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Chapter 59 – A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
The task of overseeing the arrival of the seemingly endless stream of refugees from the few city-states on the planet of Harrow Four into the alliance-controlled jungle, a vast expanse of plant matter that consumed the detritus of waste of the cities around it and not only cataloguing the resources that those refugees brought with them but also ensuring that it was fit for purpose, be that purpose to escape, retaliate or simply survive was a truly Herculean ordeal yet Tempestus and Marigold persisted and continued onwards without complaint; the Blue and Gold Aegis Rangers making light of the task through conversation that had quickly found its' way towards a topic that adolescents of countless species across the galaxy were familiar with.
How 'cute' people around them were
"What do you think….your type maybe?" Marigold murmured, playfully nudging Tempestus to get his attention as he attempted to rewire the faulty propulsion system of an anti-gravity sled whilst she held a sheet to keep the rain at bay before indicating to a resistance fighter that had arrived on the same transport as them; purple-skinned yet largely humanoid save for a row of ivory spines in places of hair and the fact that she had four eyes.
"Why are you doing this?" Tempestus groaned, though the smile that tugged at his lips indicated that their was no true discomfort behind it and, almost more importantly that the Aquitian was steadily mastering the human art of sarcasm.
"'Cos it's fun to try and figure it out….I know you think all humans look like your dad, you're a doofus by the way" Mari replied, unable to keep herself from laughing at the detail that was often joked about between the Rangers back on Promethea One
"Besides, I'm a psychology and sociology student" she continued, shoulders sagging a little as she let out a sigh "Even if I'm definitely classed as having dropped out now"
"Perhaps not" Tempestus countered thoughtfully, as he considered what he knew of Marigold's field of study "You wanted to examine the effects of humanity becoming a spacefaring society and advancing so quickly on the individual and collective psyche….would this not count as field research?"
"You're a genius and your optimism will probably save us all" Mari replied, grinning as she relished the flicker of hope that her friend managed to ignite in her even if she knew it to be a distant chance at a dream that seemed almost inconsequential now.
"So" Tempestus raised an eyebrow, an odd expression to see on a face with a mask of bone and cartilage covering much of its' surface "What about your type"
"Don't try and psych student the psych student, it doesn't work….except for when it does and then nobody gets to sleep" Mari chided through her laughter "Besides, I don't have time to have a type" Tempestus chose not to pry further and the two of them continued to work and fell into an easy silence that lasted for a while until the shadow of a newcomer loomed over them and bother Tempestus and Marigold quickly realised who it was simply by the fact that they hadn't heard the approach, even in the squelching mud with debris and rustling plants all around them
"Hey Rensa" Mari greeted, barely looking as she did so
"I assume that the scouting operation was both groovy and bodacious?" Tempestus asked earnestly, Rensa being one of the few people utterly immune to the deadpan delivery of such outdated slang; the Black Ranger merely let out a sound of irritation, a moment of tense silence hanging over the trio before he spoke
"The work is progressing as expected….that isn't the problem"
"Talk to us Rensa" Mari implored gently, wanting to help the youngest Aegis Ranger both for his own good and because she had seen what he was capable of, though his current condition seemed to be far removed from her rage and fury she had seen before and was close to crumpled dejection
"I thought reuniting with my people would bring me a sense of piece" midnight black eyes darted away, looking anywhere but at his fellow Rangers as he pulled his hood lower over his face in a display of naked shame "I've changed….they can see it, they think that I've become weak-"
"Then they're jerks" Marigold interjected sternly "You're a Power Ranger….besides, people grow apart as they get older; it sucks but it happens"
"Not on Dread" Rensa countered "On my world solitude is weakness and weakness is death. You stay with your people until the end and when you fall your meat and bones will help your people in your absence….and they're right, I have changed; so what am I now?"
"You" Tempestus answered simply "The same loyal, fierce and reliable Rensa that you have always been and though I don't know the customs of Dread, I've seen the way you fight for your fellow Rangers and I consider it an honour to be considered one of 'your people'"
"Tempestus is right" Mari added "Change isn't a bad thing, growing beyond your old environment just means that where you were before was a cage-"
"It was literally a prison world" Rensa noted dispassionately, Marigold made a gesture that conveyed that her point had been validated without her having to say it out loud and the Gold Ranger paused for a moment before speaking again
"But yeah….whatever those people think of you, we're happy you're with us" she reached into his hood and ruffled his sodden hair "But maybe no eating each others' bones though okay?" Rensa let out a watery chuckle at that before pulling both Mari and Tempestus into a crushing hug that threatened to collapse the improvised shelter they were working under, the gesture one he had been largely unfamiliar before joining the Aegis Rangers.
And then a shadow fell over them all.
"We're not expecting any reinforce-" Tempestus trailed off as he clambered out from beneath the coverings and abandoned his task to gaze up at what had darkened the bleak and overcast skies and found himself being far from the only one to do so; there were several seconds of deathly silence as Power Rangers, resistance fighters and refugees alike stared up at the massive, axe-shaped form of the Empire Warship that had materialised above them and blotted out a vast section of the sky with its' sheer bulk; its' prow styled to resemble an arrowhead or approximation of a draconian skull whilst baroque and Gothic detailing covered much of its' hull, including several spires and parapets placed along the length of its' body like spines that could not be seen from below
"EVERYONE NEEDS TO EVACUATE!" Marigold yelled, her voice echoing through the greenery and twisted and ruined metal, stirring the resistance fighters into action, each of them quickly trying to take charge before matters could devolved into a panicked stampede or worse; the Aegis Rangers themselves simply turned and stared at each other in silent shock and horror.
They had been expecting a Dark Empire attack, they had not been expecting the Draco-Ocidendum to appear directly above them.
Lord Carnifex of Wyvern, thirteenth of his name was in his customary place and seat of his power aboard the command bridge of his magnificent warship, surrounded by his Knights and flanked by serfs who sang ancient battle-hymns in preparation for what was to come whilst beside him stood a warrior who had earned the right to join him on the field of battle by virtue of willing to sacrifice their body to the flesh-crafters of the Dark Empire so that they might be remade as a greater weapon and implement of Lord Zedd's will.
The alien creature could loosely be said to resemble a centaur of human myth with the way their body was composed, though it was a tenuous comparison to say the least.
Their lower body was quadrupedal and arranged like one might expect save for the fact that it was clearly reptilian in nature; interwoven scales of a pale sea green interspersed with black, the darker scales forming ring like patterns along the aliens' flanks whilst their underside was a mottled beige. They stood on four long and slender yet clearly powerful limbs that ended in feet appeared almost frog like, with four wide splayed digits each ending in a rounded pad of a toe; the alien warrior sported a pair of tails though whether they were natural or the product of genetic horrors was unknown, the green and black pattern of their scales giving way to pure black as the tails, each as long as a man was tall ended in a hooked and serrated pincer like appendage. The upper body of the alien was largely humanoid, the colours of their lowers half carrying over to give them a green, scaled back and a beige flesh covered in their broad and muscular chest which bore two arms that had plainly once been weak and atrophied things, unused by the creatures' species; now however they had been upgraded and improved with dozens of wires and cables jutting from punctured flesh and covered haphazardly by dull, gunmetal coloured armour, the warriors hands had been removed entirely and had been replaced by a pair of cruel, broad-bladed and downward facing scythe-like weapons. The skull of the creature was complete hairless and without discernable ears, longer and more oval in shape than a humans' and sea-green in colour with a pair of large, elliptical eyes the colour of dried blood and a pair of twitching antenna that seemed to reach forwards being the only noticeable features; whatever mouth the alien had once had was now covered and likely sealed beneath a sleek and streamlined armoured mask that tapered forwards to give them an even more intimidating appearance.
They had once been known as Sutinga, 'The Graceful death' now they were simply a weapon for Carnifex to employ; they they would not be the first he unleashed upon the enemies of Lord Zedd today
"Has the enemy been located?" he demanded, waiting only a moment before one of the Knights of Wyvern had an answer for him
"I believe so my liege" the saurian warrior informed him with a bow, sensing Carnifex's displeasure at the uncertainty and quickly explaining "I've found a ship that appears less ruined than the masses of metal around it, untouched by the local wildlife"
"Then we've found them" another of the Knights, one whom Carnifex suspected would be amongst those to rise against him if things should be allowed to continue snarled with a hand flying to their sword "We should prepare for battle and-"
"You forget your place" Carnifex noted, his clipped and measured tones carrying through the command bridge and silencing the dissent more effectively than a shout could have hoped to.
"No" the Acheron hybrid shook his head, deliberating for a moment before choosing his course of action "We are not here to fight warriors, we are here to exterminate vermin and scum, our enemies are cowards without honour and I see no need to extend them the courtesy of a good death…..Prepare to fire all weapons, rain fire upon them and kill them all from above"
"Never" the lone voice was quiet, barely more than a murmur yet it had come from precisely where Carnifex had expected and as the saurian warrior reared up to his full height and drew his sword a rippled seemed to pass throughout the entirety of the command bridge as each of the Knights of Wyvern prepared to declare for a side in the mutiny that was about to occur.
And then there was pandemonium.
A Knight loyal to Carnifex attempted to charge the leader of this rebellion only to find his sword-arm severed by a blow from the side before his intended target lunged forwards and cleaved his skull in two; a pair of warriors leapt at the alien stood at Carnifex's right hand, likely seeing their presence aboard the command bridge as a defilement of sorts yet both of them came to swift and bloody ends as the alien simply drove his claw tipped tails into each of their chests with sickeningly wet snapping sounds. Another traitor leapt at Carnifex wielding a spear and the hybrid lashed out, his sword bursting into flame with a golden light that filled the entirety of the bridge, bringing each of the combatants to a halt just in time to see the warrior who had charged the warlord fall to the ground, their body neatly bisected
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" Carnifex roared, all pretence of civility abandoned as his furious words echoed from the walls
"You have forgotten who we are, half-breed!" the lead mutineer spat hatefully "You give right of conquest to outsiders whilst your own household die without glory! You lead us to failure after failure and now, NOW YOU WOULD HAVE US FIGHT WITHOUT HONOUR, CLAIMING VICTORIES WITHOUT EVER FACING OUR ENEMIES! IT WILL NOT STAND!"
Carnifex was entirely unmoved by the conviction of his underlings yet still he paused, taking a moment to consider his options and realising that the most efficient way of proceeding would be to indulge in the Knightly customs of their home-world to an extend
"You believe you would fare better in my stead?" he asked delicately, waiting for the usurper to begin to speak for swiftly and deliberately silencing him "So be it….each and any of you that stand against me has a choice, face me in honourable combat in the ships' temple or be killed for your crimes"
"I accept" the usurper spat, his fellow mutineers rallying around him as expected.
"Very well" Carnifex breathed out, the words a sibilant hiss as he struggled to rein in his fury "Those of you who have remained loyal, you have your orders….commence a bombing campaign against our enemies. Sutinga, you are to lead ground forces to dispose of any scum that attempts to mount a resistance against us"
"As you wish Lord Carnifex" the alien answered simply proving that they could still speak though their voice breathy and tinny beneath their mask as if it were the product of something mechanical. With orders given and matters being attended to Carnifex turned and began to march out of the command bridge, past terrified serfs and servants who had huddled in corners the moment the violence had begun; as he stepped out into a corridor and began towards the ships' temple, located in one of the many spires atop the Draco-Ocidendum he became aware of his treacherous Knights following him, a dozen or so in total with their leader stepping to the fore and letting out a defiant challenge
"I will be the first to declare my challenge and face you-"
"First?" Carnifex chuckled darkly before shaking his head "No….I'm going to kill all of you at once"
Karone had remained within her Inner Sanctum, the Command Centre of the secret base of her guerrilla resistance, overseeing several small scale operations involving the acquisition of supplies through a variety of means including bribery, barter and a complex web of favours owed to various criminal elements on dozen of Empire world or in several cases simple piracy enacted without mercy on Lord Zedd's domain along with efforts to recruit knew fighters, spies and anybody else with a skill or trade that could be put use to her cause; the former overlord who had once gone by the name of Astronema had never imagined herself relying on tools such as propaganda to wage war against a tyrant who reminded her so much of her former self, then again she had never imagined herself becoming a Power Ranger alongside her lover and brother either.
Billy and Justin were close at hand and as she worked Karone could hear the ongoing between the two scientists and Grace Sterling and Zebidiah Lord back on Promethea One, the two former Blue Rangers had moved their discussions regarding improving the bases' teleporters so that the Aegis Zords could be sent into Empire space to one of the various consoles scattered around the periphery of the vast sanctum, allowing Karone to use the main star-map and the circular desk that it was projected from for her own task though both Billy and Justin had decided against moving their work to their respective laboratories and workshops, such as they were in the perpetually slipshod base for the sake of keeping the communication and its' incredibly sensitive topics as secure as possible with none outside of the two Command Centres ever learning of them.
"Do we have any progress?" Karone asked as she finished reading a report and allowed her focus to drift out from the singular task into the room as a whole just in time for her to pick up titbits of a heated debate, whilst she would freely admit that she was far from the level of genius that Billy and his contemporaries operated on the Pink Astro Ranger and former Empress of Evil was more than capable of understanding at least some of the science involved in what they hoped to achieve and wanted to be involved in any major decisions pertaining to her base.
"We can agree on base premises at least" Billy noticed, scratching at stubble on his chin that had gone unshaven as life on the base continued to force him to work long hours with little time to devote to things such as his appearance
"It's a conclusion that we're struggling with" Justin finished, turning to Karone and seeing a deadpan and almost deliberately nonplussed expression on her face "We just don't have a power source that can what we need without serious risks"
"If Dulcea were still here then we would likely be able to solve this problem with ease" Billy noted, the comment hung in the air for a moment as those assembled were each confronted with the various losses that they had endured over the course of their struggle against the Dark Empire
"Perhaps we're thinking about this in too narrow a way" Grace suggested carefully "Dulcea was Ninjor's apprentice yes, but using the Power itself to move the Zords is not the only possibility"
"She is correct" Zebidiah began, his voice thoughtful and hesitant; a combination that was enough to set those around him on edge until he continued, voicing some of their worries "It might be possible to use magic, Acheron magic is a violent thing….tearing holes in reality the way my son did on Unus for example-"
"Would you be able to do that?" Karone asked, allowing herself a flicker of hope
"Under normal circumstances undoubtedly" Zebidiah answered "In my current condition….it would likely have repercussions for me" the reply hung heavily in the air as those who heard it processed exactly what it could mean, with none willing to ask the sorcerer to risk or sacrifice himself no matter how dire the situation might become.
Until the silence was shattered by the sound of an incoming transmission
"Incoming from Harrow Four" Karone said, almost absently as she forced her thoughts back to the present moment, a task that was made easier and at the same time all the more terrifying as the audio feed was filled with the sound of countless explosions, the dull thrumming and warping of massive weapons batteries being fired along with the sounds of their impacts all punctuated by staccato gunfire and the sound of screaming civilians.
"This is Morales" Charlie's voice, breathless from exertion barked over the comm channel "We're under attack….The Draco-Ocidendum appeared directly above us and opened fire, the Empire cities are mobilising their forces; we're completely surrounded"
Karone stared at the speakers from which Charlie's voice emanated in silent horror, painfully aware that she was not alone, they had expected an imminent attack but this was something entirely beyond what they had prepared for
"Where are the Rangers?" she demanded quickly "What's you situation?"
"Our situation is that we're screwed!" Charlie laughed bitterly "Our transport was the first thing they targeted, we have bogies teleported inside our perimeter and more hostiles coming from almost all sides….the Rangers are trying to hold the line and evacuate civilians where they can-"
"Hold the line Charlie, I'll have reinforcements sent to you as soon as possible" with that Karone abruptly ended the transmission and frantically began contacting someone else, curses and pleas blurring into one another in an incessant stream until finally her hail was answered
"Zhane!" she exclaimed the moment she heard the crackle of a comm channel opening "Our operations on Harrow Four have been hit, Carnifex of Wyvern is leading the attack and we're being overrun; the Rangers are holding the line but they won't be able to hold out forever"
"On it" the Silver Astro Ranger replied immediately, years of guerilla war training him to adapt to new situations without hesitation "The Megalodon will be inbound in minutes but it's going to take time to get there….and, well Karone it's a small ship; we can't evacuate everyone-"
"Do what you can" the Pink Astro Ranger replied simply before ending the transmission and sinking back in her seat, hands running through her hair and the colour draining from her face as she tried to contemplate how she had ever ran her own Empire so unfeelingly
"The Rangers need out help" Billy's voice broke through the silence "So let's get to work"
"There's not much we can do from here" Karone countered, adjusting her Morpher and staring at it as if she expected the Power itself to provide answers "We could scramble more-"
"I meant us" Billy gestured to his fellow scientists, half of whom were located half a galaxy away as he straightened up and his expression became one of grim and unshakeable resolve
"We need to find a way to teleport those Zords right now" he said bluntly "I think we all know that the Rangers are going to need them"
"Get people to safety!" Mari's thundering command echoed through the area of the resistance base that she, Tempestus and Rensa had been situated in, underlined by the sound of her Buster Pistols firing and the sound of falling stone as Putties were blasted apart.
The Draco-Ocidendum had unleashed an apocalyptic barrage of missile and searing light down onto the stronghold Karone's guerillas had made for themselves and though Marigold had at first been thankful that the onslaught had been focused away from where she had been working and where there were hundreds of civilians still gathered that relief had quickly faded away upon realising that the Dark Empire warship had targeted the central hub of their base of operations, where their transport had landed and where her fellow Rangers had been working; the certainty that casualties would be high had left Mari's stomach plummeting yet she was utterly unable to act of those fears.
There were still people to be protected and the enemy had begun deploying ground troops.
Mercifully the forces that been teleported closest to Mari, Tempestus and Rensa were comprised entirely of Putties; the warbling automatons were capable of cutting through the unarmed masses with ease and it was logical that the Empire forces wished to deploy their best fighters elsewhere; furthermore these Putties in particular seemed to be a poorly made bunch, less capable than usual and crumbling under less force as though the Draco-Ocidendum had simply churned out as many of the things as possible with a limited amount of resources and no thought as to the quality; though they were still far from harmless.
As Mari realised upon seeing a lone Putty bolting towards a group of children who had been separated from their families.
"I DON'T THINK SO!" she yelled before aiming her pistols and firing first into the leg of the automaton and then into the back of its' skull, leaving glowing and molten debris where the shots had impacted yet still it shambled onwards without turning to face her and so the Gold Ranger quickly cast her pistols aside, the weapons vanishing in showers of golden fragments as Mari cast her eyes around before picking a suitable piece of metallic debris from the ground and hurling it with all her strength into the back of the Putty, impaling it and skewering the circular Z plate of its' chest to leave it crumbling into rubble.
Three more Putties were on the Gold Ranger in an instant however Mari was ready for them, the cloak of her armour swirling around her as she crushed the torso of the first construct with a well placed spinning heel kick, carrying the momentum she drove her elbow into the fist on the second Putty as it attempted to strike her with a flailing, savage blow; the thing was thrown off balance by the collision and Mari quickly capitalised with a series of jabs to its face and chest that shattered the thing entirely. The third Putty came rushing at her and the Gold Ranger prepared to meet it head on, only to watch as it was brought crashing to a halt by a dense and solid projectile ripping its' body apart with a booming report.
"We've got your back!" Mari turned towards the source of the exclamation, finding a member of the guerilla resistance carrying a weapon that looked as though it had been modified specifically for the task of destroying Putties; she gave her impromptu ally a thumbs up, unsure of whether they would recognise the gesture before gesturing to the nearby children
"Don't worry about me, get them out of here!" with that she continued trudging through the mud and rain, determined to save every person that she possibly could.
Tempestus and Mari had split up the moment the Putties had teleported onto the surface of Harrow Four though the Blue Ranger was still very much working alongside his friend; protecting the anti-gravity vehicles that the civilians were being hurriedly loaded onto by the resistance fighters; rushing out in front of those fighters and laying low any Putties that neared them before they could close the distance.
Currently he struggled against a group of six of the warbling and chattering constructs, their stony grey bodies spattered with mud where they had been flung to the ground several times and risen again. Two were finally shattered as one of their number attempted a sloppy approximation of a leg-sweep only for the Blue Ranger to back-flip over the attack and kick it and the Putty beside square in the chest; as he landed in a crouch another Putty lunged at him and attempted to kick him in the face which Tempestus responded to by seizing its' leg and dragging it to the ground whilst at the same time throwing himself into an acrobatic manoeuvrer not entirely unlike a cartwheel that resulted in him crushing the body of a fourth Putty with his boot whilst inverted in the air and at the same time punching through the Z plate of the third as it lay on the ground. The two remaining Putties seemed to feel that the Power Ranger was suitably distracted and lumbered towards their true target only to find that the guerilla fighters protecting the civilians had used the ongoing fight to prepare themselves
"GET CLEAR!" a scarred and grizzled, vaguely humanoid alien yelled before hurling a grenade; the Blue Aegis Ranger barely needed to move, his armour being more than capable of withstanding the blast
"Groovy" Tempestus breathed out as he saw that the last of the current group of Putties had been destroyed before turning to the fighters who had come to his aid "Get these people to safety, find anyone else you can and prepare to evacuate!" Tempestus frowned beneath his helmet, he had already learned that the local Empire forces were using this attack as an opportunity and were preparing to move in, he only hoped that help arrived in time and that there was somewhere for the civilians to evacuate to.
When the fighting had commenced Rensa had, almost instinctively sought out his fellow natives of the Prison World Dread and had been entirely unsurprised to see them in the thick of the battle, the Black Ranger feeling a swell of pride as he saw his people use skills that had been honed in the bleakest environment imaginable to bring down their enemies' footsoldiers; pallid and emaciated forms with filter goggles to protect eyes that were never intended to see sunlight and clad in ragged, midnight black garments tore through the Putties with unmatched savagery, using their environment as a weapon along with the various knives, clubs and other crude weapons that they carried.
Rensa realised that his former peers right and that he had changed as he watched them put out a Putties eyes with shard of metal and then simply feed it into the vines of the massive, omnivorous jungle that grew through the mountains of scrap around them; he would simply never have thought to try something like that.
He quickly focused however as a pair of Putties came rushing towards him with their odd, shuffling gait; Rensa charged towards them with a feral snarl, dropping low to the ground and springing up to drive them both into the ground with a crushing impact yet it was plain to see that his efforts would not be enough. The Putties, or whoever was directing them had clearly identified the feral berserker warriors who had been liberated from one of the Empires' own Prison Worlds as a high priority threat and now dozens, if not hundreds of Putties were swarming towards them from all sides.
That would not do at all.
The now familiar rush of almost uncontrollable power filled Rensa's body as a wave of pure darkness manifested around him, its' form warping and twisting until finally settling as the Black Ranger entered his higher Morphed state and activated his Battleizer, heavily armed, armoured and with a snarling maw resembling the nightmarish creatures that stalked his world wrapped around the visor of his helmet the sight was enough to give the natives of Dread pause as they saw what their prodigal sun had become.
"Find the others! Help get people to safety!" Rensa barked out, pleasantly surprised to see his orders followed without question and adding in a lower, menacing tone "I'll handle the Putties myself"
Whilst the edges of the guerilla base had been beset by simple Putties, a living tide intended to overrun anything in their path those situated closest to the centre of the insurgents base of operations had not been so fortunate.
First they had been subjected to a bombardment that laid waste to much of their resources, the ship that the Rangers and recent reinforcements had arrived in had been ripped apart by beams of searing light and the various turrets and other weapon emplacements had been picked off in short order, doing little if anything in return before being destroyed; the entire area was filled with a thick blanket of choking black smoke as the plant matter that made up the omnivorous jungle was set ablaze which in turn caused vast swathes of the scrap metal and other detritus that the trees and vines had grown through to shift and collapse under their own weight, bringing the base down around those who still struggled to defend themselves; then as a final blow the ground troops had been teleported down into the blasted clearing and unlike the outer edges of the base these troops were both living and sentient; groups of warriors taken from across several Empire worlds, armed and trained for the task of crushing those who opposed Lord Zedd.
It was these fighters that Charlie waged her own personal war against.
She had identified a her primary target as a trio of alabaster skinned and inky black varicose veined aliens clad in heavy carapace like armour and carrying heavy, under-slung projectile weapons that spat indigo light as her primary targets; the three of them cutting down any resistance fighters they encountered without mercy and barking out orders to any Empire troops nearby, their ivory hair whipping around them in the wind and rain making them appear all the more dramatic. Charlie was outnumbered and out gunned but it meant little to her, she was one of the fiercest and most capable combatants that Project Lightspeed had ever produced and had been the shadowy left of Commander Cruger and with that thought in mind and teeth gritted in determination she slipped out of the burning ruins around her falling upon her enemies in deathly silence.
The first fell in an instant.
Charlie appeared like a phantom behind them, completely undetected as she drew a knife from a sheath hidden in her boot and attacking from below, slashing at her tendons of her targets' ankles before surging upwards to cover their mouth as she plunged the blade first into their flank to rupture organs and then into their neck in a spray of watery black ichor that splashed across Charlie's face as she quickly shifted her grasp to the weapon that the now dead warrior still clung to, the aliens' final, gurgling death-throes giving their comrades far too little warning as Charlie took the under-slung cannon and fired.
The second of the trio was blasted apart as they were struck at point blank range, sizzling fluids spattering everything nearby and the foul stench of burning rubber filling the air.
Charlie's victory was not complete however and as the final remaining alien aimed and fired she was forced to abandon both the cannon and her knife as she leapt away, first rolling to the side and then charging forwards faster than her enemy could adapt and first driving her shoulder into their gut with enough force to knock the wind out of them and throw them off balance before striking the leg that bore their weight, the strength of the blow buckling the joint and the unnatural angle they fell at breaking the limb. From there ending the fight was a formality, though Charlie took no chances as she straddled her crippled opponent and wrapped her hands around their throat, the two of them thrashing and struggling in the mud until finally, with a savage jerking motion and a sickening wet snap the alien fell limp and the light left their eyes.
"The jobs Rangers won't do" Charlie sneered to herself as she dragged herself to her feet, taking a moment to throw honour and proper conduct to the wind by spitting on her enemies' body before making to take their dropped weapon for herself.
She was blasted from her feet before she could reach it.
Charlie had no idea what hit her, one moment she was reaching for the alien cannon and then she coming crashing to a halt several dozen feet away with something heavy weighing down on her and every nerve in her body screaming in protest; in fact as she struggled to free herself of the wreckage and debris she was forced to bite down and muffle a scream of pain as it became apparent that her left arm had been broken in several places by the impact. As she managed to pull herself free and drag herself to her feet, dry-heaving and shaking from the pain she soon realised what had happened to her.
She had been kicked.
Or more accurately the alien cyborg, whose body resembled some monstrous reptilian centaur with twin tails ending in scorpion-like pincers and arms ending in metallic scythes had kicked a heavy sheet of metal that once formed part of a barricade into her, that same alien whom Charlie instinctively knew was far beyond the enemies she had faced thus far and that unarmed, alone and injured she had no hope of surviving this encounter.
She was prepared to fight on anyway.
Widening her stance she made a mocking beckoning gesture with her good arm and the aliens' eyes narrowed, proving that it was a thinking thing to at least some extent; a second later they charged towards her only to be brought skidding to a halt as a stream of blazing emerald light tore through the space between the would be combatants.
"Of course" Charlie ground out through clenched teeth "Dramatic entrances"
As if summoned by her words a series of figures leapt through the various mounds of wreckage and burning scrap from all angles; their brightly coloured armour making the Aegis Rangers easily identifiable as they placed themselves between Charlie and Sutinga, Mercy half-turning towards the woman she had an at-best strained alliance with
"Go, get out here!" she snapped as Kay, Panthera and Aslaug took fighting stances beside her each of them manifesting their weapons in pulses of coloured light
"I can see if there's a working turret here and blast that-"
"GO!" Mercy barked again "The other Rangers are heading this way, the civilians need you to lead the evacuation" with that Charlie fell silent and simply nodded; her refusal to be beaten and her utter disgust at the idea of leaving a soldier behind both being vastly outmatched by the importance of the task at hand; with that she turned and bolted, clutching her ruined arm to her chest and moving as fast as her injured body would allow whilst the nightmarish alien who had wounded her paid no mind to her departure, focusing instead on the Rangers
"There will be no evacuation. You're surrounded, you are outmatched and you will die here" the tinny and faintly robotic voice delivered the assessment in an aloof and detached way that made it seem as though it were a foregone conclusion though Mercy merely shifted her grip on her Katana and braced herself
"Overall maybe" she sneered "But right here and now, you against us…." as she trailed off the remaining Aegis Rangers came hurtling into view, the smoke and flames being pierced by the force of Rensa's arrival in his Battleizer form whilst Mari and Tempestus followed behind and fanned out.
"It looks like you're the one outnumbered and surrounded" Mercy continued and the seven Rangers, united once again waited for some unknown signal
"A statistical anomaly" Sutinga answered dispassionately before bounding forth in a blur of motion and with that the Rangers charged.
Whatever happened each of them knew that the fate of Harrow Four and its' people hung in the balance.
Author's Notes:
And now we're cooking with gas, we're two chapters into this arc and we've got two left to go...I've also got solid ideas for how the rest of the story is going play out and bare bones plans for the next two arcs/ten chapters.
The next chapter is going to be longer than average and I started a new job this week working some long hours so I'll try to get the upload done on schedule but there might be a week with no chapter again, bare with me.
All in all I'm planning to have this story finished off by around March next year.
But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
I wanted a scene that shows Mari and Tempestus as good friends and entirely platonic; so we have the scene of Mari trying to figure out his type….'cos look, he isn't the Soft Boi TM that he comes across as, he left the party with the green alien chick a few arcs ago.
Yeah as crazy as Rensa is by most standards he's still less hardcore than he would have been without Andros's influence and it shows.
Mari being the one to give him a pep talk just felt right, she was the one most concerned about how violent he was getting.
Carnifex loves bringing his ship in low just for the shock value, he's done it before.
Sutinga's name is what I got when I put "Stinger" in Google Translate and asked for Japanese, they're overall design was basically the Andaliites from Animorphs + Frog Centaur and then my brain did some stuff.
Carnifex decided last arc that he was ready to fight dirty, honour and custom be damned he wants the Rangers and their allies dead.
And so it finally happened, Carnifex's people have had enough of him…..This was originally just a plot convenience in order to keep Carnifex from joining the fight directly but as I planned it out I realised that this will have consequences going forward and affect the plot.
"No….I'm going to kill all of you at once" he's a bad-ass about it if nothing else.
The plan to get the Zords to the Rangers continues to hit roadblocks.
Now Zebidiah has a location he could do the same thing as Lord Zedd and just use magical brute force….but consequences, enjoy that foreshadowing.
They were already expecting to get attacked remember, Carnifex showing up just gave the Empire forces an incentive to make their move.
So Zhane is inbound but it won't the Dues Ex Machina that they need.
Weak Putties because Carnifex and his crew are still on limited resources as per Lord Zedd's punishment.
I wanted the fights to be quick, frantic and nasty this chapter because the civilians were right there with no time to get out of the way; hence things like Mari impaling a Putty with whatever was on hand and someone using a grenade a few feet away from Tempestus.
The people from Dread showcasing just how ruthless they are was fun.
They might have thought Rensa had gone soft before but the second they saw that Battleizer it was yes sir, no sir.
Of course the Dark Empire has other ground troops, it's about time we saw some more capable fighters and actual ranged weapons being used.
Also, I approached Charlie's fight completely differently to the way I would the Ranger's, it was bloody and visceral and she fights dirty; honestly it was a fun change of pace to show off just how capable she is even without powers.
She had no chance against Sutinga though.
Of course the Rangers intervened, we all knew that this was how the chapter was going to end.
Seven Rangers vs one freaky centaur cyborg, should be an entertaining one.
Thank you to Blue Legends for their review on the last chapter.
World building is one of my favourite parts of writing.
Charlie got to do more than talk this chapter, I hope you're happy.
Lightspeed has the technology to make Lightspeed Rangers, but they can't really make new Aegis Rangers at the moment….Although Billy and Justin did agree to help them work on some projects….All I'll say is "Maybe"
As always thank you to everyone that reads this, with a special thanks to those of you that follow, favourite and review
