Power Rangers: Steam Force

Ch19: New Arrival

A week after defeating the heavily armoured Terrasoid Scarabak, Welkin had once again left on another job, leaving the other six rangers to fight against Queen Nyllia's forces without him. Having heard the bustle of activity in the control room of the Operations Station, the rangers entered to find a multitude of personnel milling about while General Lohan coordinated them. Sat atop the central console was a small case sitting open and revealing its contents, a basic steam morpher like the ones the majority of the rangers had.

"Uh Lohan, isn't that the white morpher?" Ayana asked, speaking for the entire group.

Turning to face the group the seasoned soldier gave an acknowledging nod. "Ah, rangers. Perfect timing. Yes you are correct Ayana."

"So that's where you've been keeping it." Alex said as she looked at her former morpher.

"I've been holding it here, safe so that the Terrasoids can't get their hands on it like they've done before with the old clockwork morpher. But I'm afraid we can't keep it here any longer." He explained to them.

"So all the activity is because of that right?" Mia took a guess as the General nodded to the black ranger.

"Recently the Governor has been meddling more and more with our protocols and daily running. He wants it moved to another, more secure, location that the Terrasoids won't be able to breach. We're anticipating that the Terrasoids are going to strike while its in transit so I'm having my people plan the best and safest route possible."

"The Governor again?" Lucas groaned.

"I'm not surprised, given how close it is to election day it is, he's trying to score as many points as he can with the Upper Class people so he can keep being Mayor of Vicdon." He explained casually before receiving a collective "What!?" from his other teammates. "Wait, you guys do know he's just our Mayor, right?"

"First we're hearing of this." Mia told the blue ranger.

Clearly he was going to have to explain. "Okay, so it's like this. Our Mayor who we all call the 'Governor' isn't really a Governor. He operates the City like one though. Basically back when he got first elected, everyone started to compare him to one and the name eventually stuck. Given his ego, he liked it that much he even calls himself that I bet. But yeah, technically he's just a mayor and really commits to the 'Governor' role. I'm surprised you guys don't know about that though."

"Question." Kivo spoke up. "What's a Mayor?" TJ just shook his head and waved the Cog ranger off.

The red ranger placed a supportive hand on Kivo's shoulder. "Hey if there's stuff you want to know about how our human world works, I can always teach you." She gave him a supportive smile as she said so.

"Thanks." Kivo flashed a smile in return, an all too familiar smile… Ayana's thought turned to a certain pilot as she became concerned for the kind of person their teammate might turn into under his wing.

"Yeah it's probably best you take lessons from her instead on anyone else we know." She hinted to the others, who soon came to the same realisation and nodded with her. It was for the best.

A loud clearing of the throat interrupted their conversation and Lohan stood patiently while the rangers realised that they had gone off on a tangent. "Good, you're all back in the present. As I was saying, the Governor likes to stick his head into Military matters and has the power and funding to do so unfortunately. What I need all of you for is to be the security detail while it gets transferred to its new home. Can I count on you all?"

There were hesitant looks before Alex spoke for the group. "Sir, with all due respect… Today is the one day this week we can all check on Lloyd in the hospital. We know that this is important but so is seeing our friend. Can't we reschedule this?"

The General smiled to himself, it was reassuring to see them put each other first. That's the kind of spirit they need if they're to eventually win against the Terrasoids. "That's perfectly fine… Because I neglected to mention that the transfer won't be until tomorrow afternoon. It takes time to fully prepare these things after all." He said to the group, offering them relief.

"You could've said sooner." Lucas said to the General who stifled a chuckle.

"I'm sorry rangers, it must've slipped my mind until now. Get going, Lloyd could do with you all at his side right now."

"Thanks Lohan!" Mia said, waving goodbye to the mentor as they left the Operations Station and headed to the hospital.

[Steam Force]

After arriving at the hospital, the went through the usual visiting procedures that they had been accustomed to in the months since the attack that had left him comatose. Out of them all, it seemed like Kivo visited the most. Always hoping that Lloyd would make a recovery and he could finally ask for his forgiveness for what he did as the Clockwork ranger.

After making it to Lloyd's floor, they made it to the former red's room, where to their surprise, there was someone already visiting. Though the seated person faced away from them, they noted a few details about the mystery person. From the back, all they could tell was that he had messy dark brown hair and wore a grey overcoat.

"Uh, excuse me but who are you?" Ayana asked cautiously as the rangers entered the room, blocking off the only exit of the mysterious person should they try and make a run for it.

The person in question calmly rose to his feet and span around to meet the rangers face to face. He was fairly tall, roughly the same size as the blue ranger. His features bore a resemblance to Lloyd's and he shared the same light skin tone as Lloyd and had a pair of grey eyes. Under his overcoat he wore a simple white shirt along with a pair of black jeans and combat boots.

"I think I should be the one asking you that question. Who are you all and what are you doing here?" He said folding his arms and waiting expectantly.

Though he was the suspicious one, he was quite authorative with his voice and the rangers felt compelled to give him an answer. "We're Lloyd's friends." TJ said before any of them accidentally revealed that they were Power Rangers to the unknown person.

His expression softened as he heard that. Then he smiled at them and let his arms relax by his sides. "That's good to hear, he's still got friends that're there for him. Okay, I'll tell you who I am. I'm Jordan Moon, Lloyd's older brother."

At his declaration, the rangers almost turned white like they had seen a ghost. Clearly seeing that they were startled, Jordan sighed and took a seat as the yellow ranger spoke up. "Just before he ended up here… Lloyd told us you died, drowning in a river years ago. How are you alive?"

Jordan scratched his chin briefly as he offered up the seats in the room to the rangers. "This might take some explaining, so take a seat first." As they did so he took a deep breath, thinking back to the events that had lead to his disappearance and supposed death. "You see, it all started eight years ago, shortly after we moved here from Toronto, Canada. Our Dad had scored a military contract here to design some new weapons for them and was always busy and our Mom was always away on business trips so Lloyd and I only really had each other to count on. Anyway, we left to go on a school camping trip for the weekend and like an idiot I strayed too close to the a fast moving river and fell in. From there, the rapids swept me away and pulled me under. I woke up some time later washed up on a shallow bank. I'd lost most of my things including my favourite hoodie, so I was cold and wet and lost. I'd found myself in deep in the forest near Vicdon and I had to make my way back on foot. On the way back, I was attacked by a lone wolf. I still have the scar on my arm from fighting it off but I managed to kill it first with a rock…" He paused reflecting back on the incident and the things he had to do to survive until he reached civilisation. "Eventually I made it back to Vicdon, but not until after they'd already given up on me. Everyone thought I was dead and I didn't want my family to see me after they'd been though all that grief. So I got a job in the work district and I've been trying to find the courage to face them again. Now it just feels like it's too late." He said with a solemn look on his face as he lowered his face into his hand, rubbing it before sweeping away some hair from his eyes.

"Sorry to hear about that man. I know how that feels, my family think I'm dead too. It's not easy knowing the truth and not saying anything to them, even if you could." TJ sympathised with Lloyd's older brother, he hadn't said anything to the others about how he felt about being declared dead since the incident that caused it but it was clear he had some unpacked feelings.

"Thanks… My Mom split from my Dad after I disappeared so I don't know where she is. But My Dad and my little brother are both victims of those damn monsters that keep attacking. I might not be a power ranger but if I was, I wouldn't rest till every last Terrasoid was dead." His face darkened with those words. As it returned to the calm and collected look Jordan had when they first saw him, the young man stood up from his seat and headed for the door, stopping in the frame. "Thanks for looking after Lloyd, I'll be coming by more often now so maybe we'll see each other again." He said as he left the room and the rangers were left to process this new development.

[Steam Force]

The following day after meeting Jordan, the rangers had convened in the control room as a unit of armed soldiers stood adjacent to them. General Lohan held the case containing the white morpher at his side. All, preparations were ready, they just needed to safely transport the morpher to its new home, which was easier said done if the Terrasoids had caught wind of their plan.

"Alright, let's get this operation under way." Lohan said as the soldiers began marching out of the building first, followed by the General while the rangers escorted him from the rear.

As they walked, the green ranger tapped his teammate in blue on the shoulder. "Hey, I'm not the only one who thinks this is a bad idea, right?"

TJ just shrugged at Lucas. "This thing usually plays out badly in books and TV, so we can only hope we don't have to deal with the same cliche." He said as they walked out of the main entrance where a troop truck and an armored car waited for the groups. As the soldiers filed into the truck, Lohan turned to the rangers.

"Head into the truck with the soldiers, hopefully we won't need you or them but these days we can't be too safe. I'll be in the car with the case. Let's just hope for the best here." He said as he opened the car door and entered into the back passenger seat of the vehicle.

After the rangers had filed into the truck, the two vehicles had set off. The location of the secret installation had been kept secret from them but they were given a general idea that it was in the Upper Class area of the City. Soon enough, the vehicles turned down a side road, one picked for its inconspicuous location. As the armoured car drove down the road, things seemed suspiciously quiet. It continued at the same hasty pace it had kept throughout the journey, though not too fast to draw any suspicion. Then without warning, Lohan watched helplessly as something crashed into the roof of the armoured car and caved the roof in, crushing the driver and a front passenger before the car flipped and began rolling sideways down the street, screeching to a halt as it landed on its crumpled roof.

Disoriented, it took some time for the General to come to his senses. Finding himself upside down and still buckled into the car, he looked around desperately for the case containing the morpher, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw it had fallen onto the downturned roof. Gritting his teeth, he pressed the release button on his seatbelt and grunted when he hit the floor with a thud. As he rubbed his sore head, he retrieved the case and made his way out of the wreckage by crawling through a broken window.

As he made his way out and stood up again, he saw the rangers were morphed and fighting with the soldiers against an overwhelming number of drones that kept coming at them no matter how many they seemed to take down. As he turned to make a retreat around the wrecked car, he was startled by the appearance of the latest Terrasoid Champion. The creature looked to resemble a Cicada that looked at him menacingly.

"Where do you think you're going? Give me that case human!" The beast barked at Lohan as it grabbed a hold of the case and began tugging.

Lohan fought against the beast, keeping his grip on the case as he struggled against the Terrasoid's might. "You'll not take this morpher too, not like last time!"

Over where the rangers were fighting the distraction of drones, Lucas blasted a pair away with his Steam Blaster while TJ dispatched one with a heavy blow to the face with his Pipeblade. "I told ya', always happens." Lucas said as he readied himself for the next enemy.

"I believe you, now let's take these guys out before they can take the morpher." TJ agreed as they turned back to dealing with this latest infestation.

Charging up his rifle, the Cog ranger blasted away a small group of drones as he leapt near the two rangers. "Guys, we need to get to Lohan quickly, that monster's nearly got the morpher!" Kivo called out to the others with urgency. As he said that a group of drones rushed him and it looked as if the others were just as tied up as him. The situation was dire, if no one got to Lohan soon, then they would lose the morpher to the Terrasoids.

As Lohan and the Champion tugged it in either direction, trying to pry it from each other's hands, neither noticed the figure that climbed to the top of the wrecked car, obscured by the sunlight. As the figure saw the dire tug of war between the two, he leapt from the wreckage and did a flying side kick into chest of the Terrasoid, ending the fight for the case as Lohan lost his grip.

The Terrasoid fell back onto the ground, losing its grip on the case and sending the container flying into the air. Lohan cried out as he tried to reach for the case before it hit the ground but to no avail. The Champion growled in panic as the case hit the ground and clattered open, spilling its contents to the ground.

"You! Who are you to get in the way of my Queen's plans!?" The Cicada Terrasoid demanded to know. As he walked over to the open case and morpher, he picked the latter of the two up and tossed it into the air, catching it with the same hand.

"Me? I'm the guy who's going to wipe all you damn Terrasoids from the face of the Earth!" He declared as he strapped the white steam morpher to his wrist.

As the fighting between the rangers and drones died down slightly, the former looked over to see Jordan Moon standing defiantly against the Terrasoid.

"No way…" Mia said as she cut down a drone before her.

"Is he gonna?" Ayana asked as they spotted the morpher on his wrist.

"It's a good thing I showed up in time. I'll never let you get your filthy hands on my Dad's inventions!" He said as he held his arm out and gripped the lever. "Full Steam Ahead!" He called out with all the fury he could muster as cloudy steam obscured his body, soon dispersing and leaving him in the form of the white ranger. Unlike when Alex wielded the white ranger powers, the suit was now fit to his bulkier and taller form.

"You're a Power Ranger? Then I'll just destroy you and take the morpher myself!" The Champion decided as he charged at the new white ranger.

"No way… He morphed." Alex said as she and the others defeated the last of the Terrasoids and ran to regroup with Lohan and check he was okay. "Are you alright General?" The red ranger asked as she examined some cuts and bruises he had received in the crash.

"I'm fine, there's no need to worry about me." He said as he lightly brushed Alex's hands off him.

"We're Glad you're alright, but we should help him out with the Champion." Kivo said as they looked on at the fight between Jordan and the Cicada.

"The new guy, how did he even know how to morph in the first place?" The yellow ranger asked.

Lohan looked on at the fight and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not too sure."

Sidestepping the beast as it charged him, Jordan span on his heel and landed a back kick into its shoulder. As the Terrasoid stumbled away, the white ranger brought his morpher up and keyed in a teleport command.

0-1-3 … Shipping … Shovelance … Arriving

Each of the six other rangers watched on, completely surprised as a new weapon materialised in the hands of the white ranger. The weapon looked to be a long silvery pole with a shovel head, the edges of which seemed much sharper and looked like it could cut as easily as a sword. The outline of it resembled the head of a spear but the shape was clearly a shovel. Along the shaft of the weapon appeared to be a button whilst at the other end of the pole was a black shovel handle.

"Woah, what's that thing?" Lucas asked as he stared at the Shovelance in awe.

"Yeah, how come we haven't heard about it before?" Ayana also asked the General.

"I think you should ask him, I'm just as lost as the rest of you." He said, his face agreeing with his response.

"We should still help him, come on guys!" Alex called to the others as she started to move to the aid of the white ranger. As she did though, Jordan pointed the shovel head at her.

"You guys, stay out of this one. He's mine!" He told them as he faced up against the monster again and span his Shovelance to point it at his foe.

As the Terrasoid Champion charged the white ranger again, the latter grasped the handle of the Shovelance and struck the weapon into the ground. Using the now planted weapon, he pulled himself up into the air with the handle and landed a two footed kick square into the Champion's chest. As the Cicada fell and rolled on the ground, Jordan drew his Shovelance from the ground and brought it around in and overhead strike that sparked off of the Terrasoid as it howled in pain.

As it rose, the white ranger pressed the button on the Shovelance's shaft, he took a long stance and held the weapon one handed, as if he was about to throw the weapon into the Cicada. While he held it, the weapon began to glow red, heating up. As it turned from red to orange, yellow and finally a blinding white, the other rangers had to shield their eyes. "It's over for you! Superheated Javelin!" He called out with all his fury as he let loose the weapon.

Panicking, the Cicada Terrasoid's eyes darted, looking for an escape exit. Just before it was too late, it began cackling. "Too bad for you ranger, but I won't be beat that easy!" It laughed as it jumped to an impressive height and landed on a building before bouncing away.

As it left, the Shovelance struck the ground with a thunderous boom and the area around it exploded into a great fireball. Jordan growled as he looked at his failed attack and then looked in the area of the Terrasoid that had fled. "Grr… Get back here you coward!" He yelled into the sky but it was clear already that the Champion wouldn't be returning any time soon. Once the fireball had subsided, he retrieved his Shovelance and walked slowly to the other Power Rangers.

"Woah, that was awesome, that Terrasoid was nothing compared to you!" The green ranger offered his praises.

"It better hope that changes the next time I see it, I'll not let it get away again." He said with a bitterness to his voice.

"We've never seen that kind of weapon before. How'd you get your hands on something like that?" Kivo asked as he and his other teammates powered down now that the fighting had stopped.

"You guys? I should've known. I guess Lloyd was in on this too?" He asked as he too demorphed to meet the others face to face.

"It seems we've all got explaining to do. Since the morpher has been claimed by you, I think it should be safe enough to leave it in your hands. That way we can return to the Operations Station and sort out this whole ordeal."

"Lead on." Jordan told the older man as he and the rangers followed him to the truck which had remained unscathed during the attack. Clearly he was going to have a lot to catch up on. However his younger brother was involved in this fight though, his resolve remained unshaken when it came to his goal. No matter what happened, he was going to make sure that all Terrasoids were destroyed by his hand.

|Steam Force|

Chapter 19 is finished and I want to say I'm very sorry for leaving this for so long but all my planning has been on my computer which hasn't had a charger until recently and I've already planned the entire series so I don't want to stray from that either, even though I knew what was going to happen in this chapter, it's the later chapters that I couldn't remember anything about, so I resolved to wait until I could access my planning again.

That said, we finally have a white ranger again and big surprise, he's Lloyd's brother. He was made by the same person who created Lloyd as I requested Jordan's character for this a while ago now when I had the idea to bring him in as the second white ranger. So a big thanks to Kamen Rider Zero Knight who created him, even though I could've done it myself, I wanted the authenticity of them both being made by the same person and I really like what you've given me and what I can / am going to do with his character. So let me know what you think of our new avatar of wrath that's not yet officially joined the team and what you think of the Shovelance too. Don't worry, I'll be going into detail on that and Jordan's knowledge on the Steam ranger powers in the next chapter of the new white ranger arc, unlike some people, I won't write it off as 'there's a simple explanation for that' and never bring it up again. Thanks for reading and until the next chapter!

Next Chapter: Arisen Tension

Synopsis: As Jordan hunts down the Terrasoid Champion that had previously escaped him, he learns the truth about why his brother is in the hospital and who put him there. Can he see reason and fight as a team with the rangers or will he give into his lust for revenge and try to destroy Kivo too? Find out next time on Power Rangers: Steam Force.