Chapter 7
Homecoming
(Original Posting Date: January 22nd, 2009)
Space
The Galaxy Rangers hadn't had long to wait once they'd contacted Andros. The Red Space Ranger, who had offered them his assistance when the Psycho Rangers had appeared on Terra Venture, hadn't hesitated in accepting their request. It had only been a matter of hours before a bigger and quicker version of the Mega Ship they'd once had use of arrived on Terra Venture.
Traveling with Andros were his wife, Ashley Hammond, the Yellow Space Ranger, his best childhood friend from his home planet KO-35, Zhane, the Silver Space Ranger, and his sister, Zhane's fiancée and Kendrix's onetime replacement as the Pink Galaxy Ranger, Karone.
Their reunion, despite the unease brought forth by Maya's strange dream, had been a joyous one that lasted well into the beginning of their trip to Earth. It had come to an end, however, when TJ had reached them to give them the grim news regarding Mack. Even given their lack of familiarity with the Overdrive team because of their time away from Earth, they had all fallen silent, as if one of their own had been taken from them.
Things had quieted down after that. Most of the Rangers had opted to remain on the bridge, perhaps seeking comfort in numbers. Maya, however, had excused herself, physically exhausted from the previous sleepless night and hopeful that she might be able to tap into whatever she had experienced to find out if this was the reason they had been sent back to Earth.
Kendrix had accompanied her to the quarters they were sharing for the trip, and once Maya had settled down, she'd left her alone. Having picked up a steaming mug of hot chocolate from the Synthetron in the dining area, Kendrix had then taken a seat at the end of the large table in the middle of the room.
She sat in silence for a while, her fingers absently tracing the cup's rim, her mind void of any thoughts. When she finally came out of her trance, her drink was far from smoldering and she gently slid the mug at arms' length.
"Care for some company?" she heard someone ask behind her. Turning around, she saw Karone come towards the table, smiling kindly as she pulled a chair out and sat down next to her.
"Hey," was all Kendrix could say as she returned the smile halfheartedly.
"How are you holding up?" Karone continued, tilting her head slightly to the side.
"As well as everyone else, I guess," Kendrix replied.
"You don't have to lie to me about it, Kendrix," Karone said, shaking her head. "This isn't affecting us the same way it's affecting the others. It can't."
"What are you talking about?" Kendrix countered, unsure as to what her friend was referring to.
"They're lacking a certain perspective, is all," Karone explained. "After all, it's not like any of them actually died."
The accuracy of the words was undeniable and Kendrix's gaze dropped to the smooth black surface of the table. "But you never…"
"My death wasn't like yours," Karone clarified. "It wasn't physical. Back when I was Astronema, and soon after I discovered that Andros was my brother, I turned my back on Dark Specter and his evil ways. He didn't accept my defection and when he managed to have me back within his grasp, he made sure I wouldn't turn again."
"They reprogrammed me," she continued after a brief pause, fighting the tears that threatened to flow out anytime she remembered the events of that day. "Circuitry and behavior modification chips, all hooked up to my brain. I was terrified, and there was no one who could have saved me. And then came the worst part of it all, when they 'reactivated' Astronema. I was like a passenger in my own body, silenced and helpless. My life had been taken from me, and all I could do was watch as my brother kept fighting to try and save me and the world from myself."
"I had no idea, Karone," Kendrix said softly as she took her hand and squeezed it gently. "I just keep thinking about that day, on Rashon. Somehow, I knew that destroying the Savage Sword would most likely destroy me. Part of me didn't want to, there was so much in life that I'd yet to experience. But I had to do it. The pain only lasted moments, but it was unbearable, like every cell in my body was on fire. Still, that hurt nowhere as much as seeing the looks in their eyes when they realized I was gone."
It was now Karone's turn to give Kendrix's hand a squeeze. When the other girl eventually made eye contact with her, it wasn't for long as her attention was soon drawn to Maya, walking in their direction, her hand lingering on her stomach.
"Maya?" Kendrix called out tentatively, causing Karone to turn in the other girl's direction. "Did you have the dream again?"
"Yeah," Maya replied, nodding slowly as she sat on the chair Karone had just offered her. "It was a bit different, though."
"Different how?" Karone asked, hoisting herself up on the table.
"The part where I initially first saw the Magna Blaster sticking out of the sand, surrounded by our Quasar Sabers. This time, I only saw one weapon, it was like a lance and most of it was painted red. And there was this symbol, it looked like one of those things you use on Earth when you're lost, a compass. One of the needles was red and the other was black."
"Mack's weapon?" Karone suggested.
"I guess," Maya tentatively agreed, her gaze lost in the distance. "Then, at the end, when Rykon appeared, she backhanded me again. I crashed in the sand, on my back, but I wasn't knocked out. The thunder was loud, lightning was flashing and rain was coming down hard. She grabbed that lance and twirled it around a few times before bringing it down, driving it through my stomach. And then I woke up."
"We'll get to the bottom of this Maya," Kendrix promised her best friend, noticing she was clutching her stomach. "It's all going to be okay." She then looked over to Karone, who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.
Blue Bay Harbor
"Seriously though, dude," Waldo 'Dustin' Brooks, the Yellow Wind Ranger, declared, a hint of anxiety in his voice, as he almost fell over, "I'm really not comfortable with him driving this thing."
"Would you just relax, Dustin?" Cameron 'Cam' Watanabe, the Green Samurai Ranger, pleaded as he kept his focus on the screen before him and entered a series of commands on the keyboard. "Cyber Cam's had plenty of experience at the wheel of the mobile command center."
"I gotta side with Dustin on this one, bro," Shane Clarke, the Red Wind Ranger, admitted. "I mean, what if there's a technical glitch in the system or a virus or something and our driver just freezes up or vanishes."
"Then a failsafe activates in my system and Cyber Shane materializes in his place and keeps on driving," Cam affirmed matter-of-factly.
"Seriously?" Shane asked, his eyebrows raised. "There's a Cyber Me?"
Cam stopped typing then and spun around in his swivel chair to face his two friends, a slightly annoyed look on his face answering Shane's question.
"Guys!" Hunter Bradley, the Crimson Thunder Ranger, called out from the other end of the command center in a hushed tone, getting their attention. He was sitting on a couch, cradling a whimpering Tori in his arm, his fingers stroking the back of her neck. Of them all, Tori had taken the news the hardest, especially since Mack and some of the other Overdrive Rangers had taken her up on her invitation to visit her at the surf shop she ran a few times.
Shane mouthed a silent apology to Hunter and kept his gaze on Tori for a few moments before he turned back to Cam and Dustin, his expression serious.
"Okay Cam," he said, his voice low. "What have you found?"
"Police report," Cam answered, turning back to face the monitor as he brought up a digitized version of the document on screen. "And apparently, there are crime scene pictures in there," he commented, clicking on an icon.
"Damn," Shane said as a series of images appeared in front of them. Next to him, Dustin had turned around and was rubbing at his eyes as he inhaled and exhaled deeply. Cam scanned the pictures once before he magnified a shot of Mack's upper torso.
It wasn't a pleasant sight for any of them and they all fought hard to keep their composure. It didn't matter that they hadn't personally known Mack Hartford, he'd been a part of the same legacy as them.
"Well, we know he was stabbed," Cam whispered, just loud enough for Shane and Dustin to hear him. "From the looks of it, it's a blade or a knife. So, a human death."
"Wait, Cam, magnify that one," Dustin said, pointing to one of the thumbnails that appeared on the bottom of the screen.
"Just a sec," Cam answered, selecting the picture. "What is that?"
"It's some sort of mystical symbol, I think," Dustin mused, looking at the magnified image of Mack's lower torso and the symbol that was carved into his flesh.
"How would you know that?" Cam asked, surprised by Dustin's apparent knowledge of something he himself wasn't familiar with.
"Well," Dustin explained, "there was this rerun of Buffy the Vampire Slayer last week, where her friend found this frat guy in a bed with a symbol carved in his chest. It was part of some kind of ritual sacrifice to bring about the apocalypse."
"So, might not be a simple human death after all," Shane said somberly, his thoughts echoing those of his friends.
Reefside
"We didn't find anything new," the Xybrian and Green Time Force Ranger known only as Trip said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, guys." He stood with the Blue and Yellow Time Force Rangers, Lucas Kendall and Katie Walker as they updated Wes, Jen and Eric on their findings.
"You guys are from the future," Wes replied, confused. "How could you not find out anything about Mack's death?"
"Time Force records are extensive and they'd normally include information like this, so it must be classified for some reason," Jen concluded. "Maybe if we asked Alex, he could use his clearance to find out."
"Already did," Katie stated, her tone indicating that their attempt hadn't been successful. "He wasn't able to find out anything either."
"He even asked Captain Logan," Lucas added, shaking his head, "but no luck with him either. Whatever happened to Mack, either it was inadvertently erased, or it got buried."
"Well then," Eric said, determined, "we'll just have to figure this one out the good old-fashioned way. Crime scene, forensics, the works."
"You know we'll help in any way we can," Katie offered. "But we can only stay in your time for a few days before we need to return to the future."
"Why?" Jen asked her longtime friend, her eyes narrowing. "Is there something happening?"
"It's just that Alex granted us a three day leave to come for Mack's funeral," Trip answered.
"He actually wanted us to check and see if you'd consider returning with us, even if it's just for a short visit," Lucas finished, an earnest look on his face. "With Wes, of course."
Jen stayed silent a moment, taking in their subtle pleading looks. There was no doubt that she and Wes had missed their former teammates. Also, she'd always wanted to show Wes what she'd once considered as her present. Still, their request went beyond the friendships they shared, she could sense it. She started to think of the reasons they'd want her to return home, or rather why they'd attempt to take her away from the present. When the reason finally dawned on her, her eyes momentarily widened in realization as she and her time-displaced friends exchanged knowing looks, which weren't lost on Wes.
"Jen, what is it?" he asked her, pulling her a bit closer even as Eric shot her a questioning look.
She could only be relieved when she was interrupted by a sound in the distance gradually getting louder. Conversations around them died down rapidly as all eyes turned to the horizon. Approaching was their ticket to San Angeles. The Astro Megaship was arriving.
To be continued...
Alright, so this time around, we're gonna go with an abridged letters column, because it's past 1:00 AM here and I have to be up around 6:30 AM to go to work. I just really wanted to post an update tonight for y'all...
Camille! She's really a character I grew to love on Jungle Fury. Her and Jarrod were by far some of the most compelling villains we've had in quite some time, IMO, so there will be more of her. I mean, after that cliffhanger in chapter 6, I can't just drop her, right?
Casey's master name... Thanks for all the suggestions. Some I really liked a lot. However, Casey will get another name, which will be revealed during one of the quieter moments in the story.
As to our villain(s), you'll just have to wait and see. Right now, I'm thinking Chapter 11 might end with that reveal...
Thanks to everyone reading, as always. A very special thank you to those who've written in. It's always a joy for me to get feedback, even if it's to mention I picked the wrong couple (and I'm sure to hear from Tori fans after this chapter). And if anyone ever has questions related to continuity or references, don't be shy to ask. I try and answer all reviews within 48 hours.
The next Chapter will be up in a few weeks, though before I work on it, I seriously owe an update to readers of my other fic, PR:Countdown.
Until next time,
Power down!
