A/N: Hey guys, I'm back with a new Power Rangers series and I hope you are all eager to read this new concoction of mine. This is a complete rewrite of Power Rangers in Space. Why am I rewriting this classic story arc? Well, I felt that Zhane and Andros needed a thicker backstory and I wanted the storyline to be more serious!
So in this story, you will relive the series but character relationships will be put to the test, Andros and Ashley's romance will definitely have to bud, and you will get the chance to learn about "The original six" Astro Rangers from KO-35.
So, ready to find out what happens? Then read on my friends!
Disclaimer: I do not own the popular television series Power Rangers in Space. It was created by Haim Saban and is based off of Denji Sentai Megaranger, a very popular Super Sentai series in Japan. I also do not own the characters used in the plot. I am the owner of all parts of the plot that I have changed to better fit with my complete original prequel of this story "PRIS: Fallen Stars" and I own all original characters, monsters, and planets that I created for the purpose of this story. Do not reproduce this story in any shape or format. Please, and thank you.
"From Out Of Nowhere"
Astro Log February 6th, 1998…
I have been trapped onboard the Megaship for almost two years now and I don't think I've gotten any closer to finding the ones responsible for destroying my home. You'd think time would help mend my heart and heal my mind, but I am still plagued by nightmares and scars that remind me of the fall of KO-35. The smell of smoke and poisonous gases lingering in the air. Flames blazing in a blind fury, spreading and devouring everything within their path. The screams of my people echoing loudly throughout the streets. The scent of blood…the scent of death…
I have to track down Dark Specter and Astronema. The blood of my people stains their hands and it is my one and only mission in life to avenge them. I can't go back to the colony. What is left for me there other than the constant reminder of what a failure I've been as Red Ranger? Cain…he would be so disappointed in me. He relinquished his powers to me and expected me to lead the Astro Rangers with an iron fist, straight into victory. He trained me to walk in his footsteps and conquer evil; but I have failed him miserably and because of it…they are gone…
It's just me and Zhane now, but I feel like I'm alone. The cryogenic chamber is keeping him stable and alive, but for how long? How much longer will I be forced to undergo this mission alone?
The sound of the Megaship's alarm began blaring all around the room. Andros dropped his pen and looked over towards the mainframe computer before standing to his feet and running over to pull the viewing screen open. There was an image of a large planet off in the distance, a ghastly green and brown fog surrounding it. The planet reminded the Red Ranger of the planet Jupiter that resided in the Milky Way Galaxy, but this planet gave him an ominous feeling in the pit of his stomach.
"D.E.C.A., is this the planet Onyx?" Andros questioned his computer companion.
Yes Andros. We have arrived at the planet Onyx.
"Overview of Onyx please." He instructed before turning to a screen positioned just to the right of the mainframe. Several windows opened on the computer screen and Andros looked over the information intently.
The planet Onyx has very cold temperatures. The highest being thirty-degrees. Daylight hours are minimal, being that the planet is the farthest from the sun of this galaxy. My sensors indicate that there is a small populous on the planet.
Andros nodded before moving away from the screen and heading for the jump tubes. "I'm going to the surface D.E.C.A. Let's just hope this lead doesn't turn out to be a false one."
This should be a promising excursion Andros. What are my orders until you return?
"Continue on to the next galaxy D.E.C.A. and begin scanning there. I shouldn't be gone for more than an hour. I'll take my Galaxy Glider and catch up with you then."
Understood Andros.
Andros nodded before jumping through the red jump tube to be shot down to the surface of the planet.
The planet Onyx was very dark and cold, just as D.E.C.A. predicted, and there didn't appear to be too many signs of life. There were a few buildings carved into the rocky surface of the planet, and the plants were all a dry, brown color with frost covering their surface. Andros made his way through the emptied streets of the planet, his Spiral Saber raised to attack anyone who should happen to see him while his left hand held onto his scanner. He moved the device around the area slowly, scanning for any signs of abnormal activity. At the rate things were going, it was going to take him forever to find any leads on Dark Specter and Astronema's whereabouts. After all, he was just one person trying to do the job of an entire team of rangers. Memories of his old team and their smiling faces flashed through his mind and he growled angrily, forcing the memories to the back of his mind. He had no time to get sentimental about the past, he had a job to do.
He continued walking for half-an-hour, the scanner beeping quietly as it swept over the area. Suddenly, it sounded off an alarm. Andros gasped before sliding his fingers across its touch screen to view the collected data. The scanner was picking up on several life forms just a few miles ahead of him. Their power levels were unbelievable and they were gathered in one place.
"Galaxy Glider, hang ten!" he shouted, summoning his levitating board to his presence. He quickly jumped onto his vehicle and leaned forward, accelerating quickly in the direction of the energy sources. After ten minutes of speeding across the planet's surface, he reached a giant structure, almost like a mountain. He could see stone pillars standing atop the rock. He landed a few feet below the pillars and raised an eyebrow. He could hear the sound of people chatting away above him. So there was life on this planet after all?
Not wanting to be seen, Andros reached into the storage compartment of his glider and pulled out a cloak. He pulled the hood over his head, successfully concealing the helmet of his suit and slid on a pair of black gloves to hide his hands. After securing the robe by tying a sash around his waist, he moved to climb up the mountainside.
He reached the top and was amazed at what he saw. There were Quantrons everywhere, but there were other foot soldiers gathered on the mountain top of the likes of which he'd never seen before. There were hideous creatures, a rusty bronze color with giant green eyes and the gills of fish on their heads. They looked like mutated piranhas. There were also creatures that looked like robots, especially when they moved around. Finally, there were creatures with clay faces and glowing red eyes. Just what were these creatures, and what were they doing here?
Andros could hear a loud, obnoxious laugh off in the distance. He made sure his hood was obscuring his face from sight before moving through the crowd of foot soldiers towards the voice. There was a witch-like woman wearing an extravagant red dress. She had white hair that was pulled up into two wrapped-pigtails, giving her the appearance of wearing some sort of clownish hat. She was standing beside a disgusting creature who appeared to be nothing but muscle and metal as he stood holding a staff in his hand, a Z positioned at its tip. The two of them were socializing with the clay-faced creatures, laughing their heads off.
"And that's when I said- that's no dumpster, that's my wife! Just kidding sweetums."
"Oh Zedd, you old card." The woman said as she slapped him playfully on his shoulder.
Andros continued his way through the crowd and spotted a woman wearing a golden masquerade mask, her hair in a high ponytail on her head. She was standing next to a robotic couple wearing crowns on their heads. Andros was disturbed by what he was seeing. The people of Onyx were very strange indeed. His attention was drawn to the mask-wearing woman as she looked at the crowd gathered around her, a smirk on her lips as she bragged about her latest accomplishment.
"That's right everyone. I discovered where the Power Chamber was located and single-handedly blew it sky high."
As the woman laughed along with her posey, the witch and her muscled companion bumped right into her. The witch looked very displeased when the other woman turned around. It was obvious they knew each other.
"Oh, it's you." The witch said, her nostrils flaring as her companion rested a hand on the small of her back comfortingly.
The masquerading woman gave a small laugh as she twisted her ponytail around with a free hand. "Oh, hello there Frida."
"It's Rita." The witch snarled, her teeth grit in frustration. "I'm surprised to see you here Divatox. What are you up to these days? Still hopelessly trying to destroy the Power Rangers?"
Rita burst into a fit of laughter at the ludicrous idea. Andros stopped walking at the mentioning of Power Rangers. He had learned from Cain years ago that KO-35 wasn't the only planet that had Power Rangers. In fact, Zordon himself had led a team of rangers in a distant galaxy on some planet known as earth. Could these women be their enemies, and if so, what were they doing on Onyx?
Divatox's smirk turned into a proud grin. "The Power Rangers? Oh, them. Really Frida, you must get out of the dumpster more often. It's obvious that you haven't heard my latest news. I have destroyed those pesky Power Rangers. They won't be getting in the way ever again, and it's all thanks to me."
Rita looked horrified by the revelation. Her look of horror melted away quickly and was replaced with one of pure rage.
"You lying snake!" she shouted. "There's no way you defeated the Power Rangers."
Divatox shrugged before turning on her heels and strutting away, her cape dragging on the floor behind her. "Toodaloo Frida." She called over her shoulder before moving towards the center of the room where a large banquet table was located.
"Is that true Zedd?" Rita said to the man beside her. "Did she really destroy the Power Rangers?"
Zedd hung his head and growled. "I'm afraid so my little muffin. It is the latest gossip around the galaxy."
"But that's not fair! We are the ones who started the battle with the rangers. It's only right that we should have been the ones to defeat them."
"Better luck next time." Divatox called out to them with a laugh.
Rita growled angrily before using her powers to summon her own staff. She lowered it, the crescent moon-shaped tip aimed directly at Divatox. She gave no warning and unleashed a blast, but she missed and the blast was sent straight towards a group of Quantrons gathered a few feet away. Andros gasped as he spied the attack heading towards someone with very familiar purple hair. She caught Rita's attack with ease in her hand and used her magic powers to destroy the blast.
Andros couldn't believe what he was seeing. The woman stepped into clear view of everyone else in the room, her hips swaying seductively as she walked to stand just beside Divatox, a menacing look on her face. She shot Rita a glare before turning and heading to sit at the banquet table. Divatox had a surprised look on her face. In all of her years as an evil tyrant, she had never seen someone with such powers.
"Elgar, who is that?" Divatox whispered to the pink, cone-headed creature beside her.
"Astronema…" Andros whispered angrily as he balled up his fists.
Meanwhile in the Milky Way Galaxy, a shuttle from NASA was floating through space unbeknownst to anyone. Its passengers- the former Turbo Power Rangers from earth.
Cassie hissed in pain as TJ placed a cotton ball to an opened wound on her forehead. He gave her an apologetic look before focusing his attention on the small gash.
"Where do we even being to look for Zordon?" Cassie asked, her voice sounding tired and defeated. "We don't know where Divatox could have taken him."
"Alpha and I set a course for the planet Eltar. It's in a galaxy three solar systems from here." TJ explained as he pulled the cotton ball away from her forehead to see if he'd managed to slow the bleeding. "I estimate it's going to take a little over a year to reach Eltar."
Cassie's eyes widened in disbelief. "A year? Oh my God, what are we going to do? That's so much time. We have school to worry about TJ, and what about our parents? They've got to be out of their minds with worry right now not knowing where we are. We should have thought things through before going after Zordon."
"I know that Cassie, but we can't just let Divatox destroy him. Even if we arrive too late, we may be able to find traces of where she could have taken him. We might even find out what happened to Dimitria. She needs to know what's happened."
Cassie nodded in agreement. Since Dimitria had left, the Power Chamber, along with her energy tube had been destroyed. She would have no way of getting back to earth, and no way of knowing what became of her protégés. They had to find her and make sure no harm had come to her.
"You guys, take a look at this." Carlos called out to them. Cassie and TJ looked over to where Carlos was standing with Ashley, gazing out of the shuttle window. They stood to their feet and headed over to stand beside them.
"Wow…" Cassie said, her eyes wide in awe. "I've never seen something so beautiful. It's so serene and peaceful."
The rangers had been so focused on finding Zordon and Dimitria that they hadn't taken the time to step back and see the wonders of space around them. They had been out of earth's orbit for almost four hours now and this was the first time they had seen the beauty of outer space.
"It's beautiful, but it's scary at the same time." Ashley commented as she wrapped her arms around herself. "Look how large it is. The stars, they stretch on for miles, and we haven't even reached Mars yet. We'll be too late by the time we reach Eltar."
"Come on Ash, you can't think like that." Carlos said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Why not? We might as well turn around while we still have the chance. We are no longer Power Rangers you guys. We don't have the ability to morph and protect the planet anymore. We have let the people of earth down. Hell, we've let ourselves down. Tommy and the others gave us their powers because they felt we were deserving of them. They felt they could trust us with their powers and they said we had what it took to defend the earth from Divatox and her evil forces, but look at us!"
Ashley motioned all around the cabin of the vessel, her shoulders heaving. "We are a mockery of the legacy they left behind. I remember watching the news all the time while they were the rangers. They never made a colossal mistake like this. I wonder if they even know what happened."
TJ frowned at her words and turned his back towards his friends, placing a hand to his forehead. Ashley was right. They had failed as the Power Rangers and he had failed to lead them. Tommy seemed like such a confident leader and Ashley's words were true- the former rangers hadn't failed on a level like this. Tommy must be so disappointed in him.
TJ was pulled from his thoughts when Alpha began muttering something incoherent. Carlos and the girls exchanged a glance before moving to sit beside their robotic friend.
"What's up Alpha?" Carlos asked.
"Are you feeling okay?" Ashley asked, her voice worried like that of a mother fussing over her child.
Cassie and Carlos moved to help Alpha onto his feet while the little robot continued to speak, his words a jumbled and incomprehensible mess. Carlos popped the panel on his back open and looked over the hundreds of circuits and wires inside. He caught sight of a flattened object protruding from a low hatch and yanked it out the crevice before showing it off to his friends. He raised it up towards the overhead light and could clearly see a large crack going down its center, a black residue smeared all over its surface.
"What is that?" Cassie asked with a raised eyebrow.
"It's the circuit board that gives Alpha the ability to speak." Carlos said remembering the handbook Alpha had mandated them all to read just in case something happened to him. "It must have been damaged during the Power Chamber's explosion."
"Well, that's just great." Cassie sighed as she grabbed a fistful of her hair. "The Power Chamber is destroyed, we've lost our powers, Zordon's been kidnapped, our families have no idea where we are, and now the only person who can give us guidance in our time of need can't communicate with us. How can this day get any worse?"
Just then, the ship shook violently, knocking the rangers off their feet. They all exchanged a glance as the ship stopped shaking and showed no signs of movement. TJ stood to his feet cautiously and made his way over to the window. His eyes widened and he motioned for his friends to come and take a peek on what was on the other side.
They stood up and slowly made their way over to the window and what they saw amazed them. There was a ship unlike any they had ever seen before floating right towards them. It was much larger than the ship they were currently occupying and it seemed foreign to them. It was constructed of a gray metal with another layer of blue metal on top of it. They could clearly make out a red letter on the hood of the ship. They were immediately filled with terror when they realized how quickly it was closing in on them.
"It's going to hit us." Cassie realized.
TJ ran from the window and over to the controls. He flipped the communication link on and turned his attention back to the window where the ship could still be seen rapidly approaching them.
"Attention unidentified spacecraft, this is the shuttle you see in front of you. Veer away, you're on a collision course. We mean you no harm."
"Wait a second TJ, it's opening up." Cassie said in disbelief.
TJ stood from his seat and walked back towards his friends. Sure enough, the nose of the ship was parting ways, revealing an emptied port inside. Before they could make sense of what was happening, they found themselves being pulled onboard the unknown space craft.
"It's pulling us in." Ashley said. "Why?"
"I guess we're going to find out." Carlos said nervously as the shuttle docked onboard the larger ship.
"Move out of my way you simpletons." Divatox said loudly as she pushed her way through the crowd of foot soldiers to take a seat at the banquet table. "The queen of evil has arrived. Now, the festivities can truly begin."
Andros watched as everyone moved to take a seat at the table. Not wanting to make a scene, he too moved to find a seat. He sat beside a giant creature that Divatox kept referring to as Rygog before looking at the meal resting on the table in front of him. There was some gooey, red liquid in a tall wine glass and a plate filled with exotic fruits and some kind of meat that gave off a strong, stomach-churning odor. It looked like a skinned possum. Andros had to breathe through his mouth to avoid upsetting his stomach.
He looked up as someone pulled out the chair in front of him. He looked up and tensed at the sight of Astronema taking a seat. She gave him a questioning look and he turned his head, pretending to be focused on Divatox as she once again retold the events of destroying someplace known as the Power Chamber.
Astronema…the one responsible for striking down his teammates was alive and in front of him. She was within his grasp, yet he couldn't reach her. If only he had found her under different circumstances. If only they weren't seated at a table with some of the galaxy's most notorious villains. He would find out what she was doing here and what all of these other creatures were doing here as well. Then, he would find a way to make her pay for destroying his life. He would should her no mercy.
Just then, lightning began flashing across the sky. Andros was startled by its sudden appearance, but not as badly as he was when Dark Specter appeared in front of the table. He was just as ugly as he remembered- large yellow eyes, a disfigured face and body constructed out of molten rock, and pinchers for his hands. He growled, gaining everyone's attention instantly.
"I am Dark Specter, the monarch of all evil things in the galaxy. Thanks to Divatox, I have custody of the almighty Zordon and am draining his powers as we speak. As the lava in his energy tube slowly rises, his powers are being fed to me. Soon, there will be nothing left at all for him to use, and Zordon will cease to exist."
Lord Zedd stood to his feet then and raised his glass towards Dark Specter. "This is marvelous news indeed. It is a momentous occasion that deserves a toast. To the fall of the thorn in our sides known as Zordon, and to the rise of the all-knowing, and powerful Dark Specter!"
Everyone cheered happily and raised their glasses before downing the slimy liquid, all except for Andros who couldn't believe what he had just heard. Zordon, the one responsible for bestowing the Astro Rangers' powers upon the people of KO-35. Zordon, the intelligent being who had served as a rock for him and his fallen comrades had been captured? How had this happened? If Zordon lost his powers, he would in turn lose his own. He couldn't let that happen, not before exacting his revenge.
Andros was pulled from his thoughts as Divatox shouted across the table. "Hey you, at the end of the table wearing the cape. What are you, too good to drink with us?"
Andros's fingers curled around his glass. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he'd forgotten to maintain his cover.
"Who are you?" the robotic queen asked from beside her husband as she raised an accusing finger towards him.
Astronema smirked with a knowing look in her eyes. "He's a spy."
As the words left her mouth, the foot soldiers stood from their seats and drew their weapons. Andros also stood to his feet, knowing that he had just given away his position. He backed away from the table cautiously and raised his hands in defense as a group of Quantrons closed in on him.
They began attacking him and he raised his arms to block off their weapons. Left, right, left, right, he continued to dodge their attacks, but they had cornered him. He knew how close he was to exacting his revenge on Astronema and Dark Specter, but he couldn't allow himself to be captured. Andros leaped into the air, flipping over the heads of his attackers and landed swiftly on the other side of them. Before he could escape, the Pirahnatrons had come over and began attacking him alongside the Quantrons. Andros summoned his Spiral Saber and used it to fend off the bladed weapons. He ran towards the banquet table and jumped onto its surface as he continued to fend off his attackers.
"Get him!" he heard Astronema shout angrily.
Knowing that he was outmatched, Andros had to make his escape. He ran down the length of the table as Dark Specter demanded to know who he was. Just before Andros could summon his glider, the clawed hand of someone nearby grabbed hold of his cape and pulled off, exposing his identity as the Red Ranger.
"This can't be!" Lord Zedd shouted in disbelief.
Astronema's face was one of pure shock as she stared at the Red Ranger in front of her.
"You…" she said in disbelief. "How can this be?"
"Destroy him!" Dark Specter commanded.
Astronema was glad to oblige and summoned her staff before aiming directly at Andros. Andros jumped over the two blasts she sent towards him.
"You're supposed to be dead!" Astronema shouted before firing another time, but just as she missed the first two times, she missed again. She was blinded by fury and rage at having learned of his survival, and Andros knew he could use her current state to get away.
"I guess you aren't as strong of an evil empress as you thought." He said with a confident smirk.
Astronema yelled angrily before jumping onto the banquet table and running towards him. She swung her staff towards Andros, but he used his Spiral Saber to block the attack. She swung again and again, but Andros was continuing to avoid her advances. Finally she swung her staff in a slicing motion, and the tip struck Andros's shoulder. He cried out in pain, the attack having felt like a blade slicing through his skin. Astronema growled and kicked him in the stomach with the heel of her boot. Andros landed on his back, gasping for breath. Astronema walked towards him and aimed her staff at him.
"Any last words Red Ranger?" she asked with a smirk.
"Yeah." Andros said before raising his hand towards the sky. "Galaxy Glider, hang ten!"
Astronema was confused by his words, but before she could question him, Andros's glider appeared from its hiding place and rammed into her, knocking her off the table. Andros sighed in relief before jumping onto the glider and taking flight. Zedd and Rita tried to blast him using their staffs, but Andros was able to avoid each blast. As he flew past Dark Specter, the evil monarch blew a stream of flames out his mouth to strike the Red Ranger, but he missed him by a hair and shouted in anger as Andros disappeared into the night sky.
Dark Specter turned back to his crowd of loyal subjects and pointed in the direction Andros had gone off in.
"A Power Ranger knows my plans. He must be stopped at all costs!"
Divatox and Rita, who had been knocked off their feet by Andros's hasty departure, stood up and did their best to readjust themselves.
"Your evilness, please. Allow me to be the one to destroy that traitor." Divatox said as she pulled at her skirt.
"Can it sister, you couldn't catch a cold." Rita retorted before putting on a fake smile. "Allow me and Zeddy to take care of the Red Ranger Dark Specter. We'll have his head presented to you within hours."
Divatox snatched an apple off the destroyed table setup and shoved it in Rita's mouth. She then removed her cape to expose her bare shoulders and exposed chest.
"Come on Dark Specter, you can count on me. After all, I just rid the earth of their team of Power Rangers and I managed to capture Zordon for you. You know I am well qualified for this job. Give me this chance, you won't be disappointed."
"Are you forgetting how long it took you to destroy those rangers?" Rita snapped.
"It didn't take me nearly as long as you and muscle boy over there." Divatox said.
"That is enough!" Dark Specter shouted. "Neither of you are capable of completing this job. Your track record proves that. Rita, you and Zedd never managed to destroy the rangers. It is to my knowledge that you only took out the powers of the Green Ranger nearly five years ago. What about the rest of that colorful brood huh? And Divatox, you may have succeeded in destroying the Turbo Rangers powers and brought me Zordon, but those teenaged brats are still alive and are seeking out their mentor as we speak. You are both failures in my eyes and have no right to aid me on this mission. Astronema, you will be the one to take out the Red Ranger. He is your enemy after all."
Astronema's shoulders were still heaving from her battle with Red Ranger, but she nodded her head understandingly. She stood to her feet and planted the end of her staff to the ground firmly before holding her head up high.
"He was mine to destroy Dark Specter. I don't know how he survived the attack on KO-35, but I can guarantee you that the rest of the Astro Rangers are dead. He will be joining them in the afterlife soon enough. I swear it."
Dark Specter nodded, proud of the determination she was displaying. "Astronema, you will pilot the Dark Fortress alongside your trusted caretaker Ecliptor. I am also giving you control of my Quantrons once again. You have my artillery to use at your disposal. I know you will complete this mission."
Astronema gave Dark Specter a final nod and turned to Divatox and Rita. After giving them a satisfied smirk, she and her Quantrons disappeared in a flash of light. She would destroy the Red Ranger no matter what the cost.
TJ and the other Turbo Rangers stood in silence for several minutes, not sure of what they should do. They had just been pulled onto an unidentified space craft and they had no idea who the pilot was. Why had they been brought here? Were they being captured? Perhaps the pilot was one of Divatox's minions.
"Come on you guys." TJ said, taking over his role as leader once again. "We have to find out who pulled us in here. They obviously had a very good reason."
The others weren't going to argue with him. Anything was better than waiting around on their shuttle for someone to come and attack them. Ashley and Cassie wrapped their arms around Alpha's before following Carlos and TJ off the shuttle. They found themselves in some sort of docking bay, the ceiling stretching at least another fifty feet above the roof of their shuttle. They looked around in awe at the unfamiliar place. There were lights hanging overhead casting a green glow throughout the room. They could see a sign on the wall up ahead where the words "Delta Bay" could be seen.
"So our kidnappers speak English." Ashley said. "That's a good sign."
"Let's hope so." TJ said before leading them across the room.
They made their way up three flights of stairs until they finally reached the door waiting up top. The door slid open and they could see a long corridor stretching out ahead of them. The lights were on and they could see that the floors were constructed of a heavy metal and so were the walls. They could hear the sound of an engine running off in the distance. Carlos shivered, suddenly reminded of the movie Alien. He could only hope this ship wasn't occupied by a crew that was being hunted down and eaten by flesh-eating extraterrestrials.
TJ moved ahead of his team, tiptoeing through the halls to remain undetected. They passed a few more signs on their way down the hall, but the words were written in an unfamiliar font, foreign to the human eye. When they reached the end of the hall, TJ held his hand up for them to stop before peering around the corner carefully. When he spied no one, he motioned his head for the others to follow after him. They began their trek down the second hall and passed by a sign.
"Astro Megaship." Cassie read aloud, relieved to be seeing words in English once more.
As they continued walking, Carlos spotted an odd camera-like object protruding from the wall. It had a red lens and appeared to follow them as they passed by it. He didn't voice his concern to his teammates and continued to follow after them.
Finally, for the first time in minutes, they spotted an opened door. TJ moved ahead of his friends and peered inside. There was a large object on the far left wall of the room. It was a cylinder shaped object and it had windows on the outside. He and the others walked into the room to view the foreign object. They looked through the windows and could see a large, orange sphere inside. It looked as though it were made of lava. Carlos looked above the structure and spied wires and tubes leading from it to the walls. He then noticed several large crates and bins stacked throughout the room.
"This must be the engine room." TJ said.
"It could be the engine, but who knows?" Carlos said. "I've never seen anything like it before."
"I'm starting to get the feeling that there's no one on this ship." TJ admitted. "We haven't seen anyone since we got off the shuttle and there aren't any alarms or cameras that have alerted anyone that we're here."
"Actually, I saw a camera earlier. It followed after us, but it could have just been a security camera, you know?"
"I don't like this guys." Ashley said nervously, her grip on Alpha tightening. "Maybe we should just go back to the ship?"
TJ shook his head. "We have to find out why we were brought here one way or another."
Ashley sighed, but nodded her head in agreement. She then followed after TJ and the others once again to continue their investigation. They walked in silence for another five minutes until they reached another room. There was no door on it, just an archway that lead them into a room where a table and six chairs were located. The ceilings were high in this room and they were curved. There were windows that gave the rangers the perfect view of the starry skies of space surrounding them. Ashley smiled in awe. It was even more breathtaking than their view had been on the shuttle. She looked around the room and could see another table opposite the other where a wall of glass could be seen. She approached it and realized that it was a holographic map of the Milky Way Galaxy. She scanned the room, noticing a wall of lockers that had red, pink, blue, yellow, black, and silver markings on them. She then spied matching tubes lining the wall across the room where two small sets of stairs could be seen. If she didn't know any better, she'd swear they were standing in the middle of some sort of Command Center.
Ashley was going to turn around and suggest they find another place to look, when she noticed a small structure protruding from the wall with a handle on it. She observed the word "Synthetron" on a sign just above it. She walked over to the machine and motioned to Carlos who joined her. They could see at least twenty different buttons on the machine's panel. They were divided into two categories: objects and food. Ashley raised an eyebrow and hit a button under the food column. A dialogue screen lit up beneath the word "Synthetron" asking her to request a meal. She thought about a choice for a few seconds before hitting another button. Carlos watched her with interest as a strange noise could be heard, followed by a beep. He pulled the door of the machine open and gasped at the sight of a veggie burger resting on a metal plate complete with toppings.
"Unbelievable." Ashley said as she reached inside to grab the meal. "This machine…it can make any food you want!"
"Let me try." Carlos said before repeating Ashley's earlier actions. The machine made the same beeping noises again and Carlos pulled the door open revealing a plate of chili cheese fries.
"TJ, Cassie, take a look at this." He called out to them happily as he and Ashley raised their plates for them to see.
"Where did you get that?" Cassie asked as she licked her lips and rushed over to snatch a fry off of Carlos's plate.
"The Synthetron." Ashley said with a smile. "I don't know how, but this machine can literally make any food you want."
"Just in time too." Carlos said as he shoved a handful of fries into mouth. Cassie decided to help him finish them off while Ashley took a giant bite from her burger.
"You guys, there's no one here." TJ concluded. "I don't understand. How could we have been pulled onto a ship with no inhabitants?"
"Maybe they left for a while?" Cassie suggested. "I'm not sure how they could without their ship, but it could be a possibility."
Carlos stopped eating, his eyes wide. He handed his plate to Cassie before walking over to the table. They had missed it earlier when they came in, but there was clearly a plate sitting on top of the table. He raised an eyebrow, observing the pile of pink mush on the plate resting beside some leafy substance and a mug. Carlos touched the edge of the plate and hissed before moving it back.
"Somewhere was here recently." He said. "This food is still warm."
The others exchanged a worried glance before looking back towards Carlos who had turned his attention from the plate to a strange rectangular object resting on the table beside it. He raised an eyebrow as he observed how the object had a screen. There was also some sort of digital pen resting beside it. Carlos touched his index finger to the screen and it lit up with life revealing some sort of word document.
"You guys…this thing is like some digital notebook." He said as he looked it over. The words were written in the same foreign font they had seen on some of the signs in the hallway.
"You're kidding?" Cassie said as she walked over to get a better look for herself, setting the emptied plate of fries down on the tabletop. "Whoa, you're right."
"You guys, check this out." TJ's voice came from out in the hallway. Carlos, Cassie, and Ashley joined TJ and Alpha who had slipped out of the room. They found themselves standing in an even larger room. There was a large-faced window directly across from the door that gave them a full-view of the galaxy. In front of the window was a large, curved control panel with three swivel chairs in front of it. There was a second panel behind it where two more chairs could be seen. The second panel also had a pedestal in its center where two large steering mechanisms could be seen. There were other chairs placed throughout the room and control panels, screens, and flashing blue, green, and yellow lights lined every wall.
"This must be the bridge." Carlos commented. "Look at all of this equipment. It's unbelievable."
Cassie walked over to one of the screens and touched it. She jumped in surprise as it lit up just as the digital notebook had moments earlier. She could see foreign data being displayed on the screen and she raised an eyebrow, not sure of what to make of it.
"Whoever owns this ship, they aren't from earth." She concluded. "This technology is far more advanced than any of what we have. Let's not forget the strange markings we've seen all throughout the ship."
"It's weird though. Some of the words are written in English." Ashley pointed out.
"So whoever own this ship is a techno-whiz, they're from somewhere other than earth, but they know our basic language." Carlos deduced. "What exactly are we dealing with?"
The rangers were pulled from their thoughts by small beeping noises. They turned and saw Alpha punching something into one of the keyboards on the left half of the room.
"Be careful Alpha." TJ said. "We don't want to mess anything up. Do you know what you're doing?"
Alpha muttered something incoherent before pointing at a small viewing screen to his right. TJ leaned forward, his eyes wide as he recognized the planet Jupiter within their view.
"You guys aren't going to believe this." He said, motioning for them to come and take a look.
"It's Jupiter, but how?" Cassie asked, confusion written on her face. "We hadn't even passed Mars yet while we were on the shuttle. How is it that we've gotten to Jupiter so fast?"
"What the hell is going on?" TJ asked.
Unaware of the four earthlings on his ship, Andros was busy flying at top speed away from Onyx. He still couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. A united, galactic alliance of evil villains were all serving Dark Specter and to make matters worse, the evil overlord had Zordon within his grasp and was draining his powers. Andros knew he had valuable information within his grasp, but what could he do with it? There was no longer anyone he could report to. The Grand Elder of KO-35 had been murdered in cold blood and he had no idea what had happened to Cain and the rest of his predecessors after KO-35 was attacked. As for the rest of his team, he knew all too well what had happened to them. He was on his own now and he had one of the galaxy's biggest secrets within his grasp; but what exactly could he do with it?
Andros was pulled from his thoughts as a laser blast flew past him, just barely missing his glider. He gasped and looked over his shoulder where two Quantrons could be seen chasing after him in vehicles he recognized as Velocifighters. He growled angrily before leaning forward on his board to increase his speed. He had to lose these creatures before reaching the Milky Way Galaxy. He couldn't let them know where the Megaship was.
As the creatures began firing at him again, Andros used his Spiral Saber to deflect the blasts. He managed to fend them off pretty easily, but the Quantrons weren't giving up. The Quantron on his right sent off a barrage of blasts and Andros cursed as his saber was knocked out of his hand and floated away from him. He turned away from the Quantrons and leaned forward, his foot pressing hard on the glider's accelerator. He sped away from them quickly, but came to an abrupt stop before turning around and taking his Astro Blaster from his holster. He loaded the weapon and aimed towards the Quantrons who were rapidly closing in on him.
"Astro Blaster, dual mode!" he shouted before open-firing upon his assailants. The blasts from his weapon managed to hit the exhaust pipes on both ships and the Velocifighters exploded upon impact. Andros smirked before flying over to where he'd dropped his Saber. He snatched it up before turning around and continuing his course towards the Milky Way Galaxy.
"Alright, time to get back to the ship."
"We just managed to make it to Jupiter in a matter of hours." Ashley said in disbelief. "Minutes if you count where this ship picked us up. It can take up to two years for a spacecraft from earth to travel this great of a distance. Do you guys realize what an advantage this places us at? We'll be at Eltar in no time!"
"But we're also at a disadvantage Ash." Carlos pointed out. "We have no idea who brought us here, or if they're even friendly."
The rangers were interrupted by Alpha who began talking frantically, waving his arms about as he looked at the computer screen in front of him.
"What is it Alpha?" TJ asked him. "What's wrong?"
Just then, the doors to the bridge slid open revealing a very unfamiliar Red Ranger. Cassie and Ashley looked at TJ, who looked just as shocked as they were, before looking back to the unfamiliar Power Ranger.
"Hi there." TJ said cautiously as he began walking slowly towards the Red Ranger. "My name is TJ and these are my friends. We're from the planet earth. Please, tell me. Is this your ship?"
The Red Ranger said nothing as he slowly began to back away from them. His hands raised in defense.
"Please, I know what this must look like to you, but we mean you no harm." TJ said reassuringly. "We didn't come here by choice. Sorry if we startled you."
Cassie and Carlos took a step forward and the Red Ranger broke out in a sprint. They watched as he began punching something into a keypad just outside the door and the sliding doors began to slide shut behind him. Ashley spotted another door on the opposite wall just as the Red Ranger ran past.
"You guys, this way!" she shouted.
They all began running after the Red Ranger, determined to find out what was going on. He was a good distance ahead of them and they had to make sure they wouldn't lose sight of him. Just as they rounded a corner, they spied a small hatch in the floor closing up ahead of them. TJ dropped into a skid like he was sliding into home plate and pulled the hatch open before climbing down the ladder. The others followed after him and they were shocked to find themselves standing in a hallway similar to the one they had been in just moments earlier. The only downside- the Red Ranger was nowhere to be seen.
"We have to find him." Carlos said. "We need answers."
Just before they could round the next corner, the Red Ranger jumped out, surprising them as he began to attack. TJ fended off his blows as best as he could while the others did the same, but the Red Ranger was strong. He sent a kick straight for Carlos and struck him in the chest, sending the Green Turbo Ranger across the hall and into a nearby wall.
"Wait, we don't want to fight you!" TJ pleaded as he held his hands up, trying to get through to the Red Ranger, but he was on the offense and didn't seem like he was going to be letting up anytime soon.
"No!" Ashley shouted when she saw him trying to attack Cassie. She wrapped her arms around him from behind, doing her best to restrain him, but the Red Ranger elbowed her in the stomach, causing her to release him to let out a strained cough.
The rangers were starting to believe they wouldn't get through to this unknown ranger when suddenly, the ship gave a violent shake, knocking everyone off their feet. It shook a few moments later and they could hear a loud explosion off in the distance. The Red Ranger stood to his feet before Ashley could grab him.
"Wait!" she shouted as he retreated down the hall, but before she or the others could reach them, he had made his way to another keypad on the wall. After punching in a code, the hallway wall slid down, sealing the rangers inside.
"I don't believe this." Carlos said, his mouth agape in shock. "It couldn't be, but it was."
"A Red Ranger." Cassie said in disbelief.
"If he was a Power Ranger, why would he attack us?" Ashley asked as she rubbed the sore spot on her stomach where she'd been elbowed moments before. "We're his friends, his allies. Doesn't he know that?"
"This must be his ship." TJ concluded. "It's the only explanation. He thinks we're his enemies. I mean, how would you react if you came back home to find someone you've never met before standing in the middle of your living room. He wouldn't have attacked us without reason. Somebody has to be after him. It's the only explanation."
The ship jolted another time and Ashley grabbed onto Carlos for support. "I think you're right Teej."
"We have to find another way out of here." TJ said.
"Let's go back the way we came." Cassie suggested. "That hatch has to still be open."
"Let's go." TJ commanded before running down the hall.
Andros ran onto the bridge of the Megaship, putting the five intruders out of his head as he grabbed the main controls of the Megaship. He hit a few buttons on the panel beside him, pulling up a visual of his attacker. He was stunned when he spied a large structure that he recognized from the files that use to be kept at the Capital building on KO-35. It was known as the Dark Fortress.
"Astronema." He said, her name rolling off his tongue like acid. His heart clenched painfully as the sounds of his friends' cries filled his head. He placed a hand to his head, pleading for the memories to leave him at peace. He got his wish as the ship was struck another time. Andros stumbled and grabbed onto the control panel to keep himself from falling over. He looked up and growled angrily at the sight of Astronema's fortress preparing to fire upon him again.
"D.E.C.A., set the thrusters at full power." He commanded, but D.E.C.A.' words filled him with fear.
The thrusters are currently disabled.
"Pull up a visual." He commanded.
D.E.C.A. obliged and the screen ahead of him changed from a visual of Astronema's ship to a visual of the engine room where several cables could be seen dangling loosely from the ceiling, having become detached during the attack.
"Oh no." he said, his voice filled with fear. Without those thrusters, he wasn't going to stand a chance against the Dark Fortress.
TJ held a hand out to Alpha and helped pull him out of the hatch. Thankfully, it was still unlocked. The ship shook another time and he ordered the team to brace themselves against the wall to avoid falling over again. When the shaking stopped, Cassie gasped as she spied smoking spilling out of a room up the hall. She motioned for the others to follow her and they ran towards the room. They realized it was the engine room the closer they got.
The door was halfway open as they neared it and TJ and Carlos had to use all of their strength to finish opening it up. They stumbled into the room and could see the orange glow from the engine fading away quickly.
"The Mega Ship is losing power." Cassie realized. "If we don't do something, we could all die before we have the chance to save Zordon."
TJ and the others began looking around the room as they tried to locate the source of the power. TJ ended up spying a loose cable hanging from the ceiling.
"Up there." He said, pointing it out to the others. "That cable came loose. We need to reattach it and fast."
There was a ladder and a small walkway just beside the engine and TJ ran over to climb up. The others followed after him, wanting to help more than anything. There was a chance they could lose their lives and they weren't going to take it. TJ reached a hand out for the cable, but growled in frustration when he realized he couldn't reach it.
"I'm too short." He said. "We need something to try and reach it."
"Or someone." Carlos said, thinking over his options. He suddenly placed a hand on Cassie's shoulder. "We can lift Cassie."
"Say what?" she asked, thinking he had completely lost it. "We're being attacked by something and the ship is constantly jolting back and forth. What if he drops me?"
"Cassie come on, you're the lightest out of all of us." Carlos said trying to reason with her. "You're the only one who can reach it."
"Come on Cass, we have to try." Ashley said pleadingly.
Cassie bit her bottom lip nervously, not liking the idea of falling off the platform and onto the metal floor below. Deciding that it would be better to take that fall than to wind up dying in an explosion. She agreed. TJ smiled confidently before bending over so she could crawl onto his back. He then lifted her onto his shoulders. Ashley and Alpha held onto her legs to ensure she wouldn't fall off of TJ's shoulders while Carlos stood behind TJ, his back pressed up against the railing of the walkway to prevent TJ from falling over. Cassie stuck her tongue out as she did her best to make a reach for the cable. It was a few inches away from her fingertips. She growled as she tried her best to reach it, but the ship shook another time and the cable swung away. She screamed, terrified that she might fall, but she felt TJ's hands rest firmly against her thighs.
"It's okay Cass, I've got you." He said reassuringly. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
Cassie took a deep breath before looking back towards the cable. She began swinging her arm as she tried to reach it, but her fingertips pushed it away. Just then, TJ stood on his toes and Cassie smiled happily as she wrapped her fingers around it firmly.
"I've got it!" she exclaimed.
"Alright you two, stay put." Carlos said cautiously before maneuvering his away around them. He viewed the engine's structure very carefully to asses where he should connect the cable. When he spied an open port he smiled before pointing. "I see it over here. Come on, let's hook it up."
Two-hundred meters and falling.
Andros held onto the controls for dear life. He couldn't believe the mess he'd gotten himself into. If his cover hadn't been blown, Astronema wouldn't be busy hunting him down like some prized animal. Now that she knew he was alive, she would stop at nothing to put an end to him so he could rest in peace alongside his friends; but he couldn't allow that to happen. He took an oath when he accepted position as Red Ranger to fight until the end and he wasn't going to allow Astronema or Dark Specter to have the pleasure of killing him. He was strong, he was going to survive.
As D.E.C.A. reminded Andros that they were currently hurtling towards the surface of Jupiter, he had to think quickly of what to do. There wasn't enough time to make it to the engine room and reconnect the main cables. He was going to have to prepare himself for an emergency landing, there was no other option at hand. He steadied himself and wrapped his fingers around the controls before steadying the Megaship the best he could.
Astro Thrusters back online. Astro Blasters back online. Astro Cannon back online.
Andros's eyes widened in disbelief as D.E.C.A. continued to name off all functions that were coming back to life. Not sure of what was going on, Andros changed the viewing screen back to a shot of the control room. His eyes widened as he spied Carlos and Ashley helping TJ and Cassie reattach the disconnected cables to the engine.
"What? I don't believe this…they're helping me? They were telling the truth. They aren't my enemies. Astro Thrusters, full power!"
Andros pushed the controls forward to try and regain control of the Megaship. Although he'd managed to get the ship to respond to his commands, he could still feel the ship being pulled forward unwillingly.
"The planet's gravitational pull is too strong." He realized. "Damn it. D.E.C.A., prepare for emergency landing!"
Andros held on for dear life as the Megaship descended quickly onto Jupiter's surface, landing with a thud. The force of the impact was enough to catapult him over the control panels. He landed with a thud, slamming into the wall just below the viewing screen. He could hear the sound of several other items in the Megaship falling over and he was immediately worried about the intruders. He stood to his feet and spared a glance at the screen. He could see red dust and rocks covering the surface of the planet.
"D.E.C.A., can you get a lock on the Dark Fortress?"
Scanning now. The Dark Fortress is still within Jupiter's orbit. My sensors indicate forty-plus life forms onboard.
"Quantrons no doubt." He said. "D.E.C.A., I'm going to check on the intruders. Activate the ship's shields and raise the defense systems. We can't remain an open target. Astronema is going to attack again, you can count on it."
Roger that Andros. Megaship defense systems on. Shields, full power.
Andros nodded before running out of the room and down the hall. He could hear the sound of moaning and a few coughs as he neared the engine room. When he stepped inside, he could see the four earthlings and their robot companion sprawled out on the floor.
"I thought you weren't going to drop me TJ?" Cassie asked sarcastically.
"Hey, I didn't expect to be knocked over alright?" he replied as he sat up and rubbed a sore bump that was beginning to form on the back of his head. He winced in pain, but froze when he spied the Red Ranger standing in the doorway. He motioned to the rest of his team and they all stood to their feet, unsure of what to say.
Andros eyed the four intruders and their robotic friend, unsure of what to make of the situation. First, he had found the five intruders walking around on his ship and then, they had managed to reconnect the cables to the engine after they had come disconnected during the attack. Remembering that the language they had spoken to him in earlier was English, Andros decided to use the foreign language to communicate with them.
"Who are you?" Andros demanded to know.
"We're the Power Rangers." TJ said, hoping that he could get through to this unfamiliar ranger. "We're from the planet earth."
Andros, my sensors indicate that Astronema is landing on Jupiter's surface.
Andros took off towards the bridge again, leaving the others behind, confusion on their faces. Deciding not to ask any questions, they followed after him. When they reached the bridge, Andros was already positioned at the controls, prepared to fire if necessary.
Astronema is unleashing her forces.
"Quantrons." Andros said knowingly. He could hear Ashley ask her friends what a Quantron was. Before he could explain an image of the Quantrons materializing just outside of the Megaship could be seen.
"There's so many." Andros said as their numbers continued to increase.
"We can help you." TJ spoke up suddenly, causing Andros to look over his shoulder towards him. "Look man, you have to believe us. We are the Power Rangers. Well…we were the Power Rangers. It's a long story and I'd rather not go over details right now. What's important is that we get to the planet Eltar. We have to save our mentor Zordon."
At the mentioning of Zordon's name, Andros turned around to face the four teens and their robot.
"D.E.C.A., what's our status? Are we able to take off?"
The Mega Accelerator has been disabled. A launch is impossible at this time. Mega Lasers are also down and the Mega Cannon has been disabled as well. Engine is online, but power sources are depleted completely. Mega Decks five and six are running on auxiliary power.
The Turbo Rangers gasped as they spied the robotic creatures running towards the Megaship. Andros saw their horrified expressions and looked over his shoulders to view the creatures closing in on his ship. He ran out of the room, the others following after him to another part of the ship where the words "Mega Deck One" were written above the archway. There was a sliding door just up ahead that they assumed led out of the ship.
"The Quantrons are on the move." Andros explained. "I have to stop them before they do irreparable damage to the Megaship."
"We're coming with you." TJ said.
Andros was about to protest, but these four strangers didn't appear to be backing down for any reason. He sighed before motioning for them to follow after him. These four strangers had appeared from out of nowhere and in that time, they had managed to intrude upon and fix his ship. Still, he wasn't too convinced that he could trust them just yet. If what they were saying was true and they were Power Rangers, they should be able to help him defend his ship. That was his main priority right now and he knew he couldn't do it alone. Swallowing his pride, Andros commanded D.E.C.A. to open the doors of the ship where the surface of Jupiter and an army of foot soldiers awaited them.
A/N: And so ends the first chapter. I hope you guys like all of the changes I made and I hope you are willing to give this story a try. The episodes from the show (at least the ones I liked) will be included; but of course, with some alterations. There will also be several new monsters that weren't featured in the show and we'll see a little bit more into our character's relationships. I am also excited to slowly debut my adaptation of what could have potentially been a part of Andros's past. So, I hope you are all willing to give this fanfic a try. If not, oh well. Thanks for stopping by. See you at the next update. Review!
-KairiAngel13