Chapter Seven:

Infighting

Khamun stood on the Tempest once again, back inside a cell much stronger and higher security than the first. It was still rigged to drop him if needed, but it had extra layers of armor around it that would hold up against any attack or radioactive wormhole opening.

The Pharaoh Mask paced the room angrily, venting his rage and frustration as his encounter with the green ranger ran through his head again and again. It should have been Soto. Why was it the green ranger? How was it the green ranger? How had he even been on the other side in the first place. He kept poring over the records Soto had given him on Kenny Austin, the soldier projected to be Green, but he couldn't find anything about him ending up on Soto's world.

He sat down in a meditative stance, trying to calm himself. "Where are you, my friend?" he asked. According to the internal time inside his Mask, the twenty-four hours he had set with the blue ranger were almost up, and his task still wasn't complete. He was starting to feel anxious, desperate. If Soto didn't come soon . . .

He brushed the gem at his chest tenderly. To his surprise, he felt something starting to stir. He glanced down, seeing a faint spark of light growing from deep within the stone.

Outside his cell, Doug and Harriet sat in the observation booth keeping an eye on him. "Hey, check this one out," Doug said, passing over his device.

Harriet looked over the duplex he had just pulled up, a two-wing building complete with a central community room they could use for gaming. "Nice," she said. "And it's right in between our hometowns." She glanced at the price tag and cringed. "Maybe put a pin in it for now and keep looking."

Doug took his device back and set a bookmark. "I figured," he said. He flipped back to the search tab and started looking again.

"We're probably going to get called down to Command here in a second," Harriet said, checking the time. "Now that Kenny's gotten some time to rest."

"Yeah," Doug said. He shook his head, still barely daring to believe it. "Kenny's back. He's alive."

"I know," Harriet said. She glanced at the Pharaoh Mask in his cell. "What do you think he saw over there?"

"I don't know." Doug shivered. "If they're anything like the Fuhrer's true form, I'm not sure I really want to know."

The pair sat in silence for a moment.

"But hey," Harriet said, nudging his arm. "Our team's almost all back together."

Doug smiled. "Yeah," he said. "Just Sean left to save."

The intercom beeped on their console. "Cummins, Nixon," Kenpachi's voice said. "We're ready in Command."

"We'll be right there, General," Harriet said. She and Doug left the cell and headed back to the airship's command center. The rest of their team was there, including a freshly rested and bathed Kenny talking to Peggy and Tammy. His face was now clean-shaven, but he'd left his hair long, the bags under his eyes not quite as deep as they'd been before. His bright smile lit up the second his old friends entered the room.

"Doug! Harriet!" he shouted, getting to his feet and wrapping them both in a big hug. Doug and Harriet hugged him back, holding the embrace as long as they could. Once they finally broke apart, the pair launched into a flurry of questions.

"You were on an alien planet!"

"Were you scared?"

"What was it like?"

"What were the aliens like?"

"What happened over there?"

Kenny stepped back, looking a little overwhelmed by their questions.

"I think we'd all like to know the answers to those questions," General Kenpachi spoke up.

Kenny looked around to see the entire team looking at him expectantly. He rubbed the back of his neck and took a breath. "Yeah," he said. "I guess we should get into that."

He took a seat at Console Five as the team sat around him. He explained everything he could about the alien planet: how the Black Cross Fuhrer had belonged to an alien race called the Vader Clan, how the Vader Clan had been visited by a race called the Denji using a wormhole generator, and how the Vader Clan had betrayed the Denji, wiping them out but not before the device's pieces had been scattered to Earth.

"The Vader named Soto was sent here to collect them," he finished.

Peggy got to her feet, pacing the room. "And now they have them all," she said. "Which means they'll be coming here as soon as it's assembled."

Kenny nodded. "From what I could gather, Soto's leading an initial strike force through to clear the way, and then the queen's general Hidrer will lead their full force through once they receive the signal."

"So we've got to make sure we're there before the portal opens," Joshua said.

General Kenpachi rubbed his forehead. "Owens, how was your assignment going? To be able to detect those gems."

"It's almost done, sir," Dayton said. "Hopefully, it will be finished in the next couple of hours. The computer's running tests on it now."

"Good," the general said. "Now, we should make a plan for what to do when—"

"Um, sir," Joshua interrupted. "Before we start to strategize, I think we should make sure of some things."

General Kenpachi stopped and nodded for him to proceed. The captain got up and made his way over to Kenny, sitting down and looking him in the eye. "I just want to ask you a few questions, to make sure you really are our Kenny."

Peggy crossed her arms. Kenny looked a little uncertain but nodded. "I can do that," he said.

"What's your name. Your full name."

"Kenneth James Austin."

"Good. Where are you from?"

"Harwood County."

"What did your mother do for a living?"

"She was a vet. She ran a clinic out of our barn."

Captain Cage considered for a moment. He'd covered most of the basics, now he needed some small things that would be difficult to just look up. "During your selection process, what role did Tammy Hayes play in it?"

Kenny glanced at his comrade, who was watching this whole interrogation from behind her clipboard. "She was a plant along a run we took one morning," he said. "She was there to test my character, and if I'd stop to help her."

Captain Cage grinned. "That's correct. Now, who was it that submitted your name for consideration in the first place?"

Kenny swallowed. "Doctor Cam—Cameron Watanabe."

"Very good. Now, what was the first thing I said to you—"

"Is all of this really necessary?" Peggy asked.

Joshua looked a little annoyed at her. "Yes, Madison, it is," he said. "We have to make sure it's really him."

"It is him. I've already checked. Hasn't he been through enough? He was on that planet for a year."

"Hey, it's okay, Peggy," Kenny spoke up. "I don't mind answering some questions."

Peggy looked at him, taking a breath, a storm brewing behind her eyes. "Alright," she said. "But I think it's only fair you get to ask him some questions. Why don't you ask him what happened over here on our side? Why we never made an attempt to rescue you."

"Madison," Joshua warned.

"Tell him, captain," she said. "It was his life. He has a right to know."

Kenny looked between them quizzically. He looked at the captain. "What does she mean?"

Captain Cage couldn't quite bring himself to look Kenny in the eye. "I made the call," he said, "After you went through, not to attempt to recreate the wormhole and save you."

Kenny's brow furrowed. "You just . . . left me out there?"

"Because doing so would have reopened the door for the Vader Clan to come through," Katie spoke up, defending Joshua. "Something Agent Madison knows full well. He protected the world."

"He left him to die," Peggy said, getting up in her face.

"I would have wanted him to make the same sacrifice if it had been me," Dayton said.

Peggy turned on him. "Oh, good," she said. "You've gotten a choice. Kenny didn't."

"Well, he couldn't make the choice," Tammy said quietly.

"Well, he's here now." Peggy turned to Kenny. "Tell them, Kenny," she said. "What would you have wanted us all to do?"

Kenny looked between her, and Joshua, and Dayton, and Tammy, and the rest of their team, a thousand emotions crossing his face. "I—I don't—I mean—"

General Kenpachi got to his feet. "I think that's more than enough," he said. "From all of you. We are in the middle of a crisis, and we need to work together at least until it's done. Now, if we're all assured that Mr. Austin is who he says he is, I suggest we move on."

Joshua and Peggy glared at each other for a moment before both letting out a long breath. "Yes, sir," they said.

Everyone sat back down in their seats around the circle. "Now," Kenpachi continued. "We need a plan for what to do when we get there. What should we expect?"

"Sean will be there," Dayton said. "But with four against one, we should be able to take him down quick enough."

"And I've been working on something," Tammy added. "Using Dr. Kuchar's notes. I think I'll be able to break the Pharaoh Mask's control if I can get close enough."

"Then there's a chance a few former Black Cross will flock back to Khamun," Katie said, "But I don't expect many."

"No," Kenpachi said. "I expect our biggest challenge will be the Vader Clan soldiers that come through. Mr. Austin, how strong do we expect them to be?"

Kenny still looked a little overwhelmed by the fight that just took place. He ran his hand through his hair and sat forward. "We'll probably see grunts in the first wave. They're not as strong as Soto, and not very bright either, but they tend to function as a hivemind and overwhelm their opponents with sheer numbers."

"It seems to me, we only have one option," Peggy said. "We can't let a single one set foot on Earth. We know our suits will handle the wormholes, so the rangers should head through and fight them on their turf. Strike them where they live."

Joshua shook his head. "That's a terrible idea," he said. "We're strong, but not strong enough to take on an army, especially if many of them are as strong or stronger than the Fuhrer. We'd do better to bottleneck their forces at the portal, keep their numbers limited, and then shut it down and destroy it."

"And then what?" Peggy said. "Just leave their forces out there to try again. Sure, it'll take them a bit, but they've gotten here before without it."

"We can't take them all, Peggy," Joshua shot back.

"Yes, we can," Peggy said. "Unlike you, I've fought the Fuhrer one on one before. We can take them."

She turned to Kenny. "Right?"

Kenny bit his lip. "I'm not sure we can, Peggy," he said.

Joshua placed his hands flat on the console. "We will stay on this side," he said. "We can handle the ones that come through."

"All of them?" Peggy asked. "Not let a single one get away? We just lived through a war that showed what even one of them is capable of."

Joshua clenched his fist and ran his fingers through his scruffy beard. "Why do you do this, Madison?" he asked, sounding tired. "Why do you feel the need to challenge me at every step?"

Peggy crossed her arms. "So, what? I'm just supposed to shut up and do as I'm told? Just let you have the final word on everything, no questions asked?"

"No," Joshua said. "But I am the team leader."

"Maybe you shouldn't be."

Joshua swallowed, looking like he'd been slapped in the face. Doug watched the two go back and forth, hating what he was seeing. He looked at Harriet and they both gave each other a sad look. He checked his watch and crossed over to General Kenpachi.

"I'm going to go check on the Pharaoh Mask for a minute," he said.

General Kenpachi nodded his head, absently, watching the red and pink rangers argue, looking for a place to intervene. Doug stepped out into the corridor, resting against the door in silence for a few seconds.

He pulled out the trading cards in his coat pocket, rubbing their gold-embossed faces. He had thought for a moment that Kenny's return would have healed the rift between Joshua and Peggy, but apparently it had just made it all worse. Doug wished there was something he could do, anything, that would bring them back together again as a team. He wondered if that time had truly passed forever.

He put the cards away and pushed off the door, heading down to the cell. On his way, he passed a window, just as he thought he saw a blue streak race past. He stopped, doing a double take, but saw nothing but clear blue skies all around. He shook his head and moved on.

Once he reached the cell, he was immediately blinding by a bright light coming from inside, the figure of Khamun just barely visible within.

"What's going on?" Doug shouted, rushing in.

Khamun laughed. "Soon, Ranger Team," he said. "Very soon now."

The readings were off the charts, just as they had been when Kenny came through, but Doug was fairly certain they weren't any more rangers on their way to help them. He hit the alarm button. "We've got a problem up here!" he shouted.

A loud explosion cut him off, rocking the ship and knocking him to the floor. Back in the command center, the rest of their team were knocked off their feet as well.

"What was that?" Dayton said.

"Something's wrong in the detention area," Kenpachi said. "Rangers!"

"Right," the four rangers said. They grabbed their morphers off their consoles and rushed from the room, only to almost get sucked out of a massive hole that had just been blown in the side of the ship nearby, Joshua and Peggy just managing to brace themselves against the door to keep everyone else back.

"What the heck?" Dayton said.

Moving carefully, he and Kenny sidled out past Joshua and Peggy, hugging the wall, followed by General Kenpachi. Through the smoke and flames, a figure emerged, bright blue and floating in midair.

"Sean," Joshua said.

The blue ranger didn't respond. He clenched his fist, and his bow appeared inside it.

Joshua stepped forward, as did Peggy. The red ranger glanced back at Dayton and Kenny. "Get to the detention area," he said. "Help Doug. We'll keep him busy here."

Dayton and Kenny glanced at the blue ranger, then back at their captain and nodded. Both turned and ran as fast as they could in the opposite direction. Sean raced after them, but Joshua and Peggy stepped in his way. They both activated their morphers, and a flash of light transformed them into their red and pink ranger forms, just in time to grab Sean and hold him back.

"We don't want to do this, Sean," Joshua shouted.

Sean didn't respond. He merely broke away from them and raised his bow, drawing it back to make an arrow appear.

"Okay," Peggy said, locking eyes with Joshua through their Ranger network. "I guess we're doing this."