Power Rangers: Galactic Strike Force
Chapter 1:
Arrival
By: Pink-Green-White-4ever
Last Revised: May 21, 2005

Genre: Action/Romance
Ships: Tommy/Kim, Billy/Cestria, Pallaton/Rhiannon, Peta/Kaia, Chogan/Kimana, Ashley/Andros, Cassie/T.J, Kendrix/Leo, Maya/Damon, Conner/Kira, and Zhane/Karone with mention of Tommy/Kat
Timeframe: AU, 1 year after Dino Thunder
Setting: Earth, Eltar, Aquitar

Disclaimer: I don't own Tommy, Kim, Billy or any of the characters from the series Power Rangers. I do own the Strike Force characters. PLEASE DON'T SUE!

"When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free." -- Catherine Ponder --


June 11, 2005
Dr. Tommy Oliver's House
1992 Valencia Road
Reefside, CA
9:00 A.M.

Hayley stared at Tommy like he was crazy as he rushed around the lair gathering this and that for his trip. "Tommy, are you sure this is what you want to do? I mean, we're talking about you traipsing off to God knows where to save a woman who broke up with you nearly nine years ago and who you haven't seen in nearly eight."

Tommy stopped mid stride as Hayley's words washed over him. He could have very well told Billy no –his mind argued he probably should have – but the one thing that was forcing him to do this was that no matter what had happened all those years ago between him and Kim, he had had time to look back, and he realized that while he could, and had, moved on with his life, he'd never stopped loving her.

Certainly, his love for her now was much different then it had been then, but he loved her none the less. It wasn't just that they had dated, or that they'd been teammates saving the world together – it was that Kimberly knew him better than anyone, including Jason. She knew the hidden insecurities, the fears, the hopes and dreams that he'd had for forever. He had shared with her everything he was inside, and he knew she had shared herself with him in return. He wasn't doing this because Billy had asked, or because she was his friend, he was doing this because he wanted, but more importantly, needed to.

There was also a sense of urgency and of something big on the horizon that was pushing at him, like a part of himself he hadn't realized was missing was waiting for him to take this step.

"Hayley, this may not be the smartest thing I've ever done, but I need to do it. I can't explain it beyond that I feel something pulling me to go."

The red haired genius nodded, understanding the complexity of Tommy's statement. "Billy's given me the coordinates and frequency for where you'll be, I'll contact you if something happens here. If you need help, call. I don't know how much good I'll be to you, but I'll try."

Tommy smiled his thanks and walked over to where his friend sat in her chair. To say Hayley was surprised when Tommy threw his arms around her was an understatement. They'd hugged before, but never like this, and she'd always been the one to initiate it. "Hayley, you're the best, you know that?"

"Just remember that on my next birthday," Hayley told him, smiling. "Better get going, Doc, your Pink Princess needs you."


June 16, 2005
Eltar
Main City
Capital Residence
Landing Pad

"Here they come," an olive skinned woman in black and red spoke softly, though her voice was heard clearly by the other two standing with her. Her long black hair, which reached mid thigh when unbound, was pulled back into a series of twisted braids. Her lithe, five foot, nine inch frame was draped in a black uniform with red trim, which allowed for her to move her body freely should the need to fight arise. Her most startling feature was her eyes – they had turned from their midnight black to an eerie red, a color that matched the trim of her suit.

Next to the woman in black and red stood a fair skinned young woman, approximately nineteen years old – a mere year younger than the first woman. The younger woman's bright blonde hair was pulled back into a braid that stopped in the middle of her back. Ocean blue eyes, wise beyond their years, took in the sight of the ship fast approaching the landing pad. Like her elder counterpart, the blonde was dressed in a black suit, though the trim was silver instead of red. She set her body straight, pulling herself to stand at all five feet three inches of her height. While she was much shorter than both of her companions, there was just something in her stance that spoke volumes of the authority she possessed.

The final member of the group was a man, who was only five feet eleven inches in height and held an air of knowledge and wisdom about him; his age was unknown. He was tanned from so much time spent outside, and his solid white eyes gave the impression that he was blind, which was as far from the truth as one could get. His royal blue hair was cropped in a traditional Eltarian military cut, his goatee neatly trimmed, and his body was clothed in a black suit like the two young women next to him, though his trim was a dark blue. "They are bound to be tired and hungry, but Cestria and Delphine would like them to meet with our team and the Space and Aquitian Rangers for an update on the status of our mission before they rest," he told the two women.

"Billy isn't going to be happy about that," the young blonde murmured. "You know how stressed he's been since this entire insane series of events began."

The trio quieted as the shuttle landed and the back ramp came down. They straightened their posture when two figures hurried off the ship and made a bee line for them. "Give me an update guys," Billy spoke hurriedly as the five moved down the walkway and into the palace.

"The Space, Aquitian and Galaxy Rangers are here. Prince Trey of Triforia is at the parliament building speaking with the Council of Elders, and Delphine has gathered Andros, Leo, Aurico, and the rest of Strike Force in the great hall to give you a more detailed update," the black haired woman told him.

"Tommy, allow me to introduce Kaia, Sani, and Rhiannon. They are members of the Galactic Strike Force Rangers. Rangers, allow me to introduce Tommy Oliver, original Green and White Morphin', Red Zeo, the first Red Turbo and the Black Dino Thunder Rangers of Earth."

"You are Zordon's Tommy?" Rhiannon, the blonde, asked in shock.

"I am."

"Welcome to Eltar, White Falcon," Sani spoke, bowing to the man before him. "Zordon spoke most highly of you before he was taken by Dark Spector."

Tommy's eyes filled with a pain Sani was all too familiar with. He'd known Zordon for his entire life, as they'd been childhood friends. "I hate to interrupt, but what will bringing Tommy here accomplish?" Kaia, the black haired woman, asked as they rushed down three flights of stairs and careened to the right, heading for the Ranger wing of the capital residence.

"Kaia, don't you realize who he is?" Billy asked as he pushed open the outer doors to the great hall.

"Apparently not," she said sarcastically.

"I think someone's been spending too much time with Kimberly." Tommy snorted at Billy's comment. Kaia certainly was showing the famous Kimberly Hart repertoire with the smart ass remarks. The former Ranger leader stopped laughing when the young woman glared at him. "Tommy served on the same team Kim and I did."

Billy smiled sadly when the recognition and realization spread across Kaia's face. This is Kim's Tommy? Kaia reached out her thought to Billy, who nodded and then turned to face forward as he and Sani pushed open the doors that led directly into the great hall.

Cestria, Delphine and Andros stood near a table, where Aurico, Leo, and four others sat. "Welcome to Eltar, Dr. Oliver," Cestria greeted as she and Delphine turned and bowed. Andros and Leo nodded their heads, Aurico gave a small bow, and the Strike Force Rangers merely stared.

"Guys, for those of you who don't know, this is Tommy Oliver, best known as the White Ranger of Earth," Billy pointedly told the Strike Force team. "Give me some good news."

Andros cleared his throat. "Unfortunately, we don't have any. All we know is that somehow, Zedd was brought back and has recreated his dark dimension. He's apparently killed off the woman who was Rita, and has only brought back Scorpina and Goldar. Other than that, we don't know anything. We've tried locating the Princess, but every effort has failed."

"Princess?" Tommy asked. "I thought we were looking for Kim?"

Billy nodded. "We are, but a lot's changed since the last time you saw Kim," Billy told Tommy. "She's now known as Lady Crane, the Ninjetti Princess and heir to the Powers of Ninja. She's been training with Dulcea and Ninjor a lot over the last couple of years."

Tommy seemed shaken by Billy's comments. "What brought that about?"

"It's a long story; suffice to say we don't have time to tell it now. We'll wait until Trey returns then we'll start the planning. Kimana, please escort Dr. Oliver to Kimberly's quarters until I can arrange for him to have his own."

A young, dark skinned girl of about seventeen stepped forward, smiling briefly at Tommy. She was dressed in a black suit, like the ones Kaia, Rhiannon and Sani wore, but her trim and piping was yellow. Her eyes were yellow as well, and off set by the light brown and blonde waterfall of tiny braids that were her hair. If Tommy hadn't known better, he'd have thought the five foot four inch tall warrior before him was related to Aisha. She moved with a grace that he hadn't seen in anyone, save for Kira, since Kimberly had been on the team.


"Which planet are you from, Kimana?" Tommy asked softly as she took him up six flights of stairs and down the right corridor.

The teenager smiled. "Liaria, Dr. Oliver. I was an apprentice to Lerigot before I was chosen to become the Yellow Strike Force Ranger. I know what you're thinking, but the reason I do not look like Lerigot is that I'm able to assume a more humanoid form for battle situations."

Tommy looked surprised. He hadn't heard about Lerigot since the Liarian wizard had helped Zordon return to Eltar. "So you know about the Rangers of Earth?"

"I knew of Taregan, Billy, Katherine, Adam, Tanya, Justin, Jason, and you, before I ever became a Ranger."

"Taregan?"

"Many people speak an ancient language here, what you would call Native American, but it is a language known by all people in the Alliance of Peace, and was used to give each of us Rangers a codename, so that others outside our inner circle would not know of our identities. Can you not tell me what Taregan means on Earth?"

Tommy wracked his brain, thinking of the lessons Sam and his brother David had given him on the ancient native language. Kimana saw the light bulb go on over his head. "It means Crane."

Kimana nodded and smiled. "Indeed it does, and so you now know who I am referring to when I say Taregan."

"Kimberly."

The Yellow Ranger smiled and stopped in front of the double doors at the end of the hallway. "Correct. No one outside the Rangers' inner circle, or the High Council, knows Taregan's true identity, or that she and Lady Crane the Pink Strike Force Ranger are one in the same; we've found one too many spies in our midst and people tend to ask too many questions. Each of us Strike Force Rangers go by our codenames; mine is Kimana, which translates to Butterfly in the ancient language."

Tommy nodded and turned his gaze from Kimana, gasping loudly when he saw the carvings on the doors. The upper portion of the left door was decorated with a Tyrannosaurs, a Saber-Toothed Tiger, a Mastodon, and a Triceratops. On the upper part of the right door, a Chinese Dragon, Griffin, Lion and a Unicorn were carved into the wood. The lower portion of the doors displayed seven animals – a Fox, an Eagle, an Elephant, a Butterfly, a Lioness, a Ram, and a Hawk.

However, it was the symbols along the edge of both doors near where they met that had Tommy's eyes misting over. On the left, starting at the top, a Pterodactyl, a Dragon - reminiscent of the giant who still slumbered at the bottom of Angel Grove Harbor, a wolf and a frog were represented. On the right, a Phoenix, a Tiger, an Ape, and a Bear stared back at him.

For one who prided himself on being in control of his emotions, Tommy felt two lone tears escape his eyes when Kimana gestured to the door handles. When closed, it looked suspiciously like a Power Coin, when pulled apart, Tommy could see, they represented something much more. There in gleaming gold, were a Crane and a Falcon, curved around one another; the Crane on the left and the Falcon on the right.

"She had the door specially made for her. Billy came up with the idea for the door handles. I'll leave you here, everything you need is inside. Your dinner will be brought up shortly, as there is nothing in her kitchen." Nodding slightly in farewell, Kimana turned and strode back down the hallway, leaving Tommy staring at the door. Taking a deep breath, he laid his hand on the Falcon on the right door and pushed it open.

The inside of Kimberly's quarters nearly broke his heart. As he walked in, the living room looked a lot like Jason's parents' front room, a place both he and Kimberly had spent countless hours in during their youth. There were two couches, several wing backed chairs, and three coffee tables.

On the mantle and wall over the fireplace, there were over a dozen pictures; group shots sat on the large mantle itself – one of the original five probably right after they'd gotten their powers, two of the original six – one with him in green where he and Jason had their arms slung around her shoulders and one with him wearing white and holding tightly onto her waist as she leaned back against him, one of the Ninja Rangers shortly after they returned from the Temple Of Power where she and Aisha stood in the middle with himself and Billy on her side and Adam and Rocky on Aisha's.

A picture of the Zeo/Turbo Rangers after Murianthias was displayed, with Kimberly buried into Rocky and Jason's arms while he held Kat and Adam held Tanya with Justin standing just in front of them, and the final three were obviously the members of Strike Force. Tommy was shocked to see that Strike Force was in its third incarnation, but noticed one thing stood out from those three pictures – Billy, Kimberly, Sani and the Gold Strike Force Ranger were present in each of them. On the wall above the mantle hung various pictures of Kimberly with her teammates, seventeen in total, though Tommy realized that the seven of Kim with the Strike Force Rangers were the Rangers he'd met downstairs, not the ones who had probably come before them.

Walking passed the living room Tommy saw a small kitchen on the left, looking surprisingly like Rocky's mother's kitchen. On the right, opposite of the kitchen, was a den done in replication of the one at Zack's parents' house; Tommy remembered many Friday nights hanging out at Zack's, watching movies, laughing with his friends, and cuddling Kimberly. Continuing on his trek, Tommy found two guest rooms, which looked like replicas of Trini and Aisha's rooms.

He also found a room that looked like a mix between Billy's lab and the game room at Adam's parents' house. He noticed in a small alcove at the back of the room there were eight pictures hanging with candles in front of them. The one at the center made him close his eyes against the emotions the picture brought – it was Zordon. Directly to the left of that was one of Trini, who had passed away four years ago. The other six were, Tommy deduced, the fallen members of Strike Force; Kimberly had evidently set up a shrine to the fallen Rangers and their mentor.

The final room, which was all the way at the end of the hallway, made him stop in his tracks. This room had to be Kimberly's bedroom. When Tommy saw the door handle, he smiled; it was exactly like the one at her front door. Slowly, he pushed open the door, revealing Kimberly's inner sanctuary to him.

Her bedroom was neat as a pin. Tommy shook his head, recalling Kimberly's obsession with keeping her room clean. The second thing he noticed was that the room was done in very familiar colors. The carpeting was white, as were the walls. On the wall opposite of the door was a double set of doors, leading out onto a balcony, and was surrounded by long white silk curtains. The wall to the left was occupied by a small door going into her bathroom, which from where he stood he could see it had been done in red and white, and her closet, which he could tell had been done in white and green.

The wall to the right of the door was occupied by her bed. Tommy smiled when he saw it. It was a princess style canopy bed done in shades of pink silk and white lace. The silky curtains that hung around it were embroidered with gold designs, which upon closer inspection, Tommy noticed the designs were actually a crest of some sort...a Falcon and Crane curved around one another just like the door handles.

On the wall on either side of the bed hung water color portraits; one was of a sunset over-looking the Neola Jungle from the ruins of the Ninjetti Temple on Phadoes and the other was a sunrise from a most familiar location – the mountain where the Command Center had once been. Tommy crept closer to get a better look and found some startling details. In each of the pictures, animals seemed to jump out from the various pieces of foliage.

From near the door you couldn't tell they were there, but from close up, one could pick out each animal. When Tommy looked to see who'd done the paintings, he smiled. There in her elegant script was Kimberly's signature. She had captured the scenes like no one who hadn't stood there could, and she had done justice to the animal representations by hiding them from afar but letting them stand out upon closer inspection.

"Do you find your accommodations pleasurable, Dr. Oliver?" a voice suddenly interrupted. Tommy spun around, expecting someone to be there.

"Who…?"

"My name is Beta-Com, Dr. Oliver. I am the Capital Residence's main computer system, and nearly like the being you know as Alpha 5 – fully functional and capable of speaking and thinking for myself."

"You're the computer and you're talking to me?"

"Correct. I was told to inform you that your dinner is waiting at the door for you."

"Thank you Beta-Com."

"You may call me B.C. for short; Her Royal Highness always calls me that."

Tommy nodded and headed for the front door, knowing it would take time to get use to thinking of Kimberly as a princess…a real princess, not just his Pink Princess.


The cell was dark, dank, and stunk. Her eyes were clenched shut, her knees were drawn up to her chest, and her arms were wrapped around her legs. Her forehead was pressed into her knees, trying to block out everything around her.

She gasped softly when she felt the punch of power…Billy was suddenly closer to her than he'd been for a while. She felt her team, but it was neither them nor Billy she felt now…it was a power she hadn't felt in years and it brought tears to her eyes; it was Tommy.

'My Falcon' she thought longingly, wondering why all of a sudden she could feel him as strongly as if she'd just seen him.

Over the years, she'd learned a great deal about the Ninjetti powers she had been given. Dulcea and Ninjor had taught her to develop her telepathy with her current teammates, and with Billy. The pair of master warriors had also taught her, for her sanity's sake, how to block out the power of the four she was connected so closely to and yet hadn't seen since she'd given up her powers, or in the boys' case, not since Murianthias.

If Kimberly so chose, she could reach out along the cords of destiny that bound the six original Earth Ninjetti together, to check on them, but most of the time she simply shut them out, preferring not to feel the pain their presences in her mind and heart brought her, even though it was mostly her own fault.

Now, however, Tommy's presence, the one she'd never tapped into and had always blatantly ignored because of the pain and loss it brought, was blaring at her over their link. She half expected to feel his anger, rage, and hurt, but remarkably, didn't. What she felt from him hurt her more than she thought possible – he was worried about her, he was scared for her, but most of all, she felt the one thing that broke her heart – he missed her.

'My Falcon' she thought again, choking back the soft cries that accompanied the steaming tears crashing down her cheeks.

'My Crane'

Kim gasped softly, her head flying back as her eyes started staring off into the unknown. 'Tommy'

'Hang in there, Beautiful, we'll find you'

The first Pink Ranger of Earth and the current Strike Force Pink Ranger sniffled and closed her eyes, grasping tightly onto the reassurance that Tommy allowed to flow to her. "Problem, Kimmie?"

Kimberly's eyes flashed open, glowing an unnatural pink, as she stared at Goldar's new ugly and twisted form. The former titan was a mere shell of his former self, his body disfigured almost beyond recognition.

"Never, Goldar, never," she growled, lowering her head and closing her eyes. Her sole focus was now on Tommy.


Tommy stood against a wall in the Great Hall, watching Billy converse with the Rangers that were gathered. His stance warned anyone not brave enough to approach him away. He chuckled to himself whenever the Strike Force or Lost Galaxy Rangers would look at him in shocked surprise.

They'd been gathered for over an hour, discussing how someone or something had gotten past the security measures and into the Ranger Wing of the Capital Residence and smuggled Kimberly out. So far, nothing had been done in the way of making plans to save Kimberly, and Tommy was starting to lose his temper.

"Can we please move on to how we're supposed to be getting Kimberly back?" he suggested, just loud enough that the others stopped talking.

Billy saw the look in his former leader's eyes, as well as felt the punch of Tommy's power, which was fueled by his growing anger and anxiety. "Tommy's right, we need to start on a plan. Andros, you said you had trace energy readings from Kimberly's quarters?"

The Red Space Ranger nodded. "She was apparently just getting out of the shower or bath when it happened, as the most concentrated energy readings came from her bathroom."

Several of the Rangers raised their eyebrows when Tommy's jaw clenched and the muscles in his forehead started to twitch. "Let's see if B.C. can give us anything," Billy suggested, stepping over to the console embedded in the wall.

"I wish we knew how she's doing," Rhiannon murmured softly to Kaia, who nodded.

"She's fine."

Tommy's words brought the stares of each of the other Rangers present to him. "How would you know?" the young man in gold and black asked gruffly. Tommy quickly sized him up. He was a tan young man, about five foot eight, a hundred and thirty five pounds, with blazing blue eyes and hair that was the most unique gold in color. The kid couldn't have been much younger than Tommy himself.

"I know because she told me so earlier." Tommy sighed at the stricken looks on their faces before looking surprised himself when Billy flew toward him.

"Tommy, what are you talking about?"

"When I was in Kim's quarters earlier, I somehow managed to talk to her, Billy. I don't know how, but I talked to her. She's scared, lonely, but other than that, she's ok."

"Ninjor and Dulcea were right," Billy muttered, shaking his head. "Tommy, come with me, the rest of you, start trying to locate the dark dimension using the energy readings Andros got."


"Where are we going?" Tommy asked as Billy sped up the six flights of stairs to Kimberly's quarters.

"Kim's going to kill me when we get her back and she finds out, but I have something for you to read that will clear up a lot of your unanswered questions, and then we need to think about reactivating your Ninja Powers."

"What are you looking for?" Tommy asked as the pair rushed back to Kim's bedroom, Billy immediately going to the nightstand drawer. "How the hell did you know that was there?"

"Big Brother's privilege. This is Kim's diary, read it from beginning to end, and then come back down to the Great Hall."

"Why am I reading this?"

Billy stopped at the door, and turned back to stare at Tommy. The look on the former Ranger Leader's face was a mix between fear and confusion. "You want your answers, the ones you never got about what happened between you two, not only today but after Kim left, you need to read that book." That said, the former Blue Morphin Ranger turned and fled the room, leaving Tommy to sink down onto Kim's bed, her diary in hand.


"YOU DID WHAT?" Kaia screeched loudly at Billy as the Strike Force Rangers gathered around him. The Lost Galaxy Rangers had gone to get some rest and the Space Rangers were at the Parliament building meeting with the High Council of the Galactic Alliance.

"I gave him her diary. Kaia, they're connected, far deeper than he realized until today. If we're going to have any chance of getting Kimberly back, he needs the answers to the questions plaguing him."

The Red Ranger glared at her blue-clad mentor. "You get to be the one to tell her how he suddenly found out, because you know by invading her privacy like that, she's going to have a coronary." Billy smiled at Kaia's words; she sounded so much more like Kim than he thought was possible.

"The perks of being a lifelong friend and honorary big brother is that you get to incur her wrath and not really get into too much trouble," Billy joked. "Trust me; she's going to be too busy talking to Tommy to be mad at me."

Turning to Sani, Billy got down to business. "Is he here?"

"Yes. He arrived while you were upstairs with the White Falcon. Trey has shown him to his quarters. We've also set up a communiqué with Dulcea on Phadoes."

Billy nodded. "It's up to Tommy now; all we can do is wait."