Power Rangers Nexus
Chapter 36: Back and Forth
"Gentlemen. Welcome," Verona said, as Karone escorted the two Terran Rangers into her office. The two guards that flanked her moved to stand on either side of the door.
"Please, have a seat."
The Silver Ranger sat down in one the proffered chairs, but Jareth balked. His spine no longer terminated in a coccyx, and he wasn't quite sure how to go about sitting just yet.
"Um. I'll stand, thanks."
"Suit yourself," Verona said. "First of all, allow me to apologize for your treatment at the hands of the Magna Defender. He is a bit…over-zealous…when it comes to earning his fee."
"You're telling us," Deacon said.
"Again, I apologize. I understand that the planetary defenses disabled you ship?"
"Well, if by 'disabled', you mean reduced it to scrap, then-"
Jareth kneed the back of Deacon's chair, shutting him up.
"Yes, we were shot down last night."
"And then spent all night marching through the war zone, and then all day in a cramped jail cell. You must be exhausted. I will arrange for more appropriate quarters to be assigned for your use during your stay."
"How long do you anticipate our stay will be?" Jareth asked, crossing his arms.
"That all depends. I'm afraid we don't have the resources to transport you home, and even if we did, we could not divert them from the war effort."
"We should probably find out whether the others survived the crash before we make arrangements to leave, anyway," Deacon said.
"How many more were on your ship?" Karone asked.
"Five," Jareth said.
"Six," Deacon corrected. "The Sirenian, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Six."
Verona frowned, picking up a datapad from her desk and examining it.
"Intelligence reports say that a group of seven was taken hostage by the Kerovans early this morning. Could that be them?"
"Where'd they get the extra?" Jareth asked.
"They could have found a squatter. It's not uncommon for people to get lost in the war zone…though it is uncommon for those people to survive."
"Tagging along with a group of Rangers could help with that," Deacon said.
"Rangers?" Verona asked, narrowing her eyes. "These others with you were Rangers as well?"
"Five of them were," Deacon said. "Why?"
Verona shot a glance at Karone, who nodded and quickly left the room. One of the guards half-turned to watch her leave. The other glared at him, and he straightened up.
"I will be perfectly honest with you," Verona continued.
"We appreciate that," Jareth said.
"If your friends have fallen into the Kerovans' hands, they will undoubtedly attempt to indoctrinate them into their cause. To put it frankly, they will be used as weapons against us Darians."
"And you don't plan to use us the same way?" Deacon asked doubtfully.
"Of course I do," Verona said honestly. "It would be foolish not to. Rangers are powerful resources, and the Kerovans already had us outnumbered five Rangers to two, not to mention the severe drain on our funds caused by maintaining the Magna Defender's services. I despise the man…assuming he is a man….but I cannot deny his effectiveness."
"I really doubt our friends would join them. We supposedly came to stop this war, not get involved in it."
"They may not have a choice," Verona argued. "Desperate people have a habit of resorting to desperate measures. They may threaten to injure one of the group if the others do not cooperate, for instance."
Deacon glanced at Jareth.
"If I know Tommy, he's lapsed into Fearless Leader-mode," Deacon said.
"And that's just the sort of trick that would work on him," Jareth agreed.
"Think the others'll listen to him?"
"Who can say?" Jareth asked, shrugging. "I mean, he is-"
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"-insane! Tommy, you cannot seriously be considering this!"
Tommy frowned. "Mara, we don't really have much choice."
"There has to be. We can't work for these people."
"Why not?" Electra asked.
"They're cold-blooded murderers," Mara said.
"Actually," Andros said. "Kerovans are warm-blooded."
"It's an expression, Andros," Cassie explained. "She means you're heartless and unfeeling."
Andros frowned at her.
"Killing those hostages was a necessity."
Mara jumped. She'd fully expected an excuse like that to come out of Andros, but not from the person sitting next to her.
"What?" she asked.
"They had to be killed," Troy explained. "If they'd been set free, they would have reported what they heard about the raids, which would have endangered the raiding parties."
"And why couldn't they have been taken prisoner?" the Pink Ranger demanded.
"Do you remember what Ashley said about rations?"
"She said that they'd barely afforded food shipments," Electra said softly.
"Exactly. If they can barely feed their own people, how can they afford to care for prisoners on top of that?"
"People could have, I don't know, like, cut their rations or something! He didn't have to-"
"Yes. He did," Terina said. "Troy's right."
"You know, if you guys want to talk this out, we can leave you alone for a while," Carlos said.
"Yeah," Cassie agreed. 'It's just a bit weird having you talk about us while we're standing right here."
"Just answer me one thing," Tommy said, addressing Andros. "Would you have killed those people if you hadn't had to?"
"That's not a fair question," Ashley said defensively. "You have no idea what-"
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"-our people have been through," Verona explained. "Perhaps a brief history lesson is in order."
"Will there be a test?" Jareth asked.
"First of all, this isn't the home planet of our species. Our home planet's name has long been forgotten. It's said that our ancestors left there because the world had been ruined during a war against a great evil." She sighed. "War seems bred in our bones. Anyway, when our ancestors arrived here, they founded a small colony called KO-35. This implies that there are at least 34 other colonies, but we have never heard from any of them." Verona paused, looking Jareth up and down, as he was the one standing.
"You're physically similar to us. Perhaps you are from one of them?"
"Not that we know of," Deacon replied. "We come from a planet called Terra."
"As far as we know, our species originated there," Jareth confirmed.
Verona shrugged. "Anyway, for the first few generations, KO-35 thrived. But, like any civilization, it had its problems. As punishment, criminals were exiled from the colony. Some were guilty of true crimes, but the government of KO-35 was a tyrannical one, and many of the outcasts were banished for trivial matters, not worthy of such harsh treatment. Furious with the colony, they banded together and ventured out into the wilderness, until they reached the far side of the planet. There they founded their own colony, as far from the original one as possible."
"Quite a ways to travel," Deacon commented.
"Indeed. Some did not remain with the larger group, and many smaller communities were established. These will come into the story later. For now, let's focus on the main group. After a few generations, there was no one among them who even remembered life in KO-35. As they were born outside the colony, on Daria, they came to call themselves-"
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"-Darians," Andros practically spat. "Thieves, murderers, rapists, criminals…it turned out they'd been living in the wilderness all that time. Gathering their forces, just waiting to strike back at the community that had banished them. The Darian colony grew, and continued to do so for centuries, until it took up fully half of the planet. All the while, KO-35, of course, grew as well, at approximately the same rate. The two met-"
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-"in the middle of the planet, roughly where the neutral zone is now."
"And they started fighting," Jareth surmised.
"Not at first," Verona said. "The Darians, familiar only with the old horror stories, did not even recognize KO-35 for what it was. The Kerovans, on the other hand, had assumed that any that were banished into the wilds had died long ago, and thus had no idea that there even WAS another civilization growing."
"So how did the war get started?"
"There is always the opportunity for war, when differing cultures meet. Resources, religious beliefs. In our case it was history. Once the two colonies recognized each other for what they were, our people decided that we were owed by the Kerovans for the poor treatment of our ancestors. The Kerovans, on the other hand, decided that they were owed by us for having used their planet for so long without permission, when we shouldn't have survived at all."
The Terrans blinked.
"this is why you fight?" Jareth asked.
"No. This is why our ancestors fought. That, and because in the course their expansion, the Kerovans brutally slaughtered and pillaged all of those smaller colonies that the Darians left in their wake."
"Ouch."
"So, then, why do you fight?" Deacon asked.
"Mostly, out of-"
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"Habit," Andros said. "We've been fighting all our lives. Upbringing. We've been trained to hate them. Revenge. I've lost friends…family…especially family."
"Wouldn't it be better to end all that?" Tommy asked.
"Absolutely," Andros agreed. "By winning the war."
"That's not the only way."
"No, but it's the most likely to succeed."
"Hasn't succeeded yet," Ashley said sardonically. "How many generations has it been?"
"Too many," Andros said quietly. "But you're wasting your time. There have been too many people hurt…on both sides…for us to just lay down our weapons, forgive and forget. This war will only end when someone wins."
"But-"
"Now, are you willing to help us or not?"
"We won't kill for you," Tommy said adamantly.
"You can use nonlethal force if you insist," Andros allowed. "We weren't planning on sending you into combat, anyway. Not just yet, at least."
"Then what do you want from us?"
"We want you to help with the-"
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"-raids?" Jareth asked.
"Raids," Verona confirmed. "The resources of this planet are minimal: air and sunlight. Everything else was used up, by the expansion of the colonies and the war. Everything we need, we get from traders."
"How do the traders get past the defenses?"
"One a shipment has been confirmed," she explained. "A one-time-use deactivation code is transmitted to the trader. We purchase our supplies mainly from an interstellar trading company called Serpentware. I know not where the Kerovans get theirs. The point is, when we haven't the funds to arrange for supply shipments, the factions are known to raid one anther's storehouses."
"Makes sense," Jareth said. "And this is why you need Rangers?"
"Rangers are far less prone to fatal injury than other raiders," the young woman agreed. "And far better at defending our own supplies. Zhane is an accomplished raider, so I would like you to stay and-"
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"-help defend our storehouses while we're out raiding," TJ suggested. "Instead of doing the raiding themselves."
"That would work," Andros agreed. "I was a bit leery of sending you all into the field anyway."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Mara said, a bit uncertainly. "That way anyone we'd have to fight would be…'
"Trespassers and thieves," Ashley said. "Yes. Can you-"
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"-do that?"
"Oh, we can," Deacon asked. "but why should we assist you?"
Verona frowned. "I had hoped you would see our need and volunteer."
"I don't volunteer for much of anything," Jareth said.
"If you will not help us, I'm afraid I cannot return your morphers," Verona said. "I apologize, but the addition of your powers to our resources could very well turn the tide in our favor."
"Ah, but can you work them?" the Gold Ranger asked slyly.
Verona said nothing.
"Didn't think so."
"I am confident that our scientists can deduce how they operate."
"What if I told you that the morphers will only work for us?"
"Then I can still reverse-engineer the Morphers and mass-produce more of them."
"If you could do that, then you'd have more than one Ranger on your team."
Verona half-smiled ruefully. "I was hoping you wouldn't catch that."
Jareth grinned. "What can I say? I'm good."
"When are you going to stop flirting with hot alien chicks?"
Jareth glared down at Deacon. "Oh, and you weren't totally hitting on Karone. You even bowed, for Hel's sake."
"It's all right," Verona said, smiling. "Everyone hits on Karone. I should warn you, though, Zhane has a habit of hitting people who hit on Karone."
"Duly noted," Deacon said, nodding.
"I can see I'm going to have to make you a deal if I am to gain your assistance," Verona said, reaching beneath her desk and taking out a small briefcase, which she set on the table.
"I will return these morphers, if-"
Tsew!
Both Rangers spun around just as one of the guards standing by the door collapsed, a smoking hole through his head. The second guard turned his blaster on Verona, firing off another shot.
Verona gasped, holding up the briefcase. The blast struck the metal surface, melting a hole into the metal.
"Lion!"
"Elephant!"
The Guard held up an arm, shielding his eyes from the sudden gold and silver flashes that brightened the room. He blinked in surprise at the two armored forms that now stood before him.
"But...you can't….your morphers…"
A shower of sparks fell to the floor as the barrel of the guard's blaster was severed by the whiling blade of a rotary diamond-saw.
Jareth pressed the astonished guard against the door, Blade Blaster held at his temple.
"What's this guy's deal?"
"He is a Kerovan spy," Verona said, getting up and walking around her desk, clearly making an effort to appear calm, though the slight shaking of her hands betrayed her. "Unless I am very much mistaken, he is here to steal your morphers. But the devices in that case obviously aren't your morphers, are they?"
"Nope," Deacon said.
"Rhetorical question, Dea," Jareth mumbled.
Verona knelt by the dead guard, her head bowed low. She gently closed his eyelids. The she seized his blaster from its holster…he'd never even had time to draw it…stood, leveled it at the spy's head, and fired.
The blast struck Deacon's hand, which had shot through the air faster than the eye could follow to intercept the shot.
"Ow," he said, shaking the scorched appendage. "Ow. OW. Ow…"
Verona glared at Deacon, then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and walked over to her desk. She pressed a button on the call box.
"Security detail to my office. Immediately."
"Yes, ma'am."
Verona turned to the Rangers.
"Thank you for stopping me. It would have been unwise to execute him before we had the chance to interrogate him.
I make you this offer, Rangers. If you agree to guard our storehouses while Zhane is away on his next raid, I will return these devices….whatever they are….and provide you with transportation home aboard the Silver Wing."
"Deal," Jareth said. "But we're not leaving without our friends."
The doors burst open and Karone entered, followed by a group of eight security guards.
"Verona, what's going on? Oh, no," the girl said, seeing the corpse lying on the floor. "Proteus…"
"Arrest the man the Gold Ranger is holding. Interrogate him, then execute him." Verona said, sitting back down at her desk. She sighed, closing her eyes. "And…see that my cousin is given a proper burial."