Mark and Princess were both crouched beside the opening that exposed and gave access to the dense, mechanical maze that was the pod-launching machinery, staring anxiously at the grinding teeth of the thick, metal gears that they knew had to be inexorably moving a pod toward a launching that would be the planet's death knell.
"Okay," said Mark, his eyes bleak, "I'm going in there. It's our only hope."
But as he moved to crawl through the opening, Princess reached out and grasped his shoulder.
"No, Mark, wait!"
The gears continued to churn…
"Princess, there's no time!" said Mark, turning now to see her face, "I have to go in there now, or it's the end."
"There's time for this –there has to be," she replied, her face awash with emotions that could no longer be held back.
"Maybe this is the end for us, but I won't let it happen without telling you…"
Tears welled up in her eyes.
"At the Research Center, I told you I'd always liked you best, but there was so much more we never got to say…"
Mark was gazing at her face, and the façade of "Commander" had fallen away, leaving only the man, all his longing and hope revealed.
"Do you love me?" asked Princess.
Mark's eyes quivered, but he answered without a second's hesitation.
"Yes."
She threw her arms around his neck, her face alongside his, as close as their helmets would allow. She was trembling, trying not to cry.
"Good," she whispered, "Because I love you."
"Good," he agreed, closing his eyes and bringing his hand up to her shoulder, as if to prolong her embrace.
Because it was good, even though he had to leave her now and didn't know if he would survive to come back.
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The pod, one of a series of pods, in the last of Zoltar's ill-designed sequences, slid into the device over top the shaft that would take it deep into Spectra's mantle, sealing the planet's fate. The massive device began to rotate the pod into the correct launch position.
Far, far below, the planet's mantle –by sheer accident and not by Zoltar's design- was on the cusp of stability being restored, but if the remainder of the pods in the sequence were launched, that chance was gone forever and Spectra would be doomed.
But elsewhere, within the cluster of heavy, spinning and grinding gears that Mark was about to try desperately to disable, as futile as that seemed, there were two gears that were paralyzed. Somehow, still jammed between their teeth, the spine of Jason's feather stunner yet held out against their crushing impetus.
The pressure soared… And then one of the gears broke off its shaft and went hurling away.
The massive, rotating launch device, just about to align with the pod with the deep shaft that led down to the mantle, came to an abrupt halt and dropped the pod.
But the pod's nose merely struck the floor, barely a foot away from the shaft but clearly not to be going anywhere near the planet's mantle.
But the sudden, hard contact with the floor had triggered the pod's detonation system.
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The pod's explosion unleashed an enormous, shattering blast of plutantrium.
It burst upward, obliterating all of the pod-launching machinery and even spraying out of the opening that Mark had been about enter. Fortunately, he and his teammates flung themselves to the floor on either side of the opening, and evaded the heat and force of the blast.
Further explosions were unleashed throughout the machinery as a result of the pod's detonation, in a cascade of destruction that guaranteed that no more pods would be reaching the planet's mantle.
Inside the mantle procedure room, black smoke now belched from the opening. The four G-Force members were still prone on the floor. Mark and Princess were side by side, and one wing of his cape covered her protectively.
Mark was the first to get up, walking over to the opening where some black smoke was still wafting out.
"Pod stopped," burbled Keyop in happy relief, also sitting up and looking through the opening at the still and silent gears.
"So, are we saved?" asked Tiny, coming up behind Keyop and peering over him to see for himself (and, in his eagerness, leaning rather more weight on Keyop than his littlest teammate could bear).
While it was clear the mantle procedure's final pod sequence had been aborted, as advised by Zark, it still remained to be seen if this would indeed result in a restabilized mantle for the planet and stave off imminent destruction.
"I'm not feeling any earthquakes," said Mark, still a bit apprehensive, "That's got to be a good sign."
"I sent Zark all the data that I could find in the computers here," said Princess, more confidently, "If his algorithms were sound, then we really did it!"
Everyone sagged slightly, letting relief wash over them. The planet was saved; they were saved.
"A spaceburger'd taste good right now," sighed Tiny, sitting down on the floor.
Princess and Mark and walked away from the opening together, as if each wanted to stay near to the other. Keyop continued to stare at the damaged controls.
"Wonder… why," he burbled, "It stopped."
"I'm just glad it did," said Tiny, appalled to think how very near they'd been to utter disaster. "Fate must really be looking out for us."
Mark and Princess both gasped and turned to stare at Tiny. So worried had they been about the very planet beneath their feet self-destructing, they'd briefly forgotten about the teammate they had left lying on the grass outside, unable to walk and with only Mark's boomerang to defend himself.
And with the chaos and confusion of a rebellion in progress, who knew what had been going on outside while they'd all been down here?
Mark didn't say a word, but he immediately began walking towards the stairs that would lead them up, to get out of the subterranean base.
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Outside, the fog had –for once- cleared and now sunlight was glinting off the strange, long-buried golden space capsule that had been exposed by the earthquakes' tearing of the valley floor.
Had this capsule crashed in the Damruk mountains, ages ago, stranding an advanced alien being on a planet of technological primitives? It was clear now that the one the Spectrans had called their Great Spirit could have left the planet whenever he chose, without the capsule. He had done just that this very day.
Why, then, had he stayed here, the only one of his kind, for so very many centuries?
Was it that the Spectrans had built a temple for him and had worshipped him as a deity?
Perhaps no one would ever know.
All these thoughts were running through Mark's and Princess' minds as they strode across the grass, looking around for Jason.
Tiny and Keyop were slower, but they too now emerged from the base's exit, where the statue that had been concealing it had toppled over and rolled aside.
"Where are all the Spectrans?" asked Tiny, "I thought we'd find an army of victorious rebels."
But as he and Keyop looked around, they too were transfixed by the sight of the golden space capsule, and by how severely the valley floor had been rent by earthquakes.
Was Jason okay?
Keyop hastened his strides, about to break into a run.
"Let's just walk," warned Tiny, "The ground is a mess out here now."
"Got to find Jason," insisted Keyop, pushing Tiny back, "You go look… for Phoenix."
Keyop took one step, and then tripped and went sprawling on the ground.
"No wisecracks… from you," he said hastily, glowering in Tiny's direction as he sought to recoup his dignity.
But then Keyop got a glimpse of what had he had tripped over –it was Mark's boomerang, partially pinned beneath a piece of broken statue.
Mark and Princess were still side by side, looking all around for Jason. They hadn't realized how much damage the earthquakes had been doing to the valley floor, and a sonic boomerang couldn't have protected Jason from a threat like that. An unspoken fear had enveloped both of them…
"Mark… Princess!" came Keyop's voice from behind them.
They turned, and there was Keyop, with the same fear writ large on his face, while Tiny stood further back, his head bowed mournfully. Keyop was holding out Mark's boomerang.
Mark's eyes widened in sharp dismay.
Surely this didn't mean that…
Where had Jason gone? For that matter, where had Colonel Cronus, Mala and the rebel army gone?
This base was a huge underground complex –they'd seen that much during their initial foray with Cronus and that other Red Ranger. Maybe they were all still here… somewhere.
As much as he tried to rationalize, Mark still felt sick with anxiety and he turned sharply and walked a short distance away as Princess' sad eyes followed him. He didn't want his boomerang back –or at least not right now!- he just wanted to know that his father and his brother were okay.
But there was no one here who could tell him that; his teammates could only watch with silent empathy and understanding.
The sun was beginning to set behind the high mountains. They needed to go and find the Phoenix. From there, they would be able to contact Chief Anderson or Zark. Maybe then, they would learn… something.
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Zark was pacing back and forth in his control room at Center Neptune.
"I can tell from my sensors' latest seismic readings that the entire mantle layer of planet Spectra has restabilized. This means my calculations were right –I'd be overjoyed except…"
He stopped pacing.
"I haven't heard anything from G-Force! I won't relax until I'm positive that everyone is okay."
He began flapping his cape and flew clumsily over to his monitors' console, where he began pushing buttons rapidly.
"Ooh, I've got an incoming transmission!"
The face that appeared on his viewscreen was not the one that Zark was expecting, but he was nevertheless gladder to see him than he had ever been before.
It was Jason.
"Hi, Zark, bet you weren't expecting to see me."
"Jason!" cried the robot, "Where… what… how…" He trailed off, wanting to know too much and too bewildered to know where to begin.
"Where are you?" he finally managed, relieved to see that Jason was wearing his G-Force uniform. Chief Anderson had been so worried that he might have defected.
"I'm in the Spectran capital," replied Jason, seeming strangely calm. He was almost… smiling even.
"What are you doing there? Where are the others?"
"I was hoping you could tell me," said Jason, "My wrist communicator got damaged and its comm functions still aren't working quite right."
"I haven't heard anything," Zark had to admit. "I'm very worried," he added.
"Oh, they're fine," Jason assured him, "I was just talking to President Kane and he says Mark contacted him from the Phoenix not too long ago. Apparently they were pretty worried about where I'd gone, and I wanted to let them know I'm okay. But they saved Spectra, you know, restabilized the mantle."
"Yes, I do know that," replied Zark, "I helped them do that. But what are you doing in the Spectran capital?" asked Zark, still rather confused.
"I came here from the Damruk base, with the rebel army, just as soon as it became apparent that the mantle was stabilized. We all left from the aerodrome at the base's northern end, so we didn't see Mark or the others before we left. I left Mark's boomerang behind for him –the paralytic tranq I'd been hit with had finally worn off and I'd gotten my wrist communicator back, so I didn't think I should take it away with me. But I guess I left them worrying."
"Tell me what's happening! Where is Zoltar?"
"Zoltar's fled Spectra –for good, we think," said Jason, "And me, I'm currently aiding the acting Federation ambassador to the newly-formed Provisional Government of Spectra and its acting President."
"Ambassador? President?" stammered Zark, "Who are these people?"
"The ambassador is Colonel Cronus," replied Jason, "And the president is Mala Latroz."
"Mala?" gasped Zark, "But… she's evil!"
"Hmm, compared to Zoltar?" was Jason's rather odd reply. "Evil, you know, is a relative term."
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The images from the deep space sensors showed the glowing, golden needle that was the Great Spirit, moving towards some kind of blurry anomaly that shimmered against the blackness behind it.
"These are the images," explained Chief Anderson's voice, "That our sensors were able to obtain of the Great Spirit's –and Zoltar's- flight from Spectra."
The image changed to an earlier close-up of the needle, when the Great Spirit was still near Spectra, revealing a rounded blue compartment near its tip –possibly where the passenger, Zoltar, was located.
"We've never seen anything like this before and frankly, we have no idea where the Great Spirit originally came from, or where he and Zoltar are going now.
The images now showed the needle once again heading towards the blurry anomaly and it was glowing even more brightly than before.
"They disappeared inside that anomaly –and then the whole thing vanished," explained the Chief's voice, "It might have been a portal to another dimension."
But now Chief Anderson, standing at a podium behind several microphones, shifted the topic to the main reason that he had called a press conference at Earth's Federation Headquarters.
"I can now confirm that the Provisional Government of Spectra and President Latroz have called for immediate peace negotiations between the Federation and Spectran Empire." He paused, looking at his audience. "And that we have some reason to believe they are acting in good faith. In return for material aid…"
Chief Anderson had stood up and leaned forward, closer to the microphones, to emphasize the significance of his announcement.
"We believe they will be willing to relinquish their slave planets and cease hostilities against all other planets, both within and outside the Federation. Therefore, a peace conference will be taking place, in two weeks' time."
He sat back in his chair now, dabbing his forehead with a handkerchief. He still couldn't quite believe that this was really happening. A peace conference with the Spectrans…
And he would see Jason again, for the first time since Jason had taken off to Spectra to find his mother and the truth about his past that Chief Anderson had so long hidden from him.
"Where is the conference going to be held?" asked a journalist in the audience."
Chief Anderson smiled.
Then he stood and walked over to a window. The curtains retracted to give him a view of the Earth's serene blue sky outside.
"The neutral planet of Aquatica," replied Chief Anderson, turning back to face the audience again, "I hope that you all enjoy being out at sea."
Even as he spoke, the Phoenix swooped past in the sky.
On board, Mark and Tiny were in their seats but Princess was standing just behind Mark, with Keyop at her side.
They were home again, but not for very long. Soon they too would be heading to Aquatica.
Jason's chair over by the radar screens was empty, but it would not be for much longer.
He would be rejoining them again on that water-covered planet, and no one was more eager to see him than Mark.
He was staring fixedly ahead, though, his expression serious. So much was changing, so quickly, and it was all for the good but there was no denying, nothing was ever going to be quite the same ever again.
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Jason gazed out the window of the small transport submarine. It wasn't far from the surface, and beams of light shone down through the blue water.
"So this is Aquatica," remarked Jason, "Thanks for giving me a ride to the Federation Delegation's ship, Mark."
Mark scrutinized him curiously.
"Now that you've spent some time with your mother, how are you feeling about Mala now?" he asked.
Jason closed his eyes and rubbed his temple, remembering…
Mala -Zoltar's sister and previously a dangerous foe of the Federation and G-Force- but now his memory of seeing her in the palace in the Spectran capital city flickered through his memory. She'd been elegantly dressed in the traditional ruling colours, her pants red and her fancy blouse, purple. Her long hair had been swept back severely from her face and piled into a high bun.
"So, my son, do I look like a President?" she'd asked, smiling at him…
"And what's going on with her and Dad?" said Ken, more sharply, cutting into Jason's reminiscing.
Jason kept his face towards the window, still gazing at the water.
"I think it's all going to work out okay," was his only reply.
Above, a Federation Navy battleship vessel floated serenely in the Aquatican Sea, against a sky streaked with sunset colours.
All was still and peaceful. An omen, perhaps, of the peace that would be negotiated in the days to come, ending the war that had so long troubled the entire galaxy.
"When Mala tried to defect," said Jason, as Mark hung up the submarine's radio transmitter, "Years ago, he was there with her."
"Yeah, I know," said Mark, frowning as he glanced over at Jason.
"You've talked to him, then?" said Jason, his tightly folded arms revealing some apprehension, "How much did he tell you?"
"That he had no idea you existed until thirteen years ago," said Mark.
Jason bowed his head, thinking of all the lies and confusion surrounding his childhood –for everyone involved.
"Mala asked him to help her –and you- to defect to Earth. He was at a beach with you two, waiting for her Federation contact to show –he'd no idea it was the Chief- when a Galaxy Girl showed up. The next thing he remembers was waking up a day later in the hold of space freighter heading for Arcturus."
Jason closed his eyes, listening, but failed to block the tear that now trickled down one cheek. Cronus had already explained this to him, but hearing it a second time wasn't much easier.
"Yeah…" he sighed quietly as Mark continued to talk, and the submarine glided on through the water, passing schools of small, green fish.
"Much later, back on Riga, he learned Mala was back on Spectra, leading the Galaxy Girls, and he always assumed you were there too. He never knew that you became 'Jason.'"
The sky was darker, yet still awash with warm and glowing color where the Aquatican sun was setting, when Mark finally surfaced the submarine beside the Federation Navy battleship.
Chief Anderson, Princess, Keyop and Tiny were all standing on the deck, waiting.
Inside the submarine, Mark and Jason were still talking.
"I can remember –now- a dark-haired man at the beach that day," Jason said, "But I'd have never known he was Cronus; I couldn't remember his face."
But now Mark popped open the top hatch of the submarine and climbed out onto its surface.
He turned back towards Jason, now emerging out of the hole behind him
"Want a hand, Bro?" he asked, reaching out with his own.
"Still not used to hearing that," said Jason, though he was unable to keep the happiness from his voice.
Mark smiled.
Words weren't necessary for them to understand each other now. Jason just smiled back at him.
And took his hand. Though he'd been feeling just fine for several days now –the injection the Spectran doctor had given him at the secret base, that wasn't truth serum, had been the very combination of amino acids and electrolytes prescribed for post-pubescent Spectran hybrids.
Neither was quite ready to end their first time alone together, both knowing the truth about everything.
Especially Chief Anderson's erasing of Jason's memory all those years ago, letting him grow up deceived, believing he was an orphan from Earth.
And they were going to have to wait for the docking gear to be extended from the battleship before they could go greet the others.
"But don't anyone tell me Princess is my sister," said Mark drily, as they both paused to admire the golden sky and glittering sea.
"Yeah," snorted Jason, amused.
They continued to stand and gaze at the sunset. After so long, peace was finally going to come to the galaxy, and to their own lives.
"I'll be okay with the Chief," said Jason, answering Mark's unspoken question, "I think can I understand, now, why he did what he did."
"One thing I still don't know," said Mark, now seeking to lighten the mood, "What is your Spectran name? It can't be Jason."
"I am so not telling…"
The End.
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