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Chapter 31 – Generative Actor

The blasted surface of Unus was as dusty as ever, Lord Zedd had had ordered Paradoxa's Vanguard Fleet to accelerate their industrialised sacking of the moons' resources until the ground trembled endlessly underfoot as mining operations tore stone, minerals and ore from the ground in vast quantities for them to be in turn into the holds of starships or the ravenous mouths of vast diabolical machines whilst the Dread Forge belched out a steady stream of Putties to replace those prisoners and workers who had toiled until their bodies finally failed; the bulk of what had once been Paradoxa's loyal subjects to be rendered irrelevant by a steadily increasing tide of stony, grey automatons.

Paradoxa despised every moment of it.

As she marched through the Vanguard Fleets' base of operations, dust and smoke clinging to her pale-green tinged flesh and iridescent black exoskeletal armour the insectoid Acheron hybrid found another sound reaching her ears above the cacophony of machinery and orders being barked by overseers whose barbed whips and jagged prods found fewer and fewer targets which each living slave that was replaced by an unfeeling construct. The sound was a chorus of shrieks, wails and roars; the sound of a hundred voices united as they chanted in the mother tongue of the Acheron people, kneeling and screaming their oaths to the magically darkened sky above them whilst at the head a looming figure clad in blood red robes stoked their fervour and incited further devotion to the Dark Empire with the promises of an unyielding grip that spanned from this galaxy to the next and united all peoples of all world under a single banner, the best of each species taken and merged into the greater Acheron whole.

The Cult of the Eternal Devourer.

Paradoxa let out a snarl which buzzed and clicked in the back of her throat in a truly inhuman way at the sight of the congregation though she found herself with no recourse against it. The Cult was a long standing facet of Acheron culture and within any fleet of any noteworthy size there would doubtlessly be a handful of devout believers who attended to their duties with a fanatical zeal. Whilst Lord Zedd was largely uninterested in custom or tradition and focused on the wholly practical aspects of extending his dominion the warlord did however see the value of the Cult and not only allowed them to continue to grow under his rule but actively encouraged them to recruit and proselyte; as a result their numbers within the Vanguard Fleet had grown exponentially with Lord Zedd's arrival, each believer spreading their devotion to those around them as if it were an illness as they flocked around the tyrant and treated him with unimaginable reverence; seeing his actions as undeniable proof that he was indeed the Messianic figure who would the Dark Empire into an age of supremacy. Pushing her annoyance at existence of another force which undermined her authority and sought to wrest the control she had amassed for herself Paradoxa continued onwards, allowing the ritualistic chanting and savage war-cries of the Cult to fade into the background as she stalked closer towards her destination until finally it came into view; she surreptitiously vibrated small bundles of muscles throughout her body and produced a low whining buzz as the dust, ash and soot clinging to her form was thrown free to create a haze around her before sinking down on to one knee and bowing her head as she uttered words which left an increasingly foul taste in her mouth every time she said them of late

"How may I serve you my Lord?"

Lord Zedd currently stood before the Teleportation Gate which Paradoxa had built at his command, radiating waves of silent menace that seemed to be almost physical, pressurising the air around him as he loomed in full armour over the group of workers diligently taking up the task of dismantling the Gate and stripping it for parts with terror and awe etched into each of their faces, none daring to look away from their work for an instant less they be subjected to the wrath of their Sovereign.

"Rise Paradoxa" he demanded in usual, deep and rumbling voice and taking several moments to turn away from the deconstruction work work and turn to face his right hand.

"As you can see the more difficult to fabricate components of your Teleportation Gate are being salvaged and production has been focused away from simply creating more weapons and armour. What does this tell you?"

"That you've found the ideal place to construct your own Teleportation Gate" Paradoxa fought the urge to visibly seethe at the notion of being forced to share what little power she still clung to

"Indeed, a region of empty space far from here or anywhere else where the Alliance might intervene" Paradoxa nodded in understanding, even Lord Zedd's terrifying magical might had its' limits and he would not be able to disguise a full sized Teleportation Gate positioned in orbit above the moon, much less the fleet that travelled through it. A more important matter occurred to the insectoid however, the Heliothis had finally been repaired after taking damage in the last operation Lord Zedd had personally overseen and she was loathe to have her vessel risked again so soon, the Warlords' next words made those concerns moot however

"The Juggernaut is being prepared for my departure, inform Gibil that he is to prepare a mobile laboratory and report to the vessels' Captain"

"Gibil my Lord?" Paradoxa asked, yellow eyes widening in disbelief as she momentarily forgot her place

"Your flesh-crafter is a master of many disciplines and I may require him to….modify some of those working in the void of space for those conditions. Moreover the creature amuses me"

"Y-yes my Lord, it will be done" Paradoxa nodded

"And whilst I am absent I expect you to provide the Alliance with a suitable distraction; something that will deliver a crushing blow and keep their eyes elsewhere so that our reinforcements may go on the attack from the moment they arrive"

"Yes my Lord" Paradoxa nodded, Lord Zedd simply turned away from her and returned his focus to the work being done which she saw as an obvious dismissal; as she walked away the insectoid silently raged as the truth of her Lords' intentions became clear to her.

She was going to be silently removed and her forces subsumed into another fleet.

It was obvious, her slave labour and vast legion of labourers were being worked to death and replaced by Putties; depriving her fleet of the means to function independently and starving them through simply logistics whilst taking Gibil and at the same time expecting her to launch an assault, thus requiring her to send valuable fighters were both contrived to whittle away any loyal followers from her ranks that may question the command of her inevitable replacement. Lord Zedd had proven himself once again to be adept at crafting plans within plans, but Paradoxa silently sneered; thinking that the warlord must be a fool if he believed she would be usurped so easily.

She had learned well and would delight in turning his own strategy against him.


Since the arrival of the trio from Aquitar the Aegis Rangers had been put through what Mercy had colourfully described as 'The meat-grinder' and Panthera had described only in the foulest curses a dozen languages had to offer.

It had felt as though a vacation or grace period had ended from the moment that former Black Aquitian Ranger, Blademaster Corcus had taken charge of the teams' training and elected to put them through gruelling physical training regimens including strength and endurance training, assault courses designed to equip them for any terrain they might find themselves traversing, armed and unarmed combat against scores of robotic foes at a time both alone and in groups all of which put the training that the Rangers had gone through whilst stationed on the Lightspeed Aquabase on Earth to shame; beyond this Corcus had also felt the need to ensure that his charges were mentally and morally prepared to overcome the problems that he was certain they would face as Power Rangers, giving them punishing exams regarding strategy or expecting them to deliver a thesis on the correct response to an ethical dilemma that he posed without warning. All in all the Aegis Rangers understood on some level that all of the Aquitian warriors' actions were done with the best of intentions, yet accepting this reality did little to curb the steadily building resentment each of them was developing towards their instructor. Whilst Mercy had thought that she may be singled out as the teams' leader and Kay had believed that they would targeted due to their history, with even Panthera having suspicions that her previous life as a criminal would draw the former Ranger's attention it seemed that of all the Rangers Tempestus seemed to have somehow drawn Corcus's ire and was subjected to an even more demanding series of private training sessions, taking up much of the now limited free time the Rangers had.

One such training session was currently underway and had taken the form of a sparring match.

The Blue Aegis Ranger slid backwards in a crouch, sucking in painful lungfuls of air as his midsection exploded into pain with the force of the spinning kick that his teacher had landed; currently Tempestus wore simple sweatpants and a tank-top whilst Corcus was, as always clad in the pale gold and midnight blue of an Aquitian warrior though any vestiges of rank and status had been removed entirely; Tempestus knew that today's lesson would likely be a painful one from the moment he had seen the disparaging glares that the elder Aquitian gave his choice of clothing yet he rose to his feet and resumed his stance, studying Corcus for any minute signs that would betray an opening.

"Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate" Corcus demanded sternly "If a warrior is not unattached from life and death he will be of no use whatsoever" Tempestus's faced morphed into a slight scowl, the most annoyance he was willing to betray at being subjected to yet more axioms and quotes passed down from one ancient Aquitian Blademaster to the next and without waiting another instant he charged.

He led with and overhead chopping motion which he expected his opponent to answer by redirected his momentum and throwing him off balance which Tempestus would in turn answer with a flip that incorporated a kick whilst inverted. What happened instead was that Corcus rushed forwards to meet him and dropped into an impossibly fast spinning sweep which knocked Tempestus's feet from beneath him and sent the younger Aquitian flying forwards to land face down on the mats which formed the floor of the thankfully empty training area.

Sensing his opponent rushing towards him he flung himself upwards into handstand and curled his body in on itself, avoiding Corcus's follow up blow and landing in a crouch which he swiftly sprung upwards from; the two combatants trading blows with graceful fluidity that was mesmerising to behold, wide sweeping and arcing attacks being masterfully caught and redirected so that precise and punishing blows could be delivered to bundles of nerves and muscle. Delivering one such blow to Corcus's right bicep preceded Tempestus grabbing the older mans' arm and promptly catching his left when was brought around for an elbow strike to the skull, the Blue Aegis Ranger allowed himself a small smile and a sense of victory which was promptly taken from him by his teachers' next words

"Victory and defeat are matters of the temporary force of circumstances" Corcus chided as the two of them continued to grapple and exert their strength against one another "Common sense will not accomplish great things, simply become insane and desperate" with this statement, which seemed incongruous with many of the lessons he had attempted to impart Corcus leapt backwards and into the air, tucking his knees up into his chest as he flung himself and dragging Tempestus almost completely off balance and in to the path of a two-footed drop kick aimed at the Blue Rangers' face.

Corcus righted himself with a back-flip as Tempestus weaved away from the telegraphed kick and the two of them circled one another for a fraction of a second before the younger Aquitian decided that it would be fruitless to continue to match his opponents' skill in their shared discipline and instead launched a roundhouse kick of the dramatic variety that Mercy favoured.

Only for Corcus to catch his ankle and throw him across the room.

"Imitating another style is simply a sham" the elder Aquitian stated bluntly "That concludes today's lesson"

"And what was the lesson? That I can't outfight you using a style you've studied for twice as long as I've been alive?" Tempestus demanded as something unfamiliar rose up within him, arguing with ones elders and openly challenging the traditional order of things was simply not the Aquitian way, though Corcus merely snorted in vague amusement, perhaps his own time spent of Earth having prepared him for this eventuality

"It is spiritless to think that you cannot attain to that which you have seen and heard the masters attain. The masters are men, you are also a man; if you think that you will be inferior in doing something, you will be on that road very soon" Corcus strode closer and pulled Tempestus to his feet

"Your problem is that you have always strived to be two things….Earth may have plucked its' Power Rangers from all aspects of life but that has never been our way. When Aquitar needed a warrior you chose to be a scholar and an artificer. When our people gave you the honour of your duty you were unable to abandon your own ego. Meditate on that boy, be the person that you need to be" without waiting for the furious reply that Tempestus was sure would spill from his lips the moment his shaken and stunned mind would cooperate Corcus turned and walked away without another word, leaving the Blue Ranger struggling with the idea that he was an abject failure in a fundamental way.

"He really has grown to be a bastard while he was away from Aquitar….and I'd appreciate you not repeating that to your mother" Tempestus whirled around and saw Billy standing in the doorway of another entrance to the training area.

"You saw that?" the Blue Rangers gasped, shamefaced and aghast at the idea that his father had watched him be thoroughly trounced

"I did" Billy admitted as he strode across the room, removing his glasses and letting out a sigh as he shook his head "I heard you were getting extra tuition and I wanted to see what Corcus was doing….I'm disappointed but not terribly surprised, he never approved of my relationship with Cestria. He had no right to say that to you"

"But what if he's right?" Tempestus asked, fear creeping slowly into his voice "What if all the time I've spent studying and learning was wasted?….What if I should have just focused on being a better warrior?"

"No learning is wasted" Billy struggled not to scoff at the patently ridiculous idea "Aquitar is built on its' learning and invention; if Corcus wants to see a society built on violence I suggest he takes a long hard look at the Dark Empire" the unspoken but unmistakable insult hung in the air for a moment

"But I'm no great inventor" Tempestus answered sadly "I know how to fix what other people have made"

"And even if you were a great inventor there would always be people like Corcus who saw that as a problem, and that is entirely their problem" Billy sighed, resting his hands on his sons' shoulders "When I was your age I might have invented devices that had saved the world and I might have been an amazing student but that made me no friends and sometimes I had to Morph and wear my clothes over my Ranger armour just to feel brave enough to face the day….doubting yourself is the most human thing in the world"

"I'm not a human" Tempestus reminded him gently, eyes downcast and that undeniable truth halted the conversation as it had many times before; a workable middle ground between Aquitian traditionalism and the kind of parenting that Billy, who had been outcast for his gifts wished to practice as hard to find as ever

"No but you are my son….and I'm proud of you"

"Thank you"

"Do you have any plans for the rest of the day or can you spend some time with your old man working on some side projects?" Tempestus managed a small grin and admitted that that sounded like a great idea.


It was late afternoon, though within the Colony Ship of Promethea One the climate and temperature remained largely static and there was no sunset to be seen, only a gradual dimming of the artificial sky created by the interior of the domed roof that gave the colony an identifiable day and night. Taking advantage of the perennial pleasant warmth Mercy had found herself laid on her chest on the small and pristine lawn located outside of one of the many campuses of the colonies' college whilst beside her Marigold sat on a blanket she had brought and read a textbook pertaining to her own area of study, occasionally taking notes as she did so. Mercy had been been unable to enrol properly as a student of the university and was frankly thankful of the delay despite her commitment to do so as it gave her more time to consider her options and decide what she wanted to major in and devote her time to, in the meantime however she had been given several assignments to work on that would help her application when the university next began accepting incoming students.

"Had another chance to look through the prospectus?" Marigold asked as she glanced down at Mercy, having taken the younger girl who carried the weight of incredible responsibilities on her shoulders under her wing and feeling an odd sense of protectiveness over her like an older sibling.

"Yeah but a lot of it is just words that don't mean a lot" the Red Ranger admitted, bushing her curls away from her eyes as she glanced up "We'll have got through things when you're not busy with your own work….what're you working on by the way?"

"I study psychology and sociology" Marigold explained with a bright smile at the idea of being able to share her enthusiasm for the subject

"So it's gonna be you I have to have debriefings with after every deployment one day soon?" Mercy chuckled as she set her own work aside for a moment and rolled onto her back, earning herself a playful swat as the older girl continued

"Humanity has changed massively in a generation and people really need to pay more attention to that fact and the changes it has on peoples' mental states" Mari stated, becoming more serious for a moment "The first Colony Ship left Earth less than thirty years ago, forty years ago humanity thought it was alone in the galaxy and now we're part of an interplanetary community with tens of thousands of children who were born in space and whose nationality is tied to a man-made colony….add that to the amount of children who've been raised with no real concept of peace time….it feels like we're building up to something"

"Another Algolia Separatist Movement?" Mercy asked tentatively; when the Colony Ship Leslie, one of the first to leave Earth that had not been forged entirely at the hands of Lightspeed and Promethea had landed a small and habitable world far from humanities' birthplace that had quickly and predictably been a faction within the colonists who wanted to break away from Earths' authority and form their own fiefdom; what had resulted was a dark stain on the histories of both Earth and Leslie Outpost.

"Hopefully nothing that drastic….never again" Mari breathed out "My hypothesis is that those of us born on colonies or exploration ships will eventually become a distinct culture entirely separate from Earth even if we stay under the same banner….Actually your friend Panthera would be an interesting case study"

"I kinda doubt she'd be willingly helpful" Mercy admitted with a grin "But it's cool that you're thinking about stuff like this and that Lightspeed is paying your tuition"

"Well I am an army brat" Marigold noted, before giving a playful smirk as she added "And one of the best shots that my drill instructor ever saw" to highlight the point Marigold took the bottle of water beside her and drained the last of its' contents before throwing it over a crowd of students loitering nearby and into a trash-can behind them where it landed with a thud.

"You should see what I can do with a pack of Skittles" she added, seeing Mercy's shocked expression; despite the fact the slender Asian girl had notable muscle definition with her biceps bulging against the sleeves of the white blouse she currently wore the Red Ranger had almost entirely forgotten that Marigold had been military training comparable to her own, largely due to the older girls' demeanour and mannerisms.

"So what's Leslie Outpost like if they've gotta teach you to shoot like that?" she found herself asking

"It's the most beautiful place in the Alliance" Marigold answered matter of factly "My parents are both originally from Japan and they say it reminds them of Honshu, the sky is bright pink and you wont' find mountains like ours anywhere else, or flowers" she gestured to the golden flower she wore in her hair

"Sounds nice" Mercy smiled

"It is as long as you stay inside the domes" Mari nodded "There's a reason that Leslie Outpost never expanded out enough to colonise the whole planet and only has a few interconnected cities….the atmosphere might be breathable but the wildlife is some of the most dangerous in the galaxy"

"I think Aslaug and Rensa might beg to differ" Mercy noted

"They haven't seen a Leslian locust-monkey, or a Deadite Tree, strangler vines or a Paleo-Raptor….or, God help anyone who steps out of the domes if there's a Gold Winged-Lion on the prowl"

"Winged lion?" Mercy mouthed in disbelief

"Exactly what it sounds like Marigold assured her "Except a lot bigger than you're thinking and they have a stinger….So like a manticore I guess?"

"That's terrifying….but at the same time awesome" Mercy laughed "I bet the bedtime stories you get over there are insane"

"Oh they are"

"We'd love to hear them sometime" the low and guttural voice was one that immediately brought a smile to Mercy's face

"Hey!" she exclaimed happily, holding her arms out as Aslaug's shadow fell over her; gesturing for her girlfriend to make herself comfortable. The Yellow Ranger sat on the grass and Mercy quickly made herself comfortable resting her head on her powerful thighs.

"I'm finished training the cadets at the base and I was wondering when you were going to be able relax….we don't get enough time to do so lately" Aslaug noted quietly

"Yeah" Mercy sighed "I'm just dealing with college stuff"

"Don't let your work consume you entirely" Aslaug murmured and there was something in her voice that Mercy couldn't help but notice, not jealousy that she was spending her free time elsewhere but a simple longing and the Red Ranger leaned up to kiss the muscular girls' lips, arms snaking around her shoulders as she leaned close and whispered into Aslaug's ear

"Y'know I think the others are all busy tonight, we'll have the apartment to ourselves so we can relax together"

"Okay I think I'm done for the day" Marigold stated firmly as she hastily bagged her books and rose to her feet, pointedly looking away from Mercy whose cheeks had coloured at the realisation that the older girl had heard her

"Yeah okay" Mercy managed to choke out "We'll go over the prospectus another time" she added, calling after Marigold's retreating back before burying her face in Aslaug's neck and letting out a wordless groan of mortified embarrassment at the situation whilst Aslaug for her part couldn't help but look more than a little pleased with the situation as she nuzzled into her.


Paradoxa had made swift and decisive preparations and was now on the verge of putting her plans into action. Lord Zedd had left aboard a ship named the Juggernaut and taken Gibil with him, leaving the insectoid Hybrid to follow his commands and unaware that she had been plotting the most effective way to twist them to her own ends; now she sat in her ornate throne aboard the Command Bridge of the grounded Heliothis and regarded the Captain of one of her ships, a lightly armoured but reliable vessel named the 'Predator' whilst said captains' first mate waited just outside.

"In his absence I am once again left to execute Lord Zedd's will and command the Vanguard Fleet" she began, keeping her face neutral as she spoke "And our Lord instructed that the Alliance's attention be kept elsewhere by whatever means I deem suitable….with that in mind I will be giving command of our next operation to you, as I believe the nature of it is suited to your skills"

"You honour us Lady Paradoxa, the Cult of the Eternal Devourer will be victorious in our Lords' name" The voice that answered Paradoxa was low and smokey yet distinctly feminine with an oddly synthetic edge to it, more strikingly however was the fact that said voice was heard entirely in Paradoxa's own mind as the speaker communicated psychically. The speaker was named Jin-Zhao and was a fellow Acheron hybrid though of notably different stock to the insectoid commander of the Vanguard Fleet; moreover whilst Paradoxa was nominally the more senior and respected officer Jin-Zhao was the High Priestess of Fleets' sect of her cult and with their growing influence a day where Jin-Zhao challenged Paradoxa for her position was not hard to imagine. Furthermore she was a distinctly imposing figure, standing at a little over seven feet tall and clad in a ragged tunic which had been stained and dyed a deep bloody crimson, draped over a physique which whilst undeniably feminine still boasted an incredible amount of dense and powerful muscle with coiled and shifted beneath her flesh with each movement.

Jin-Zhao stood on two thick legs which ended in three toed claws, each tipped with a wicked talon and her flesh was covered by glistening armoured scales which were an iridescent and shimmering black and decorated with horizontal stripes of a milky white colour; her shoulders were broad and each arm was as large as a mans' chest, her fists encased in spiked and clawed gauntlets wrapped in yet more symbolic red cloth. Her head resembled one of Earths' big cats, with in addition to her stripes gave the vague impression of a tiger, though she sported a pair of curling, ram-like horns which looped around her ears, a long mane of stark white hair interspersed with bone spikes flowing behind her and three electric blue eyes arranged in a triangle with the third being positioned on her forehead; her lower jaw and neck were a bulging mass of muscle and flesh with a vertical slit running down them, the only hint of the deadly weapon that Paradoxa knew her to be concealing.

"I have no doubt of your commitment to the cause" Paradoxa allowed herself a small smile "The mission I have in mind for you is a simple one. The Alliance has recently had another of the Colony Ships settle a world that they refer to as 'Prosperity' a largely human and Xybrian affair with contributions from other species"

"And if the Alliance has landed there than it means there are resources for the taking" Jin-Zhao's voiced reverberated in Paradoxa's skull, an unmistakably pleased edge to it

"You see the importance" the insectoid noted "My scouting party informs me that the colony ship is lightly protected; they've had no time to truly fortify or prepare orbital defences, there are few ships accompanying the colony, only what escorted it to the world….yet vast shipments make their way to the world already and the colony itself must have great resources if it was intended to set up an entirely new population"

"Where would you see our efforts focused?" Jin-Zhao asked "The Predator lacks the capacity to take all of the spoils from this victory"

"Weapons and fuel" Paradoxa answered calmly" Cripple their ability to fight, either the Alliance will be drawn into a protracted conflict on Prosperity as their vanity forces them to protect their latest trophy or we can simply use the assets we take elsewhere; it will be for Lord Zedd to decide upon his return" Jin-Zhao let out a low, rumbling purr at the thought before her psychic voice intruded on Paradoxa's thoughts once again.

"It will be as it should be, their skies shall darken as we fall upon them and they shall know that the Great Devourer's wrath has visited them; they shall be broken and consumed entirely. The Acheron way shall prevail"

"Precisely" Paradoxa said simply, fighting the urge to roll her eyes at her fellow hybrids' fanaticism "Now go, ready your followers"

"As you command" Jin-Zhao bowed her head respectfully and stalked away, her talons clacking against the surface of the command bridges' floor; as the hybrid left Paradoxa caught a glimpse of her first mate waiting dutifully, another hybrid who used the title of Arch-Apostle rather than their military rank or any titles they had earned whilst rising to prominence upon their home-world; something which Paradoxa struggled to understand, the idea of a subservient Acheron hybrid with no desire for power was anathema to her.

It mattered little however, her plans were now in motion and it was now simply a matter of ensuring that her victories went as intended.

Everything that Paradoxa hold told Jin-Zhao about the Alliances' new Colony Ship and its' lack of defences was correct, but that was far from the entirety of the situation; the ship that had located the irresistible target was in fact not a scout vessel, rather it was a vast cargo ship that was currently waiting cloaked in the vicinity of the colony for Jin-Zhao's arrival. To Paradoxa it seemed obvious that the Power Rangers would respond to this attack and that Jin-Zhao would fall, not content to simply remove a potential threat to her authority the insectoid hybrid would also remotely be taking command of the cargo ship and emptying the Predators' hold when the mission inevitably failed, before crippling the smaller vessel.

In a single ploy Paradoxa intended to deal a crushing blow to the only Alliance outpost on an otherwise untouched and resource heavy world, remove the entirety of the Cult of the Eternal Devourer thus depriving Lord Zedd of his most loyal followers within the Vanguard Fleet and acquire a stockpile of supplies for the inevitable conflict that would mark the beginning of her own ascension to supreme power.

Plans within plans, Paradoxa had learned well.


Artificial night had fallen over the city within Promethea One, though it had done little to curb Panthera's relentless activity. The Pink Ranger had become a well known figure within the spacefaring community, well liked and instantly recognisable as she seemed to be able to acquire most goods that were scarce on the colony and had steadily been establishing herself as a trader of all things, dealing in rare trinkets, luxuries and commodities from a series of bars and garages around the city and taking any currency that her customers happened to have, being raised within the Smugglers Guild and spending much of her life in space meant that she had uses for more currencies than the limited scope of what was accepted on Promethea One.

She would be damned if she let something as simple as Corcus being an unrelenting taskmaster bring her to a halt.

The Pink Ranger had spent the day, blessedly free of the Aquitian Blademaster, hard at work as she flitted from one location to the next; considerable sums of money changing hands to ensure that she left the colonies' ports with several crates and packages whose contents had mysteriously failed to be searched which were in turn turn transported around the city to their various recipients; a task made all the more tedious and difficult by the fact that Panthera's bike, an Earth-made vintage motorcycle complete with several modifications and upgrades of alien origin and dubious legality was currently in need of repairs, one of its' internal components making a suspiciously unsettling rattling noise.

Currently however her bike was far from Panthera's mind as she reclined in a moderately comfortable seat in a back corner of a dimly lit bar whose smoke filled atmosphere obscured what little could be seen; exactly the kind of place that the Pink Ranger was accustomed to doing business

"Your friend is late" a melodic voice from beside her caught her attention and she rolled her eyes as she answered

"That's the third time today you've pointed that our….I swear if you start asking 'Are we there yet' I will glue you to the outside of the colony"

"Sorry" Kay managed to sound utterly unconvincing and as Panthera glanced towards them she saw that the Green Ranger had their eyes on her once again; Panthera was unsure exactly what Kay was staring at as, whilst she was confident enough in her own appearance to know that she had very attractive curves they were currently lost beneath a baggy hoodie she had worn for the purpose of concealing her identity if the need arose, there were after all very few people within Promethea one with teal skin and purple hair. Kay themselves managed to look oddly dainty in an outfit of various pastel colours and freshly painted nails which had been chipped only slightly in the process of helping Paradoxa all day; the Pink Ranger noted that the word she was looking for was 'pretty' before promptly bringing that train of thought grinding to a halt. She and Kay had settled into something of a friendship and understanding since the Green Ranger had begun living with the rest of the team, though thinks were still undeniably shaky between them and most conversations that ventured beyond the mundane had the distinct feeling of walking on eggshells.

"Any sign of Jones?" she asked, turning her focus to something more productive and referring to the next customer she intended to meet.

"It would help if I knew who Jones was or what they looked like….I didn't realise we were still working" Kay replied.

"What did you think we were doing?" Panthera demanded incredulously.

"Hanging out?" Kay suggested tentatively "Since there's no theme-parks to sneak into here I thought this was just your way of having fun"

"Okay first of all shut up" Panthera huffed "Second of all, don't question my ability to party. It will end badly for you"

"That could almost be taken as an offer….if I squinted and was really, really hopeful" Kay shot back, amused and cheeky grin now firmly in place as they leaned forward, inhuman eyes with their vibrant magenta irises set against black sclera focused on Panthera who struggled to find a suitably playful yet scathing retort.

Until the sound of the last dregs of a drink being sucked though a straw caught both of their attention

"How long have you been standing there?" Panthera demanded as Rensa stepped through the haze of smoke and took an empty seat at their table

"Long enough" the Black Ranger noted quietly, though both Panthera and Kay could hear the quiet amusement in his voice; Rensa was as gaunt and pallid as ever with his eyes hidden beneath their filter goggles although his jet black hair with its' chemically bleached greenish tips had been tied back to give the younger teen a less sinister appearance.

"Jones isn't coming by the way" Rensa added, stealing Panthera's drink from under her nose "There was a shoplifter where they work….I handed them over to the police but he's still having to answer questions"

"You truly are the hero the city needs" Panthera chuckled, though despite her tone she couldn't help but be proud of the youngest Ranger whom the others considered a younger sibling; his commitment to helping those in need was commendable, the Black Ranger continued to prowl the streets of the city and fight any petty crime he encountered as well as spending much of his free time helping local charities.

"I'll have to join you on one of your patrols sometime" Kay gave a smirk "Perhaps it'll be more fun than whatever Panthera has planned"

"Ass-hole" the Pink Ranger answered bluntly, much to Rensa and Kay's amusement.

The Black, Pink and Green Rangers were likely closest with each other; whilst each of them considered Mercy, Tempestus and Aslaug to be good friends the simple fact of the matter was that the Star-born Felidae orphan who had never visited her peoples' home-world or been raised within Felixian culture, the native of Dread who wasn't even entirely sure of his heritage and had been raised amidst a nightmarish battle for survival and the Dark Empire's rogue weapon who was both human and Acheron understood each other in the way that only lost children could.

All joking and conversation was brought to a halt by the sound of all three of their communicators bleeping in unison.

"Time for us to be the heroes the people need" Rensa murmured, his tone becoming serious. Panthera and Kay nodded and the three of them rose to their feet; though privately Rensa was almost glad of the distraction.

Being the third wheel to Panthera and Kay as they danced around each other was an experience that soon grew tiring.


Mercy and Aslaug had found their promised privacy, with Tempestus spending the evening with his parents and the other Rangers elsewhere in the city the two of them had the sizeable living quarters that the six of them shared to themselves save for Klo, Aslaug's alien war-hound currently curled up in the Yellow Ranger's room enjoying a large hunk of meat.

The two of them were taking full advantage of the opportunity that the privacy presented, as was evidenced by the gasping, whimpering moan of pleasure that escaped Mercy's lips.

Things had started innocently enough, Mercy having massaged Aslaug's tense and aching shoulders as the two of them watched a movie on the sofa before planting a series of kisses along the larger girls' muscular back and shoulder; Aslaug had responded by turning over, intending to kiss Mercy's lips only for the movement to send them both toppling off of the sofa. They had landed with Aslaug on top of the Red Ranger and from the moment Mercy had leaned up to kiss her things had rapidly become heated.

Mercy's legs were now wrapped around Aslaug's waist and locked behind the taller girls' back as she writhing and undulated her hips, thrusting upwards as she sought greater friction; the baggy t-shirt she had been wearing as the two of them relaxed has fallen away from one shoulder leaving it exposed to Aslaug as the Yellow Ranger kissed and bit along her neck, shoulder and collarbones whilst Mercy's hands slipped below her tank-top, nails running down her back until the Red Ranger managed to form enough coherent thoughts to push Aslaug back and take charge of the situation, slowly lifting her girlfriends' tank-top and trailing kisses upwards from her solid and defined abs.

And then their communicators began to sound.

"NO!" Mercy groaned, equal parts anger and disbelief "ARE YOU KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW!" with that she flopped back onto the living room floor whilst Aslaug let out a wordless groan of utter frustration and the two of them silently glared at their respective communicators for a moment until the chirping which seemed to grow more insistently angry could be ignored no longer.

"Mercy here, what's the situation?" the Red Ranger asked, hoping she didn't sound as breathless and flustered as she truly was.

"We need you in the Command Centre immediately" Kimberley Hart's voice informed her, Mercy let out a hissed curse before turning back to her communicator

"Okay, we need a minute" she hoped that the request went unquestioned by Mission Control

"You've got twenty seconds" Kimberley informed her; Mercy ended the communication and she and Aslaug locked eyes for a brief second before quickly readjusting their ruffled clothing, with Aslaug being in the process of tying her dusty blonde hair back into its' customary wolf-tail as specks of golden yellow and cherry red light began to flicker into existence around the two of them before their teleportation streams manifested in twin streams of light.

"Good you're all here" Kimberley's voice greeted Mercy and Aslaug the moment they materialised inside the Command Centre, the two of them turned to face Mission Control and any thoughts of them being ridiculed or questioned about their flushed and dishevelled state were quickly pushed from their minds as the severity of the situation became apparent.

Since receiving his grievous injuries at the hands of Lord Zedd Zebidiah's body had been entombed into a the base of a tube based on that which had once projected Zordon's consciousness with the key difference that it allowed the sorcerer to manifest himself in one of three locations; within a private wing of the Lightspeed bases' medical facilities where his body lay, a second tube in his private quarters connected to a series of Alpha droids to manipulate the countless ancient texts and arcane relics he had accrued whilst the third and final tube had been installed into the Command Centre so that he could take part in Mission Control. Currently an image of Zebidiah could be seen hovering within this tube whilst Kimberley, Billy and the rest of Aegis Rangers were assembled in front of it.

"We received word from Prosperity….a Colony Ship that made planet-fall on a habitable world within the last six months; a Dark Empire light cruiser dropped out of warp travel and quickly engaged cloaking before deploying a landing party" Billy explained, stepping forwards to take charge of the situation "On screen please"

At his command the central sphere of the Command Centre came online and began using the various camera feeds and schematics of the Colony Ship to swiftly create an image of the attack; something about the make up of the enemy forces immediately became apparent

"They're not using Putties" Kimberley noted, face wrinkling in confusion as she studied the tactics that the Dark Empire's heavily armed ground troops were employing in this deviation from the norm.

"Security forces on the ground report that Dark Empire infantry are operating like strike teams and attacking strategic locations, this seems to be a raiding party" Billy explained as he began collating information "This is the monster leading the attack, a truly atrocious beast" the hard-light viewing globe shifted again and displayed a new image, this being of a lone warrior

"An Ichorian hybrid" Zebidiah noted distastefully "And a devotee of the Cult of the Eternal Devourer….expect a dangerous opponent Rangers" the monster in question was an almost skeletal husk of a thing, rubbery grey skin stretched over an emaciated frame, littered with patches of thick, fibrous black hair like that of a fly. They balanced in a squatting position rather than standing upright, on feet that appeared more like hands with long and spindly digits splayed wide; the things hips and torso seemed to connected by a spine covered in a thin layer of flesh and its' body sagged forwards' under its' own weight with the hunched posture exaggerated by the limpness of the monsters' arms; six limbs which were each longer than the monster was tall and seemed to be entirely boneless, writhing things whose undersides were lined with rows of suction cups giving them the appearance of a squids' tentacles save for the fact that each ended in a dessicated hand. The monsters head was vaguely egg-shaped and smooth, having an almost streamlined appearance as it angled backwards and large, elliptical eyes of a watery black and slits for nostrils which resembled the grey creatures which humanity had once imagined when it thought of aliens and its' mouth was filled with rows of needle like teeth. The Monsters' thighs and torso were encased in a lightweight black armour of some glossy material over which a torn and ragged robe had been draped, a hood pulled low over its' face; whatever colour it had originally been lost entirely to the crimson stains that now covered it.

"What's the plan?" Mercy demanded, her mind immediately focused on the task at hand.

"Colony Ships 'New Angel Grove' and 'Mochizuki Chiyome' are already scrambling forces" Kimberley assured her "Our ships need to time to get into the system and locate the Dark Empire ship but this isn't like Anvil Six, we can teleport ground troops in directly for reinforcements"

"Depending on the capabilities of Empire ground forces it's conceivable that you may need to assist Silver Guardian squads, but your highest priority is their leader" Billy added

"Don't worry about it" Mercy's eyes seemed to shine and there was steel in her voice "We'll take care of Squid-Worse and then help sweep up the rest"

"Squid-Worse?" Billy raised an eyebrow

"Don't ask" Zebidiah sighed "She's picked up some bad habits" despite the brief levity of the situation the six Rangers shared a glance and Mercy nodded as she gave the order that was now second nature to her.

"It's Morphin' Time!"

Authors Notes:

First of all this story has now hit 50,000 views on FF Net so I want to thank everyone who had read and re-read what I've written so far and I only hope I can continue to provide quality Sci-Fi.
And now we've started off the eighth arc of the story, I honestly thought that I might take a break this week after not sleeping for a couple nights in a row; but honestly with everything that's going on in the world with regards to the Coronavirus I felt it would be selfish of me to take the time off.
I'm a writer, this is what I do and if people are going to be confined to their homes for weeks at a time then the least I can do is continue to create content so that hopefully the days go a little quicker.
Arc 08 is titled 'Identity' and the various chapters will take their titles from various sociological terms, in this case 'Generative Actor' which is defined as: "An instigator of social change. He or she promotes cultural change by defying cultural normatives"….Which applies to characters such as Tempestus and Paradoxa.

With all of that being said, let's summarise shall we?
I'm hoping that the differences in Lord Zedd and Paradoxa's leadership are showing, mainly Paradoxa wants to be revered and worshipped; Lord Zedd is slowly replacing all of her subjects.
The Cult of the EternalDevourer…..Just because I wanted to give the villains more of a culture that they belong to, the Acheron impulse to consume and assimilate taken to an extreme or manifesting as a cult or religion just seemed to work and Lord Zedd having a cult that see him as a Messiah makes sense.
Okay I don't know why but the idea of Paradoxa being able to ultrasonic vibrate and shake off all the dust and muck that accumulates just amuses me.
The whole, newer bigger Teleportation Gate won't be important this Arc….next Arc however.
Also yes I'm taking care to make it clear that Lord Zedd's power does have limits, he can't just do whatever because he's the big-bad.
Okay, so Paradoxa's suspicions aren't exactly stupid but at the same time; if Lord Zedd wanted her dead she'd be dead, a lot of this is just her projecting her own treasonous thoughts onto him.
Corcus is an absolute beast of a Drill Sargent and you will learn to hate him, but more importantly you will LEARN.
Its' interesting to think of all the reasons that the Rangers would feel like Corcus might single them out, the things that they're low-key self conscious about.
In my head Corcus has the vibe of a stereotypical old Samurai or master martial artist training an appreciate which is why "Even if it seems certain that you will lose, retaliate", "If a warrior is not unattached from life and death he will be of no use whatsoever", "Victory and defeat are matters of the temporary force of circumstances", "Common sense will not accomplish great things, simply become insane and desperate", "Imitating another style is simply a sham" and "It is spiritless to think that you cannot attain to that which you have seen and heard the masters attain. The masters are men, you are also a man; if you think that you will be inferior in doing something, you will be on that road very soon" are all quotes from the Hagakure, written by Yamamoto Tsunetomo.
I've always tried to portray that Aquitian society is more collectivist and rigidly dedicated to hierarchy, with an emphasis on duty, tradition and unity; Corcus is a particularly strident and conservative example of that.
Poor Tempestus, nobody wants to get packed in in front of their Dad.
"Aquitar is built on its' learning and invention; if Corcus wants to see a society built on violence I suggest he takes a long hard look at the Dark Empire" that is Billy just handing out facts and shade.
The father and son relationship between Billy and Tempestus is fun to write.
I haven't actually decided what Mercy would go to college for, but I want her to move forwards with her life.
I know that Marigold was a straight up cop in Dekaranger but obviously I needed to differentiate her here for the sake of the story and also, the ideas that she mentioned are ones that are interesting to me from a Sci-Fi perspective.
Algolia Separatist Movement, shout out to the people who got that reference.
Mari being a crack shot is a nod to her using those two handguns in Dekaranger (Not that she ever got to use them).
Honshu….so Google where Mt. Fuji is and think that but spacey.
Deadite Tree…..You get it, you know you get it.
40k fans, imagine Leslie being like a Tokyo-esque, Vapour-wave aesthetic city in a dome with the Jungles of Catachan outside.
Also….What if I told you that the whole conversation about Leslie Outpost is actually foreshadowing that will be paid off later on.
You didn't really think I was gonna have Aslaug get jealous and stuff did you? 'cos...eww.
Mercy and Aslaug are definitely 'That' couple in public….press F for Marigold.
Now I'm sure there's at least one Furry reading this who saw the way I described Jin-Zhao and thinks that she's oddly hot, I'm not judging you I promise but all I'm saying is wait until you see her tongue.
Its' fun to get back to sneaky and tactical Paradoxa, she started of by abandoning her commanding officer to die, taking control of the fleet and then killing the Gold Ranger in her first engagement; she's a lot more than a lackey.
Jin-Zhao's second in command that Paradoxa saw in the background is the guy who the Rangers and Mission Control saw attacking.
Plans within plans, they can't stop everything.
I want to stress that Panthera is not any kind of drugs or arms dealer….She's more like Del-Boy, for anyone here who's watched "Only Fools and Horses".
The teasing and banter between Panthera and Kay was fun to write….as was the fact that Kay can't keep their eyes off her and she thinks they're pretty.
"That could almost be taken as an offer….if I squinted and was really, really hopeful" you slick mother fucker.
Rensa just showing up loudly sipping his drink was iconic and you know it.
I like the idea that Panthera, Rensa and Kay will slowly become a team within the team, not because they dislike Mercy, Tempestus and Aslaug but because they understand each other in a way that the others can't.
"Being the third wheel to Panthera and Kay as they danced around each other was an experience that soon grew tiring" Mood.
I'm going to keep this story away from a hard Mature rating as much as possible (Although the idea that making out is somehow more explicit than someone having their skull crushed on screen is ludicrous to anyone who isn't an actual Victorian) but at the same time, the relationship between Mercy and Aslaug progressing in that direction is entirely expected.
That being said, anybody who has read my RWBY stories knows how much I enjoy the trope of my heroes being cock-blocked in the most extreme way….Mercy, Aslaug, welcome to the club.
The specifics of Zebidiah's new Zordon tubes felt like they were rushed and slipped in but there were other things to cover, that being said I felt it was still pretty clear.
No Putties, the Alliance and Empire are both gonna be using actual soldiers which makes things a lot more interesting.
Ichorian, from Ichor….a word that always makes me think of Squids, probably because of the Beast Wars Second character.
The monster is based on a few different things, a giant Squid, the Amygdala from Bloodborne, the old-school Grey aliens and Ebony Maw from Avengers.
'New Angel Grove' is the Colony Ship that Mercy's old Cadet group are on, Google who 'Mochizuki Chiyome' was.
Squid-Worse….Nope, not sorry; not even a little.

Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.
Billy's gonna be around for at least the rest of the second arc, don't worry about that.
I honestly forgot Cestro and Cestria were brother and sister.
Zedd and Paradoxa's scenes are fun because they're both blinded by arrogant pride in different ways and that leads to some fun interactions.

As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review.