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Chapter 72 – The Penultimate Peril

The spaceship belonging to Lar'Zenn, interplanetary smuggler, thief and self proclaimed rogue of great renown was not heavily armed or armoured, nor was it a particularly large vessel; quite the opposite in fact, the ship was a personal transport capable of acting as a home to its' pilot and owner and a handful of others when it was not carrying any of Lar'Zenn's ill-gotten goods and designed to be largely unremarkable as to avoid suspicion from security forces, be they Empire, Alliance or those operating on independent worlds. What the small, somewhat ramshackle ship had in its' favour however was its' speed; Lar'Zenn had spared no expense in modifying and upgrading his ship to outpace any law enforcement or rival vagabonds that might seek to capture him and as Karone felt the trembling of the vessels' hull as it entered the atmosphere of a planet once again she found herself grateful for that speed.

They had made it to Earth.

Or more accurately after a day and a half of constant, full-speed warp travel the small ship had raced across the gulf of space, travelling faster than light until they were within the boundaries of Alliance space at which point an emergency transmission had been immediately sent to Project Lightspeed and a massive starship, truly a small city or large town in its' own right had teleported to their location and ferried them the rest of the way before allowing the smaller craft that had docked within it and been refuelled to make planet-fall. Karone and Zhane both fully intended to return to KO Thirty-Five to both visit Andros and simply return home after spending so long operating within the Empire at some point in the near future but right now there presence was required elsewhere.

They were required on Earth.

"I still think I should stay on the ship with Lar'Zenn….so should Justin" Charlie's tense words brought Karone back to the present moment more than the rattling of the ship, something she had become accustomed to could hope to. The Pink Astro Ranger stood ready in the cargo hold with Zhane at her right hand and Charlie at her left, the former black-ops specialist sporting reddened and burned flesh all along the right side of her body and still moving gingerly and holding herself in a way that made it clear that ribs that had been broken by Goldar were not fully healed despite Cestria's best efforts. Behind the three of them were Cestria herself and Billy, whose left cheek now bore ragged scars where the talons of a Tengu warrior had raked through his flesh and Justin whose sweaty palms and darting eyes suggested that he shared Charlie's concerns; Charlie had after all been liberated from a maximum security prison and Justin had played no small part in that escape.

"We had an arrangement, there's nothing to suggest that anything has changed" Karone answered simply and sternly, resolving that nothing would happen to those who had fought beside her but dismayed that such infighting should even be a concern.

"We had an arrangement when we were too far away for them to do anything about….now we're on their doorstep" Charlie noted, clearly unconvinced though any further discussion was silenced and the point was rendered moot as a final, jarring thud passed through Lar'Zenn's ship as its' landing struts finally connected with solid ground.

"Mariner Bay, home sweet home" Justin chuckled, nervousness giving the words a near hysterical edge as he braced himself. They had landed in what had once been Lightspeeds' base of operations and home of the Aquabase owing to the size and readiness of its' space ports, the landing area in question however had almost certainly been cleared of civilians and Karone was frankly unsure of what would await them when they stepped off the ship; though she sincerely hoped that it would be nothing but amicable between the two groups.

"Let's go" she said finally opening the hatch and deploying a ramp to exit the ship whilst Lar'Zenn remained in the cockpit, intending to leave Earth as soon as possible; as she stepped out into the glaring sunlight a barely perceptible nod to Zhane had her partner move into a position from which he could cover any of their group if they were threatened though as they made their way out into the open it seemed that such paranoid gestures had been wholly unnecessary. Karone had expected to greeted by a military presence and have weapons trained on her party regardless of them being nominally on the same side, instead there was no more than a handful of individuals waiting at the edge of the circular landing pad; the entire affair had the feeling of some cliché stand-off though that was quickly shattered when one member of the welcoming party stepped forwards addressed Karone with wide open arms and a welcoming smile

"Karone, Zhane it's good to see you again"

"And you too TJ" the Astro Ranger who had once fought against the very team she was now considered a member of replied with a bright smile that mirrored the one on the Blue Astro Ranger and now head of Project Lightspeeds' heavily battle-scarred face; the two of them having formed a close friendship in years that had followed the woman who had once been Astronema's defeat, something that had been largely enabled by Karone becoming a Power Ranger herself, taking up the mantle left by Kendrix Morgan for a period and also by the insistence of Andros and Zhane, the Silver Ranger himself not yet moving from the position he had been ordered to take but clearly eager to pull his old friend into a bear-hug after not seeing familiar faces in so long.

Both groups turned, tension suddenly apparent yet dissipating again in the blink of an eye as Justin streaked across the divide between them and all but hurled himself towards a man of comparable age to himself clad in jeans and a leather jacket with a black gi bearing the iconography of his academy worn under it; Sensei Kazama, Fire Ninja and ally to the second team of Ninja Storm Rangers.

Not all reunions were so pleasant however.

Stood off to the side of the group was a trio of individuals, the tall and imposing form of Commander Anubis Cruger, or Doggie to his friends clad in his customary long coat with his ancestral sword taking from its' mantle in his office now hanging from his hip to grant him an even more menacing presence that was only bolstered by the sight of Bulk and Skull beside him, the pair clad in the black uniforms of their station and heavy body armour with weapons of esoteric design holstered at their waists. Cruger, let out a low snarl of warning as he and Charlie locked eyes, the head of Lightspeeds' black-ops glaring daggers at his former pupil and lacing his words with the purest venom as he spoke

"Bulk, Skull….If she makes any sudden movements I want her brought down, lethal force-"

"Enough!" the forceful and snappish tone came from one of the final two members of the welcoming party, namely Professor Grace Sterling whose age and demeanour gave her the feeling of being some particularly strict teacher; instantly stopping any hostilities before they could begin regardless of rank or station. The final figure was shrouded beneath pale brown, almost beige robes with the hood pulled low over their face, their form entirely hidden from view until a gentle breeze revealed a hand that was metallic and skeletal; each individual component of the appendage decorated with glyphs and runes that seemed to thrum with some silent power.

Billy's eyes widened

"Zebidiah?" he gasped "You're back?" in an instant the former Blue Ranger had crossed the space between the two groups and heartily shook the metallic hand and upon being released Zebidiah Lord, the once and former Lord Zedd reached up to remove his hood and revealed that his new body featured a face that looked much as he had in life, synthetic flesh appearing younger by perhaps a decade though time and age meant little to the sorcerer; those his eyes were now glassy black orbs, illuminated from within by an ever shifting light which swirled and fractured to give them the appearance of miniature galaxies'

"A recent development….so much so that this body is not complete but my mental conversation with grandchild prompted Grace to take action and bring me back to the material plane"

"Your….you spoke with Kay?" Billy asked quizzically, knowing that the answer he received would involve the arcane arts which he himself took no part in.

"Indeed, whilst you were under attack by Goldar" Zebidiah's brow furrowed, in an impressively lifelike gesture from the android body whilst his eyes narrowed "I note that neither Kay nor their team-mates are present Billy"

"They're not" the former Blue Ranger conceded, his own concerns about his sons' whereabouts rising to the forefront of his mind.

"They stayed behind to destroy the base and ensure that our information and technology didn't fall into enemy hands" Karone spoke up, her voice loud and clear as she stepped away from the spaceship they had arrived on and led the remaining members of her group towards the welcoming party, though Charlie still kept a safe distance from Cruger and his followers; unwilling to find herself on the end of his sword again.

"They intended to rendezvous with us outside of Empire space, as we were picked up by one of your ships we're arrived here ahead of them" she added "It was Mercy's plan that allowed us to escape with the Lightspeed Delta Morphers"

"You have them?" TJ asked, suddenly businesslike

"I do" Karone nodded, hefting the heavy and armoured case that the devices were stored in and making to hand it over to her fellow Astro Ranger before stopping "Charlie and those who freed her from prison have been instrumental in my campaign against the Empire and have saved lives that cannot be counted, I would like them to receive amnesty from prosecution for their services"

"This is an outrage" Cruger spat furiously "This woman has-"

"Cruger" TJ said gently but unflinchingly, cutting across the coming tirade before it could begin "Return to the Moonbase, take your people with you. This is not a fight we're going to have today" there was a moment of tense silence before the cobalt scaled yet distinctly canine alien seemed as though he might argue but instead Cruger simply nodded and a moment later he, Bulk and Skull vanished as teleportation streams manifested as beams of light. At this point Karone handed the Lightspeed Delta Morphers to TJ who in turn handed the devices to Zebidiah and spoke again.

"Zebidiah, Grace if you would be so kind as to take Billy and Justin back to Promethea One….In fact I see no reason why Cestria and Sensei Kazama shouldn't be there as well" the head of Project Lightspeed allowed himself a small smile as he added "Corcus is already having the candidates for those new Morphers contacted, we have something in mind for them to cut their teeth on"

"And the Aegis Rangers?" Zebidiah demanded, the air crackling around him in a way which made it clear his magic had not been diminished by his new form

"Karone and Zhane, if you would be willing to accompany me?" TJ asked pointedly "We'll begin sending out search parties to locate out missing team"

"With pleasure Karone" nodded. Charlie however watched the situation unfolding and realised that whilst every other member of the two groups was being sent to Promethea One to act as part of a new Mission Control for a new team of Rangers or to some other, equally important location she herself was still unaccounted for and so she promptly spoke up

"Vice Admiral Johnson, sir" she added the word and snapped to attention as old habits began to return to her "Where am I needed?"

"You're not" the former Turbo and Astro Ranger's response was blunt and he shook his head with visible contempt before adding "Karone's word might keep you out of a maximum security black site but it cannot and will not be enough to convince me that you can be trusted. Your rank and clearances are non-existent, you're a free woman but you are a civilian Miss Morales; I would advise you to use your freedom wisely and make a life for yourself that involves being far away from Power Rangers, Project Lightspeed or anything else that might attract Commander Cruger's attention" With that TJ tapped the communicator on his wrist and Charlie watched he and the various people around him, including those that she had arrived with teleported away; after standing in stunned silence for several seconds at an utter loss as she tried to process what had just occurred her first emotional reaction began to rise to the surface in the form of sheer unbridled rage, manifesting itself as a wordless scream of fury as the realisation struck her like a physical blow.

She had been deemed a liability and abandoned by everyone that mattered to her once again.

For the Aegis Rangers a day and a half by the reckoning of those native to Earth had passed slowly, yet conversely every passing moment had been filled with unshakeable urgency is their Zords continued to prowl through the darkness of the void. Whilst their Zords had enough power to operate for quite some time without suffering any damage or needing to be maintained owing to the way that they harnessed the power of the Morphing Grid and there was no risk of the atmosphere or life support systems within each of the Rangers' cockpits suddenly failing the Rangers themselves were not blessed with such longevity.

The seven of them were hungry, thirsty and exhausted with none of them having slept or even truly rested for anything longer than a few stolen minutes at a time and Tempestus was beginning to show the first signs of discomfort at going without the water from his home-world of Aquitar, the other strains on the Blue Ranger's body exacerbating his worsening condition and though he could likely persevere longer before it truly became a health risk he had been forced to de-morph to scratch at skin that had become uncomfortably dry and flaky. Panthera and Rensa conversely had managed better than expected, the Pink Ranger used to life in space in ways that the other Rangers simply were not, with even Marigold freely admitting that being born and raised on the city sized colony ship 'Leslie' had done little to prepare her for this whilst the Black Ranger was simply well acquainted with all forms of hardship and had gone without basic necessities for longer than this before. Mercy stared out at the endless expanse of nothingness ahead of her displayed on the viewscreen of her cockpit and quickly turned her attention towards other readouts, she was flagging and the endless nothingness did nothing to boost her resolve. Her eyes itched and burned, her stomach growled, her throat was dry and scratchy and her head pounded with a dull, buzzing ache that refused to subside despite her best efforts to ignore it yet still the Red Aegis Ranger pushed herself onwards.

After all, they had a plan now.

Panthera's idea of reaching out to any of her former fellow smugglers' on an encrypted frequency had proven successful and not only had there been members of the smuggler guild or at least those who associated and did business with them close by enough to be contacted, they had been more than willing to aid the Aegis Rangers in sowing confusion, destruction and all-out havoc across the Empire either due to the opportunities it would provide them to continue their own activities without scrutiny or out of a simple desire for revenge against Lord Zedd's forces who had been brutal in their crackdown of all forms of piracy and smuggling within Empire space of late. This impromptu alliance had resulted in the Rangers being given the location of a massive teleportation gate used by Empire forces, located on a major interstellar shipping route and intended primarily to expedite matters and deploy battleships in the event that the goods being transported were threatened by raiders, something that Karone's insurgency had made a very real threat as such goods and resources included many things that could be put to good use or in many cases slaves to be liberated. The teleportation gate had been their goal, with Mercy still intending to carry out the plan that they had agreed upon and first take the gate, which if it were not automated would likely also have a small base and therefore food and water and then have Tempestus activate it so that the Aegis Rangers could launch an assault on Acheron itself.

Mercy's focus was drawn away from the larger picture of her admittedly massively risky plan, but also thankfully away from her own headache and exhaustion by the distraction of a comm channel crackling open. Predictably it was Kay who had contacted her, the Green Ranger, whilst physically handling the current situation impressively well due to their alien and hybrid physiology was clearly struggling mentally and emotionally as being confined to their cockpit with little to no outside stimulation was beginning to grow dangerously close to solitary confinement and they had seemingly been cycling through each of their fellow Rangers in turn, using conversation to distract themselves from the steadily growing urge to open fire with the Dragonzord's weapons simply so that the explosions would break the monotony of space.

"Hey Kay" Mercy's voice was barely a whisper, its' cracking weakness bothering her as she heard it "How're you holding up?"

"I was using the Dragonzord's long range sensors, we should be at the gate in the next hour and I just needed to see something" there was a note to Kay's voice, cautious and suspicious that made Mercy sit up a little straighter and pay more attention "I picked up some signals ahead….I think they might be using the gate we're heading for"

"Send the information over to everyone" Mercy answered quickly, fighting the urge to snap out a curse as she opened a comm channel to each of the Rangers and quickly explained the situation "We might not be alone at the gate when we get there"

"Damn it" Marigold muttered, her voice equally strained as she regarded the new information "That's a lot of ships"

"It's worse than that" Panthera muttered, the teal-skinned and feline aliens' voice a low and husky murmur as she took in the information before her, Kay had found over a dozen Empire spaceships heading towards the Rangers' destination which was concerning in its' own right but Panthera was clearly examining the data more closely, taking in the size and configurations of the various vessels and their formation into account before giving her chilling diagnosis.

"I see four battleships, that's the smaller ones and I use the word loosely here because they're all big enough to have our Zords fit in their hangars, all of them probably have fighters on board…..the other eight though; those are freight ships, lightly armed but carrying a lot supplies"

"So they're escorts for the cargo sips?" Tempestus asked carefully, Mercy sensed that the answer would not be so simple even before Panthera spoke

"No, it feels more like fleet movements….like the Empire's gathering its' forces for an attack somewhere"

"What do we do Mercy?" Aslaug asked and Mercy had the distinct feeling of all eyes being on her despite the fact that the seven of them were communicating through audio only; she remained silent for several moments, considering her options before coming to the only conclusion that made sense to her and reasoning it out for the benefit of her fellow Rangers

"We were already heading to the gate, we wanted to get the Empire's attention and make sure Karone gets out of Empire space….it isn't Acheron itself but if Lord Zedd is planning a full scale invasion of somewhere then messing up those plans is gonna get the result we want anyway; besides we've gotta do it….we can't just ignore an invasion, we're Power Rangers"

"Agreed" Aslaug growled and upon hearing that Mercy couldn't help but feel a little more confident, her pain and weariness being pushed from her mind as a fierce and predatory smile formed on her face

"Anyone who isn't already should probably morph" she warned "This is gonna get bumpy"

The Silver Guardian Cadet group which consisted of Jack Landors and his adoptive sister Elizabeth Delgado, more commonly simply called Z who had both spent years in the care of the alien entrepreneur known as Piggy; the somewhat magically inclined Bridge Carson, Sydney Drew, or Syd for short and Sky Blake had not resided on the Lightspeed Aquabase or even the city of Mariner Bay since their evacuation following the Green Aegis Ranger's assault on their home. Instead they had found themselves at one of many other Lightspeed bases scattered across the United States of America, specifically one located in the city of Silver Hills, the original birthplace of the Silver Guardians initiative and home to many of its' original members all of whom had gone on to be become decorated veterans after serving in missions both on and off of Earth, including the Quantum Ranger Eric Myers who often rook part in the training of new recruits when his presence was not required for a more direct role elsewhere.

Despite the dramatic upheaval and the reasons for it life for the five teens of the cadet group had returned to something close to normality as they continued to train and study, taking academic classes along with military and combat training along with lessons usually reserved for officers and other specialisations that they found themselves drawn to such as Bridge's continued improvement of his latent arcane abilities as the Silver Guardian program pushed them far beyond what normal schooling would, preparing them to be the best of the best. Currently however the five of them were on their lunch break, clad in the grey fatigues based on outfits worn by the Astro Rangers which served as their answer to a school uniform and sharing a table as they often did; surrounded by groups of their peers doing much the same thing and the ambient sounds and smells common to any cafeteria or mess hall.

"I cannot believe you're seriously planning on going AWOL" Sky's voice was a furious hiss, though mercifully one that was inaudible to anyone other than those closest to him as he shot Jack and Z a glance that could best be described as murderous

"I can't believe you haven't snitched yet, they might make you an officer for it" Bridge noted, sitting backwards on the bench and lounging backwards on the table, leaving his food untouched as he focused on the decidedly retro handheld game in his hands so intently it was almost surprising that he had noticed the conversation at all; Sky balked at that, visibly upset and offended yet before he could round on his friend and team-mate Jack answered; running his hand through dreadlocks that were a product of the laxer uniform and grooming regulations that Silver Guardian Cadets were allowed and speaking softly as he tried to diffuse the situation

"Bridge, come on man that's not cool" he gave his friend who was often treated as the comic relief of their group a meaningful look before turning to Sky "Don't think of it as AWOL, just think of it as Z and I going home for a weekend"

"But you will be absent and it will be without leave" Sky noted pointedly "Words mean things Jack, you can't just-"

"We're going to see Piggy" Z interjected, her tone indicating that she was balancing on a fine line between understanding his concerns and exasperated anger at his refusal to listen.

"He's been worried about us….he was been since everything happened, y'know with the Green Ranger; we all got pretty hurt in that fight"

"Oh" Sky mumbled, shame leaving his eyes downcast as understanding suddenly dawned on him. Many of the cadets, himself included were orphans or wards of the state but the alien businessman had been a father figure to Jack and Z and Sky found himself wondering if he would have done the same for his own family, though with his father being the Red Ranger of the second Lightspeed team who had died in the line of duty he honestly doubted that the gesture would have been appreciated.

"I think it's sweet" Sydney beamed, casually stealing food from Bridge's tray whilst he was distracted by the computer game older than himself "Tell Piggy we all say hi, he's cool….by the way, did he ever get in touch with, well y'know-"

"Kay" Z snorted, everything about her demeanour suddenly turning hostile "No and if they know what's good for them the bastard will stay away from Piggy"

"They're a Power Ranger Z, they're on our side now-" Jack found himself cut off by his adoptive sisters' snappish tone

"I don't care….after what they did to us, to Piggy? Nah fu-"

"The whole team is missing in action" Sky noted, bluntly halting the conversation before it could become an argument "All of them….perhaps it's a good idea to not wish harm on them"

"Damn" Sydney sighed "I hope Mercy's okay….I mean her friends were kinda cool but she was one of us y'know?" there was a moment of silent agreement as the five of them wondered what had become of their old friend, their fellow Silver Guardian and alumni of the Aquabase whom Sky had always had a rivalry of sorts with until Bridge suddenly stiffened and perked up; eyes scanning his surrounding in search of whatever had triggered his limited precognitive abilities.

"Heads up" he murmured as the subject of his sudden anxious tension presented themselves; a pair of men clad in smart but nondescript black suits and whose overall appearances seemed almost tailored towards blandness approached them, their build, height, hair and other distinguishing features remarkable only in their extreme averageness and their eyes covered by sunglasses despite them being inside. The five teens braced themselves as the two men approached, with Jack and Z flashing Sky accusatory looks in the belief that he had indeed informed one of their teachers that they intended to go AWOL for a weekend, only to see pure confusion on their friends' face as the two men flashed identification in fluid motions that rendered it impossible to discern anything other than the Project Lightspeed insignia.

"Cadets Landors, Blake, Carson, Delgado and Drew?" the first of the men asked in a tone that made it very clear that he knew the answers, upon being given nods of confirmation he simply added "You need to come with us"

"What's this about?" Jack asked, making no effort to move and suddenly aware of the eyes of his fellow cadets on him and his friends

"Are we in trouble" Sky asked, voice almost vibrating with sudden nervousness "What's this about?"

"Come with us please" the first man repeated, perhaps slightly more forcefully however his partner; seeming to realise that they were dealing with a group of rightly concerned teenagers rather than hardened fugitives stepped in.

"I'm Agent Smith and this is Agent Jones and I can promise you that you're not in any trouble" he spoke just loudly enough for his words to be heard clearly by the teenagers around the group who quickly lost interest at the knowledge the situation was nothing extreme

"But we cannot give specifics at this time" Agent Jones interjected, giving his colleague a warning glance. Jack and Sky shared glances and a silent conversation seemed to be exchanged between the pair before they rose to their feet with their friends quickly following suit; Bridge's instincts were usually correct so they would do well to be prepared for anything but it seemed as though they had little choice but to go with the men.

"Thank you for your cooperation" Jones noted, a touch of sarcasm colouring his words and being the first hint of any real personality from him.

"Can you tell us anything at all?" Jack muttered to Smith, sensing that of the two agents he would be the most likely to talk; the man considered for a moment before answering with vagueness that only raised more questions

"The five of you are being reassigned to Promethea One….and that I should probably congratulate you"

The Zords had prowled through the void of space, drawing ever closer to their goal all whilst staying on the very edge of the range of their enemies' sensors, keeping the Empire ships that still gathered at the teleportation gate and the colossal gate itself in their sights whilst at the same time successfully hiding from those same targets; a not insignificant task as the Rangers had pushed their mecha to even greater speeds, translating sheer force of will into action through the power of Morphing Grid and began moving into position, the Zords stalking around the fleet of Empire space ships like some fierce apex predators in an effort to surround and intercept them before they could pass through the teleportation gate and unleash their deadly cargo on whatever world Lord Zedd intended them to enslave.

And now the moment to strike was almost upon them.

"Everyone in position?" Mercy asked, her voice heavy with the tension and gravity of their situation, the dozen ship that they had initially detected had been joined by a handful of new transports though it seemed that there still only the four warships and the likely numerous fighter craft being stored in the hangars of the various spaceships; those warships would be the first to be targeted. Mercy's hands trembled as her cockpit was filled with the voices of her fellow Rangers, each of them assuring them that they were in position and that their weapons were primed and ready so, with nothing else left to be done or said the Red Ranger took a final deep breath in an unsuccessful attempt to steady herself before giving the order

"Let's move!" with that the ambush began and the seven Aegis Zords rushed forth at full speed, as they came surging into range of their enemies sensors the ships and the teleportation gate that had been the Rangers initial target steadily came into view; the warships were what Mercy and her fellow Rangers had come to expect, massive things whose swept forward wings attached to a central column gave them the appearance of an enormous battleaxe whilst the freight and cargo ships were perhaps larger and more massive but lacked the wings and extensive armaments, sharing the same general principles and sensibilities as their more combat oriented cousins yet also allowed the same level of personalisation which had resulted in more than one of them resembling something akin to a whale of serpentine sea-monster.

The gate itself was simply enormous, a ring of warded and rune-ridden metal large enough for the vessels whose size and population was comparable to a small city to pass through them with clearance to spare which glowed in the darkness of space.

"They're not raising their shields" Tempestus noted "That's groovy right?"

"No" Panthera's grimace was plain even with her face hidden from view "It means something coming up on sensors doesn't bother them, they're expecting more company"

"I'm in range" Marigold interjected"

"As am I cousin" Kay added quickly

"OPEN FIRE!" the words left Mercy in a half-panicked and furious yell and almost the instant they did space itself was set a blaze by the eruptions of light from the Zords' weapons as they sprung their ambush on the Empire ships.

The Aegis Ranger's departure from their usual defensive and reactionary deployments was highlighted the moment the battle began as Tempestus brought the Plesion Zord into position and targeted the primary engines of the warship bringing up the rear of the convoy of vessels whilst Mercy, Kay and Marigold struck in perfect tandem, falling upon the lead warship at the head of the enemy fleet with righteous fury.

It was a smaller warship, relatively speaking yet as massive axe-shaped vessel still dwarfed the Zords by orders of magnitude it was something of a moot point; yet size did not equate to power or durability and as Mercy brought the Hawk Zord racing along the starboard side of the ship she unleashed salvo after salvo of rockets into any hatches or hangars that opened, decimating fighters and destroying the Empire counter-attack before it could begin. As the Red Ranger rained fire and death on fighter craft Marigold and Kay targeted the warship itself, at this point its' crew had realised that they were under attack and were frantically scrambling to respond the first sign of which came in the form of the ships' shields beginning to power up, only to fail as the Gold Ranger brought her Winged Lion Zord into position and fire the weapon mounted in its' scorpion-like tail into vital components which allowed Kay to target the command bridge; the Dragonzord fell upon the arrowhead shaped tip of the vessel with a silent scream, drill-tipped tail and missile-tipped claws tearing into the hull of the ship until finally the furious mecha opened its' mouth and unleashed a stream of ephemeral green energy from its' gaping maw into the bridge of the warship.

Destroying it entirely.

"Target eliminated" Kay announced, voice strained as the struggled to keep the destructive urges of the Dragonzord's AI in check.

"One down" Mercy declared "Tempestus what's the status of your target?"

"Damaged but they managed to raise shields before I could destroy their reactors, they're preparing to deploy fighters!"

"Moving to intercept" Mercy answered simply, forcing herself to focus on the task itself and none of the dangers it presented, a mental equivalent of simply putting one foot ahead of the other and moments later the Hawk, Dragon and Winged Lion Zords had broken away from the now destroyed warship at the head of the fleet and were preparing to run the gauntlet of two more warships and roughly a dozen transports which had each begun deploying swarms of fighter craft which, whilst each far smaller than the Zords would likely be capable of turning the tide of the battle through their sheer numbers alone.

Then Aslaug, Panthera and Rensa joined the fray.

The Ursa-Titan, Sabre and Osore Zords, each dwarfing the fighters around them went hurtling into the swarm of enemies and tore hulls apart with terrifying ease whilst return fire pattered almost entirely harmlessly off their hulking forms. Even in the void of space with no atmosphere or gravity acting upon them the trio moved in ways that were instantly recognisable; with Rensa having his mecha stalk around the perimeter of the skirmish and pick off any fighter that grew too preoccupied with his fellow Rangers whilst Panthera had her Sabre Zord leap from one promptly crushed and savaged enemy to the next and Aslaug simply waded into the midst of the Empire forces, simply charging and swiping with clawed limbs to force the fighters to break ranks in a futile effort to escape her wrath.

"Okay let's go!" Mercy called to her fellow Rangers over the comms, forcing her mind to the matter at hand "We can't get bogged down by fighters, we've gotta deal with these warships! Move serpentine between ships, hug their shields and stay close to their hangars if you can; try and force them to hit each other every time they miss us!" with her orders given the Red Ranger began to act on her own advice, racing towards the next vessel in the convoy of gargantuan spaceships that stretched further than the eye could see into the void of space on what looked like a collision course but would be pulled into a steep bank at the last moment.

Then the situation changed again.

"Mercy, we've got a massive energy spike!" Panthera warned "It's coming from the teleportation gate!"

"It's beginning to power up!" Kay exclaimed, bringing the Dragonzord whirling around to see the nexus of light beginning to form in the centre of the giant structure

"Reinforcements?" Aslaug asked, even the gusto with which she approached battle faltering at the realisation of how outclassed they would soon be

"No" Panthera countered, though it was anything but relief in her voice "They've realised they don't need to fight us….they can just leave faster than we can destroy their ships"

"Damn it….everyone form it, you know what we need to do!" Mercy ordered, forcing herself to sound confident even if she was uncertain that even this last ditch effort would make a difference

"We need Ultrazord power!"

On Acheron itself, deep within the bowels of the palace of Lord Zedd the plans orchestrated by the warlord who ruled of the Dark Empire were being put into motion and had been progressing forwards without pause from the moment the tyrant had first uttered his new commands.

Forces were being gathered, vast legions warships and their attendant ground forces as and flotillas of support and cargo ships carrying the resources needed for what was to come were making their way to the benighted world with all haste and circling above the palace in high orbit like a flock of colossal, metallic vultures whilst on the surface of Acheron preparations were just as relentless. Mages of all disciplines including those whose mere descriptions would horrify any not initiated into them and whose genetic stock had been plundered from a plethora of worlds had been gathered under one banner and given tasks whose completion would see their names honoured in Acheron history whilst the palaces own Dread Forge along with those in the sprawling and hellish city beyond it had begun cranking out Putties at a rate not seen since the world had needed to defend itself against the army of Power Rangers led by Tommy Oliver, with several variants of the warbling automaton, many of which were untested and experimental as those responsible for overseeing each forge vied for Lord Zedd's favour. Within the walls of the palace itself cadres of warriors whose history was written in the blood of entire planets and star-systems they had subjugated or destroyed and religious fanatics clad in carmine robes had gathered in great numbers, each of them seeking the privilege of being part of Lord Zedd's personal retinue in the coming battle and vying for the despots' favour in their own; more direct way until the floors of the palace ran slick with blood of countless hues.

Lord Zedd himself however had remained in his throne room.

The towering and armoured tyrant had given orders and taken care to lay out what would befall any underling who failed to complete the task assigned to them in great detail before making it equally clear that he was not to be disturbed and sealing the cavernous chamber in which the throne and the trophies taken from generations of conquest were housed, drawing his veil of viscous, almost living shadows around himself as he attended to the most crucial part of his entire master plan.

Unlocking Goldar's Dark Dimension.

Through the act of reviving the ferocious warrior who had once served his father Lord Zedd had bound a portion of Goldar's magic to himself, allowing him access to that which Goldar held sway over yet that power did not come with knowledge and there was no time to simply launch a full scale assault on Furrous, breaking the planets' magical shrouding and defences so that he could rip the answers he sought from the minds of the leaders and mages of the world before adding everything it had to offer to his ever expanding Empire; instead the warlord had been forced to rely upon such mundane and feeble approaches as meditation and introspection, his magical aura crackling around him as it was turned inwards. Finally however, after over a day that had felt longer as reality was warped and bent around the might of his arcane power Lord Zedd had achieved his goals and reached out to seize his prize, content in the knowledge that nothing could defy his will for any noteworthy amount of time.

With a mere thought the warlord felt reality warp and shift, the lurching sensation in his gut given context and meaning by the various mechanical and magical implemented into both his armour and his own body as they displayed readings or simply fed information directly into his senses.

The most obvious sign of his victory however was the sight that greeted Lord Zedd as he took a single deliberate stride forwards and surveyed his surroundings; it was clear that he was no longer in his throne room.

Swirling, magically charged smoke that buzzed and tingled against all of his senses swirled around the air in rising and serpentine columns and the current limits of the prison, training area and temple that Lord Zedd intended to use a simple tool to bypass the need for teleportation were donated by towering arches of some jade-coloured material adorned golden iconography in the image of the sun which Furrous orbited whilst beyond its' limits some unnatural cosmos whose details matched no part of the galaxy Lord Zedd was aware swirled, rippled and collided at impossible speeds.

Beneath his mask the tyrant smiled, now all that remained was to adapt the Dark Dimension to suit his needs; he would start by removing the barriers around him.

Another Empire fighter which had been expelled from a larger warship was destroyed, flames guttering out as the atmosphere and fuel within it that had ignited were sucked out of its' ruined form by the vacuum of space.

The Ultrazord had been formed and the battle in space had continued to progress with the Aegis Rangers never losing sight of their goal even as the Empire fleet assembled against them unleashed its' full might.

"Damn it they're everywhere!" Mercy exclaimed, her words being uttered verbally and frantically as well as being transmitted directly into her fellow Ranger's minds through the matrix of shared consciousness that existed within the Ultrazords' cockpit; the subject of her ire being a fresh wave of the enemies seemingly innumerable fighter craft spilling from the hangars of the nearest of the remaining warships

"Switching weapons to rapid fire configuration, I'll handle this" Marigold answered as her consciousness rose to the fore and took direct control of parts of the enormous mechas' form; outwardly the shoulder mounted weapons formed from the Winged Lion Zords' tail and the Plesion Zords' neck and head appeared not to change at all but inwardly various mechanisms shifted in a way that allowed the immense cannons to fire sustained barrages of energy based attacks rather than a single all-consuming blast that unmade all that stood before it; the attacks were each far less powerful yet as the Ultrazord began to target fighter craft with all of the expert marksmanship that the Gold Ranger was known for it became clear that the trade off was worthwhile with enemies being defeated and destroyed by the dozen in a matter of moments.

"POWER SPIKE! WE'VE GOT INCOMING!" Panthera's voice all but screamed into the minds of her fellow Ranger's, throwing Marigold mentally off balance for a split second which Kay used to take control of the Ultrazord and send the machine veering away with all the speed it could muster, tearing through the darkness and narrowly avoiding destruction as a beam of crackling light, roughly equal in width to any individual Zord and made all the more intense by the void it contrasted against lanced through the space the Ultrazord had occupied.

An Empire warship had fired its' primary weapons batteries at them.

"Fighters inbound, shields up!" Panthera warned again, to which Aslaug responded by taking control of the Ultrazord and using the vast shield made from parts of Marigold's Zord and made larger by the energy field it emitted as a blunt tool with which to deflect incoming missiles and bludgeon the strafing fighters as they attempted to escape, more than one enemy being crippled and cast adrift in space as their crafts' directional control or propulsion system was reduced to molten slag on contact with the shield.

"We're getting tied up by fighters" Mercy noted, evidently displeased at this turn of events "We need to take out those warships or we're done for-"

"They still have their shields up, we might be able to overpower them if we put all power into our cannons but we'd be immobilised afterwards" Tempestus countered; the Red Ranger considered this and upon realising once again that desperate times called for desperate measures looked to Aslaug and decided that the Yellow Ranger's approach to space combat might just be their best hope.

"Okay….I need you all to trust me" Mercy breathed out before taking control of the Ultrazord and positioning the mecha directly in front of the warship that had fired on them before sending the enormous robot hurtling through space, lance held at the ready and shield extended forwards as she aimed directly for the Command Bridge of the Empire vessel; exclamations and panicked yells from her team-mates were silenced as Mercy began to pour all of the power she could muster from the Zords directly into the shield and each of them began to understand what she intended to do and quickly began lending their own power and will until, fuelled by a shared and singular purpose the Ultrazord collided with the Empire ship; forcefield meeting forcefield in an explosion of raw force that sent of arcs of coruscating light and rippling fields of energy surging outwards from the point of impact; each of the Rangers pushing and urging the Ultrazord onwards, the machines' neural controls translating their willpower into physical force as the bridge crew of the axe-shaped warship desperately tried to reroute all the power they could spare to their forward shields yet it was too little and in a cataclysm of light that shone like a collapsing star in the darkness of space the warships' shields failed in a way that sent a cascade of overloads and exploding system failures travelling along the length of the titanic warship.

However Mercy was unwilling to take chances.

"Let's finish this off" she declared, hefting the Ultrazords' lance; the sections between each armoured segment of the cylindrical bladed tip of the weapon formed from the Dragonzord's tail began to glow with incandescent white light and with each of her fellow Rangers still lending their power to hers she thrust the weapon downwards through the hull of the warship, destroying the Command Bridge and several decks below it; including vital workings for its' primary weapons meaning that though the ship had not exploded in an apocalyptic firestorm it had been removed from the battle entirely.

Though the Rangers were swiftly and forcibly reminded that the battle was not yet over.

"Power surge from the teleportation gate!" Rensa warned "One of the two remaining warships just passed through it and a cargo ship is following!"

"Damn it!" Mercy spat, suddenly furious at herself for allowing the enemy to distract her from the true objective so easily. Bringing the Ultrazord around she and the other Rangers saw with their own eyes that Rensa's proclamation was correct and that the vast teleportation gate had indeed been opened completely and that Empire warships and cargo vessels were beginning to make their way into the swirling vortex of crimson light at its' core, vanishing from view as they were enveloped within and transported elsewhere.

"Mercy, what's the plan?" Aslaug asked quietly, though her unwavering certainty that her partner would not only have an answer to their problems but that it would be the correct one being enough to prompt the Red Ranger to act; her mind racing as she considered countless variables before turning her attention to Tempestus and asking a single question which her course of action would hinge upon.

"Can we make it through that gate at the same time as one of those ships?" the Blue Ranger paused and pondered for a split second that felt like an age before nodding slowly, his own mind making the necessary calculations faster than Mercy could hope to.

"It will be risky, but it's possible"

"Good" Mercy nodded "All power to the lance!" with that she sent the Ultrazord tearing through space at impossible speeds once again, though this time it chased after the Empire vessels rather than attempting to collide head-on; racing by several cargo ships which had recalled their fighter craft and chosen to simply leave the battle all together until finally the enormous robot drew close to the whirlpool of bloody light that was the core of the teleportation gate; the lance in the Ultrazords' hand glowing like a star as Mercy added her own power to that of the other Rangers.

"Ready" her voice was calm yet her heart thundered in her chest as the Ultrazord began to be pulled into the teleportation gate.

"Aim" the seven Rangers brought their shared weapon to bear, targeting the workings of the gates' inner edge even as reality began to blur and transition from one state to another around them.

"Fire!" the Ultrazord unleashed its' greatest attack the moment it passed through the gate; an eruption of light and indescribable force that ripped through the workings of the teleportation gate and carved a deep and grievous wound into the cursed and rune-laden metal, causing the nexus of light to warp and surge violently like seas in a tempest as the portal was destabilised and finally collapsed, treating the Aegis Rangers to the sight of the colossal cargo ship that they had teleported alongside being torn in half and the half which emerged from the gate beginning to implode as unspeakable forces acted on it.

Yet their victory was quickly rendered terrifying.

"We made it….oh, oh no" Kay mouthed quietly beneath their helmet

"This is not groovy" Tempestus stated bluntly

"Why are they gathering here?" Aslaug demanded

"I don't know but it can't be good" Mercy answered, voice beginning to tremble with sudden fear "But we need to get out of here now" her worried tone was more than warranted for as far as the eye could see teleportation gates were being opened and scores of warships and their escorts and attendant cargo vessels were being released into the void, a vast fleet of city sized behemoths gathering in orbit and circling a single point like titanic predators; that point being a location on a single planet whose atmosphere was entirely shrouded by a darkness which swirled and writhed as if it were alive, thunder and lighting flashing through jet black clouds that roiled and thrashed, taking the shape of monstrous beasts as they spanned continents.

The Aegis Rangers had arrived above Acheron exactly as they had intended.

Author's Notes:

So, this is how we're starting the penultimate arc….no warm up, no easing you into it.
With this being the penultimate arc the theme for the chapter titles is "Penultimate books in YA series" with "The Penultimate Peril" being the twelfth book in the "A Series Of Unfortunate Events" series by Lemony Snicket.
Also if I keep to my current schedule I'm expecting to have this story completely written by the end of February/start of March, although it won't be posted for at least another month after that (For reference I'm writing this on January 21st)
I've said that I doubt I'll be writing anything else for Power Rangers after this but I'll definitely be writing something else for another fandom; so to quote Kimberley Hart "Catch you on the flip-side"

But anyway, let's summarise shall we?:
So a day and a half isn't "Earth to Empire" it's: Teleportation Gate at the very edge of Empire space to the edges of Alliance space or at least somewhere close enough that a bigger ship can be sent to pick you up.
You can't really blame Charlie for being paranoid.
The Aquabase isn't at full capacity and it isn't Lightspeeds' HQ but it is one of the hubs of alien immigration and intergalactic shipping on North America so landing a spaceship there is easier, there's always a spare landing pad.
TJ and Karone being on good terms….must have taken some work on Andros and Zhane's part.
Enjoy Justin and his man meeting up again.
But of course Cruger was gonna be there, the meeting was too important for him not to be and of course he was gonna be fuming at the sight of Charlie.
Ta-Da! You saw the robot body last chapter but here he is, the procedure worked and Zebidiah is back….the robot body does need some finishing touches though.
So Mission Control is being reformed and the Lightspeed Delta Morphers are being put to use, TJ Zhane and Karone are going to send ships away from Earth/Alliance worlds thinking that they're going to pick up the Aegis Rangers….But Charlie basically has no place with Lightspeed.
….We won't see Charlie again for the rest of this arc, but we will see her again before the end of the story.
Yeah a day and a half in a cockpit with no supplies is rough.
The plan is underway and things are going according to plan, so naturally that's gotta change.
Kay needing constant stimulation just makes sense to me, they don't handle boredom well.
Zebidiah ordered forces brought to Acheron itself, those ships are heading the same way as the Rangers but they don't know that so Mercy had to adapt based on the information she had.
We haven't seen the Cadet Group made of the Canon SPD Rangers since they fought Kay at the end of the sixth arc, so I'm sure you all put two and two together and guessed where this was going.
Jack and Z would definitely go AWOL for a weekend to go hang out with Piggy.
Yeah in this story Piggy was an adoptive parent to Jack and Z for a while, on top of everything else they did Kay took advantage of Piggy's kindness and that's not something Jack or Z are likely to forgive.
So the fact the Aegis Rangers are M-I-A is well known.
Of course Bridge sensed the secret agent guys, he has limited precognition, in canon it was genetic but since magic exists in this story I'm calling it latent magical ability.
Also, these are the exact same secret agent types that collected the Lightspeed Rangers, of course they'd grab someone in the middle of the mess hall; they have no chill.
I'll be honest the space fight was hard to write, the warships dwarf the Zords, there's no terrain, no floor and no real sense of up or down.
I had to bullshit a reason why the warships didn't just raise shields immediately.
Mercy shooting directly into the hangars was just nasty.
Kay's approach was brutal but honestly it's the only way that the Zords can really win this fight, just target the Command Bridge and destroy that so that the warships can't really fight in any coordinated way.
I always try and write my villains with some common sense and this was an instance of that, the Empire ships gained nothing from continuing to fight the Rangers when they could just leave the fight.
So Lord Zedd's forces are definitely gathering….And having death matches in his palace to settle who gets to be part of his personal retinue, because of course they are.
Goldar having to figure out how the Dark Dimension works makes perfect sense and the fact that he considered just launching an all out war on Furrous first is exactly the kind of villain he is….But he did it, so the villains plans are progressing just as quickly as the Ranger's and Mission Control's.
I skipped the transformation sequence, we have enough to be getting on with here.
Marigold is the sharpshooter of the team and that's based on Dekaranger.
The Ultrazord might be powerful but a warships' main battery is huge, remember that an Empire fleet has razed a planet in this story.
Mercy's idea of using the Ultrazord shield to overpower the warships' shield was inspired by the way AT fields work in Evangelion.
Remember that the Rangers had changed their goal from capturing the gate to halting the Empire fleet based on the assumption that it would prevent an attack on a populated world, so from that perspective destroying the gate makes sense.
However….they made it through the gate, realised that they were exactly where they wanted to be in first place and the other ships in that fleet can't follow them; except that's now a bad thing because they're surrounded by Empire warships.

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