Thank you reviews of chapter 10! griffin blackwood, Psycho Tangerine, RedRangerBelt, and Gold Standard
Mariner Bay- Lightspeed Land Headquarters- 1998
"I'd like to personally welcome you to Lightspeed." Capt. Mitchell announced to the four rangers in front of him. He held out his hand to the long haired young man dressed in red, recognizing him as their leader. "Captain William Mitchell. It is an honor to have you here."
"Andros, of KO-35," he said, giving a half smile. He turned and introduced Ashley, the yellow ranger, TJ, the blue ranger and Zhane, the silver ranger. "Thank you for the invitation. Sorry that not all of us couldn't make it, but after recent events we've been looking forward to some down time."
Recent events. Capt. Mitchell almost laughed. It sounded like he was talking about a bad day at work; which he was, if you thought about it. But a 'bad day' or week, as it seemed to be, for the Power Rangers, equalled the barely thwarted enslavement of Earth and the entire galaxy. How were those words able to cover something so vast? He answered simply, "That's understandable. I can imagine finding spare time would be even more difficult since your team was appointed temporary liaisons between KO-35 and Earth."
"Thankfully that won't be for long," Andros said, and he definitely seemed relieved. "A council from our government is already set apart for interplanetary dealings; they're simply waiting for Earth to choose their representatives."
"Which we've explained, may take a while." TJ said pointedly to Andros. He turned to Capt. Mitchell. "Most planets capable of space travel are united under planetary rule. We've tried to explain that Earth kind of skipped that part."
Capt. Mitchell nodded. "We may not have a united government but the Terra Venture program has many countries backing it together and that may just help all of this along." He spoke again directly to Andros. "I would like you to send your government our thanks for their willingness to send us some help with our ranger program."
"Advice, is more like it, Captain," Andros said. "KO-35 is willing to offer guidance regarding morphers and zords, as long as it's nothing too extensive. I understand it's a very difficult and dangerous process; if a world isn't technologically ready for that step then they don't want to encourage it."
"We understand. And anything would be appreciated." Capt. Mitchell paused. "We were also hoping to get in contact with the leader of the Earth power rangers."
He was met with confused stares.
"Zordon," he clarified.
"How do you know about Zordon?" Andros asked, taking a step forward, his face accusing.
Capt. Mitchell held up his hands. "From various surveillances. We were able to glean some information. Nothing more than his name."
Andros studied him for a moment, then relaxed. "Sorry. I... We weren't aware that anyone else on Earth knew about him."
William silently wondered what had caused the young man to react so defensively and noted how the countenances of the rest of the team seemed to falter. He continued on. "Do you know if he would be willing to meet with us?"
As one, the team turned to Andros. William knew something was wrong. They seemed to realize that Andros wasn't going to say anything so Ashley took a step forward.
"Zordon was de-" She stopped herself and glanced at Andros who gave the slightest flinch. She took a breath and looked straight at Capt. Mitchell. The understanding and maturity in her eyes surprised him, though it shouldn't have, the rangers had been through a great deal. "Were you aware of the wave of light that passed over Earth?"
William nodded. "Yes. Our scientists are still trying to analyze the data picked up from it."
Ashley nodded. "That was Zordon," she said, softly.
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
TJ spoke up, his voice more hesitant than before. "Zordon was captured months ago. As an interdimensional being, Zordon had no body. His life force was contained in a energy tube. We...weren't going to win; so he released his life force, creating the wave. He gave his life to save us all. His energy destroyed the attacking Alliance forces. He's...gone."
William stood, shocked for a moment, at the revelation. "I'm so sorry for your loss."
Andros met his eyes, his voice reverent. "It's everyone's loss."
Mariner Bay- Lightspeed Land Headquarters- 1 month later
Angela Fairweather didn't quite know what to make of Malin, the small old man sitting across the table from her. He was flanked by rangers; Andros, Zhane, and the newly introduced black ranger, Carlos. Malin appeared quite senile when they first met him, but was, apparently, the leading expert on the Morphin Grid in the galaxy; his cloudy eyes would clear as he spoke about it.
"Of course Zordon had his own way of doing things. Nothing radical, but he would get too close to his rangers, not that any other person could claim a ranger team as their own. Well, there was this one scientist on Ryn-"
Andros coughed toward Malin.
"Zordon, yes. Very protective of his rangers. Never made morphers specifically synchronized to an individual, had them keep their identities a secret. Of course everyone knew who our red ranger was," he said, slapping Andros on the back playfully. "One ranger against the galaxy."
Andros smiled at Malin, looking embarrassed and a little uncomfortable.
Angela looked at Malin, confused, "Wait, how could they use the morphers if they weren't fitted to them?"
Malin waved his hand at her, "Oh, they don't have to be. Just as long as the power capacity isn't above the ranger's ability to use. That's why his rangers were able to upgrade, as it were, to stronger morphers; the first ones were ancient, they weren't the first to use them and they were far below most of rangers abilities. But if you're planning on going through more than one set of rangers then that's the way to go."
"He didn't think they would survive?" Capt. Mitchell asked, trying to keep his voice even.
Andros stepped in, "That's not what he meant. When a ranger is chosen it's usually for life, the morpher is theirs'. Zhane and I were the only one's chosen at the time our planet was attacked. When the rangers from Earth showed up I took it as a sign that they were meant to have the morphers."
"Eventually." Zhane said, teasing in his voice.
Andros gave a small smile, but otherwise ignored him. "Malin is correct when he says Zordon did things differently. He gave his rangers the ability to leave, to continue with their lives in peace. I can see his wisdom in doing this. Choosing the life of a ranger isn't for everyone. I imagine it can be even more difficult for planetary rangers. We're space rangers," he said motioning to Zhane and himself, "We patrol the galaxy. This is our identity now. I plan on doing this the rest of my life. We realize this may be different for the rest of our team. Earth is different. It's been cut off from the wars and affairs of the galaxy. Such responsibility usually isn't given to ones so young here. Zordon chose well, but the rest of your world may not understand."
"At least this point of view is making them choose their representatives faster." Zhane said, helpfully.
Carlos spoke up, smiling, "If they think we're young, how do you think they'd react to Jus-" He stopped himself, seemingly realising he was about to say too much. "Uh, to just how young the first guys were. Hey, Malin, what were you saying? Morphers?"
It didn't go unnoticed by Capt. Mitchell but he let it go. He knew they weren't going to tell them everything. He understood and didn't mind. But he also understood what Carlos had been about to say. There had been a ranger significantly younger than them. Yes, it would probably be best if they kept that bit of information quiet.
"Zordon chose rangers stronger than the morphers," Malin said, like he hadn't stopped talking, "If you give someone a morpher that is too powerful for them, then nothing is going to happen. Well, maybe a little discomfort, but we've never had that situation before. Anyway, ranger teams are rarely more than five or six members. The morphin grid is endless but it's dangerous to have an opening much larger than that; the power can become unstable."
Angela noted the two alien rangers nodding slowly with what the man was saying.
"Different ranger teams can work together just fine. And having more powerful weapons is alright most of the time, since they're not connected through the rangers themselves. You can connect them to specific rangers; that's always useful, can't have their own weapons being used against them. But morphers for teams are made and connected to the grid together, at least they are if you want them to work together smoothly." The man shook his head. "Now, there are ancient morphers connected through coins, stones, spirits and other such things, but I'm not talking about natural connections, their creations' remain a mystery, for the most part; I'm talking about man made ones. Make them together and in limited numbers; don't want you opening a chasm and killing us all."
Ms. Fairweather looked up, alarmed.
Andros leaned forward, "He's joking," he said, giving Malin a stern look.
"Am I?" Malin asked. "Then what do you think happened to that one planet by the red dwarf?" He looked pointedly at the Lightspeed team. "Too many rangers on one team."
Their eyes shifted to Andros, who was shaking his head, silently telling them to stop listening to what Malin was saying. Zhane had a huge smile on his face but Carlos looked as worried as they felt. They looked back to Malin. "Five or six at the most."
Ms. Fairweather nodded, her eyes still wide.
Mariner Bay- Lightspeed Land Headquarters- 2 months later- 1999
"How did he get in? Does he even have clearance?" Angela asked, keeping to Capt. Mitchell's side as they moved swiftly through the hallways leading to the temporary laboratories.
Capt. Mitchell tried not to sigh, "He's a General, Ms. Fairweather, of course he has clearance."
"He better not touch any of my projects."
"I would think you two would get along. He's the one that spearheads all the technological advancements in the military."
Angela continued to frown, "Not all of them. Unmanned aircraft and ground forces mostly. He leaves out the human element; relies too much on the machines." She quieted as the subject of their conversation came out of the lab doors at the end of the hall.
Capt. Mitchell put a smile on his face. "General McKnight, this is a pleasant surprise. I wasn't aware of any inspection or review."
The older man's face turned pleasant but his eyes, as always, remained hard. "Just taking it upon myself to see how things are advancing here. I was just about to come and see you before I headed back to the base."
Capt. Mitchell had his doubts about that.
Angela nodded politely as she moved past the General into her lab, not bothering to say anything.
Capt. Mitchell tried to keep his smile up. "Always hard at work." He gestured back down the hallway. "Would you like to meet in my office?"
"That won't be necessary," Gen. McKnight said, walking past Capt. Mitchell, clearly expecting him to follow. "You can walk me to the garage, I have a car waiting."
They walked quietly for a few seconds before Capt. Mitchell spoke. "May I ask what exactly you were looking into, sir?"
"The necessity of the Power Ranger program."
William's steps almost faltered at the blunt statement. "The necessity? Sir, I thought we had full support to make preparations for when the demons returned?"
"You do, but you misunderstand me. I don't have reservations about Lightspeed Rescue. My problem is with the rangers."
Capt. Mitchell didn't know what to say. Lightspeed and the Power Rangers were synonymous.
Gen. McKnight continued. "Why even have Power Rangers? We could build an arsenal of weapons connected to this 'Morphing Grid' and let military ground troops handle this threat. Having civilians fighting is unacceptable."
"Only rangers can use weapons powered by the Morphin Grid," William began.
"Even the Zords?" Gen. McKnight asked, with a hint of accusation in his voice.
William hesitated, "Unmorphed personnel could pilot the Zords, but," he added as he saw Gen. McKnight start to smile, "nowhere near as efficiently as a ranger will be able to. There suits will form a symbiotic connection to the Zords, maximizing maneuverability, response time, and understanding of the systems."
The general's frown deepened, clearly not happy with Capt. Mitchell's response.
"General, I understand that using civilians isn't an ideal situation but it seems to be the only option we have. With the information we're getting from the rangers and the expert from KO-35, I am confident that we will be prepared when the time comes. Actually, the rangers have been able to get me a meeting with one of the Earth rangers to go over our candidate list, and get some insight."
Gen. McKnight gave Capt. Mitchell a critical look. "Getting advice from children now?"
Capt. Mitchell frowned. "Sir?"
"Everyone is aware of how young those space rangers are, and more than half of them are from Earth. I'm willing to bet the rest of the Earth rangers are close to the same age. And now you allow them into a top secret base, get advice from children and aliens that we can't be sure we can even trust."
Where was all this coming from? Doubts about the Power Rangers. Mistrust of the alien people. "I thought we were on good terms with KO-35. Has something happened that I'm not aware of, sir?"
"Did you read the last report from our new planetary delegation?" Gen. McKnight asked.
Oh.
"They purposely kept it from us! Won't turn her over to our planet for justice because she's the red space ranger's sister."
"If I remember correctly, sir, that wasn't the reason at all. It was deemed a galactic matter since it wasn't our planet alone that was being attached. And given the circumstances, she was released into the care of the space rangers."
"Circumstances." Gen. Mcknight huffed in disbelief. "A wave of pure 'good' energy swept through the Alliance forces dissolving all evil. The fact that they believe something so ludicrous should have had us breaking all ties with them."
"We might have, sir; if the rest of the galaxy didn't believe the same thing. According to them, any beings left alive in the Alliance were purged of any evil corruption. We can't do anything without going against the rest of the known universe. I got the impression from the report that this wasn't an issue anymore, sir"
"Politics." Gen. McKnight grumbled. "Always muddles up things that should be cut and dry. Of course they won't risk offending anyone." He paused, eyeing William. "You seem pretty quick to agree with them."
Capt. Mitchell was just able to stop his exasperated sigh. The General had power and influence, but most others knew of the General's prejudices and unnecessary mistrust of people that didn't agree with him; which kept him out of any business that needed diplomacy. William knew his position at Lightspeed was safe; at least from Gen. McKnight
"As you've said, I've been meeting with them and they've given me no reason not to trust them. Actually I have come to admire them; I can see why Zordon chose them."
At the mention of Zordon's name, Gen. McKnight huffed again. "The floating head; the supposed source of our 'magic' wave. I can't say that I share the same confidence in his ranger choices. Teenagers; all of them. His Pink Ranger has a record; was a runaway. If you're seeking to emulate his choices for rangers then it's not hard to doubt this program's effectiveness, let alone wonder about those who will be chosen as our Power Rangers."
Capt. Mitchell kept his anger secure and almost, physically, bit his tongue. He had spoken to enough people who knew Zordon, to begin viewing him as a great leader; who, in no way deserved this blatant disrespect. But he kept that to himself, hoping this conversation would end soon. "Sir, I can assure you we are taking the search process for the rangers very seriously."
Gen. McKnight stopped at the door to the garage, and turned to Capt. Mitchell, his expression now as hard as his eyes. "Then you're going to need to take it even more seriously. I've seen your candidate files. None of them are older than thirty. In fact," he said, his voice taking on a slight mocking tone, "my grandsons were tested when they got their physicals for soccer camp. Somehow they made it through some of your eligibility tests before finally being disqualified. Tell me, should I be worried about twelve year olds getting chosen to protect the world?"
William stood straighter, refusing to falter. "Of course not, General. They probably had high compatibility if they made it that far, but I can assure you we would never use children."
Gen. McKnight stood silent for a few seconds, studying Capt. Mitchell. "I hope we have the same definition for what a child is." He sighed. "All in all, things seem to be moving smoothly here. The Aqua Base assembly will still be completed by next month?"
"Yes sir." William answered, happy to have a subject change.
Gen. McKnight nodded. "Very good. You can expect an official inspection at that time." He saluted and Capt. Mitchell followed suit.
As the General's car pulled away, William sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He really couldn't stand that man.
So, after I finished writing one of the flashbacks I realized that I unintentionally hinted at a different fandom. Can anyone guess which one?
I also had some fun throwing in little things from other seasons, wonder if you noticed them all. Ok, so most of them are obvious, but still...
Oh, and feel free to REVIEW. I crunched the number of views to the number of reviews...tisk tisk people, we can do way better than that.
There will be one more chapter of flashbacks; they start getting into the actual season and change a couple things, then it's back to the actual story. Hope your enjoying it still!
