The lights in the Triforian ship were bright, something that had been a bit unnerving to the Rangers of Earth, especially those that lacked experience in space. Something about it made the whole place seen too futuristic, too sci-fi. Rocky had gotten used to it, mostly because he'd been recovering in the same room for most of his time on board. Now, as he walked down a long hallway towards an auditorium it felt a little strange all over again.
Fortunately, any uneasiness was quashed when he entered the room. King Trey of Triforia himself was at a podium, speaking with his different aides and planning his presentation. Milling about were all the surviving Power Rangers. Trey had a battle plan, and it required the combined might of the Triforian military alongside the Power Rangers. It was daring to think of such a thing, but in this time of darkness, uncertinty, and fear, it sure was nice to see his brothers and sisters in arms in one place. It reminded him that even if it wouldn't be easy, they could do this.
"Rocky!" Wes Collins, the Red Time Force Ranger greeted him as he entered the room. He placed a gently hand on his back. "I'm glad you're alright."
Rocky tried to think of a joke like he was known for. Something, anything witty and clever. He could have even settled for a simple thank you. He opened his mouth and came up short though. Wes nodded in understanding.
"I'm sorry about Aisha," Wes said somberly. "What they did was horrible. Unspeakable."
"I have to… I need to put it aside for now," Rocky said as he shook his head. "Let me get our home back, so I can break down there."
Sad logic, but Wes understood. He gave a solemn nod as Rocky went to join his Zeo teammates.
"Hey," Wes called over to him as he left, causing Rocky to stop and look at him. "We missed you on the moon."
Rocky finally flashed his famous smile. "Right there with you this time."
The Blue Zeo Ranger made his way to his team, sliding into an open seat next to Adam. Behind their group of five sat the remnants of the original team. He looked over his shoulder to see Jason flexing and experimenting with his new robotic arm, and Kimberly watching it intently. The lights slightly dimming made him turn back to the front, where Trey was now standing alone on stage. Time to get started.
"Thank you all for making it," Trey began his talk. "To those I haven't been able to speak with, I hope your stay on our command ship has been acceptable, given the circumstances. Though you are welcome to stay among my people at any point, the time has come to reclaim our homes."
A small murmur and cheer went through the crowd. Jason looked over to Zack, who was on the opposite side of Kimberly and Trini from him. Zack returned the glance approvingly.
"Aquitar has invaded many planets with their new army, fashioned from Lord Zedd's personal warzord. Though the serpents are mighty, the greatest threat remains Serpentera itself," Trey explained, as a visual of the gigantic Zord displayed on the screen behind him. "Because they have taken Serpentera to Earth, that is the battlefield they have chosen."
"These serpents are one thing, but no one's actually beaten Serpentera before," Justin said from where he was seated near Ashley, Carlos, and Cassie.
"Correct," Trey acknowledged the only pure Turbo Ranger's point. "Serpentera's one weakness was that Lord Zedd never found a sufficient power source for it, and it could not battle for long. Aquitar has solved that problem with a relic known as the Crystal of Darkness. They obtained it in the depths of the M51 galaxy, and it powers not just Serpentera, but the entire fleet."
"M51…" Kat whispered to Tommy, who sat beside her. Of course she recognized that horrible place. "Vile?"
"Looks like it," Tommy admitted. It had been a topic of heavy conversation the past few days between the small planning group.
"Our target, therefore, is the Crystal of Darkness itself," Trey stated. "By engaging the fleet, including Serpentera in direct combat, they will be unable to retreat when the crystal is destroyed mid battle."
There was a mild commotion in the room, between the Rangers and the Triforian fighters. From where she was seated with the Space Rangers and Justin, Ashley rubbed her forehead. She was really hoping there was a plan more elegant than "charge suddenly and violently at Serpentera."
"It isn't ideal, but none of this is," Trey admitted, taking control of the room once more. "We are not a legendary army, and we are not an unstoppable force of good. We are merely all that is left. In an ideal world, we never would need this conversation in the first place. But this is a true war, and we will do what it takes. And we will win."
The room quieted down slightly and listened to his words.
"Regardless, the legwork to prepare for this assault has been in motion the past several days," Trey continued. "I have just received word that a raid on the Power Chamber was successful. Tommy, your team should have no more hindrances to your powers."
"That's great," Adam said in genuine relief, but also confusion. "Who could make it in there, though, with the Aquitar Rangers wanting to protect it so much?"
"A question for later," Trey quickly said, moving on from that subject. "It's not at full strength, but we do have a surviving Zord fleet maintained by Ninjor. With the Zords attacking on ground, and the Triforian fleet attacking in space, we will divide their forces."
Trini nodded. This was making a little more sense. Jason and Kimberly were silently glancing at each other already, nearly reading each others thoughts. Trey had been suspiciously dismissive, which meant they both wanted to know why. They would work on that later.
"Serpentera will move to engage this home ship with the Serpent fleet. We must defend it. Not only is it our greatest firepower, but our civilians have nowhere else to go," Trey told everyone. "As for Serpentera, it will need to be attacked head on and distracted. Our very best ships will have to engage it, and survive until the crystal is disabled. From there we can breech its armor, enter it, and destroy its core from within."
Kat leaned over to Tanya, starting to doubt this more and more. "What kind of adrenaline junkie, testosterone fueled dumbass do these guys have that thinks he can fly inside a warzord while it's moving… assuming he can survive long enough to?"
Tanya quickly nodded. "Some special kind of cra-"
"Tommy," Trey said, looking to the legendary Ranger. "Is the Falconzord ready?"
Kat snapped her head to look at Tommy so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash. Tommy could only look sheepishly at her, having listened to her previous comments.
"Sorry, baby," Tommy smiled, then turned his attention back to Trey. "The Falconzord is set, but as far as wingmen I haven't found any ships that can keep up with what we're expecting."
Kat paused, took a deep breath, and never looked back. "You're saying the Crane and I can't?"
This time Tommy almost hurt his own neck turning back to her so fast, but then hesitated as he chose the right words. "…It's going to be rough."
Kat looked to Trey, needing no more input from her boyfriend. "I'm in. The Crane can keep up just fine."
"So can the Astro Megaship!" Andros's voice called from the back of the room.
The whole room turned to see Andros, TJ, Zhane, and Karone entering, smiles on their faces at having escaped the jaws of death. Ashley and the rest of the Space team were on their feet in an instant, rushing to greet them.
"We thought we lost you all," Ashley said as she hugged Andros tightly.
"You almost did," TJ admitted, hugging Cassie and giving Carlos a quick fistbump.
"I'm sorry," Andros said to Ashley, but knew they had to stay on task for a minute. He looked back to Trey. "I'll fly alongside Tommy."
"You'll need a full Ranger team to crew the ship if you want to do that," Cassie reminded him. She knew a bigger vessel like the Megaship would need a lot larger crew than a traditional Zord
"I can't ask you to get into this," Andros told his whole team quickly, shaking his head. He'd fly alone if need be.
"You don't have to," Carlos quickly said. "We're all in."
Andros nodded to Tommy, who returned the gesture. Tommy then turned back to Trey.
"That makes a team," the Zeo leader said with a smile.
Trey could only grin at the interaction. They were going to need the Rangers' legendary camaraderie to make this work. He knew he had to continue with the plan, though.
"The remaining Zords, and available Megazord configurations will engage on land, within the city," Trey continued. "Galaxy, Lightspeed, Wild Force, and our lone Turbo Ranger will man our Zord fleet. We have skilled Zord operators that perform maintenance and assist with the running of my personal Zord, Pyramidis. They will be able to fill any empty seats. Meanwhile all the ground forces we can spare will land to engage the Aquitian foot soldiers. Rocky, Tanya, and Adam… you will be needed to help them. Karone… your battlefield knowledge will be essential on the command ship while I guide the starfleet."
The three Zeo Rangers not sentenced to dance around the mouth of death fist bumped each other. Karone nodded with crossed arms and a smile. Being a Ranger had been nice, but she was thrilled to use her command knowledge for good.
"Lastly…" Trey said, his eyes falling on the four Rangers without their purpose spoken aloud yet. "Jason, Zack, Trini, and Kimberly. Your goal is to find the Crystal of Darkness, and destroy it."
Jason nodded. His team knew this already, and he had done some plotting with Trini as he recovered from his injury.
"There's only two places Aquitar would dare keep it," Jason announced. "If it's not on their command ship, it'll be in the underground heart of NASADA. We'll find it."
"The mission depends on it," Trey felt the need to remind him.
The original Rangers were silent, and no one pressed them further. They knew the stakes better than anyone.
"Then let us get to our stations, and reclaim what is ours," Trey announced, satisfied with the plan.
The Rangers and Triforian military got up and began to move around, mingling and worrying about the little details in smaller groups. The Zord teams began to divide their workload, assigning Rangers and techs as needed. The three grounded Zeo Rangers were quick to meet the officers of the ground troops they would be assisting, learning the structure they would be entering as fast as they could. The assault force on Serpentera was quick to begin a conversation among themselves, involving the flight commanders that would be leading the battles on the serpents. And of course, the final four original Rangers began a private conversation of their own. As Karone approached the platform to discuss her role in this war, Trey could only offer some final encouraging words to the reclaimers of Earth.
"And may the power protect us."