By N. E. Shaw
Outpost 99 was one of the best kept secrets of the quadrant. It was built by the Karovans in the nearby Sari Nebula, several light-years away from KO-35. Knowledge of its existence was shared only with trusted allies. Even during the war, it had never been touched by evil hands.
Andros headed there in the Yugathi pod, in search of two old acquaintances. Dr. Oram Goor was a computer-scientist of vast intellect and resource. Dr. Pell Ghanam was an engineer with unmatched skill in ship design, and both were fellow Karovans. Years ago, they had teamed up to create the masterpiece known as the Astro Megaship, for use by the new Karovan Power Ranger team. Goor's D.E.C.A. unit and Ghanam's Megaship vessel had proven to be an unbeatable pair--much like the designers themselves. Now they resided on Outpost 99, continuing their work.
After touching down, Andros hired a pilot to return the pod to the Yugathi. Then he made his way to the Computer Research section. In Artificial Intelligence, he found what he was looking for. An office door with two names printed on it. He pressed the chime.
"Come," said a voice from within. He entered and gazed about the messy office, finally spotting a human being among the clutter.
"Dr. Ghanam?"
The tiny, mousey-faced woman looked up from her data pad, and took a moment to recognize the face in the doorway.
"Gods, look who's here!" she cried. With a swift movement she was around the desk and clasping Andros's arm firmly. "It's a pleasure and a surprise Andros. Did you remember to tell the new Red Ranger about coil sixteen?"
Andros smiled. "I didn't have to. We fixed it."
"Great Goddess, I don't believe it! You'll have to tell me what you did. Meantime though, what brings you here?"
At that moment, Oram Goor entered the front office, his lab coat swishing around his stout legs. His square-jawed face stared a moment in surprise, before grinning at Andros. "I wasn't expecting this! Welcome to the dungeon Andros," and he made a sweeping gesture around the office.
"Thanks," Andros replied. "But I'm not here for to visit. I have a crisis and you may be the only ones who can help."
Ghanam shrugged. "Name it, what can we do for you?"
"When you built the Megaship, was there ever a prototype? A working model that never got used?"
Goor looked at Ghanam and she raised her eyebrows. "As a matter of fact yes. It was our first stab at building my design, but there were too many flaws and we had to start over. Instead we used it as a test ship, making sure all the components functioned before we added them to the second model."
"Does it still exist?"
"Well yes, the vessel is still around, but you can't fly it."
"Why not?"
"There's no central computer to run the thing. Oram only ever built one DECA and its in the Megaship."
Andros grimaced a little. This was his only hope, he didn't know anyone else who could get him a ship for free.
"Unless..." Goor spoke up suddenly. "Unless..."
Ghanam queried him with a glance and he stroked his chin. "True there was only one DECA, but there was also a HEXA."
Andros frowned. "HEXA?"
Ghanam snapped her fingers. "HEXA! Of course.."
"What is HEXA?" asked Andros.
"HEXA is DECA's ancestor. While DECA uses a network of ten trillion micro-processors, HEXA only had six trillion, and therefore couldn't achieve the level of human mimicry that DECA can. She's essentially DECA's dumb great aunt or something."
"Is she capable of running the Megaship Prototype?"
Ghanam looked at Goor and he shrugged. "The two were never tested together. Theoretically it should work, but if the ship is too much for HEXA to handle, she'll do some damage when she explodes."
Andros swallowed. "One of my former teammates is missing. She was taken from Earth just days ago, and there is evidence of Quantron involvement. I need a vessel comparable to the Megaship if I'm going to try to save her."
"And you can't just get the new team involved?"
Andros shook his head. "I won't risk taking them away from their jobs. Not if there's a new evil at work out there."
Ghanam nodded. "Good logic. We'll do the best we can Andros, HEXA and the prototype are now Priority One. Lend a hand and you'll be on the road in no time."
And so Ghanam, Goor, Andros, and the brilliant Computer/Engineering team set to work at a feverish pace. Every one of them was made aware that time was of the essence.
Meanwhile, in a place not so far away, time was foremost on someone's mind. Ashley Hammond had been passing time for longer that she could remember. It couldn't have been more than a few days, but it felt like forever in this grimy, dark dungeon of hers. She lay in the corner, curled around herself, trying now to sleep the time away; but her mind was focused on one moment in time--the moment of her kidnaping.
She had been in her dorm room cleaning up before Dawn came over to study. It had been almost a year since she thought about fighting, or morphing, or danger or planetary takeover. She suspected nothing. When she heard the sound outside her room, she almost didn't believe her ears. It was a soft whine, an electronic sound. The sounds that Quantrons made. But that couldn't be, they'd all been destroyed by Zordon. She went to check on it, her Rangering instincts kicking in for what might be the last time.
Unfortunately, her Rangering reflexes didn't come back so easily. She was slow to react when, sticking her head out the door, she heard the hiss of a projectile in the air. She felt it strike her flesh, plunging into her jugular, and immediately the world lurched and began to spin. She fell backwards onto her dorm room floor and began to slip away, her last sight being the Quantron standing over her in the doorway, a dart gun in its hand. Then she was out, and woke up here sometime later.
There were too many questions now for her to fathom. How had the Quantron survived Zordon's purge? Who had ordered it to kidnap her? Where was she now? What purpose would she serve her captors? What chaos had she left behind, vanishing without a trace like this?
She could only hope the Rangers knew. DECA would have detected Quantron presence on Earth, and alerted the Rangers immediately. They would be done talking with the police by now, and hot on the trail of the kidnappers. The Quantron's ship would have left an ion trail to follow, so the Rangers would have no trouble tracing where she had been taken. They'd be here to rescue her any time now. That, at least, was the optimistic side.
Still, here she was, with no way out and no way to know what fate had in store for her. She believed she would be rescued in time, but how much time was still a mystery.
Ashley coughed and looked up at the ceiling of her cell. The exit was there somehow, if only it weren't thirty feet above her head. She would stay in this damp, cold box until someone came for her, and she had nothing to do now but sleep till the moment came.
"Watch those levels! She's gonna spark a processor!" Ghanam cried. She was in one of the engineering conduits of the Megaship prototype. The power readout was reflected in her welding glasses which perched on her forehead. Somewhere below her, Andros was trying to open the power conduits to full flow, but HEXA wasn't ready. At Ghanam's yell, Andros backed off.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked the computer, half expecting HEXA to answer back.
"I wish I knew," Ghanam replied. "This is unfathomable. There is no logical explanation for this reaction!" She emphasized her words by gesturing forcefully, but HEXA didn't react. She just waited mutely for the next trial.
But help was on the way. Goor was jogging over to them with a circuit box in his hand.
"The buffer!" he cried, waving in the air. "We forgot the buffer! I took it out months ago so I could use it in an automaton."
Ghanam threw up her hands in relief. Andros rested his head on his arm.
Three hours later the buffer was in place and Andros was opening the power flow again.
"How's it look?" he yelled up into the air.
"Looks good," Ghanam yelled back. "So far."
Andros squeezed the lever and throttled up a little more. He forced himself not to crank it all the way. At any moment Ghanam could give a yelp of alarm and he would have to back off, or risk damaging irreplaceable parts. They could not afford a waste of time like that.
"Keep coming.." Ghanam urged, as if she needed to remind him. She sounded hopeful. "A little further...I think she's going to hold!"
With a growing rush of glee, Andros pushed the lever along until it hit the end of its slot. The ship came to life around him, buzzing with electricity flowing cleanly through her veins. Andros waited for the word.
"It looks..." said Pell. "..like we got it!" she cried. Goor let out a whoop of laughter and hugged her. Andros blew out a great breath of relief. They were on their way.
HEXA learned quickly, much to Goor's pride and delight. Within minutes of her activation, she had taken control of all remote systems and even began a hull-cleaning cycle. The Team was left to install the last few components and close up their panels finally. Andros made sure he was in the center of it all.
"Testing communications port three. Testing...testing..." said the bridge speakers.
"Acknowledged Outpost 99, you're loud and clear," replied Andros. "Thanks for the help, everything is checking out at this end now."
"Aye Aye," said the officer on the other end. "Clear Flying, Sunshine."
From a hole in the middle of the bridge, Pell Ghanam gave a snicker. "Did you pick that name?" she asked.
Andros drew himself up. "Matter of fact, I did."
"It's...cute," she said, struggling for the word.
"Thank you," he replied, not bothering to tell her the hidden meaning. Might as well allow her the laugh. Fewer and fewer of the Outpost technicians could be seen onboard the Sunshine. They were finishing their jobs and leaving. Soon only Andros, Pell and Oram were left, and they met together on the bridge.
"I owe you both," Andros assured them. "This ship is a miracle."
Pell nodded. "You're damn straight. But we were happy to help. Let us know how she does in the field, won't you?"
"I will. Thank you again." He clasped arms with Ghanam, then Goor, who had a coil of conduit around his neck like a feather boa. "HEXA's a good little wad of circuitry. She'll hold things together. Expect nothing less from DECA's family."
With a final farewell they were gone, and Andros was alone on the Sunshine with the control sticks in his grip.
"HEXA online," he ordered.
A few responding bleeps came, and then a new female voice replied, "HEXA online. All systems nominal on board the...Sunshine...Current status: Fully Operational."
"Activate command codes. Voice Print Authorization: Andros 335."
"Andros 335. Acknowledged. Welcome aboard, Andros."
He smiled a little. "Thanks...now let's rocket..."