Via Pacifica: Pavonian Sector
Starbase Elysium, 9:00 hours

The solar frisbee zipped across the grassy pitch in one of Elysium's local parks as Keith Clark snared it out of the air and flipped it back across the field toward one of his teammates. As Geordi went to catch it, he was surprised when Rin did an acrobatic somersault in midair and intercepted the disc. She gave a quick wink before tossing it to Aaron on her own team. "Nice try Geo, but you're gonna have to be faster than that!"

No sooner had Aaron caught the disc and planted his feet, Qua'lia rushed up to defend the Red Ranger from throwing the glowing frisbee. She tried to tangle his arms with hers as she grabbed at the disc, "Terran game or not, I'm not letting you through! We're going to win this!"

Aaron grinned as he swiftly pivoted on one foot and did a low behind the back pass under the Pink Ranger's raised arms, "Think fast Dael!"

Everyone watched in surprise as the solar frisbee arced across the last stretch of the playing field leaving a trail of light. The frisbee curved toward the goal line where his other teammate Sage was there, ready to catch it for the score. The Yellow Ranger did a backflip in celebration before Aaron and Rin came over to congratulate her with hugs and high fives, "Nice one Sage! That's game!"

Qua'lia gave a slightly disappointed sigh over losing the match before the others gathered together to take a breather along with a water break. The artificial sunlight and simulated blue skies of the starbase dome were as bright as everyone's moods while Geordi handed Keith a water bottle, "Well it's kind of a bummer we lost that game, but I'll say this. Solar Frisbee beats regular Ranger training in the gym any day of the week."

"It is nice that we got a chance to get out while we're docked again at the starbase," Keith agreed with his Eltarian comrade, "I could almost get used to all this extra shore leave on the weekend."

"Shhh! You're going to jinx us," Rin said playfully clamping a hand over his mouth, "But yeah... I'd say we earned it, don't you think?"

Off to the sidelines, Aaron glanced over and noticed Princess Sera who was sitting on the grass nearby with Skyler Orion. The princess had opted to dress down to more casual sporty clothes which she had borrowed from Rin's large supply crates on the Odyssey. Like the Rangers, it helped them fit in among the regular people of the starbase. Today Sera had taken Skyler's lead in opting to sit out of the heated three-on-three scrimmage game between the Rangers, content to watch from the sidelines. While the princess sat quietly, Skyler reclined lazily in the grass enjoying the artificial sunlight and the relative peace of not having to work that day.

As the Rangers came over to them, Skyler sighed, "I tell you princess, this is great. Soft grass, warm light, and not a care in the world today."

"I wish I could share the sentiment," Sera answered quietly as she wrinkled her features to herself. Skyler cracked her eyes open and glanced toward Sera in curiosity.

"Is everything okay, Your Highness? You've seemed a little quiet and distracted since we got to the park this morning."

"Ah... I don't know. I just have a lot of things on my mind right now," Sera admitted, wondering if she should mention anything about the arranged marriage her parents had suggested recently. She decided to go a more veiled route. "Skyler, can I ask you something? How do you do it? What's it like to be completely free... to go wherever you want, whenever you want, and do whatever you want?"

"Or whoever I want?" the smuggler joked before sitting up, "That's kind of an odd question out of the blue, Your Highness. I'm surprised you're asking me of all people."

"Humor me?" Sera asked.

Skyler thought it over for a moment, "Well... I guess the whole free and independent life is a challenge in its own way. The other girls had asked me the same question some time ago and I guess my best answer is this. It's not for everyone. Sure, it's great being liberated and being able to go anywhere, but I'm still tied down in some other ways."

"Really?

"Sure," Skyler nodded, "For example, I spend a LOT of time and money on my business and keeping my ship intact. I guess in a weird way, there's some comfort and safety in having your own routine duties and personal obligations... whether it's me hauling freight, or the Rangers serving the GSA, or you... uh, doing whatever it is that you royal people do."

Sera gave a half hearted laugh at that before shifting gears, "What about love? Would you ever tie yourself down for it? Or change in any way?"

Skyler gave her a questioning look before laying back down on the grass, "I dunno. I never gave it much thought. I'm not exactly the best person to ask on that subject. I guess in some ways it would be nice to be serious with a person. As far as my job goes, it can get a little lonely at times."

"Until you fell in with the Rangers?" Sera asked.

Skyler hesitated and seemed reluctant to openly admit it, "Well... sure. They've grown on me. I like them and generally consider them my friends. Without an actual family, they haven't been a bad substitute all the way out here, you know?"

"I suppose you're right," Sera shrugged, "Hmm... family."

"I guess I'm a little jealous," Skyler offered in a friendly tone, "You rescued your parents and have been reunited with your family again. I'd think you'd be thrilled to be whole again, right?"

Sera grimaced, "Sure... but there's just something else kind of difficult that I'm trying to figure out right now."

"You sure I can't help?" Skyler asked curiously.

As the others approached, Sage chimed into the conversation with a kind smile, "She's right you know, Princess. If there's something bothering you, maybe we can help. Isn't that right Aaron?"

She gently elbowed the Red Ranger in the side causing him to nod, "Oh? Right. Sera?"

She looked to him and seemed even more uncertain before giving another evasive shrug, "I don't know everyone. I appreciate the offer but it's kind of personal."

"Is it about the war?" Qua'lia asked, "Because there's rumor among the senior officers that it's going well. If the Star League keeps pushing, the war might be over in just a few more months."

"If you're troubled about Thor and the other people who were hurt recently, you shouldn't worry either," Keith offered, "Dr. Surya said he would make a full recovery."

Rin grinned playfully toward Qua'lia, "Speaking of which... I guess congratulations are in order too. Rumor has it that you and him patched things up recently... and then some."

The Pink Ranger flushed for a moment and glared at Aaron in an accusatory way. He chuckled and raised his hands in playful defense, "Hey, don't look at me. I might have speculated about it a little with Tiah the other night, but if she went around gossiping, that's on her."

"Well, I guess there's no point in trying to hide it then," Qua'lia sighed while Rin playfully prodded her some more.

"Yeah! Now we can speculate about what kind of weird alien hybrid babies they might create. Come to think of it, are Lacerians and Caltarians even genetically compatible?"

As the conversation devolved into more teasing and banter, the comms on the Ranger's wrist morphers sounded and they heard the voice of Commander Jakende on the other end of the line, "Rangers? Are you there?"

"We're here Commander. What can we do?" Qua'lia answered.

"There's an important meeting that's going to take place on the Albion. Captain Raines wants you to clean yourselves up and join us there in an hour. Be prepared because it's very important. Odyssey out."

Geordi raised a curious eyebrow, "The commander must know something we don't. This sounds big."

"In that case, let's get a move on," Aaron said clapping him on the shoulder and handing him the solar frisbee, "The last thing the captain probably needs right now is to give us an earful for being late. Let's go."

Later that day, the Rangers were brought aboard the ANS Albion along with ranking officers from other ships and races of the Star League. Because it was larger and better able to accommodate more people in a conference hall, the Alliance light carrier had been chosen as the gathering place for the field leaders of the coalition. Once they took their seats and got settled, the Rangers looked around curiously while Captain Raines stood at the center of the room with a holo-projector. Off in some nearby seats, Princess sera sat with her parents while they idly chatted with some other Arcadian dignitaries who were present. Sage grimaced slightly, "I wonder what this is all about. There are a lot of important people here and we haven't had this many VIPs together in quite a while."

From nearby, Captain Minerva of KO-35 gave a quiet nod to the two Sirian guards to call things to order. The canine-like humanoids both gave a short but loud bark and snapped to attention as Captain Raines stepped forward, "Atten-shun!"

Everyone in the room quieted and turned their eyes to the captain of the Odyssey who took the floor, "Good morning everyone. Thank you for coming. I apologize for the sudden nature of this meeting, but there is important information the GSA feels it should share with all of you."

He brought up a starchart of the region along with the dispositions of all the forces on both sides of the battle line, "Based on the recent recon flights taken by some of the Albion's fighters, we believe we've found a weak spot in the Empire's front. We also believe if we can quickly muster a powerful surprise attack, then we can shatter the enemy's line and cause it some serious damage. We are bringing before you a plan to strike at the planet of Arcadia and liberate it from our enemy."

Everyone sat silent in shock and amazement, most of all the royal Telesto family. Rin's eyes went wide and she muttered quietly, "No way! I don't believe it!"

"We've worked out a plan to send in a quick hard-hitting task force to seize the capital back," Raines explained as the display showed a fleet deployment and a projected line of attack, "Right now the Imperial line has grown thin and Arcadia should be lightly guarded. They'd never expect us to hit them there."

"True enough, but what if they call in reinforcements from the nearby sectors?" Captain Bracchios of the Saurians asked.

One of the other Alliance leaders spoke up, "There are other spots on the line that are potentially vulnerable as well. Why must we strike at Arcadia?"

"Why? Because it's the homeworld of one of the members of this Star League," King Telesto bristled with a hint of indignation in his tone, "You don't think that would serve as a symbolic victory against the enemy too?"

Raines raised his hand to calm the tension between the other allies, "His Majesty has a point. But there is another practical reason Arcadia is a good location. The planet is near the border of Imperial space. We can use Arcadia as a stepping stone and a staging area to launch a counterattack against the U'shan if we need to."

"Do you really think it will come to that?" Prince Benedict of Korinthios asked.

Raines folded his hands behind his back grimly, "I pray that it doesn't. We can only hope that our victory there will force the Imperial government to come to the bargaining table and negotiate a peace treaty. The sooner we can end this conflict, the better."

"It's a risky plan," Bracchios admitted, "But it has merit."

Raines nodded, "Alliance High Command has approved the plan and is willing to let Captain Regan and I participate. I only ask that the rest of you consider this plan as well. If we act, then we all do it together as allies. The choice is yours."

As the meeting took a recess to allow the leaders and the ship captains to talk things over with their respective camps, the Arcadians continued to huddle with their Alliance friends. Queen Telesto took Captain Regan's hands and gave them a grateful squeeze, "Gods bless you Captains.. the both of you. If you and the others are able to save our planet and restore our homeworld, we would be forever grateful to you."

"Ah. You can actually thank Captain Raines if this plan succeeds," Minerva answered sheepishly, "He and Commander Jakende were the ones who had put this strategy together."

King Telesto took his wife's shoulders, "Cassiopeia is right though. We truly would be indebted to the Alliance for everything you and the Odyssey Rangers have done for us. You all protected our daughter, rescued us from the Empire, and now our planet. Just know you have our full support in this."

While her parents talked with the captain, Sera wore a much more quiet and ambivalent expression. Skyler stood with her and crossed her arms in a breezy manner, "Looks like the groundwork is being laid for future ties with the Alliance, huh?"

"Yes. I suppose," Sera muttered, "Though I'm not exactly sure I feel like talking about other external relations right now."

Skyler glanced at her curiously, "Princess? Are you not in support of the plan to retake your world?"

Sera shook her head as the other Rangers came to join them, chattering excitedly among each other, "No. Of course I support the plan too. It's just... everyone? There's something important I want to talk to you about after the battle for Arcadia. I don't want to distract you with my own problems right now because we need to focus on this. But... it's going to be important for me too, okay?"

The others exchanged puzzled looks before Keith scratched his head in confusion, "Uh... okay? Whatever you say, Princess."

"Sera? You're sure this isn't something we can discuss right now?" Aaron asked in concern.

She patted his arm and tried to give him and the others a reassuring smile, "No, I don't think so. I promise I'll tell you... just not right now."

Meanwhile on the edge of the distant Olympia sector, Ash Dael formerly known as Commander Kharon steered his small stealth shuttle from the Arcadian system. His scouting mission was a success and he now had all the information that he needed. As he backed up the data as a precaution, he considered the recent movements of the Empire and Star League. It wouldn't be long before one side or the other would cast the die and begin the last major push for victory. Judging by what his sensors had picked up on the planet, he wasn't so sure which side would ultimately prevail now. Although he was now technically a "wild card" in this conflict, part of him still felt an old nagging allegiance to the GSA who was only partially embroiled in all this.

As he gazed out at the stars and waited for his warp drive engines to power up, Ash quietly considered some options. He would have been lying to himself if he said that part of him didn't want to just fall in with Captain Raines and rejoin his sister Sage. But, there was so much else at stake now. He knew he couldn't fully trust the corrupted leadership of the GSA either. He couldn't just rejoin the Alliance fold right now... at least not without consequences. His best hope lay in the nearly constructed Typhon Cannon which was being constructed in Imperial space. If he was going to get a hold of it to secure peace and to protect his sister, then it relied on the Odyssey Rangers learning what he had to offer. He determined that he would have to find the Rangers one way or another and help them over this one more hurdle.

With that, he flipped the switch on his console and engaged the drive function of the scout ship, propelling it back into warp space and right in the path of a coming storm.