It was somewhat cloudy as Alan ascended the stairs from the subway to the street above. Coming up with a reason to give to his boss to get out early was a little more harder than he thought it would be considering the number of times he had jumped ship early the month before. Finally he had managed to settle on Dentist, and took off from work. Several line changes later, he was now where he had to be, the place he agreed to meet the other two last night.

After the other two had left last night, Alan settled in for a long discussion with his parents about Carl's death. Unlike Nicole, and Jake though, Alan had felt the need to let the rest of his family in on the truth. He had shown his parents his new power, and explained how Carl had died in the struggle with the creatures that had threatened to destroy all of them. In the life they led, all of those around Alan knew of the possibility that they could be killed at any time on any day, but somehow they managed to live with it, probably because they were so close knit. For Alan, changing his fight to the Sen was not as big of a thing as it had been for the other two Rangers for it was still was the same world, just new enemy, new gear, and new allies.

Still though, his parents had told him not to embark on this path, not wanting to lose another one of their children to the deadly Sen, but for Alan it was a simple choice, he had to stop the Sen from doing to others what they had done to Carl. He was not just protecting his community any more; he was protecting his way of life. He just wished his teammates were different people.

He found them almost immediately as they were staring into the store window from the street, pretending to be a couple that was window shopping. He noticed though that they seemed different around each other. Before he had always sensed tension, but now there was more a peace and calm to them that he could not quite figure out. Was it the way they moved when they turned towards him, or was it just something in the vibes they were putting out. Either way, Alan was confident he knew the reasons as to how it had happened. They had probably just scr….

"Hey man," said Jake, snapping Alan out of his thoughts, or at least repressing them, though his face still wore a stupid grin. Nicole picked up on it though, and blushed, confirming Alan's hypothesis. Jake finished, "What's up?"

"You tell me," he replied, the grin slowly fading from his face.

Jake knew what he was trying to get at, but refused to humor him and instead changed straight to business. "He's inside still. Car dropped him off half an hour ago."

"And I take it you have some kind of plan for getting us inside?" Alan asked him.

Nicole looked uneasy for a moment and turned away, as she knew what Jake was about to suggest, but the idea she still found to be unsettling. Alan noticed her reaction and turned to Jake.

"Welllll..." said Jake slowly, his eyes a million miles away, though very much locked on the building in front of him.

Scheduling, preparations, and hand holding. These three things were never really in her bag of tricks. She was engineer after all. She had worked on engine cores, and repaired weapon systems, and spent most of her time making sure the weapons of her people were prepared in case they were needed for defensive. As her slender hand was locked on the crystal in front of her, which allowed her mind to access the mainframe, she flipped through the series of events that would make up the Ambassador's day. He had asked her to be here on this world with him, to help him bring the two races closer together after the bitter war had driven them so far apart. She thought this was a noble idea, but at the same time, she was not the biggest fan of this planet. It's customs were on a somewhat primitive scale, and their food was far from efficient. While there many places on this world that offered a sense of wonder and beauty, the humans had yet to master a level of engineering to be able to live in peace with their world, and leave most of it untouched. Not like the great cities of her people.

Khara also disliked the style of the humans. On Mobius, men and women did their best to retain a form of style that was more based on utility, then "fashion," but here on this world one had to "dress for the occasion." Since they were diplomats, it was required by their code to be able to blend into this society, so as to make the world more comfortable with their presence. She had to dress the part of one in her position, and she hated that.

Her train of thought on the subject was diverted as suddenly the system registered a security alert. Summoning the image of the building, she quickly located the origin of the disturbance, and accessed the recording devices on that level so that she could see what was happening. She could see smoke, and several battle droids, tasked with the security of the embassy, lay in pieces. Evidence of combat was clear from the images she saw, but she saw no signs of the intruders. The Ambassador was safe in his office, the next room over from hers, but she knew it was part of her responsibility to assess the threat. Increasing the level of the security in the room through her interface, she pulled her hand from the crystal, and then opened her desk drawer. Reaching inside she took an object, and made her way towards the elevator.

Blaster bolt fire rang out as a the doors to the elevator opened up. And she could see further down the way that the battle droids were in combat. They were facing down a hallway perpendicular to the one she found herself in, and their weapons were raised. The battle droids were operating on a basic program of disabling any threat, but she had seen that whoever they were up against were fighting to push them back. Accessing the droids with her mind, she found that another squad of them were quickly approaching the intruders from behind, and she learned that the intruders numbered three.

As yet a third squad of droids joined her, she emerged from the elevator, and advanced forward. She was more than a capable of fighter, having trained with one of the greater leaders and warriors of the Star Kingdom, and she firmly believed she was ready to take on whatever was waiting around the corner. As she and her squad of droids drew near though, she watched the two droids in front of her fall backwards as energy bolts struck both of them, and sent them to the ground. She stopped for a second as more blaster bolts, this time from the squad that had closed in behind the intruders had opened fire, and were clearing missing their targets. She advanced again as the intruders came around the corner, and her eyes became large with surprise as she recognized what they were.

As Nicole's shot from her lance had struck the first droid, she saw that its partner fell as well as Jake's shot found its mark as well. Together the two that had been holding them back from advancing were now out of the way. Behind them, the new Blue Ranger had done his best to hold back the fire as he had managed to extend the size of the buckler to encompass their party. But behind them a large squad of droids was closing in down the corridor. Looking over at Jake, Nicole both felt a sense of love, and hate for the young man who had talked her and Alan into this crazy plan. She could not believe that the two of them had been crazy enough to go along with it, let alone that somehow it had got them inside. The getting in was the easy part as almost immediately it had drawn the attention of these robot sentries.

Jake looked over at her, and nodded, and he reached around and placed a hand on Alan's shoulder. They advanced further down the hallway as Alan held back the barrage of blast bolts from the droids, walking backwards. As they came around the corner though, the odds completely turned against them. Jake and Nicole stopped in their tracks, and Alan nearly ran into them. The Rangers were unsure what to make of the situation at first.

Before them were several more droids, all pointing weapons at them, but standing in front of them, and leading them was a woman. She was not human, that much was clear based upon her form. Her ears were pointed, her body slender, her hair, a rich silver color and she possessed none of the curves that a human woman would. Instead though she stood tall, with a great deal of poise and grace much like a supermodel. She was clad in what looked like business attire, with flats, and a dark skirt, and a cream coloured blouse. She even wore a set of pearls around her neck, but Nicole sensed that she hated all of it. It seemed almost like she was wearing a costume more than an outfit to work. In her hand though was a weapon. The Rangers watched as suddenly the hilt of what looked to them like a sword erupted, and a blade composed of energy emerged from the weapon, a silver-whitish hue to the colour of the weapon.

Jake had seen those weapons before in his research. He knew that was the choice melee combat weapon of the Mobiums. It was a blade powered completely by the wielder's mental energy. It had not the power to truly cut a substance, but instead it was designed more like a stun weapon, for as the blade struck the body it disrupted nerves. It could stun, but it could also kill if the weapon was used correctly.

The woman before them wasted no time though, and quickly offered them no choice, Stand down. Much like the Sen, the voice the Rangers heard was in their own heads. It sounded young much like the woman in front of them appeared to be, but in Jake's mind he also felt like it sounded hardened. The Red Ranger knew that the droids were controlled by an operator, usually many being controlled by a single commander via a telepathic link. She was most likely controlling the ones here. His goal had been for the Ambassador to take notice, and he suspected that he achieved that aim. Acting as the leader of the team, he dropped his blaster, and raised his hands above his head. Nicole and Alan watched him, and reluctantly did the same with Alan throwing down his sword, and Nicole her lance.

Without facing her troops, Khara ordered the droids to cease fire, and with a simple command the skirmish was over. The droids arm blasters were still out, and aimed at the Rangers, but none of the muzzles were flashing, and the droids themselves were no longer advancing. Khara paused for a moment to take stock of the situation. She scanned the Rangers mind quickly with her own, but found no familiarity to them. She met had all of the original living Rangers, but these three were new. There armor was different as well, as were their weapons, and unlike the Rangers she did know, their powers seemed different as well.

I require that you disengage your armor, she told them. You will not be harmed.

Alan looked at Jake, and the other Ranger met his gaze. They turned to look at Nicole, and without saying a word, they turned back to face the Mobium. Giving the vocal order to power down, one by one their unique color energies surrounded them, and dissipated leaving them, and their identities revealed to Khara. They were young to the Mobium's eyes. Maybe even younger when Khara had first met the Ambassador. She could sense their fears as well, and knew immediately that they had not had any formal training in combat. How they managed to defeat so many of the sentries was a testament to their own fortitude and strength. She sensed no mal intent on the part of these new Rangers before, only a sense that they were seeking something. Before she could question them though, she felt the arrival of another presence. The Ambassador had come to see what all the commotion had been.

As he approached, Khara, and the droids behind her parted to the sides of the corridor so that he could enter. His stride was confident, but relaxed as he entered the scene, his hands in the pockets of his slacks. All three Rangers had seen his picture before, they knew who he was. His appearance was that of a human, with his dark hair still short. He looked older than before, but only slightly, still appearing to be in his late twenties, even if he was probably older than that. His ears were pointed now, like the other Mobiums around him, but everything else about him looked human. If anyone then Khara was less comfortable in the clothes they were wearing it was him. His red tie had come loose around his neck, and the top button was undone. His jacket had been put on in haste, and it was clear that as he came to a stop to stare at the Rangers, he had no intent of straightening it out.

Jake was in awe. This was the guy he had learned so much about, and to finally meet him, and see him person was something of a huge moment for him. He knew he had done more than just knock on his door though, as he realized he had barged in, knocked over a lamp and raided the fridge, but he hoped he would be able to make the Ranger realize what he needed. For the moment though, all that came out from Jake's mouth was, "You're the Red Ranger."

Keith smirked at the young man's words, and his return was quick, "Apparently not the only one anymore." Unlike Khara, he had addressed the humans with his voice. He had after all been raised on this planet, his father was human, and his mother, of the Star Kingdom. He knew that they would feel better if he voiced his thoughts rather than invaded their minds with his words. The older Ranger regarded the young man who was the Red Ranger. He could tell the man had strength of character, and a determination to be this thing he now was. He could also sense the feelings he had towards the Yellow Ranger. She was a young woman, somewhat nervous, but still confident in her own right. She had a grace about her that he had seen before in his past from other women, and that brought back a memory from the past. The Blue Ranger was biggest mystrey to the Ambassador though. He could sense the recent loss of a close one to the man, but he was unsure of who the man was, or what he hoped to get out of the experience. Moving his eyes from one of the Rangers to the next, he finally spoke aloud, saying, "Would someone mind telling me why there's a mess in my embassy."

"Yeah sorry about that," said Jake reaching behind his head with his hand and scratching the top of his head.

The girl spoke next, "We thought you might be able to help us."

"After you took apart a few squads of my droids?" Keith replied with a question.

Alan regarded Jake coolly, but the Red Ranger was ready for that, "We just needed to get your attention. I figured knocking would probably get us turned away."

Keith looked at the three Rangers again, and then at the scattered remains of the droids. Had he been any other Ambassador for any other group or nation, this could have started an international incident, but he looked at the world differently. He also had the ability to go into their minds, and much like Khara he had sensed no mal-intent. "I think you accomplished that."

"We need your help to figure out where these came from," said Jake pointing to his wrist. Keith followed his gaze to the young man's wrist, and instantly recognized the bracelet he wore. It bore a striking resemblance to his own Power Lens, one that was now glowing brightly red, as he had activated his connection to the grid when the security alert had sounded. He pulled his sleeve back and revealed his own glowing Lens, and then looked at the other bracelets, where the gems merely shined, and did not seem to emit any light of their own. Jake continued, "These creatures called the Sen attacked us, and they are after our powers, and we don't know why or how all this started. But since it's clear we are Rangers like you, we figured maybe you might be able to help us find out why."

Keith looked down at the ground for a moment, before looking back up at Jake. There was something about this Red Ranger that reminded him of himself, but he knew the man also had a brighter light in him then he ever did. Pondering the situation that he was now made aware of it, he only took a moment to make a decision. Turning to Khara he issued her an order only she could hear. Please return the droids to passive patrol. If you could then compile all the internal sensor data on the skirmish and bring it to me that would be wonderful.

Khara nodded at Keith, and then a moment later the droids turned and left, as Khara began walking back down the corridor to the elevator. Keith turned back to the new Rangers and nodded. "Follow me."

The older Ranger had taken them all back to his office, and they sat now at a round table that Keith often used for conferences with other diplomats. Starting with Jake the story of how they came into their powers was told, with only but the few rare, and private moments left out of the story. Keith took the story in stride, but listened attentively to every detail. When Alan had finished his end of the story, bringing them to the point where they had entered the embassy, Keith finished the rest, "And then you knocked on my door."

"That's pretty much what happened," said Jake. "Now we have to find this Souza, so we can tell us the rest."

"That's quite a story," Keith told them. "You have my condolences for your losses." Alan nodded solemnly. "As far as your powers though. I'm afraid that is still a mystery to me as well."

"We were hoping for more," said Nicole half heatedly. "We figured if anyone can help us you could."

"Well I can only repeat what you have most likely figured out by now," started Keith. "The EA has built a team of Rangers using their own technology, and have deployed them in secret. As you can imagine that would be something that they might want to keep from the public given...the past." As he finished he slowly looked away from the group. He stood up and walked over to his desk, and carefully picked up a tablet. While he trusted and used the systems of the Mobiums and their telepathic systems, he still relied on human technology for more basic needs. He returned to the group, and sat back down in his chair. "They would want to keep that technology from us as well, since we would be more than a little curious about how they got it."

The other Rangers noticed that Keith's attention was now slowly on the tablet he was holding as he used his fingers to manipulate the surface. He appeared to be searching for something, and the Rangers could only wonder as to its content. Finally, Alan asked, "What do you mean?"

Keith responded, but never looked up as he focused on his work on the tablet. "The Ranger armour that I wield is based on what some may call ancient technology of my world, but it is not made available to all my people. This is due in part because it was used exclusively by pretty much the Royal Guard. The Ranger armour as it now stands is the modern version of the technology. If the EA has tapped into the same power source, that would give us all pause for concern."

"So what your saying is we may have just started another war?" asked Jake.

"No," replied Keith. "I mean barging onto the sovereign territory of the Mobium Star Kingdom with guns blazing, and dispatching several of its warriors, would probably have been enough to do that."

Jake exhaled softly, as Nicole, and Alan turned away with embarrassment. Alan was the first to speak, "Yeah sorry about that. You see..."

"Relax," Keith interrupted. "I have a great deal more patience than many of my counterparts in this field. I understand why you did what you did. And while I can't help you with your armour or where it came from, I think I can help you in your search." He turned his tablet around, and held it in his hands for all to see. "Meet Souza."

The tablet screen showed an older man, possibly in his late fifties. His hair was gone, but he still sported a graying beard. The picture was of him in a suit, at what looked like a diplomatic function. The man's face was hard, and there was no emotion behind his eyes. To Nicole, he reminded her of the old men she saw in war movies. Stern, stoic, and most likely dangerous.

"How did you..." began Jake before Keith interrupted.

"His real name is Edward Bellerose," he said as he flipped the tablet back around, and began to read from the tablet. "Formerly a French colonel, he became part of the EA's high command when Europe re-wrote the European's Union charter into a constitution, and allowed for a continental army. Or at least he was at first. He was attached to the EA's intelligence service, and then he disappeared from active duty. Most likely to be heading up black projects now." He finished reading and turned his attention back to the Lenses. "And your powers would seem to confirm this.

"Any idea where he might be now?" asked Alan.

Keith looked down at his tablet. "It looks like he is here in the City. Last reported sighting was a few days ago when he landed at JFK."

"How do you know all this?" asked Nicole, not quite sure she wanted to know the answer.

Keith turned his gaze from the tablet, which he slowly lowered, and brought it to meet the eyes of the new Yellow Ranger. "Part of global politics is keeping an eye on everyone else. I don't like it, but I can't stop doing it, or there is the potential that something worse than this could happen." When he said the last part, his gaze had once again fallen to her Lens.

"So where is he gonna be next?" asked Alan, eager to figure out the next part of their search.

"I'm not a betting man," said Keith. "But I would put money that he'll be at the party that the EA's embassy is hosting tomorrow night. A man like him is strictly business, but embassy parties are sometimes where the most business gets done."

"So we're going to have to break into another embassy," said Alan reluctantly.

"No you won't," said Keith, having returned to the tablet.

"What do you mean?" asked Nicole.

With a couple of swipes, Keith began to type frantically on the tablet, looking at each Ranger individually. Once he was done, he placed the tablet on the table face down, and then looked up. "I just put your names on the guest list. Just make sure to wear something nice."

The three new Rangers all returned a somewhat bewildered look at the older Ranger, and for Keith's part, he just sat there and smiled. "If you would all excuse me, I have a few more appointments to take care today."

The three Rangers rose, and then each of them offered their hands to Keith in thanks. He shook them all and smiled as they slowly filed out of the room. As the door closed, he briefly made out Nicole's voice as she said, "Soooo...this means I get to buy a fancy dress right?"

The door closed quickly behind them, as Keith leaned up against his desk. He smiled to himself as he reflected on his time with these new Rangers. They were not threats as far as he was concerned, but where their power came from could be. For the most part he enjoyed the Rangers, and in certain ways they reminded him of his team. His own team had been reduced in numbers as of late, as many had chosen to go on with their lives, now that the threat to the world had ended. He could not blame them though. He could not move on though, because his life still revolved around the conflict that had summoned the need for the Rangers in the first place. From these thoughts though he was broken, as Khara re-entered the room.

I have the reports you asked for, she informed him. Keith returned to the table where he had sat with the others and retrieved his tablet. Seeing a file waiting for him he opened it up and began to examine the data.

They're not tapping the grid," he mentally voiced aloud to the room. The waveforms of their power readings are not even close to what grid energy is.

I have run them through the database, Khara told him. They do not match any form of energy we have observed before.

Then where did it come? Keith asked her, not really expecting an answer. He turned away from her and focused on one of the windows of his office, looking out over the city. Has the Excalibur returned?

Yes, she replied. It arrived this morning. Above them, high in orbit rested the personal starship of the Ambassador, one had borrowed from the rest of the fleet when he taken the post.

Upload these readings to the ship, he told her, and have it scan the planet to find anything else similar. Also tell them to track those three every time they activate their armour. We need to know more about this.

Do you believe that outsiders have supplied the humans with advanced technology? she asked him.

No, he replied. I think the humans stumbled into something they were never meant to find.