Via Pacifica: Pavonian Sector
Starbase Elysium, 13:45 hours

The U'shan attack had begun in earnest as several waves of fighter craft sortied out from their carrier ships and led the charge toward the starbase. Several smaller escorts and support ships followed behind while the heavier less maneuverable U'shan capital ships lumbered along at the rear. After grouping into a hastily formed defensive line, the combined fleet of the Star League stood ready to repulse the massive enemy attack. Despite their misgivings, they knew they had to try and make a stand. The fates of Elysium and the blue green tropic world of Pavonis hung in the balance.

At the center of the Star League's line, the heavy Korinthian warships opened up with the first salvo of their long range guns. Their beam cannons and torpedoes tore holes through the first wave of U'shan forces but it didn't seem to blunt the advance of the enemy either. From the bridge of the lead Korinthian ship Hoplon, Prince Benedict stood with the ship's captain looking on in dread at the enemies arrayed against them.

Benedict tightened his features and tried not to show any sort of fear in front of his men. Despite the traditions of his people, the young prince had never had much of a taste for war or other martial pursuits, but in this dire time he knew he had to uphold his family's pride and do his duty as a royal to lead his people in battle. He had known Princess Sera had been much the same position but if she could do it and take confidence from the Odyssey Rangers around her, then he could do it too. He turned to the ship's captain with an apologetic look, "This is going to be a difficult fight. I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Captain."

The older Korinthian officer maintained a stoic bearing and gave a nod to Benedict, "There's no need to apologize, my Prince. All of us here had volunteered we and knew what we were getting ourselves into. We are Korinthians and we accept that is the way of the warrior."

Benedict gave a grim smile, "For what it's worth, I'd still rather that we all live through this."

"Do you think Princess Sera and her Rangers will still come?"

Benedict looked out toward the viewport where the forward battle line began lighting up with distant explosions and streaks of light. A few enemy shots went wide of their squadron and grazed their shields. "We're pinning a lot of hope on her. I am too. We should stand fast and hold the line here as long as we can to give them time."

The captain nodded and signaled his other bridge officers, "As you wish, my Prince. All Korinthian ships, fall into phalanx formation and prepare to return fire!"

Meanwhile, the Odyssey and the Acropolis continued to rush toward Elysium as fast their warp engines could carry them. Princess Sera stood at the bridge of their new carrier ship surrounded by the Rangers and they listened to Captain Raines transmitting a briefing from the Odyssey. A tactical map had displayed the rough disposition of forces around Elysium and even studied it intently, even Skyler who was still piloting at the helm of the Acropolis.

"These are the latest returns for our long range sensors and it looks like the battle is already underway," Raines said in a serious tone, "The Star League's forces are outnumbered at least three to one and they appear to be outgunned as well."

Aaron crossed his arms and studied the readout, "For now it looks like their lines are holding, but they won't have much in the way of reserves if they start taking heavy losses."

"How much longer until we reach the Pavonian system?" Sera asked aloud.

Skyler piped up from the helm, "I'd give it about ten minutes more, Your Highness. The engines will be gassed but at least we'll be present."

"That's okay. As long as the Acropolis can deploy the megazord, we should be able to help even up those odds," Sage added hopefully.

Rin looked at the map and pointed out the heavy U'shan warships in their rear line, "Fair enough, but even with the megazord, how are we going to last against all those heavy hitters back there?"

Captain Raines gave a grim laugh, "Don't worry Miss Nial, you can leave that one to the Odyssey. I came up with a little plan here to catch the U'shan off guard and I've gotten help from Tiah and Dr. Farbanti. Hopefully we can destroy enough of their capital ships before they can catch on."

The Rangers all looked to each other apprehensively. They didn't know how Raines proposed to pull off that feat, but they'd have to trust him. The Eltarian Blue Ranger surprised everyone and gave a thumbs up, "All right… if Tiah and Dr. F. whipped something up, then it's gotta be some crazy feat of engineering at work. I'm okay with it."

As the other Rangers shared a nervous laugh amongst them, Sera kept her eyes fixed on the largest of the U'shan vessels in the rear, the command ship Akula.

"Captain Raines? My parents might be held captive on that ship. Please do not destroy it."

Dominic hesitated, "Princess… we can't be certain. And if we can kill the Exarch leading the whole thing…"

"Captain Raines, I know it sounds crazy and it goes against the logic of warfare, but please… I'm asking you. Do not destroy the Akula until we know that my parents are safe."

Raines scowled in his chair and considered it in silence before giving a nod, "All right…for your sake. But once we know it's clear, I'm going to attack it."

Sera nodded in reply and sat back in her own command chair, "Thank you, Captain. Until then, we'll be making our last minute preparations. Good luck."

"And to you," Raines replied, "Rangers? Let's show the Star League how the Alliance fights so make the GSA proud today."

"Aye aye sir," the Odyssey Rangers saluted before the transmission cut out.

Aaron tapped his morpher and gestured his comrades, "We're going to be arriving in a warzone soon so we should get moving and mount up in our zords."

"Good luck everyone," Sera offered to the Rangers while wearing a genuine look of concern, "Let's make sure we all meet up after this battle, okay?"

"And how about a kiss for luck, while you're at it?" Skyler called over giving a wink to the male Rangers.

Aaron and Geordi exchanged a bemused expression before Sage and Rin came over to kiss Skyler together on her cheeks just to mess with her. The pilot gave a happy go lucky shrug and laughed, "Ah well… not exactly what I was expecting. But you two are still hot so I'll take it."

"All right, enough playing around. We've got work to do," Qua'lia reminded her two younger comrades as she pulled their sleeves and motioned for the door.

She was right. The Rangers were about to be thrust into danger once again only this time the stakes were much higher. None of them had ever experienced action in a major fleet battle before and while they hoped that they wouldn't experience any more, they hoped it wouldn't be their last battle either.

Back above the planet of Pavonis, a full scale space battle was already raging between the two opposing fleets. As volleys of energy beams criss crossed back and forth between both sides, starfighters screamed through the hail pelting ships and dueling each other in dogfights. By now, the front ranks of both fleets met in relatively close quarters and pummeled each other with their cannons. Every so often, frigates and escort destroyers on both sides would be shredded or erupt into flames. Despite the Star League's stiff resistance, the Imperial fleet continued its relentless onslaught, slowly grinding down the coalition's defenses.

Several enemy fighters screamed by and the bridge of the Hoplon shook as Prince Benedict watched an allied frigate be immolated in a ball of flames. The Korinthian flagship continued laying down withering streams of fire but it was merely delaying the inevitable. The Hoplon's captain bowed his head slightly, "Prince Benedict, the forward line is faltering but if it breaks we're going to be in a dangerous position."

"Will we still be able to take down several of those enemy cruisers?" the prince asked.

The officer nodded and Benedict grimaced, "Then we hold here a little longer. We need to buy our friends just a little more time. Let's show courage for our allies here."

Before the captain could give another order, a bridge officer called out, "Sir, we're picking up two more vessels inbound at high warp. One is a large unknown signature. The other… looks like the Alliance ship Odyssey."

Benedict and the captain exchanged an amazed look and watched in stunned silence as two vessels dropped back into real-space to join the fight. The crew of the Hoplon gave a cheer as they saw the Odyssey swoop in from the flank and drive toward the heart of the U'shan fleet with its weapons blazing. Trailing behind it was a large carrier ship and despite its older design, it still looked sturdy and formidable.

"By the powers…" the Korinthian ship captain exclaimed as Benedict opened a channel to their allies.

"This is Prince Benedict of the Hoplon. Captain Raines? Princess Sera? Is that really you?" he asked in an overjoyed tone.

"Sorry for the delay," Sera answered from the carrier, "We've got the Acropolis and we're here to help! Just hang on, the Rangers are on their way."

From the lead ship of the Saurian contingent, Captain Bracchios called over the comms to his other human comrade, "Captain Raines, you're making a dangerous approach toward the enemy fleet. I urge you to change course."

"Don't worry Captain, we're going to help even the odds a little bit," Dominic replied as he momentarily muted the line, "At least I hope so."

He sat up at full attention in his chair as the Alliance cruiser roared forward alone in a daring attack. The bridge crew was already abuzz and chattering at their battle stations while Hawa called out last minute orders to make preparations. "Engines at 2/3 impulse! Beam cannons fire at will! All shields full forward!"

Dominic gave her a grateful nod before turning to Tiah and Amira who were also at stations on the bridge, "All right ladies. I'm depending on you. Let's make some fireworks."

"Understood Captain," Amira answered while Tiah gave an eager salute.

"Aye, sir! With pleasure!"

They began working over their computer consoles as the Odyssey pressed forward firing into the U'shan formation with it's full array of weapons. Amira wore a grim expression as her fingers flew over the keypad, "Locking on to designated targets. Disruptor beams are configured."

The younger blonde haired engineer from Mirinoi gave a thumbs up in reply, "Transporters are standing by and the warheads are armed. Captain?"

Raines grinned and sliced the air with his hand as he gestured forward, "Fire!"

The Odyssey sped toward the rear ranks of the U'shan fleet and fired several shots from its high energy beam cannons. The beams had been reconfigured to cause temporary fluctuations in the enemy shields and each hit their marks, disrupting the U'shan defensive systems. For several seconds, each of the larger capital ships that had been hit had a gaping hole in their shields which Tiah exploited. She targeted the engine reactor cores of the enemy vessels and transported over modified warheads with three second timers.

Moments later, everyone on the battlefield watched as the warheads detonated and caused chain reaction explosions within several of the U'shan battleships. One by one, gouts of fire and shrapnel erupted from the hulls of the enemy vessels before they were blown apart in violent blasts. A few other U'shan vessels were caught in the area and suffered major damage as the destroyed sections of the exploded battleships crashed into them.

The crew of the Odyssey gave a cheer as they went down the line, destroying several more U'shan capital ships. By now, the Odyssey had sown mass chaos and panic within the U'shan fleet as they saw many of their largest and most powerful warships suddenly vaporized. While they had crippled the enemy force, the U'shan invasion fleet was far from defeated. Hawa pumped her fist as she kept an ear to the comm line chatter, "It's working Captain! The enemy doesn't know what hit them!"

"Hate to rain on the parade Ma'am, but we've got a little problem," Tiah interjected as she looked up from her station with a worried look, "The enemy are catching on. They're all reconfiguring their shield frequencies."

"Understood," Raines responded quickly as he signaled his other bridge officers, "Helm, break off and head toward the coalition fleet. We'll regroup and bolster their line."

Amira looked up from her controls, "And what of the enemy?"

"Don't worry Doctor," Raines said with a hawkish smile, "We did our job. Now we'll let the Rangers do theirs."

On the bridge of the enemy flagship Akula, the U'shan were in a mild state of panic and disarray as they saw the backbone of their fleet be obliterated. Amid the hurricane, the only ones who remained calm were Captain Cepheus and the U'shan Exarch Xerxes. The seasoned ship captain barked orders to snap his crew back into order, "Reconfigure our defenses to an alternating pattern! Regroup with the remaining ships in our squadron and press on! We're not beaten yet!"

As the crew bustled around him, Xerxes watched the Alliance starship Odyssey make a sharp banking turn and run back toward its allied lines. The U'shan official couldn't help but smile a little and admire his enemy. They had been a thorn in his side since day one and they were once again proving why the proud resourceful people of the GSA were not to be taken lightly. "Well played Captain Raines, but you're out of tricks today."

"Maybe not quite my lord," Cepheus noted as he pointed toward the Acropolis in the distance, "Look!"

The two looked out on their viewscreen and saw five large multicolored war machines deploy out from the carrier ship's bays. At first, they resembled animals of a sort but as they roared toward the line to finish the Odyssey's job, Xerxes watched with a mixture of surprise and amusement as the zords came together and fused to form a large humanoid battle mech. As the Odyssey Megazord hurtled toward the enemy line, everyone on the battlefield paused to watch the surprising new weapon in play. Xerxes calmly folded his arms into his robes and stood with a small smile, "So... this is the true might of the Arcadian Rangers."

Cepheus kept wary eye on the megazord as it neared, "My lord... perhaps we should change course?"

"No," Xerxes said, "The Rangers will not destroy us. There's something very important that we have on board... King and Queen Telesto."

"And what if they try to board the Akula and rescue them?"

Xerxes smiled and looked back over the battle raging outside, "I would welcome it. It would give me a chance to destroy them here and now."

Cepheus remained quiet and nodded. If he knew anything about the Imperial Exarchs, it was that they were always scheming. They had contingency plans for their contingency plans. If he Lord Xerxes could remain so calm and confident right now, then he would take some inspiration and get this battle back on track. It was all he could hope to do anyway.

Outside, U'shan warship already began firing at the Odyssey Megazord as it rocketed forward to do battle. The zord was propelled by rockets on its feet and it moved with surprising speed and agility as it wove around the incoming fire. At the controls, all five Odyssey Rangers worked in concert to get into position. Rin couldn't help but give an exited cheer as the megazord tumbled into a spinning barrel roll past a cloud of missiles, "All right! This kicks so much ass!"

"And we're about to kick a whole lot more. Geo?" Aaron prompted.

The Blue Ranger activated the megazord's weapon, its Solar Splitter glaive. The giant robot called forth its glowing polearm in mid-flight and brought it around to deflect several blaster shots away. Once it neared with some enemy ships, the megazord used its glaive to split an enemy cruiser from bow to aft before recovering and bisecting another ship with a might slash. The crew of the enemy ships panicked as they realized the Rangers were now so close that the U'shan would hit each other in the crossfire. They were now effectively helpless and the megazord tore through a squadron of ships with several swings. The rest of the battered Star League was so encouraged by the sight, they began to counterattack while being backed by the Odyssey now. As the megazord pressed its attack and slashed deeper into the enemy lines, they caught sight of the large command ship Akula in the near distance.

That was when Sage picked up a reading on her console and caught the Rangers' collective attention, Hey! Everyone... I just saw something on our sensors. I'm picking up what looks to be the king and queen of Arcadia on that flagship!"

"Are you sure?" Qua'lia asked hesitantly, "Maybe Princess Sera was right... but how are we going to stop that ship?"

"How else? We'll have to rescue the king and queen," Aaron answered bluntly.

Geordi balked and stared at the Red Ranger, "Sorry... what? You're insane, you know that?"

"Sounds dangerous, but awesome... I like it!" Rin cut in enthusiastically.

"I know it's risky, but we might not get another shot like this," Aaron explained, "And it's the least we can do for Sera... right?"

Sage put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, "All right Lieutenant. I'm with you."

"You can count on me too sir," Qua'lia added dutifully as Rin gave them a thumbs up in agreement.

"For Sera!"

Geordi simply sighed and shook his head, "All right... as if this plan wasn't crazy enough. Why not add a jalbreak to a massive fleet battle."

Aaron smiled and nodded as he gave his comrade a clap on the shoulder, "That's the spirit Geo. All right everyone. The command ship is in our sights. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"