over fifteen of the aliens by himself.
Sure the kid was tough but even he wouldn't be able to handle all of the soldiers that were coming towards him now. Jason had morphed into the White Ranger now and was surrounded by over two dozen soldiers and was in trouble. For some reason he wouldn't call for help. The stranger couldn't take it anymore and decided to help out.
He lept down from the top of the small hill he was hiding in and hit a soldier from behind with a kick, followed it up with a forward leg sweep and finished him off with an uppercut that shattered the soldiers helmet.
A few of the soldiers broke of their attack on the Ranger to move in on the new assailant. They came regret that decision very quickly as the stranger dispersed them with a few well placed moves.
In a matter of minutes the two had completely beating back the soldiers leaving nothing but piles of dust. The stranger then turned to face the Ranger and and looked him over for a moment. White Ranger returned the gaze and turned to walk away without a word.
"How you holding up Jason?" the stranger.
"I don't know what you're talking about." White Ranger replied as he reached down to grab his morpher and teleport away.
"Wait a second." the stranger said.
White Ranger paused for a moment and then turned to look him. "What do you want?" he asked.
"I came to tell you about a Vandairre communication facility not far from the Command Center." the stranger told him.
White Ranger looked him over as if trying to determine wheter he was telling the truth. "How can I be sure that I can trust you?"
"Look Jason we don't have time for this. I think that the Vandairre are planning something big." The stranger told him.
"First of all stop calling me that. I'm not Jason. Second of all how do you know about a Vandairre camp or even the Command Center?" White responded.
"I know a lot more than you think." the stranger replied. "I used to be a Ranger myself kid."
The White Ranger blinked beneath his visor. "Okay we'll check it out but no tricks." he said as he started to follow the stranger.