The break of a new day was gradually conquering the forests around the little hunting cottage on Pulu. The air was misty and it was rather nippy outside. Inside, however, the rangers were in warm. Under a thick blanket, Mira stretched her arms and yawned. The wound on her back shot mercilessly and she grimaced with pain.

"Ouch! How can I ever get up?" she touched her aching injury, "Thankfully XR has done a good job with this… But I could still use a doctor."

The princess let her eyes wander athwart the room. It was dusty, and the decoration was tasteless in every aspect: pictures of Warp, and nothing else. Warp with a cow, Warp with an antilope. Warp with an hyperborean tarandos, Warp with a flock of listovtsás. A large wallpaper of Warp with a susvaraabhidnja, where a little kieppusarvivuohi was also lying in front of his feet. And all the posters were in addition illuminated with phosphor frames.

"Gosh, how egocentric a man can be?"

Nova heard snoring from behind the wooden door and guessed that Buzz and Munchapper were still sleeping. She made an effort to stand up. With pearls of sweat on her forehead, she took support from the wall and pushed herself in a standing position. It was swirling in her head and she needed to lean to a chair.

"I need to get back home! But I guess we must find XR's head first… Buzz! Come here, I'm not feeling very well! Buzz!"

In next to no time, she heard somebody fall onto the floor in the next room. She smiled at herself when the sleepy Captain opened the door and peered in.

"Good morning, Captain", she chirped with a bright tone and grinned widely, "Did you sleep well?"

"Uh, stop that, Mira… You know how I hate mornings", Buzz rubbed his neck, "What's the problem here?"

Mira looked at her pale blue hands that were squeezing hard the chair's backrest. She felt messy, hungry, thirsty and weak.

"Is there a shower around? And clean clothes? I would like to be ready in two hours."

"Ready for what?" Buzz was not following her thoughts.

"Aren't we going to save XR today?"

"Ah, now I got you. Well, the answer is no. We are not going to save XR. But Booster and I are going to do that, and you will stay right here, getting your powers back."

Nova looked like an angry ox, "I don't like your attitude, Captain."

Buzz shrugged indifferently and sat on Mira's bed.

"I don't mind you liking my attitude, Mira. You know you are injured, and not quite healthy enough to outside."

"Buzz…"

He made a fan from a magazine he found on the floor, and pointed towards the door with it, "The shower is over there, in the house-maid's chamber, third door at left –right after the billiard room."

"Honestly, Buzz, what is wrong with you?"

"With me? You mean, with the cottage! Here is no shower, nor a toilet. No food, nor a manicure. Nothing except a dead mouse in the kitchen corner."

"You are not serious, are you?"

Buzz did not answer, only began to read the magazine he had in his hand. It was about hair gels. Mira gave up discussing with the Captain, and began to drag herself forwards. She headed towards a big, dark-brown closet, which stood at the end of the gigantic single bed. She intended to find herself an unbroken suit. Opening the heavy doors, which were decorated with carved figures of Warp, was a hard job for her, but she did not complain. Buzz followed this all in secret and wondered what she had in her mind.

"Now, what do you think about this, Buzz!" Mira victoriously cheered after a while, pulling out Warp's old Star Command spacesuit. It was little worn-out, but otherwise in an excellent condition. Lightyear's brows rose with the bolt from the blue,

"I didn't know he still had it!" he smiled and walked over, "Let me see. Hmm… Brings humorous reminiscences into my mind… As well as less happy ones. Hum… Well, krhmh, what are you going to do with it, Mira?"

"I was hoping that I could wear it today. You know, as my own suit is broken."

"Oh, please try! By all means!" Buzz went mirthful, "Oh boy, just wait a second, I wanna find a holo-camera from XR's inners, first!"

"Hardy-har, Buzz!" Mira howled after the Captain who disappeared running in the living room. Then she jumped in the suit and attached the metal parts on their spots. The whole creation was naturally way too huge for her.

"Smile!" Buzz grinned and let the flashlight blind his friend, "This is gonna win the Pulisong Prize!"

"Really, Buzz, how old are you?" Mira puffed, her face half inside the torso of the suit, "Help me out of here! This is meant for a whale-sized giant! Isn't there another suit?"

Buzz went to rummage trough in the closet. "There is! But I guess you can't use it either!" Lightyear brought out an old Agent Z uniform, "Besides that this is oversized, it also has got a hole in the place of the right arm!"

Mira shook her head so that her brilliant rogue locks floated upon her shoulders. "Go and check out the other bedroom, Buzz. There must be more clothes."

"Okay, whatever you wish…" Buzz secretly stole an amused glance at her, while she was struggling out of the space suit.

"I won't give up! I will take part in the rescue trip, no matter what Buzz says", Mira panted while trying to crawl out, and endeavored to get her feet out of the gigantic boots. Soon, the Captain returned with something in his arms that looked like an over-driven cow.

"Here you go, princess! A suit that is perfectly your size!"

Mira looked up and went dumbfounded, "I – I'm speechless… I really don't know what to say…"

"Well, at least somebody has used his or hers imagination when designing this." Buzz spread the spacesuit in front of the woman ranger. It was brown and had white large flowers as the decorative pattern. The visor was lime green and made of soft transparent bitumen, and the boots and gloves were yellowish white.

"Buzz, it's positively primeval. In short, out of date. Horrible. I can't wear it."

"Uh… there were at least three other suits in the wardrobe, too, but mice or other woodland animals have eaten them. Only this particular one was left untouched."

"And I don't wonder why…" Mira sighed and adjusted into the thought that she would have to look like a clown for the rest of the journey.

A short and moreover light breakfast was served. There was namely nothing at hand except a piece of coconut butter, tube of mustard, lingonberry pudding and compact milk cubes, which needed hot water to become liquid.

"I can do without food one morning, but I can't understand why there's no shower around", Mira glanced at Booster, "You stink like Stinky-Pete, Munchapper, and my own aroma isn't any sweeter… And Buzz smells like a moose!"

"Why thank you Mira for these refreshing comments", the Captain frowned.

Booster played with the coconut butter on his plate and snorted, "I wonder where all the red meat is… I mean, isn't this supposed to be a hunting box? There must be a piece of pemmican, somewhere…"

"Forget it, Booster", Mira said, "Besides, we must get going. The day is already far along. XR would never forgive us if we stayed here for a festive feast while he's in trouble."

"Where are we supposed to search for XR?" Buzz asked, "Of course on the mountains, but let's not forget that the air is thick with poisoned smog. The task will be hard."

Rangers Nova and Munchapper only gesticulated that they had no ideas.

In two hours, the rangers were on their way to the mountains. The forest grew shorter; the pinewood changed into mahogany wood, the mist became thicker. Booster's articulars did not like the climbing, especially as he carried XR's heavy body, and he wanted to use the jet pack.

"No, Booster, we'll have to surprise the bird, that's why we do this in the old-fashioned way. Oh, in passing, does anyone remember what that flying ogre looked like?"

"It wasn't a normal bird", Mira brought in her mind, "It was colossal and had a long orange peak. Also, it's wings were purple from the under."

"And I recall it had black chicken legs and very tiny eyes" Buzz continued.

"I could check it out from XR's remote camera, if only I had the skill", the Jo-Adian wheezed with his load, "XR is looking at the beast all the time, isn't he, and the information of what he sees is transferring from his eyes into his scanning device in this body part."

Both Mira and Buzz fixed their eyes on the big red man in jolt. Was this Booster? They had never had the idea that he could be quick, let alone clever some day. But why not, actually? Booster had been the member of the team the skies know for how long, why could he not have learned? XR was a good friend of his, perhaps he had taken lessons with him. Or then again, perhaps he had simply been too shy before to express his ideas? In any case, Booster Munchapper now made a huge impression on his Captain and Mira.

"That was the best idea I have heard during this year from anybody", Buzz said and made Booster's red cheeks flush lilac.

"And I can realize the suggestion", Mira said eagerly, "I know a lot about XR!"

It took some time before the princess could sit down with her injury and open XR's middle body plate. After that, she had to dig and threw out some unessential objects in her way, like a wooden hat, flashlight without the flash, elephant-pictured sheets and a magazine about do-it-yourself robot girls.

"Alright… Now, I will try to get out XR's saved data to form a 2D-presentation, reflected on that cliff. Are you ready to receive it, guys?"

"Yay!"

In a little while, all of the three space rangers carefully gazed at the vision on the stonewall. No voices could be transmitted, only the motion picture of four little birds, which tried to play football with XR's head.

"We must hurry!" Booster said, "It's been a long, long night for him. But I'm glad they haven't eaten him!"

"Look, now the chirping baby beasts punted XR so that he looks downwards the mountainside. Can we locate where he is?" Mira asked.

Buzz tried to compare his own surroundings with the vision that was seen from XR's eyes. "Hmm… We aren't so far away, I guess…"

By chance, XR's head turned around once more, and next picture on the stonewall revealed the distant figures of the three space rangers.

"He's right above us!" Booster cheered, "He's gaping at us now! He is near!"

"There's a nest on that projection!" Buzz noticed.

"And now XR has seen us. He knows we're going to save him, soon. We're all together again", Mira was relieved. She added a little later, "And we can finally get back home."

Buzz did not seem to be that content, "There are two problems, Mira. First, we can't go back before we find Zurg, my ego can't stand that kind of a disappointment. We'll find you a doc from another planet than Tangea. I promise you, we'll find you another doctor, and as skilful as ever."

Mira scowled at the Captain and considered him way too selfish. But the only thing that mattered to her was to get treatment soon, and there would be at least three day's flight to Tangea. Some other place would do as well, in this situation, so she did not protest. Buzz was satisfied and continued, "And the other problem is, how are we going to get XR out of the nest? The mama birdie isn't far away, I guess, when the little fellows are not even capable of flying, yet. If we even try climbing, we must have a shelter of some kind."

"Why don't we just shoot the bird down with our lasers?" Booster wondered.

"The lasers can not be used, because the bird species is very rare, and if the mother would be stunned for one minute, the little ones would be in a great danger", Mira replied.

"I cannot imagine them being in any kind of danger, they are so mean", Booster silently mumbled.

"Well, the laws of the Galactic Alliance prevent us from destroying or hazarding any spectacular species, was it then a plant or an animal", Mira went on, "And if we get caught… I do not want to know the results. Besides, this horrible hippie-suit of mine doesn't even have a laser."

Buzz was very disappointed and nervous because of their blocked situation, and because he could not come up with a clever solution. "I still say we shoot it down."

"No!"

"Yes!"

The atmosphere began to turn heated.

"What if someone of us will pull the head out of the nest with a magnet?" Booster carefully suggested, "While some other of us distracts the mama."

"Yes! Great idea, Munchapper! The magnet we can find inside XR's body part", Mira shone with satisfaction, "You really are clever, Booster! I admire you! And I can work as the distracter."

"You?" Buzz was not pleased with the state of affairs, "You are injured, and a girl! Besides, it's the Captain's job to save his subordinates! I shall be the distracter!"

But Mira explained Buzz that climbing up the mountainside would be even more exhausting for her than escaping a bird, and that Booster was too slow to do either of the tasks because of his hurting knees. Dissatisfiedly Buzz agreed to be the magnet-user.

Half an hour later, Mira was hopping and bouncing at the edge of the low-grown wood, imitating some yet undiscovered bird species. "Yllpapa-papa-pa-pa-paap! Kot kotilot-iit! Hurrl-unk-unk-unk! Grohh…! A-hooongh-ah! Hirrrrrrrrllll!" She waved her hands and circled about. Booster and Buzz were having some very good time in the gloom of the high bushes that grew quite near the forest amphitheatre. "Good, Mira! You sound like an old, gouty moke!" they laughed.

"Yrrrffi-tyrrrrff! Hiiiiiiiiiirhaaaahshshshsss!" Mira continued, and was having fun herself, too. She thought she should join the Tangea Royal Theatre, some day –so well she succeeded to draw the attention of the mother bird. The evil animal was sprawling in its nest, looking maliciously around. It observed the princess carefully with a glazed eye. Mira picked up a stone from the ground and threw it towards the nest. This made the huge fowl go mad and rise in the air. The chase began.

"Now, hurry, Buzz!" Booster encouraged, "Climb up and target the magnet to the nest!"

Mira's heart was beating like a thousand drums. She was running her legs off in the mahogany forest. The closer the bird got, the bigger it seemed to grow. Trembling, she rambled forwards, scampering from one tree to another. The fowl attempted to peck and scratch Nova anxiously. The poor woman ran and ran, trying to find shelter in the shadows. "Buzz, I hope you have succeeded to get XR safe, already", she thought.

For many minutes, Mira circled around in the forest, the bird trying to catch her. Everything was going as planned. But the princess had overestimated her strength and quickness. The malevolent animal was really close to grab her several times, and she was out of breath long before she had intended to be. Fatigued, and in pain with her injury, she fell down.

"I can't get forwards, anymore… I just… My back… Oh, my back… Uhh…"

She buried her face into her hands and lay still. The beast stopped right above her head, swinging its huge wings. A thick veil of light-brown dust surrounded her, and it was difficult to both see and breathe.

"Agh… This is a good thing… It's a good chance to flee now… Cough! I think it cannot see me…" Mira put all her strength to her feet and forced herself crawling under a large-leaved bush. "I hope it didn't notice me… Go away, you predator… Leave me alone!"

Tears of exhaust and pain filled her eyes.

Elsewhere, XR's head was attached tightly to a large magnet, and pulled out of the nest. It was now on its way down the hill in Buzz' hands. When safe again, Buzz detached the head from the magnet and took it in his left hand. "XR! XR! Can you hear me? Hello? Are you there?"

Something unrecognizable, strange blabber came from between his metal lips, "Trading was crisp at the start of the day, with some brisk business on the floor. Rubber hardened and string remained confident…"

"He's lost his reason!" Buzz melancholically noticed.

"We must get him to the doctor!" Booster observed the android worriedly.

"No, ranger Booster. What XR needs is the LGM's. And quick", Buzz tried to shake the metal head in his claws, "His 'nunnuka nunnuka lae lae lae lae' does not make any sense. He has a short-circuit, I'm afraid." 

The robot hilariously answered him, "Little bits of tin consolidated, although biscuits sank after an early gain and stools remained anonymous. Armpits rallied well after a poor start…"

Both of the male rangers sighed. It was not wise to attach the head to its place, yet, as the robot ranger was out of his mind. He would probably do more harm, if having also a body with which to bamboozle around.

"Small dark furry things increased severely on the floor, whilst rude jellies wobbled up and bounced against rising thighs which had spread to all parts of the country by mid afternoon. After lunch, naughty things dipped sharply, forcing giblets upwards with the nicky nacky noo. Ting tang tong rankled dithely, little tipples pooped and poppy things went pong. Gibble gabble gobble went the rickety rackety roo…"

Buzz turned the robot's powers off. Thus, the head silenced also.

Some five minutes later, Mira appeared from the thicket. She had been lucky; the bush had been covering her weakened figure, in spite of her striking spacesuit.

"Let's leave this stupid planet, Buzz… It's more dangerous here than in Z Tower!"

"You're right… There's nothing to do here, anymore. Only how do we get to the ship? The raptors are still lurking in the reed jungle", Buzz indicated.

"If we could now use the jetpacks?" Booster rolled his thumbs.

Buzz sighed. Of course, they could use their jetpacks! There was nothing to be careful about, anymore. There was no use to make the trip any more difficult than what it already had been. The raptors could not fly. Thus, they flitted back to 42, Buzz carrying Mira (because her tremendous suit did not have a jetpack) and Booster carrying XR, who was out of electricity.

On the way in space, XR's powers were turned back on. He was as happy as ever, blabbering about the usual insensible things the whole time.

"You know, evil comes in many forms, be it a man-eating cow or a bird -or Emperor Zurg. But you can't let the package hide the pudding. Evil is just plain bad! You don't cotton to it! You gotta smack it on the nose with the rolled up newspaper of goodness! Bad dog! Bad dog!"

"XR…"

"You know, Buzz, when evil is afoot, and you don't have any arms, you've gotta use your head. And when evil is ahead and you're behind, you've gotta do the legwork. But when you can't get a leg up, you gotta be hip. You gotta keep your chin up, and…"

"XR!"

"Oh, this is going to be a hard voyage…" Mira exhaled noisily.

…to be continued…