Buzz shows up but they actually don't recognize him since he had changed a lot

"of course follow me you two"

"wait will we be able to go back to the galactic alliance?"

"yes we're headed that way now in fact we'll be landing on capitol planet and then if you wish you guys can leave us and go back home all three of you"

"um all three of us?"

Buzz speaks up

"yes um are you two considered dead?"

"we don't know actually"

"well I know I am Ranger Lightyear reporting for duty"

they were shocked and immediately there was a group hug at the news that one of their own wasn't dead plus the fact that the three of them were together thus making the journey seem that much better

"did they tell you you could just leave from the beginning?"

"once I explained who I was yes they did"

and so for another year they head to capitol planet and it was the three year mark for Buzz and six month mark for the other two since they had been missing for so long they were declared dead but finally they reach capitol planet but instead of just leaving they agreed to help out until the circus was ready to leave the planet after all the circus was very busy and could use all the help it could get

"well you guys are free people who are allowed to make your own choices thank you"

"no problem but I think once we explain things to commander Nebula we take down that slave ring, together"

"right"

and so they land on the planet and for the first few days things were going smoothly the three Rangers were in the spotlight and in the background and one day a week before the circus was to leave they decided to go to alliance headquarters to do a show and it was actually at the request of the president and so they head there and things are smooth at first until Zurg's latest plot shows up

"I should've known Zurg was too quiet"

"quit the chatter Ranger Nova and start the shooting"

"yes commander Booster, XR we're gonna surround the creature and try to subdue it carefully"

in the meantime the three supposedly dead Rangers had gotten the circus to safety including themselves since they were out of uniform and now were trying to formulate a plan

"ok we can't take care of these things without a plan"

"well we already know we're considered dead for you it's been three years but for us after having not reported in for so long we're also considered dead"

"which means Zurg won't be expecting us now will he?"

"you're right but we still need to find a way to help without any weapons or uniforms"

the manager speaks up

"well you guys know we always have a lot of ropes lying around just in case we need them"

the three Rangers look at each other and then nod as if they were thinking the same thing which they were actually

"ok one of you help the commander and the group totally surrounded I'm gonna try and help my team"

"right"

And so they grab ropes and with some effort actually manage to tie the creatures down and they soon realized that Zurg had found out where the Millennial bugs were being kept and so they tickled the creatures on the belly and the other Rangers were initially shocked that tickling worked when they looked closer and realized that it was the same creatures as last time of course this time it was by pure accident that they knew how to subdue the creatures

"all right men do as the civilians did and tickle them on the belly"

and so they do so and things eventually calm down

"well I must admit that I'm surprised circus hands knew how to subdue these things with rope and of course we all know the tickling thing was an accident"

"circus animals can get out of hand sometimes so we had to learn how to subdue them with just ropes and food"

the three 'dead' Rangers regroup and the manager goes over to them

"well while that was going on we decided to leave capitol planet a bit earlier than expected"

"because of the attack?"

"that and we're travelers we feel we've been in one place too long so long Lightyear, Kopetak, Parsect"

they leave and the Rangers immediately point their weapons on the three supposedly dead Rangers and Nova speaks up first

"how dare you take the name of three good Rangers who were killed by slave traders just doing their jobs"

"look it's not what you think it's…"

Buzz was cut off by the slave trader himself

"well, well, well looks like I shouldn't have trusted the circus now should I after all they freed very good slaves who would've made excellent body guards seeing as how they used to be one of star commands finest and two other Rangers"

that shocks the other Rangers seeing as how they weren't expecting that and the three Rangers recently reunited with star command glared at the slave trader

"you are under arrest for the capture of three space Rangers and the practice of slave trading"

"oh come on you can't arrest me after all what proof do you have that I'm a slave trader and besides you aren't even a Ranger anymore"

well the three former slaves try and tackle the trader but he gives them the slip and boy are they ticked off about that

"well first we'll have to confirm your DNA and then once we do you three will be given new uniforms and let me know if we have enough proof to arrest him with what you provide along with Ranger Nova's searches"

and so they are proven to be alive and with the accounts provided by the three of them combined with Nova's research they had enough evidence to arrest the slave trader and the three Rangers that had been enslaved by him were the ones given the honor of arresting the guy

"by the authority of the galactic alliance"

"and the backing of star command"

"we're placing you under arrest"

"as if"

he tries to escape again but this time they tackle him to keep him subdued

"there's no way you're taking me to prison"

"well we are"

and so with a bit of a struggle they manage to arrest the slave trader

"finally we managed to arrest the guy"

"took us long enough"

"so who's ready to deal with the mundane job of trying to take care of Zurg and his evil forces?"

"better than being a slave"

and so they get back to the station and put the guy behind a cell

"finally Buzz your team needs you for patrol"

"right"

and so he gets to the ship and they go on patrol that was needed to keep Zurg from taking over the galaxy plus other mundane things that no one liked to do but did because it was necessary

"so Buzz what exactly happened the day I thought you were vaporized"

"simple Ranger Nova the beam actually teleported me somehow to the slave traders ship and once there the actually brand the person and then sell them to whoever is willing to buy slaves"

"and where were you than?"

"not in the alliance or in Zurg's territory and I was bought by a circus who hates slavery so once they bought me they actually freed me and let me do what I wanted and I stayed with them until recently when I was back in alliance space"

"and the other two Rangers were also captured weren't they?"

"yes Mira they were when I saw them I was shocked that more Rangers had been captured so I pointed it out to my fellow circus people mainly the manager as we were both getting food for both the animals and the other people that work with the circus and that's when I saw the same people that took me and when I saw the two Rangers granted in different cloths but still Rangers I knew I had to get them out of that situation and I did"

"Buzz what about other slave traders if they see you and the others branded with that mark they'd know you used to be a slave or are a slave but escaped I know the alliance doesn't condone slavery but other areas are contempt on forgetting that slavery shouldn't be around"

"I know Ranger but that's why the mark is always hidden under my uniform if something comes up that forces me out of uniform we'll figure something out that will hide the brand"

"I hope so because I don't want to go through what we've been through again"

well a few months later the three Rangers that had been forced into the slave trade were informed that more slavers were appearing and needed stopped so they would be sent undercover with the brand showing but the cover story be that they didn't like their masters so they ran away at the first chance they got and have been on the run since

"well let's hope the story holds and if you think things are going to get too intense I want at least one of you to get out of the area and alert me to the problem am I clear?"

"yes sir"

and so they get to the new slavers and since they were already branded as slaves they weren't branded again and soon they discover that there were a lot of alliance citizens that had disappeared lately that were imprisoned and since they disguised everything but the mark the citizens didn't recognize the Rangers for who they were which was important. A year later things were going well for the slave group the three Rangers had managed to get all the alliance citizens to places that they could free themselves and get back home plus also still keep their cover in tact which was vital to the operation when one day they did something no one expected they took a planet full of Rangers and would have branded the Rangers if not for Buzz's quick thinking