Power Rangers: Steam Force

Ch16: Teamwork

Ayana Towers strolled down the busy streets of Vicdon in the middle of morning rush hour. As she walked along the street, she thought back to the previous battle against Toadshot and how she and Kivo had finally overcome their issues to defeat the Terrasoid. It had been tough allying with a former foe, but now she had gotten past her stubbornness, she understood that Kivo wasn't any different from the others.

As she neared an apartment building just ahead, she noticed Mia leaving from it, a sight which had piqued the curiosity of the yellow ranger as she wandered over to her comrade in black.

"Hey, Mia!" She casually called over, startling her teammate. "Surprised to see you here." She added, stopping just before the other ranger.

"Oh, hey Ayana. Sorry I was a little jumpy, I'm just surprised that you're here." Mia responded as she turned to face the yellow ranger.

"I guess I could say the same, any reason you're visiting that building? You don't talk that much, so I can never really tell what's going on with you when you wander off." Ayana asked, scratching the back of her head as she did so.

Mia glanced away for a moment as she spoke. "I'm just tryna find someone, that's all. It's nothing important." She said in an unoptimistic tone.

"You're not looking for Waldo are you? I haven't found him yet either." Ayana casually joked in an effort to cheer the black ranger up.

"It doesn't matter, I didn't find them. You heading back to the station?" Mia asked, quickly diverting the subject away from her.

"Yeah, I'm just headed back from seeing my family, they've been doing a lot better since Lohan's been helping them out. The rich families in this city might not give a crap about any of us poor people, but at least he does. It's a shame he can only do so much about it." She explained as they strolled along the sidewalk.

"I'll head along with you then. What's your family like then, I heard you've been the one keeping them going for a while till we all became rangers." Mia asked, curious about the yellow ranger's life as they headed toward their base of operations.

"If you really wanna know, I'll tell you. I never knew who my father was, my mom never said anything when I asked her about him. She took care of me and my six other siblings for a while till she got sick and couldn't work, she's still trying her best to parent everyone though. My older brother's nearly recovered from his injury now though, he and my younger siblings are happy now he's getting better and can be a real brother again. The youngest just enjoy being kids I guess, though they can be a real handful." She casually explained to Mia as they turned the street corner.

"They kinda sound like my younger brother." She muttered under her breath with a small smile for a moment.

Ayana didn't hear exactly what was said and was about to ask her comrade when a strange figure seemed to leap down from a large building and land softly on the ground, only a few meters ahead of the two rangers. Though it was obscured by the citizens it had landed between, this was without a doubt the latest Terrasoid Champion sent by the Villainous Queen to go up against the Steam Force rangers. It looked to be a large bipedal grasshopper, twitching it's head and scanning the humans for a moment.

As the citizens began to react, attempting to flee, the new Terrasoid snatched two civilians back with it's long arms, pulling them in close before leaping up high. Its legs extending as far as they would go to perform what would be an impressive feat, if not for the malicious intent of the creature. The latest champion had done all of this in a matter of mere seconds, executing its goal so quickly that the two rangers could only get a look at the Terrasoid before it had fled the scene. The two looked at each other, they were unsettled by the speed of the Terrasoid, and what it could possible be planning for the captured civilians.

"We've gotta go tell the others. Who knows what that thing might be doing." Ayana said hastily to Mia as they began to head as quickly as they could to the Operations Station. Whatever this new Terrasoid plot was, it was obvious that it had to be stopped before any other civilians were in the crosshairs of their latest foe.

[Steam Force]

Within the Operations Station, the other rangers were going about their daily activities. TJ and Lucas manned their seats on the baggy couch as they versed each other on a video game, by the look on their faces, the former was currently winning their friendly competition. As for Alex and Kivo, the two were sat at the other end of the large seat, working on the latter's Cog rifle. It appeared that in the prior battle with Toadshot, at some point in the battle, some of the gunk made by the creature had gotten into the weapon and hadn't dissipated after the Terrasoid's defeat. While practicing with his weapon a short while ago, the weapon had jammed due to the remaining gunk. Now Alex worked over it as her teammate watched over her shoulder, waiting until his weapon was back to working condition.

Tightening a few of the screws with her trusty screwdriver, Alex wiped her brow, having finished clearing the rifle of the Gunk. "Looks like your rifle's in good condition now. Next time you're gonna spill giant frog guts everywhere with that thing though, watch what you're doing." She joked playfully, handing it over to Kivo.

The Cog ranger gave a short laugh as he took his weapon back. "I'll keep it in mind, but was it really necessary to take it completely apart just to clean it?"

Alex glanced away for a moment. "Uh-Yeah… Definitely needed to do that… It isn't like I just did that because I like to take things apart and put them back together or anything…" She said, trying to pass it off as a joke with an unconvincing laugh.

"You really need to work on your lying you know. It's a bit too obvious." Kivo remarked, stifling a laugh as he did so.

As the four went about their business, they were quickly interrupted by the heavy sound of footsteps as a group of soldiers sprinted into the building, before lining either side of the entrance. Followed by two guards, a man in his with slicked back blonde hair entered the Operations Station. His clothes looked to be made of fine material and designed for a person of high stature.

As he halted in the control room of the base, General Lohan emerged from his office and greeted the man. As the new arrival strolled around the station, taking in every in of what it had to offer, the General advanced down the ramp and toward the rangers, who had now caught sight of what was happening.

"Rangers, I need the four of you to come with me, there's a very important person I'd like you all to meet." Lohan informed them all, the four gave nods as they rose from their seats.

Though they were uncertain as to the purpose of this visit from this important individual, they knew it was serious if he had that much security with him. Heading into the control room, the four came face to face with the man. He had an odd air of superiority about him as he silently scrutinized the Operations Station.

"Rangers. This is the most important man in Vicdon, the Governor. He's in charge of the city and chose his title to reflect the importance of his role. He's here today because he wants to review the ranger program. I hope you'll do your best to impress him." The General explained to them.

The Governor paced back and forth as he observed the four rangers currently present. "This base of yours is rather run down, it's as if peasants live here. Though judging by some of the residents and their backgrounds, I'm not surprised by this." He told them in an almost mocking manner, likely referring to Ayana. "I've come here today to see if the ranger program is worth keeping open. I will admit that the work done here has stopped the vile creatures from taking over my city for now, but the damage done, civilians injured or worse and the recent disappearances of these people puts into question whether you can do the jobs you've been tasked with, or if a more militaristic approach is best. That would of course mean disbanding your misfit team."

Kivo clenched his fist, though he wasn't completely angry with the city official, he was still frustrated with the notion of disbanding the team, on top of that he wasn't impressed with the slandering of some of his teammates. "Listen here. As rangers, we do good work. Every so often we might fight amongst ourselves or someone might get caught in the crossfire, but we're equipped to best help the city against the Terrasoids, and we do our best to save whoever we can. People do get injured and things do get destroyed and all we can do is learn from that, but we're still the best choice to protect the city, regardless of all the bad stuff."

"Says someone who was with the enemy and betrayed them. How long till you betray the human race? I don't like anyone who shifts their allegiances, even if they're on my side, once a traitor always a traitor. People like you are what makes me sick, along with the gutter trash that plague this city." The Governor sneered, getting the Cog ranger angrier along with frustrating the other rangers with his slander.

Before the tension could rise any further, Ayana and Mia rushed into the Operations station, catching their breath for a few moments upon stopping. The ranger in yellow had look of urgency in her face as she and Mia headed toward the others. Though they were intrigued by the presence of the soldiers and the Governor, there were more urgent matters to attend to.

"We've got a problem, there's a new Terrasoid going around the city, it's a large Grasshopper that's leaping around the city and snatching up the city. We've gotta go now, otherwise whatever it's planning might work." Ayana explained to the other four.

Though Kivo wanted to respond back to the harsh word of the Governor, now wasn't the time to bicker with a politician. Alex quickly took charge of the situation, stepping up to formulate a plan to defeat the latest monster. "Alright, we need to find this thing and quickly. If it is snatching up civilians, then we should spread out and wait for it to come after someone. When it does we'll chase it down and find where it's been hiding."

Without a moment to spare, the six sprinted out of the building to deal with this latest threat, brushing aside the problematic meeting with the Governor for the time being. As TJ ran, he was thinking over what Ayana had said about the Terrasoid champion and what it had been doing. Just like Toadshot, this creature was also kidnapping civilians. Thinking about what purpose they intended for the captives made the blue ranger's stomach drop and he prayed that they would get there in time before this latest plan could bear fruit.

[Steam Force]

Only a few minutes ago had the Champion taken a small group of civilians from the streets. TJ was there to witness the kidnapping and had managed to chase to foe to it's hideout. The other rangers soon converged on the location, recognising it to be the same warehouse as the one Toadshot had used to house his captives.

The rangers gave each other concerned looks as they neared the doors of the abandoned warehouse. It was strange that they had continued their plans to take captives, even stranger still to see that they had stayed in the same location. Whatever sinister plot the rangers had in store, the rangers knew they had to stop it, and fast.

Heading into the the building, the rangers immediately spotted the captive civilians. A squadron of drones kept them from escaping. Further into the building, the Terrasoid Champion stood by some form of organic pod that had fused into the floor. It had the same warped architecture of the Hive and glowed a sinister red as the Champion twitched watching it. It watched for a few moments before turning it's head towards the captive civilians.

"Watch little humans, it's about to break open, and then you'll see what happened to the other little human I sent in there. Don't worry though, because Terrorhopper's going to make sure the same happens to you too!" The Champion exclaimed while announcing its name to instill some fear into his potential victims.

Turning back around, Terrorhopper watched with joy as the pod cracked open and a large Terrasoid bearing resemblance to bipedal scarab beetle emerged and looked around the area. From it's back spread spread insect wings as it's head turned to a large busted open window. "Must… Go… To… The… Hive…" The newly emerged Terrasoid said slowly as it began to get used to speaking. Flying out of the window with tremendous speed, the civilians looked on in horror as Terrorhopper leapt over to them.

"It's hard to believe that was once a human wasn't it? Just another captive until he hatched from the cocoon. Who's gonna be next to go inside the pod? As soon as you do, the process will begin and you'll become one of us! Stronger and better than ever!" The Champion cheered with some sadistic enjoyment of the job it was preforming.

From where they were hiding to watch the dark plan take place, the rangers all wore concerned looks. Somehow, the Terrasoids had managed to find a way to transform ordinary humans into soldiers for their army. No matter what, their goal was to destroy that pod and save the civilians before any more would be turned.

Kivo hung his head low, his fists clenched. "Not again… They tried to make me one of them when I started to doubt them… But this is too far! Going and taking innocents from the streets and transforming them into warriors for their conquest, I can't let them do that." He said aloud, catching the attention of both the rangers and the Terrasoids.

It surprised the rangers, but it made them realise something about Kivo. He'd never asked to be part of this fight, from the moment he was brought into the battle, he'd known nothing but the Terrasoid way of life and as soon as he found his humanity, they tried to take it away from him, just like what they were doing to these civilians now.

Running out into the open, Kivo and the other five rangers brandished their morphers. "Gear Shift!" "Full Steam Ahead!" They called out as they transforming in a cloud of steam.

"Alright Kivo, we'll take care of those drones and get the civilians to safety. It looks like this one's personal, so handle that Terrasoid however you want." Alex to the Cog ranger as she and the others ran over to fight the drones.

"I appreciate it." Kivo responded as he drew his rifle and aimed at Terrorhopper, who moved to protect the pod from harm.

"Hit me with your best shot ranger!" Terrorhopper taunted as Kivo took aim at it's head.

As Kivo fired off a shot, the Terrasoid Champion leapt into the air dodging it with it's superior stamina. Terrorhopper laughed mockingly at the Cog ranger as he landed. Kivo gritted his teeth behind his helmet as he aimed slightly higher in preparation for next time. Taking a breath in, he fired off his next shot, taking the bait, Terrorhopper leapt into the air, because of the angle it was fired from, the shot blasted the left knee of the Terrasoid Champion, who was knocked down to the ground on impact with the bolt of energy.

"Lucky shot ranger, but I've still got one good leg and I won't fall for that next time." Terrorhopper groaned as it tried to stand up.

"There won't be a next time." The Cog ranger commented as he squeezed the trigger of his rifle, wasting no time at all.

The blast whizzed through the air, hitting and disabling Terrorhopper's other leg, hitting the foe before it could react. The Champion cried out in agony as Kivo neared, winding up his rifle as he did so. He first fired off a powered shot from his rifle hitting the Terrasoid head on before continuing to wind up his rifle.

"That one's to teach you monsters a lesson. Leave these people alone." He said as he finished charging up his rifle.

As Terrorhopper struggled to move, groaning in agony, Kivo took aim at the Terrasoid pod. Snapping the trigger back quickly, the supercharged shot collided with the pod, blasting it apart upon impact.

"No! You fool what have you done!?" Terrorhopper exclaimed in surprise, having failed his Queen in his mission.

"That one's for the people you've turned and were trying to turn. If any of you Terrasoids try it again, you're gonna be dealing with an angry Kivo." He told the wounded Terrasoid flailing on the ground.

Turning back towards Terrorhopper, the Cog ranger removed his buckle, arming the mine before dropping it on the torso of his helpless foe. Moving back some distance before supercharging his Cog rifle once more.

"And this one's for me. High noon blast!" Kivo called out as the bell on the clocktower rang out. Kivo squeezed the trigger back and watched at the shot struck the mine, completely obliterating both Terrorhopper and the spores that would have created a giant Terrasoid upon its destruction.

As the fires from the destructive blast died down, Kivo powered down. After a few moments he was joined by the other rangers, who had reverted to their civilian forms.

"Looks like you made short work of the Terrasoid here. You alright?" Lucas asked as Kivo turned to face the other rangers.

"It's over now, Terrorhopper's gone and so it that pod." He told them. Even though it was over, he didn't seem relieved. What they had witness definitely struck him deeply, that combined with what the Governor had said put Kivo into a conflicted position.

"Good job today Kivo, no matter what any stuffy bureaucrat says, you're one of the good guys. You're the one that saved those people after all, no one else." Alex explained to him with a small congratulatory smile.

"Thanks, it means a lot, knowing that I've actually saved people today." He replied, appreciating the sentiment.

Before anyone else could get a word in, the yellow ranger let out a loud laugh. "Wait that guy in the Station was a politician and he got under you skin? You've gotta learn Kivo, never take their word for it, they always lie and don't have the guts to face the consequences when it comes back to bite them." Though it was a rather abrupt comment, the others couldn't help but laugh, from what they knew, it was likely the truth.

[Steam Force]

Back inside the Operations Station, Lohan had just received word from Alex that the threat had been neutralized and the civilians were safe. He was conversing with the Governor over his decision on the ranger program and whether or not it would continue.

"You heard what Alex said, they removed the Terrasoid threat and saved a group of civilians from whatever our enemies were planning. Even if the rest of our military force was involved and the rangers were disbanded, they couldn't do this. Though they might have problems with each other from time to time, the rangers always pull out a victory in the end, that's what matters and I wouldn't have it any other way." Lohan explained to the Governor, putting his support firmly behind his team.

"I might have misjudged their ability to get the job done earlier, but it seems for the time being, they're capable enough to continue fighting against the Terrasoids. Just know though, General, if anything does happen, the consequences will be on you." He threatened as he and his guards headed to leave.

"It's not the first time I've been threatened like that you know, it won't be the last time either. You know, you act just like your father did, only he cared for the people under him." Lohan remarked as the Governor left, a slight scowl on his face.

Though the day was saved, a new threat had revealed itself in the form of the Terrasoid plot to transform humans into Terrasoids. While Kivo had destroyed the pod, it wouldn't surprise them if Queen Nyllia would continue this plot. For now however, the rangers could rest, knowing that Vicdon was once again safe from the Terrasoids.

|Steam Force|

That's chapter 16 done and out of the way. I hope you all enjoyed the return to Steam Force, sorry it's been a while. This was supposed to come out at the back end of last week, but life really likes to mess around when I'm trying to write. So here we saw a side to Kivo that hasn't been touched upon entirely. He was thrust into this conflict and he was more of a victim than the rangers thought till they saw what was happening with the Terrasoid plot. The plot itself is something that's more central to the story than most things, to say the least, so keep that in mind going forward. The Governor is someone I want to portray as the stereotypical politician and has a personality which is essentially all of the traits that Ayana hates combined, which will make some interesting dynamics in future chapters. It also appears as if Lohan doesn't like him too, though I guess you could sum that up to him being a military man and the Governor being a politician.

Anyway, now I've essentially got academic hell week out of the way and I've got a week or so off, I can purely focus on writing for a bit, so get ready for what's likely gonna be some binge updating. Until then everyone.

Next Chapter: Rage

Synopsis: A new Terrasoid enters Vicdon to cause havoc, firing off darts holding a toxin in them which sends whoever is injected with the toxin into an enraged state. Can the rangers stop this monster before it gets out of hand or will one of the rangers get injected with the toxin, bringing back unpleasant experiences from the recent past? Find out next time on Power Rangers: Steam Force.