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Chapter 62 – Cry Thunder

As Mercy stuck her tongue out in a playful gesture to Aslaug who was working on a gantry above her the Red Aegis Ranger found herself suddenly acutely aware of just how easily the Asteroid Base had begun to feel like home to her.

Harrow Four and the frantic, desperate battle against the Dark Empire's forces that had occurred there had been weeks ago and Mercy, along with her fellow Aegis Rangers had continued to find themselves drifting into an almost comfortable routine and way of life that felt alarmingly and in a bleak and disturbing way almost comically at odds with the constant threat that hung over them and the danger they placed themselves in with every operation. In the intervening time the Rangers had found themselves deployed on a handful of smaller missions, several of which had gone so smoothly that they had never even Morphed and revealed themselves as they escorted prominent figures in the steadily growing dissident faction that Karone was leading, guarded shipments of stolen and otherwise misappropriated goods as they were taken from the Empires' vast stores and redistributed amongst those wished to see their oppressors overthrown and in one memorable instance performing a daring raid on a damaged warship whose crew had evacuated in escape pods and shuttles, hurriedly stealing, supplies, plans and details of fleet movements before the Empires' own recovery efforts and the heavily armed escort that accompanied them could arrive.

Right now however thing were far more peaceful and simple.

Mercy and Aslaug were not technically required in the shuttle bays at present yet both had made their way there out of a sense of duty and community. Aslaug for her part being simply accustomed to such things after spending her formative years with her tribe on Mirinoi where helpfulness to ones' neighbours and a sense of unity were equally as important as any individuals' martial prowess whilst Mercy had been raised on the Lightspeed Aquabase alongside her fellow cadets, an environment where teamwork had been paramount; this combined with Mercy's own hard-working, eager to please and generally sociable and inquisitive nature had continued to lead the smaller and darker skinned of the two young women to integrate herself into the workings of the base in any way she could, which often manifested in simply learning the names, faces and wherever possible business of the many fighters, spies, smugglers and other rebels coming and going around the base and taking whatever odd-jobs she could find to keep herself occupied when she wasn't training.

Her current odd-job being to help unload cargo from a small vessel.

"Is that Felidae friend of yours around….She keeps eyeing up my ship and I've had too many close calls with it, might be time to sell it and she's got first refusal" the owner of said vessel enquired with a bemused sound that was analogous to a laugh amongst their species; their skin was a vibrant yellow and mottled with black markings, two pairs of arms were crossed over their chest whilst the tendrils that sprouted from the back of their skull in place of hair twitched animatedly with every word. The individual was an arms dealer and smuggler and were they operating in Alliance space rather than helping the rebels and insurgents she fought alongside by supplying them with weapons stolen from the Empire Mercy would certainly have regarded them as an enemy, yet the fact that Panthera had been apparently interested in their vessel made perfect sense as it was exactly the kind of small, agile and stealthy vessel that the Pink Ranger had owned herself when she had first joined the Aegis Rangers and lost shortly thereafter. Before she could answer however the sound of heavy footsteps against the corrugated steel floor of the small docking bay seemed to cut through the ambient sound and serve as both a precursor and warning to Mercy before a now familiar voice boomed out

"Lar'Zenn what is this heap of scrap you live in still doing in this bay?" Charlie Morales, former leader of Strike Squad Alpha demanded as she marched into view; broken arm still clutched to her body with a cast and sling rendering her incapable of returning to the field despite how much she wanted to.

"I was delayed, patrols have increased….It's almost like a group of insurgents shooting at the Empires' soldiers with their own guns makes stealing those guns harder" the alien sell sword answered without hesitation or a single trace of concern despite the way Charlie loomed over them

"Karone will want to hear about it" she nodded in understanding before scoffing as she added "And you can explain why your cloaking was dropped so far out, if we can see you from that distance then you can be followed here; amateur….And stop having my people unload your shipments" Lar'Zenn's tendrils and the digits of all four of their arms flexed and twisted into a series of what Mercy could only assume were offensive and outright lewd hand gestures as they departed, taking care to remotely lock all entry points to their vessel with a control mounted at their waist before departing.

"You know I offered to help right?" Mercy noted conversationally, her relationship with the former traitor to humanity had improved greatly since the events of their last deployment together and as promises that Charlie had made regarding the resistance pushing onwards and the Aegis Rangers becoming a symbol of hope and freedom even here, in the midst of the Empire came to pass the two of them settled into a loose friendship of sorts; though hearing Charlie refer to her as one of 'her people' was still something of a surprise to the younger woman.

"Of course you did" Charlie sighed with a shake of her head before gesturing to Aslaug who had stopped working on the gantry above and was watching them both "Your lady is up there and you're not on duty, do you really not know what taking a break is?"

"Apparently not" Mercy shrugged, to which Charlie rolled her eyes

"Kid" she breathed out with a tone that made it clear that a warning was to follow "You need a break, you're not gonna win this whole war on your own no matter how of the logistics you try and make your job. You're on a team for a reason and everyone appreciates what your team has been doing….but burnout is very real and you need to have something other than work and the war in your life"

"Have you been talking to Mari lately?" Mercy joked, though she quickly relented as she realised that Charlie's advice was indeed meant in the same spirit as Mari's oft repeated speeches about Mercy attending college or having a life outside of Project Lightspeed and that Charlie herself had far more experience on the matter than either herself or the Gold Ranger whom Mercy had come to consider something of an adoptive older sibling.

"Funnily enough I have, more of an evaluation than anything else though" Charlie answered, catching Mercy off-guard with both the response and the sudden discomfort on the veterans' face "But that's not what we're talking about"

"Alright, alright" Mercy grumbled, hands thrusting into her pockets as she fought the urge to argue; this was beginning to feel like she was being lectured and despite her upbringing she would take such things lightly no matter what Charlie's place in the current chain of command was

"It's just….It feels like this is what I'm supposed to be doing y'know; I'm a Ranger and even if I wasn't I'm a Silver Guardian Specialist and this is the most important mission that we're ever gonna be on, taking down the Empire. I just kinda feel like that this is where I belong, this is what I'm for….this is what my whole life was leading"

"That" Charlie interjected dispassionately "Is the exact kind of angsty bullshit I expect from teenagers….And it's actually really, really sad"

"Am I wrong though-"

"Yes!" the soldier snapped irritably "Damn it you are not just a tool or a battery than can be swapped out, none of us are. We're people and if we're not gonna recognise that then we may as well just let the Empire win because what's the point, we may as well be Putties….Now I am ordering you to take a break"

"Fine" Mercy muttered, suddenly shaken by Charlie's comments about the Empire though before her thoughts could begin to spiral out of control the Red Ranger felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Charlie giving her a cocky smirk

"I know what might convince you" her eyes drifted up to Aslaug and Mercy's brown eyes suddenly widened

"Oh don't you dare"

"Aslaug!" Charlie called out, holding Mercy at bay as the smaller woman tried to silence her "Your lady is feeling a little down, I am ordering you to fix that. Tonight is date night; I don't care what you do but I don't wanna see either of you working!"

"I will end you" Mercy hissed from behinds that flown to her mouth in a futile effort to cover her rapidly colouring face as the hangar she had been working in erupted in laughter, cheers and wolf-whistling; their relationship was hardly secret though having broadcast to anyone present seemed somewhat uncalled for yet before she could voice that opinion she was soon led away Aslaug herself, melting into the Yellow Ranger's embrace without complaint and allowing herself to relax for what felt like the first time in far too long.

She knew Charlie was right and she needed a break, privately she only hoped that Empire and its' endless war machine would allow it.


Justin Stewart's personal workspace was a testament to the sheer scope, ambition and industrious optimism of the projects that the former Blue Turbo Ranger and his fellow Alliance scientists across the galaxy were undertaking. Scattered across the wide workbench that filled the centre of the well lit and disorganised yet still spotless workshop and laboratory were a series of blueprints that one could tell from a single glance had been made hastily in a blur of inspiration, each of them pertaining to some part of a robotic shell designed to house the magical essence and consciousness of a living being; returning Zebidiah Lord to the physical realm was a task that Grace Sterling was devoting herself to almost to the point of lunacy on Promethea One and Justin had been seen fit to lend his abilities in anyway he could. Likewise Justin had worked alongside Billy Cranston who was likely in his own laboratory close by, though the documents pertaining to that project had been kept behind several layers of protection and encryption on Justin's personal computer; Lightspeed Command had given Billy control of a project whose secrecy could not be overstated that was known simply as 'LS-Delta' and where under normal circumstances the former Blue Ranger would have had access to the entire technological genius of the Alliance he was forced to rely on his own abilities and knowledge along with those of his confidants, though anyone with the clearance to know that Billy and Justin had collaborated on the creation of the Aegis Morphers could make an educated guess about the nature of this new project.

Justin's own task however was neither of these things.

Justin had been given control and responsibility for a matter closer to home and far more immediate for those aboard the Asteroid Base. Billy had explained to him the idea that he and his son had formulated regarding using the Empires' own teleportation system against them and Justin had been intrigued, from there the trio of past and present Blue Rangers had developed the project to a point where theories and hypotheses could be put to the test and Justin had sought Karone's permission to have the spies and saboteurs that their faction had gathered put to work.

"All readings are nominal, situation is most excellent" Tempestus announced in his usual deadpan tone, though the fact that he gave a two-fingered peace sign indicated that he knew what he was doing and was beginning to embrace the effect his particular vernacular had on people; Justin nodded in understanding and began checking several readings on his own terminal only to be interrupted by another voice, low, smokey and undeniably bored as it sounded over the comms.

"Are you two ready to put this to the test yet? I've been standing here all day" Panthera complained. Justin found himself chuckling at that as he sidled over to where Tempestus worked, leaning over the Aquitian as he double checked his work; the Pink Ranger's aid in this project had been less expected than Tempestus's yet no less welcome as whilst the Blue Rangers each had a wealth of theoretical knowledge Panthera's former life as a smuggler had given her a wealth of practical knowledge regarding the workings of the Empires' transportation systems and easily exploitable design choices therein.

Panthera's current role however was that of a test subject.

Justin opened a video feed that displayed the massive hangar that the Aegis Zords were being housed in, Panthera herself perched atop an enormous scaffolding around her own mecha already morphed in preparation for what was to come; the ground below her had been covered with vast amounts of hastily rigged and assembled equipment that from above could be identified as the inner workings of an Empire teleportation gate laid bare and strewn onto the floor. Justin took several seconds to calm himself, he had done everything in his power to ensure that this would work and in her morphed state he was certain that Panthera could survive the fall even if the gate failed; though that was not to say that this experiment was safe by any means, eventually however he entered a series of commands and the Zord hangar was filled with whirring and thrumming that could be felt in the Pink Ranger's bones and arcing, pulsing energies that coursed across the ground

"Okay, coordinates are set….Whenever you're ready" Justin informed her "If you want to back out-"

Panthera had already leapt.

The alien woman held her arms close to her sides, hurtling head first towards the ground at frightening speed and for a single, gut-wrenching moment Justin was certain he was about to watch the Pink Ranger break her neck yet before it could happen, a single instant before she would have struck the ground she simply vanished in a flash of light.

Only to reappear inside the laboratory, flailing and bouncing off of the surface of Justin's workbench before coming skidding to a halt and landing in a crouch with her clawed fingers cutting shallow gouges into the ground and her tail held erect behind her in irritation

"It seems the re-entry point was slightly off" Tempestus noted, having the audacity to flash his team-mate a warm smile as she de-morphed, her peoples' feline nature on display and etched into every part of her body language as she stalked, catlike around the room as if she expected to be teleported again at any moment

"Slightly?" she hissed, cocking her head before taking a deep breath and letting out a sigh "Whatever, it works. We've got a teleporter now"

"Not quite" Justin admitted "That was only a short range test with a relatively small payload"

"And also we reasoned that it would be bogus to have Karone's contacts integrate our teleportation gate into the Empires' network at this juncture"

"Yeah, smart choice" Panthera accepted, running her hand through her violet Mohawk as she contemplated the sheer carnage that would be unleashed if Lord Zedd's forces were to detect their enemies using their own infrastructure in such a way.

"But that's all for now, I need to get clearance for any more tests so you two may as well go and enjoy your free time" Justin informed them, slipping out of his lab coat and working out a crick in his neck

"Groovy" Tempestus beamed as he stretched, realising just how long they had all been working before turning to Panthera "Want to get something to eat"

"Good idea" she nodded, already moving towards the exit at the mention of free food and quickly adding "And then I need to get to the hangers….Lar'Zenn is supposed to be here today and I wanna see how much I can haggle for that ship of his"

"Do you have anything to buy it with?" Tempestus asked curiously

"That depends how much I can haggle" Panthera countered, a feral smile forming on her face as she added "Stick around, you're gonna learn the art of intergalactic trade and the importance of someone owing you a favour"

Tempestus suddenly felt that he should be concerned.


"You know you're allowed leave, your help has been greatly appreciated but it's by no means compulsory" the familiar bubbling, watery effect that Marigold was familiar with due to being friends with Tempestus announced the presence of another Aquitian, in this case it was the Blue Aegis Ranger's adopted mother Cestria as she wandered into the office she called her own located behind the asteroid bases' infirmary and found the Gold Ranger there, unmorphed and wearing the closest thing to a professional looking outfit that she had been able to find, not exactly a shirt, tie, pants and a suit jacket but each garment was close enough to be comparable.

Marigold was not one to be caught looking unprepared and unprofessional after all.

"It's no bother at all Arch-healer" she assured Cestria brightly despite the dark rings around her eyes showing just how tired she was, using the Aquitian title for the spiritual and medical doctor along with the triangular gesture of greeting that she had learned from Tempestus "I'm getting as much from this as I'm giving"

"Is that so?" Cestria asked, making her way over to where Marigold was currently rereading her own notes and making alterations to documents she had written "May I?"

"I mean I would say patient confidentiality, but they're your patients so go ahead" Mari noted as she allowed Cestria to read through her work, for the past several weeks the Gold Ranger had been working alongside the bases' Chief Medical Officer and various assistants, putting what she had learned in her limited time as a student of psychology and sociology to use as best she could by assisting in the debriefing and evaluations of returning scouts and fighters to ensure that they were all mentally fit to continue their duties and raising concerns with Cestria where appropriate; all whilst taking notes for her own studies

"Your work is certainly of interest….Though how much of it is transferable to human psychology is questionable; many of the species represented have vastly different cultures to those on Earth"

"I know that….they've all been controlled by the Dark Empire for centuries" Marigold nodded "But Leslie colony considered Earth an oppressor when we tried to leave the Alliance….I think there's some overlap; besides my theories are all just theories at the moment, Earth is still too new to space travel for truly independent cultures and societies to have emerged-"

"Theoretical, but certainly interesting….Alas such interest in the nature of our fellow beings is something less common on Aquitar" Cestria lamented and for a moment Marigold appreciated just how different the medic truly was from the vast majority of her people, marrying a human and breaking from the rigid hierarchy that dominated much of her peoples' society.

"We're all here together right? May as well understand each other" Marigold answered with a small smile, rubbing at her bleary eyes and letting out a long yawn

"An admirable belief" Cestria chuckled, a slight note of accusation colouring her words as she added "But after living with my husband and having met Miss Jackson I think I know when a human is working themselves to the point where it becomes unhealthy"

"I'm not-I mean…." Mari trailed off, proving the older woman's point by being simply too exhausted to argue and simply pouting slightly, a display that detracted from her attempts to appear composed more than a little.

"Like I said, I'm getting something from this" she muttered "I know I'm probably not going back to college anytime soon, that part of my life could be over completely for all I know….I just need to feel normal again, for just a few hours at a time and this helps"

"I see" Cestria answered slowly, clearly considering several possibilities and weighing her options carefully before making a suggestion "I can request that you attachment to my medical staff becomes more official, you will be able to keep helping people but your hours will be limited….You are a Power Ranger, you have enough weight on your shoulders"

"I….thank you" Mari breathed out "It really means a lot and I won't let you down"

"Of that I have no doubts" Cestria gently placed a hand on her shoulder, an entirely human gesture she had learned from Billy "But remember that your own well being is as important as those you care for….Too much hangs in the balance for even a single one of us to fall"

"I understand" Mari nodded, suppressing a shudder as she considered the implications of what was being alluded to. The mental well being of every individual who frequented the base was attended to at Karone's insistence because the former tyrant turned Ranger knew from personal experience that was only bolstered by the evidence and testimony of Charlie Morales just how dangerous one individual pushed beyond their limits could truly be; each and every one of them knew the potential fates that awaited them and each and every member of Karone's resistance held the lives of those around them in their hands, if even a single person were to give in to the fear that plagued them all in their private moments and give away the location of this central base in exchange for their lives then the entire insurgency would fall no matter how many layers of protection and subterfuge were put in place.

Marigold had made it her mission to ensure that did not happen, she would likely always doubt her abilities as a Power Ranger but this was one way that she knew, beyond all doubts that she could save lives; including those of her friends.


Rensa hit the ground and rolled before pulling himself into a backflip and landing in a crouch with a savage hissing sound escaping his lips before immediately lunging and preparing to unleash another barrage of attacks against Kay.

"Keep yourself under control Rensa" Zhane's voice intoned seriously as the Silver Ranger watched from the sides, refereeing the sparring match in case things became a little too intense whilst also being genuinely interested to see just how skilled the boy he had come to consider a nephew was. Rensa however charged onwards with his blood thundering in his ears and a slightly manic glint in his void black eyes that would have frightened most people as he prepared to cut loose against one of the few sparring partners he truly could; as much as he loved his fellow Aegis Rangers Tempestus was too defensive, Marigold was too experienced, Panthera relied too much on terrain and other such advantaged that she would not have here, Aslaug for all her terrifying strength was predictable and Mercy, despite knowing better continued to pull her punches and hold back as if she feared hurting him.

Kay was different.

The two of them were kindred spirits in a way, where the other Rangers had been forced to learn violence, even Mercy who was born to be a Power Ranger the Green and Black Rangers were simply made for violence and that fact became readily apparent as the two of them, unmorphed collided with each other once again. Rensa drew close and waited until the last possible moment to leap into the air and deliver a vicious kick from above, finally forcing the otherwise immovable Kay to step aside and the instant he landed in a crouch he sprung forwards hoping to catch them off balance and delivered a series of punishing blows to the gut, only for each and every one of them to be knocked aside and the moment Rensa's momentum was halted Kay responded with equal ferocity by driving both fists down onto the slender and wraithlike teens' shoulders, buckling his knees. Another feral sound escaped Rensa as he was forced to the ground and his assault continued unabated as he lashed out from his position on the ground at Kay's legs, forcing them to block and evade for just long enough for Rensa to contort himself to something akin to a handstand where he could wrap his legs around his opponents arms and leverage Kay's bodyweight to hurl them to the ground, from there he made to pounce, fist reared back for a blow to the face only to be sent reeling at Kay proved their mastery of defensive fighting with a single well placed kick. The two fighters swiftly returned to their feet, both of them panting out harsh and laboured breaths, entire bodies aching with pain and exhaustion that was simply powered through and ignored whilst one pair of inhuman eyes bored into another, vivid pink irises set in black sclera met pure darkness and the two prepared for another exchange of blows.

"Okay that's enough!" Zhane boomed out, unusually stern as he stepped between the two of them "This is getting a little too far from sparring and a little too close to an actual fight; if you two have a problem you need to work out-"

"We don't" Kay answered earnestly before turning towards Rensa with a look of sudden surprise and concern "At least I don't think we do?"

"No, we don't" Rensa assured him gently, his voice as soft as always and at odds with the controlled fury of only moments ago

"Then what's wrong?" Zhane asked, unsure of exactly what being an authority figure in a teenagers' life would entail but deciding to try regardless "Something has clearly gotten you worked up"

"The Dark Empire" Rensa answered simply

"Okay that was predictable" the Silver Astro Ranger chuckled in spite of himself

"Their tactics are getting more extreme….Or we're just seeing more of it the more we work our way into Empire society" Rensa shuddered at that possibility, realising that the horrors they had seen thus far may only be the tip of the proverbial iceberg "We should be pushing ourselves to match them….if not in brutality then at least in sheer strength, we can't protect anyone if we can be completely overwhelmed"

"He makes a fair point" Kay breathed out "Lord Zedd's forces do seem to growing bolder, or more desperate. They were pushed out of Alliance space and now they know that we're operating within their territory, retaliatory violence was inevitable"

"True" Zhane admitted, seeing no sense in lying to the pair who had seen the Empire for what it was even more than most "But this isn't my first guerilla campaign and believe me when I say you need to relax when you can, morale is one of the most important tools we have; if it wasn't then we wouldn't have so many people in the Empire willing to defect to our side….that being said, training is done for today, you're already good enough. Kay, your magic is getting really impressive and Rensa, you're the only one of your team who can enter a higher Morphed state, even Mercy hasn't-"

"Which is why it's important to train harder" Rensa interjected, clearly uncomfortable at the comparison being drawn between himself and Mercy and not wanting to measure himself against his friends in such a way. He was ready to argue his position further and insist on training until his body forced him to stop yet before he could Zhane's communicator gave the familiar chirping sound in an unfamiliar rhythm and the older man looked at it in silent concern for a moment, brow furrowing intently

"Okay kids, relax….but find the others just in case" he murmured, raising a hand to silence the inevitable influx of questions "I don't know what's happening, it might be nothing but Karone just called a Mission Control meeting, so it pays to be prepared"

"Understood" Rensa nodded slowly before gesturing to Kay that the two of them should leave and as they did a conversation took place between them utterly silently wherein they came to the unspoken agreement that Zhane was right and they should find the other Aegis Rangers just in case the Dark Empire had decided to showcase its' barbarism against its' own populace once again and a team of heroes were needed to stop them.


Billy Cranston had been working on the secretive project dubbed 'LS Delta' by TJ Johnson and his peers within Lightspeed Command as per the arrangement that those aboard the asteroid base had reached with Project Lightspeed as a whole to maintain a sense of cooperation. The project was making steady progress though the former Blue Ranger was uncertain as to exactly how close to complete it was, things were largely theoretical at this stage of course, with information being relayed to those capable of making proper use of it on Alliance worlds in a way that was much safer than simply attempting to cross Empire space and the gulf of neutral and contested territories carrying such vital cargo.

That task had come to a halt however and now Billy was making his way to Karone's Inner Sanctum after being summoned by the resistance leader.

"Billy" Karone nodded in greeting as he entered the dimly lit Command Centre finding the Pink and Silver Astro Rangers waiting for him alongside the injured yet no less intimidating form of Charlie Morales.

"I assume this isn't just a request for a status update"

"No" Karone shook her head, the single word delivered with a sense of solemness that make Billy stiffen in anticipation as she gestured to Charlie who strode forward and began explaining the situation with the calm of someone who had seen far too much to be phased by anything at all

"Within the last hour we received a transmission and traced back to its' source….Or as close to its' source as was possible, which all things considered is still impressive. It was a call for aid from seemingly empty space"

"It's a trap" Billy stated simply "Cloaked Empire vessels"

"That was my first thought" Charlie noted with a wry smile

"But the Empire are smarter than that" Zhane interjected "And the transmission came in on an Alliance frequency and I think we can all agree that if the Empire has access to our communications we'd have problems than such an obvious trap"

"Play the message" Karone instructed and a moment later Karone had brought an image flickering into life from the projector installed in the centre of the circular table that filled much of the sanctum.

Billy's eyes widened at the sight of a figure whose form was hunched and frail due to age yet whose powerful musculature was that of an apex predator and plainly visible despite the flowing robes the individual wore; the majority of their body was covered in thick, shaggy fur that Billy knew would be a dark, blue grey despite the way it was washed out in the transmission with leathery, rippled skin beneath it. The aliens' face was blunt and primal with a wide, flattened nose and prominent fangs and eyes that managed to seem intelligent and inquisitive despite being fiery red and entirely without pupils all of which was framed by a cascading mass of braided fur, capped and interwoven with jewels and precious metals.

The individual may not have worn armour or possessed wings but Billy Cranston would know a member of Goldar's species anywhere.

"My greetings to those who hear this message….I can only hope that you are more merciful than those that make it a necessity" the aliens' voice was a low, rumbling thing; the sound of tectonic plates moving yet still somehow warm and grandfatherly "My name is Aye-Anor, speaker for the Great Conclave and elected emissary of the people of Furrous…..We are seeking aid from the Power Rangers and their allies"

"What, how is that possible?" Billy mouthed out, only to be gently silenced by Karone so that he could hear what followed as the pre-recorded transmission continued; his mind reeling in shock as the reality before him flew in the face of established and understood facts

"I suppose it would be prudent to explain you how it is that I am stood here, when it is widely believed by those beyond Furrous that our people have been largely extinct for several generations" Aye-Anor, speaker for the Great Conclave mused to themselves, addressing one of Billy's primary sources of bewilderment "My people are, or rather were known for our arcane abilities, abilities which whilst not equal to the scions of Eltar and Acheron were certainly noteworthy enough to draw the attention of the great enemy, several generations ago Lord Zedd and his Empire sought to consume the world Furrous and claim it for their own….It was by magic and deception alone that we survived for very few of us were warriors"

"Yeah and the ones of you that were made up for it" Charlie muttered under her breath, uncaring that her words went unheard

"It was through a grave act of sacrifice that the greatest sorcerers of their time amongst us moved out world from its' natural orbit and cloaked it from view, hiding us behind layers of magical protection that only those born beneath our skies or granted safe passage through relics and totems made by our hand can cross….Many of those who carry those totems are of our warriors clans, descended of those who left the home-world at this time, unwilling to be bound by the veil of secrets. It is my understanding that one such warrior sided with the Great Enemy and fought against the Power Rangers, a warrior known as Goldar" Aye-Anor looked both angry and profoundly saddened by the thought of what must have been seen as an unspeakable act of betrayal "I can only hope that this has not embittered you against my people as a whole, for I fear we will need each other in the coming moments. Our relics have found their way into the hands of pirates and marauders who, by their armament we can tell are in the employ of Lord Zedd, the Great Enemy….Our warriors have been gone for generations and we do not wage war amongst ourselves, we do not have the experience to face them and even now they seek the magical artefacts in our great halls. I do not know what the Great Enemy intends, only that it will be dire for us all"

Karone ended the recorded message

"And there you have it" she breathed out "The people of Furrous are not the few hundred scattered individuals across the galaxy that we thought they were….And they need our help"

"I presume that wat followed was instructions on how to contact them if we are to send aid?" Billy asked cautiously

"Indeed" Karone nodded "I presume you're in favour?"

"I say we leave 'em to rot" Charlie spat venomously, meeting the suddenly appalled looks of her allies with an icy and determined glare "They left the rest of the galaxy to die! Generations, that's what they said….They've sat by and watched as the Empire expanded and now they want our help? Where were the when Earth was on the verge of being enslaved?"

"By my forces if you recall" Karone's frosty tone was more of a warning than a yell could ever hope to be and Charlie quailed as she remembered who exactly she was talking to.

"I'm not sure I agree with your logic Charlie" Billy mused "However the point is moot regardless, if the people of Furrous are indeed protecting relics that the Empire deems important then matter is simply one practical-"

"DO YOU HEAR YOURSELVES!" Zhane's thundering and outraged demand coincided with his fist striking the desk

"Zhane-" Karone attempted to calm him but was promptly cut off

"No!" he snapped, voice rising with anger once again "WE ARE POWER RANGERS!….Power Rangers and you're going to sit here and debate whether a city, a world, and entire people are worth saving because of what they do and don't offer us?….We've been at war too long Karone….The Aegis Rangers, the children we send to fight would be disgusted if they could hear us now"

The silence was deafening.

Karone was left humbled, awestruck and ashamed in the face of the righteous fury of the man she loved, the Silver Ranger whilst Charlie shuffled uncomfortably as she was forced to realise just far short she had fallen of the ideal of a Power Ranger that she had once held so dear and Billy's eyes were downcast as he realised that he had indeed become a lesser man than his own son, at least in that instant.

"You're right" it was Karone that spoke but truthfully the words could have come from any of them as her voice was suddenly filled with fresh steel and fire "We'll send word to Furrous….tell them that the Power will protect them"

Author's Notes:

So I'm back, welcome to Arc 15, the midway point of the third and final act.
Had to take some time off to crank out seven chapters of a RWBY story I'll be posting from the 27th of December onwards, now however I can focus on Aegis for a while.
This arc is titled "Dragon Force" and all six chapters will be named after albums or singles by the band of the same name….Also, that should give you a hint as to who the main threat is going to be this time.

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
A little timescale and idea of what the team has been up to, more spec-ops stuff than massive heroics for a couple weeks.
Mercy would definitely just be that one person that everybody knows.
It's definitely worth noting that the guy trying to sell a spaceship is basically no different to Elgar, they're literally only on the same side as the Rangers because they hate the Empire.
Lar'Zenn, pronounced like Larceny without the Y.
So Charlie and Mercy are on speaking terms now.
I mean Mercy's right, she was literally made to fight a war and Charlie's right….'cos that is really sad.
Grace is working on giving Zebidiah a body and Billy is working on something called Lightspeed Delta, which considering that the SPD Rangers are currently Lightspeed Cadets I'm pretty sure you can figure out the nature of.
Was there a safer way to test the new teleporter? Probably….But when are Power Rangers not needlessly extra and dramatic?
The fact that the Empire could theoretically find the Asteroid Base if they realise that the rebels are using their teleportation network…..That couldn't possibly come back to bite people later on.
Panthera will definitely try and hustle that guy out of his spaceship.
Cestria is almost certainly something of an oddball on Aquitar.
And that's what Charlie meant and why she looked uncomfortable, she's had a psyche evaluation from Marigold.
I feel like the kind of people who could become a Power Ranger are the exact kind of people who would work themselves half to death fixing other peoples' problems and smile whilst acting like they were actually the ones receiving a favour and Mari proves she's Ranger material every time she throws herself head first into things.
That last thought of the scene was bleak but true, most castles are breached from the inside.
Rensa and Kay are definitely each others' favourite sparring buddies and it was fun to juxtapose their styles against each other, Kay is a defensive wall and Rensa is all out attack.
Zhane makes a good point about the amount of people defecting.
Rensa's people are practically pack animals, don't compare him to his friends or do anything that could be taken as playing them off of each otherwise
So Charlie is part of Mission Control now.
Admiral Akbar has been invoked.
Goldar's species….I know some of you are already excited at where this is going.
Aye-Anor….Pronounced like Iron Ore, because puns.
Also Furrous….Like ferrous, but fur.
So the vast majority of the species are in hiding, after literally moving their planet out of the way and cloaking it to make people think that it had been destroyed and warriors like Goldar that went out into the galaxy looking for wars to be part of are basically the ones that refused to stay hidden.
Consider that Lord Zedd had his forces destroy one of the port cities on Onyx, where Panthera was in the first arc because he doesn't tolerate pirates and thieves in his Empire….if he's arming and working alongside pirates now he must have a bigger plan.
Someone had to say what Charlie did.
"By my forces if you recall" and the temperature quickly dropped in that room.
But yeah Zhane's outburst was entirely correct and obviously that outcome was inevitable.

Thank you to Blue Legends and Enby The Conqueror for their reviews on the last chapter.
Enjoy more of those character interactions, Charlie was especially interesting this chapter.
I appreciate the support and whilst Aegis is almost certainly going to be my last/only major Power Rangers story, it's not 100% out of the question that I'll write others smaller stories and one-shots.
Also I'm by no means finished as a writer at all, I've got stories coming for at least two more fandoms.

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