Jason looked over at the little mechanical man in disbelief,
"What? How many dragons? Where'd they all come from?"
"Aiyiyiyiyi, I don't know Jason, they are just appearing on the sensors," Alpha replied. "It's almost like they're teleporting in to the air."
"Are they attacking?" Tommy asked.
Alpha seemed to concentrate a moment, "Only each other, Tommy," he said. "They seem to be staying in the air, and away from the cities."
"Good," Jason said. Thinking quickly the Ranger leader looked around. "Okay, here's how we're going to do this. Tommy, you are going to take the other Rangers and try to keep the dragons away from populated areas. Don't fire ON them, just near them, to drive them off." He looked over at Mic, "What kind of impact can those 'Zords take?"
"What have you got in mind, Commander?" Mic asked.
"I want to know if they can actually go hand to hand with the dragons. Can we use the 'Zord's bodies to push the dragons away from inhabited areas." He hoped the woman understood.
She smiled at him and nodded, "That's what Bill and I designed them for, Commander. You want to go hand to hand with them, feel free. The 'Zords have a reinforced structural integrity field that will reinforce the armored scales. They can take a direct hit from the old Megazord and shrug it off."
"Good," Jason said. "Do you understand what I want you to do?"
Tommy smiled at him, "Sure do, Bro."
Jason grinned back at him, "Good, I'm heading up and try to talk some sense into Trey and the other Rangers. I'd rather not have two fights on my hands at the same time."
"Do you think that's wise Jason?" Kim asked. "The other Rangers may not be in a mood to talk."
"Wise or not, it has to be done," Jason told his old friend. "Besides, Trey owes me a favor- a big one. The least he can do is listen to me."
"You're going to need someone to cover your tail, Bro. Take Rocky, or Adam with you," Tommy said.
Jase shook his head, "No can do. You're going to need all the help you can get. It's going to be eight against two thousand. Not the best odds in the world." He turned and looked at Mic, "Tell, Doctor Storm to take care of Billy, and as soon as he thinks he's capable we could use his help." Then stopping to consider his old friend, "But NOT until the Doctor releases him. We KNOW Billy."
Mic just smiled at him, "Will do Commander. In the meantime, a piece of advice."
"What?" Jason asked.
"Stay in US, British, Canadian, and Australian territories. None of the other world governments have given us permission to enter their air space." She looked up and locked eyes with him, "As a matter of fact, several governments have threatened to shoot you down."
"That's stupid!" Jase said.
"That's modern politics for you. I never said it was right. This team was part of a coalition approved by those governments I mentioned. Remember what happened last time the US was forced to take matters into its own hands. The UN ceased to exist as a relevant body."
"I remember Ms. Storm. I was there when it happened," Jason told her.
"Good." She turned to the rest of them. "Now about your new 'Zords; you don't have a lot of time so I'll be brief. First, they are tied directly into the Morphin Grid. You want them, take a leap into the air as high as you can get and call for them with your morphers. They'll literally teleport around you. However, I was serious when I said as high as you can get. If you're too low, it'll be a rough ride up to the cockpit."
"Anything else?"
She shook her head, "For now, that's it."
Jason smiled at her, "Good." Turning to his friends, he smiled. "Guys, it's back to action."
Eight other faces lit up as they headed toward the 'Zord bays. Teleporting them into the Power Chamber would not have been a good idea."
"Jase," Tommy called after him.
As the others left the Power Chamber, he stopped, "Yeah, Bro?"
Tommy came up to him, "Listen, you be careful up there. Don't make me have to come up there and bust some heads."
"I will, Bro. Don't worry," Jase told him and turned to leave, but he felt Tommy's hand on his arm.
"I'm serious Jason. I don't think Billy could take losing you again. BE careful."
Jason smiled at him, "Don't worry Bro, I'll be careful.
"You do that," Tommy told him as he followed the rest of the team out of the room. Turning, Jason saw Ms. Storm standing in the corner looking at him. She winked and waved him off, her thoughts echoing Tommy's words.
Aisha had watched the interplay between Jason and the rest of the team. She was having mixed emotions about what was going on with him. She was glad to see that Billy finally had someone in his life. Aisha had always thought that the Blue Ranger had always gotten the short end of the bargain with the Rangers. Everyone else had paired off, but he always seemed so alone. Now, he finally had someone, and she was glad for him, but some part of her wished that that someone didn't come with a set of commander's stripes on his sleeves.
As her 'Zord took to flight she marveled at how easily it maneuvered. It was like flying it was an extension of her own body. She found herself easily slipping into its sensor webs, and she could almost feel the wind off the scales along its body. It was as if she was BECOMING the 'Zord around her.
Tommy's voice crackled over the speakers, "All right Rangers; first stop is San Diego. It looks like there's a whole flight of those pesky lizards playing tag over the city. Let's go see if we can make them play somewhere else. Remember, don't shoot to kill, only try to drive them off."
"You got it boss man," Rocky's voice replied and Aisha could almost see him smile at the prospect of being back in action.
Two and half minutes later, eight streaks of light decelerated over San Diego to dissolve into the forms of eight dragons, one white, two black, one red, two yellow, and two pink. Looking around, Aisha saw a huge deep reddish brown dragon that was being pursued by several smaller dragons of various colors. "I'll take the big female, you guys try and drive off the smaller males," Tommy told them over the radio.
" Uh, how do you know what sex they are?" Adam asked. "It's not like they're wearing little pink and blue name tags."
There was a long silence before Tommy replied, "I'm not sure Adam, but for some reason I do." Thinking about it, Aisha realized that he was right. She knew that the big one was female and all the smaller ones were male.
She and Kat held back in reserve to herd any of the dragons that might try and break toward the city back out to sea, while the others dove into the fray. She noted the ease with which she was able to hover in midair, the great wings of the 'Zord rotated down to push against the planetary magnetic field and hold it in place.
Adam and Zack were the first to dive into the fray. For some reason all the other males took one look at the two of them and scattered, while Tommy closed with the big female. "Looks like this is going to be a lot easier than teaching Tommy to dance," Zack called into his radio.
"That's not saying much, Zack," Kimberly joked back. "We've all seen Tommy dance."
Aisha smiled at that remark. It was a running joke among the rangers that Tommy had all the rhythm of a wet cat in a swimming pool. "Hey what gives?" Tommy called back.
Aisha looked down, and saw where the female dragon seemed to be trying to force him to land. In a strange manner, she seemed to wrap her wings around his
'Zord as if to protect him from the other dragons as she forced him to the ground.
"Hey look out, Trini!" Zack called, as two orange dragons seemed to suddenly notice her 'Zord. For a couple seconds they just hung there staring at the Yellow Dragonzord, then exchanging glances and roars, they charged each other. Trini hit her forward thrusters just in time to get out of the way of the two clashing dragons.
Aisha took a second to look around and see what else was happening. Off to her port there was a smaller deep blue dragon doing loops, as if he was showing off for her. At the top of its loop the dragon seemed to swell, and suddenly water erupted from all around it in a plume of rainbows. "I think he likes you," Kimberly giggled.
"He's not my type," Aisha radioed back.
"Hey! Cut that out!" Kimberly suddenly said. A large blue green male was nipping at Kim's 'Zord's tail. "I'm a married woman!"
"I don't think he cares," Trini told her, giggling profusely. For some reason, Aisha felt her own body temperature rise as her skin became flushed. She actually thought she was blushing under her helmet.
"Hey look at Tommy!" Adam called as he used his 'zord to gently bump one of the yellow males further out to sea.
Looking down, Aisha saw that the large female had forced Tommy's 'Zord to the ground. She was roaring at him softly, while shaking a forepaw in his direction. "I think he's being scolded!"
Then the dragon did something remarkable. It reached out and patted his 'Zord on the head, then turned it around with her wing, and swatted the White Dragonzord on the bottom like one would an errant child before she took to the air again.
"I don't know guys, but I think I've been sent to my room without my supper!" Tommy radioed.
"Oh man," Rocky said. "The White Ranger being mothered by an overgrown lizard. We're never going to let you live this down, Bro."
"Gee, thanks," Tommy said.
Jason watched the Triforian battle cruiser close with him, all the time getting bigger and bigger in his view screen. His radio crackled to life, "Red Ranger approaching Imperial Cruiser Triangulus, power down your engines. Identify yourself."
"This is Red Ranger One, Commander Jason Scott, please state your business in Earth Orbit."
"Our business concerns the dragons on the surface that your forces are engaging. You will cease to harass them or we'll blow you from the sky!" the voice called back.
"We are not trying to kill the dragons, Triangulus. We're simply trying to keep them away from our cities." Jason radioed back.
"Red Ranger One, please hold. Someone wishes to speak with you."
Jason powered down his engines and coasted. He knew he could power them up and maneuver out of the way much faster than the Triforians expected. After several long moments, a familiar voice came over the radio, "Jason Scott? Is that truly you?"
"One and the same, Trey." Jason replied.
"Then your Blue Ranger was successful in reactivating your powers," Trey replied.
Jason smirked, "Yeah, Billy's usually successful at anything he sets out to do."
"I'm sorry, that is unfortunate." Jason could hear a sadness in Trey's voice.
"Why, Trey?" Jason demanded.
Silence.
"Trey? Damn it answer me," Jason demanded.
Again, silence. Jason noted his sensors indicated that the battle cruiser had locked weapons onto him. He reached out and powered his engines back up. "Trey talk to me. You owe me, man. Don't do this!"
A split second before they fired, his sensors indicated the charge. He dove his 'Zord down hard and came up on the ventral side of the battle cruiser. He felt it shudder under him as the battle cruisers point defense weapons fired into his shields. "Jason! Dive now!" a familiar voice came over the radio.
Without question, he dove his 'Zord down and away from the bigger ship like Billy had ordered. Suddenly a beam of bright electric blue energy erupted from the planetary surface to slam into the cruiser, as he pulled out of his dive and leveled off. Jason noted that what ever it was, it punched a neat hole through the cruiser's shield and hull, crippling its engines. He hit his radio again, "Can we talk now Trey? Cause I can guarantee you the next one will split you in half." Jason knew he was bluffing. Hell, he didn't even know if there was going to be a next one.
"Dock your 'Zord Jason and we'll talk," Trey said over the radio.
"Negative, we'll talk from here," Jason replied.
"Jason, you can't be allowed to interfere with the dragons. You may cripple this ship, but there are more where it came from, and you've only got a single planetary defense battery."
"Maybe, but you're forgetting one small factor here," Jason told the Triforian Prince.
"And that is?"
"You bomb us out of existence, you bomb the dragons out of existence. Then Triforia is responsible for destroying the dragons, not us."
"We have ways of neutralizing the human inhabitants of the Earth without damaging the rest of the ecosystem."
Quickly Jason thought. What would Kirk do here? Then it hit him. A big smile came across his face. "No you don't. First attack you launch at us, we'll activate every nuke on the planet. You've seen what happens when the dragons come into contact with nuclear radiation. If not, just take a look at where Los Angeles used to be. We may die, but we'll take the dragons with us."
Suddenly below him, pin pricks of light, like he'd seen in that first video erupted across Asia. His radio screamed to life. "Jason!" Commander Storm's voice came over the scrambled frequency, "The Chinese and the North Koreans just attempted to nuke the dragons in their airspace."
Jason felt his blood run cold. That many dragons, that many nukes. Looking down the saw half of Asia awash in a kinetic blast that kicked dust high into the atmosphere. Mountain chains were leveled, cities were flattened. Half the continent erupted into chaos. His mind screamed out at the waste of life. Three plus billion lives were just lost. Steeling his heart to what had to be done, he turned back to the Triangulus. Forcing his voice to be as cold and steady as he could, he said, "Do you believe me now?"
There was a stunned silence from the battle cruiser. His sensors noted that the closing Aquitian dreadnaught came to a dead stop. Finally, Trey's voice came over the radio, "You would destroy a galactic treasure?"
"To save my world, I'd destroy you." Jason forced his voice steady. "We don't want to kill the dragons. We're just trying to keep them from destroying our way of life."
"Jason Scott?" a new voice came over his radio.
"Yes?"
"This is Delphine, leader of the Aquitian Rangers. We must find a way to preserve the dragons."
"Did Billy ask you to find a way to preserve the Hydro Contaminators?" Jason asked, recalling the files he'd seen on Billy's trip to Aquitar.
"This is different," Delphine protested.
"No it' not." He sighed, "Look, give us some time. We're trying to find a way to deal with the dragons in a non-lethal manner. Quite frankly, having you breathing down our necks is not helping. Either be part of the solution or be part of problem."
He waited silently for a reply. A small, broken voice cut through the silence, "Delphine, this Billy."
"Go ahead, Blue Ranger."
Jason could hear the pain in Billy's voice. He was unsure if was due to his injuries or to what he'd just seen happen to Asia. "We deserve a chance to preserve our world, our way of life."
"What do you have in mind, Blue Ranger?" Delphine remained in formal mode.
"Let us see if we can force the dragons into the now uninhabited areas. We won't use lethal force. Our Ranger team has been successful in keeping the dragons out of San Diego without harming them." Jason could hear some amusement in Billy's voice, "We're getting some fascinating data, and some there are some very interesting speculations going here. We may be able to communicate with them."
Trey broke in, "No species in the galactic history has been able to communicate with the dragons. What makes you think you are capable of doing it?"
"Maybe you just weren't asking the right questions in the right tone of voice," Ms. Storm's voice came through the background of Billy's microphone.
"If Billy thinks he can communicate with the dragons, the I vote we give him a chance," another voice came through the Aquitian background.
"You do not have a say in this Cestro," Trey told him. "You have betrayed your Ranger team."
"I did what I thought was right," Cestro replied.
"Which is more than you were willing to do, Trey," Jason accused the Triforian Gold Ranger. "We helped you, when you needed it," he told him. "And it damn near killed me in the process." Jason felt his anger rising. "Attacking me and my world is how you repay that? Maybe Earth doesn't need to be part of any galactic alliance if that's the way you repay kindness."
"I am Prince of my planet, I have to do what's best in their interests. I cannot allow my personal feelings to come into play Jason. You and Billy saved my life. I appreciate that, but I cannot allow that to influence decisions of galactic importance."
Jason's voice hardened, "Fine, I understand that. But, you should understand this. We're fighting for our very existence. That little stunt you just saw, will probably warp weather patterns around the globe for the next decade or so. Not to mention killing over half our planetary population. If you're giving us a choice of dying at the hands of the dragons, or by your hand, we'll make sure we take the dragons out with us, and as many of you as we can."
"You can't do that!" Trey protested.
"Yes, I can. Not only can I, but I will." Jason waited several heartbeats before continuing, "Or, you can give us chance to work this out peacefully." Jim Kirk would have been proud of his performance.
Jason's sensors showed several tight-beam communication relays going back and forth between the Aquitians and the Triforians. Finally, Trey said, "Very well. You have one week, to try and make contact with the dragons. After that, we have no choice but to escalate the conflict."
"One week it is, Trey." Jason said, as he turned his ship around wondering what ever happened to Zordon's admonition against escalating a fight.
Teelo watched the newcomers with some amusement. This was his first mating flight and he really had no expectations beyond possibly catching the eye of some female of similar experience. He knew the chances of that, however were few and far between- he was too new to his second element, his scales only now beginning to lighten to reflect that he'd finally begun to master Air.
The clutch he was watching was made up of several dragons of different masteries- a clutch with very little in common at all. There were TWO blacks- masters of all the elements plus the void, two yellows- both females he noted with some hope- who'd mastered Fire and Earth, two female pinks- an unusual combination of mastery of Fire, Air, and Water simultaneously, a single deep red male who showed a specialization in Fire, and a white hatchling- the largest he'd ever seen.
He laughed gently to himself and did loops in the sky in amusement as the hatchling tried to get Karissa's attention. Noting one of the female yellows watching him, he couldn't resist showing off and released his first element in a rainbow of colors around him.
The clutch seemed to be more interested in driving off the other males, than attracting Karissa to them. He smiled as Karissa forced the hatchling to the ground, scolding him for getting involved with adults. This mating flight was important to her, being as he scales showed she was on the cusp of mastering the void. By the next mating flight she probably would have passed on to the Elements, so this was her last chance to bring more of their kind into the universe.
Finally the red and two blacks drove off the rest of the males, to hunt for easier mates. No dragon in their right mind would fight a black, even a small one over a mate. Karissa turned to them in expectation, but they did something that surprised both the elder female and Teelo: they flew off in the direction of the land, just before they folded space, and disappeared in a rainbow of color. Teelo was so surprised by the way things turned out that Karissa's nuzzling him caught him off guard. Before he turned to the large female that he now had to himself, he made a mental note to find that clutch and do something nice for them.
"Aiyiyiyiyi, I don't know Jason, they are just appearing on the sensors," Alpha replied. "It's almost like they're teleporting in to the air."
"Are they attacking?" Tommy asked.
Alpha seemed to concentrate a moment, "Only each other, Tommy," he said. "They seem to be staying in the air, and away from the cities."
"Good," Jason said. Thinking quickly the Ranger leader looked around. "Okay, here's how we're going to do this. Tommy, you are going to take the other Rangers and try to keep the dragons away from populated areas. Don't fire ON them, just near them, to drive them off." He looked over at Mic, "What kind of impact can those 'Zords take?"
"What have you got in mind, Commander?" Mic asked.
"I want to know if they can actually go hand to hand with the dragons. Can we use the 'Zord's bodies to push the dragons away from inhabited areas." He hoped the woman understood.
She smiled at him and nodded, "That's what Bill and I designed them for, Commander. You want to go hand to hand with them, feel free. The 'Zords have a reinforced structural integrity field that will reinforce the armored scales. They can take a direct hit from the old Megazord and shrug it off."
"Good," Jason said. "Do you understand what I want you to do?"
Tommy smiled at him, "Sure do, Bro."
Jason grinned back at him, "Good, I'm heading up and try to talk some sense into Trey and the other Rangers. I'd rather not have two fights on my hands at the same time."
"Do you think that's wise Jason?" Kim asked. "The other Rangers may not be in a mood to talk."
"Wise or not, it has to be done," Jason told his old friend. "Besides, Trey owes me a favor- a big one. The least he can do is listen to me."
"You're going to need someone to cover your tail, Bro. Take Rocky, or Adam with you," Tommy said.
Jase shook his head, "No can do. You're going to need all the help you can get. It's going to be eight against two thousand. Not the best odds in the world." He turned and looked at Mic, "Tell, Doctor Storm to take care of Billy, and as soon as he thinks he's capable we could use his help." Then stopping to consider his old friend, "But NOT until the Doctor releases him. We KNOW Billy."
Mic just smiled at him, "Will do Commander. In the meantime, a piece of advice."
"What?" Jason asked.
"Stay in US, British, Canadian, and Australian territories. None of the other world governments have given us permission to enter their air space." She looked up and locked eyes with him, "As a matter of fact, several governments have threatened to shoot you down."
"That's stupid!" Jase said.
"That's modern politics for you. I never said it was right. This team was part of a coalition approved by those governments I mentioned. Remember what happened last time the US was forced to take matters into its own hands. The UN ceased to exist as a relevant body."
"I remember Ms. Storm. I was there when it happened," Jason told her.
"Good." She turned to the rest of them. "Now about your new 'Zords; you don't have a lot of time so I'll be brief. First, they are tied directly into the Morphin Grid. You want them, take a leap into the air as high as you can get and call for them with your morphers. They'll literally teleport around you. However, I was serious when I said as high as you can get. If you're too low, it'll be a rough ride up to the cockpit."
"Anything else?"
She shook her head, "For now, that's it."
Jason smiled at her, "Good." Turning to his friends, he smiled. "Guys, it's back to action."
Eight other faces lit up as they headed toward the 'Zord bays. Teleporting them into the Power Chamber would not have been a good idea."
"Jase," Tommy called after him.
As the others left the Power Chamber, he stopped, "Yeah, Bro?"
Tommy came up to him, "Listen, you be careful up there. Don't make me have to come up there and bust some heads."
"I will, Bro. Don't worry," Jase told him and turned to leave, but he felt Tommy's hand on his arm.
"I'm serious Jason. I don't think Billy could take losing you again. BE careful."
Jason smiled at him, "Don't worry Bro, I'll be careful.
"You do that," Tommy told him as he followed the rest of the team out of the room. Turning, Jason saw Ms. Storm standing in the corner looking at him. She winked and waved him off, her thoughts echoing Tommy's words.
Aisha had watched the interplay between Jason and the rest of the team. She was having mixed emotions about what was going on with him. She was glad to see that Billy finally had someone in his life. Aisha had always thought that the Blue Ranger had always gotten the short end of the bargain with the Rangers. Everyone else had paired off, but he always seemed so alone. Now, he finally had someone, and she was glad for him, but some part of her wished that that someone didn't come with a set of commander's stripes on his sleeves.
As her 'Zord took to flight she marveled at how easily it maneuvered. It was like flying it was an extension of her own body. She found herself easily slipping into its sensor webs, and she could almost feel the wind off the scales along its body. It was as if she was BECOMING the 'Zord around her.
Tommy's voice crackled over the speakers, "All right Rangers; first stop is San Diego. It looks like there's a whole flight of those pesky lizards playing tag over the city. Let's go see if we can make them play somewhere else. Remember, don't shoot to kill, only try to drive them off."
"You got it boss man," Rocky's voice replied and Aisha could almost see him smile at the prospect of being back in action.
Two and half minutes later, eight streaks of light decelerated over San Diego to dissolve into the forms of eight dragons, one white, two black, one red, two yellow, and two pink. Looking around, Aisha saw a huge deep reddish brown dragon that was being pursued by several smaller dragons of various colors. "I'll take the big female, you guys try and drive off the smaller males," Tommy told them over the radio.
" Uh, how do you know what sex they are?" Adam asked. "It's not like they're wearing little pink and blue name tags."
There was a long silence before Tommy replied, "I'm not sure Adam, but for some reason I do." Thinking about it, Aisha realized that he was right. She knew that the big one was female and all the smaller ones were male.
She and Kat held back in reserve to herd any of the dragons that might try and break toward the city back out to sea, while the others dove into the fray. She noted the ease with which she was able to hover in midair, the great wings of the 'Zord rotated down to push against the planetary magnetic field and hold it in place.
Adam and Zack were the first to dive into the fray. For some reason all the other males took one look at the two of them and scattered, while Tommy closed with the big female. "Looks like this is going to be a lot easier than teaching Tommy to dance," Zack called into his radio.
"That's not saying much, Zack," Kimberly joked back. "We've all seen Tommy dance."
Aisha smiled at that remark. It was a running joke among the rangers that Tommy had all the rhythm of a wet cat in a swimming pool. "Hey what gives?" Tommy called back.
Aisha looked down, and saw where the female dragon seemed to be trying to force him to land. In a strange manner, she seemed to wrap her wings around his
'Zord as if to protect him from the other dragons as she forced him to the ground.
"Hey look out, Trini!" Zack called, as two orange dragons seemed to suddenly notice her 'Zord. For a couple seconds they just hung there staring at the Yellow Dragonzord, then exchanging glances and roars, they charged each other. Trini hit her forward thrusters just in time to get out of the way of the two clashing dragons.
Aisha took a second to look around and see what else was happening. Off to her port there was a smaller deep blue dragon doing loops, as if he was showing off for her. At the top of its loop the dragon seemed to swell, and suddenly water erupted from all around it in a plume of rainbows. "I think he likes you," Kimberly giggled.
"He's not my type," Aisha radioed back.
"Hey! Cut that out!" Kimberly suddenly said. A large blue green male was nipping at Kim's 'Zord's tail. "I'm a married woman!"
"I don't think he cares," Trini told her, giggling profusely. For some reason, Aisha felt her own body temperature rise as her skin became flushed. She actually thought she was blushing under her helmet.
"Hey look at Tommy!" Adam called as he used his 'zord to gently bump one of the yellow males further out to sea.
Looking down, Aisha saw that the large female had forced Tommy's 'Zord to the ground. She was roaring at him softly, while shaking a forepaw in his direction. "I think he's being scolded!"
Then the dragon did something remarkable. It reached out and patted his 'Zord on the head, then turned it around with her wing, and swatted the White Dragonzord on the bottom like one would an errant child before she took to the air again.
"I don't know guys, but I think I've been sent to my room without my supper!" Tommy radioed.
"Oh man," Rocky said. "The White Ranger being mothered by an overgrown lizard. We're never going to let you live this down, Bro."
"Gee, thanks," Tommy said.
Jason watched the Triforian battle cruiser close with him, all the time getting bigger and bigger in his view screen. His radio crackled to life, "Red Ranger approaching Imperial Cruiser Triangulus, power down your engines. Identify yourself."
"This is Red Ranger One, Commander Jason Scott, please state your business in Earth Orbit."
"Our business concerns the dragons on the surface that your forces are engaging. You will cease to harass them or we'll blow you from the sky!" the voice called back.
"We are not trying to kill the dragons, Triangulus. We're simply trying to keep them away from our cities." Jason radioed back.
"Red Ranger One, please hold. Someone wishes to speak with you."
Jason powered down his engines and coasted. He knew he could power them up and maneuver out of the way much faster than the Triforians expected. After several long moments, a familiar voice came over the radio, "Jason Scott? Is that truly you?"
"One and the same, Trey." Jason replied.
"Then your Blue Ranger was successful in reactivating your powers," Trey replied.
Jason smirked, "Yeah, Billy's usually successful at anything he sets out to do."
"I'm sorry, that is unfortunate." Jason could hear a sadness in Trey's voice.
"Why, Trey?" Jason demanded.
Silence.
"Trey? Damn it answer me," Jason demanded.
Again, silence. Jason noted his sensors indicated that the battle cruiser had locked weapons onto him. He reached out and powered his engines back up. "Trey talk to me. You owe me, man. Don't do this!"
A split second before they fired, his sensors indicated the charge. He dove his 'Zord down hard and came up on the ventral side of the battle cruiser. He felt it shudder under him as the battle cruisers point defense weapons fired into his shields. "Jason! Dive now!" a familiar voice came over the radio.
Without question, he dove his 'Zord down and away from the bigger ship like Billy had ordered. Suddenly a beam of bright electric blue energy erupted from the planetary surface to slam into the cruiser, as he pulled out of his dive and leveled off. Jason noted that what ever it was, it punched a neat hole through the cruiser's shield and hull, crippling its engines. He hit his radio again, "Can we talk now Trey? Cause I can guarantee you the next one will split you in half." Jason knew he was bluffing. Hell, he didn't even know if there was going to be a next one.
"Dock your 'Zord Jason and we'll talk," Trey said over the radio.
"Negative, we'll talk from here," Jason replied.
"Jason, you can't be allowed to interfere with the dragons. You may cripple this ship, but there are more where it came from, and you've only got a single planetary defense battery."
"Maybe, but you're forgetting one small factor here," Jason told the Triforian Prince.
"And that is?"
"You bomb us out of existence, you bomb the dragons out of existence. Then Triforia is responsible for destroying the dragons, not us."
"We have ways of neutralizing the human inhabitants of the Earth without damaging the rest of the ecosystem."
Quickly Jason thought. What would Kirk do here? Then it hit him. A big smile came across his face. "No you don't. First attack you launch at us, we'll activate every nuke on the planet. You've seen what happens when the dragons come into contact with nuclear radiation. If not, just take a look at where Los Angeles used to be. We may die, but we'll take the dragons with us."
Suddenly below him, pin pricks of light, like he'd seen in that first video erupted across Asia. His radio screamed to life. "Jason!" Commander Storm's voice came over the scrambled frequency, "The Chinese and the North Koreans just attempted to nuke the dragons in their airspace."
Jason felt his blood run cold. That many dragons, that many nukes. Looking down the saw half of Asia awash in a kinetic blast that kicked dust high into the atmosphere. Mountain chains were leveled, cities were flattened. Half the continent erupted into chaos. His mind screamed out at the waste of life. Three plus billion lives were just lost. Steeling his heart to what had to be done, he turned back to the Triangulus. Forcing his voice to be as cold and steady as he could, he said, "Do you believe me now?"
There was a stunned silence from the battle cruiser. His sensors noted that the closing Aquitian dreadnaught came to a dead stop. Finally, Trey's voice came over the radio, "You would destroy a galactic treasure?"
"To save my world, I'd destroy you." Jason forced his voice steady. "We don't want to kill the dragons. We're just trying to keep them from destroying our way of life."
"Jason Scott?" a new voice came over his radio.
"Yes?"
"This is Delphine, leader of the Aquitian Rangers. We must find a way to preserve the dragons."
"Did Billy ask you to find a way to preserve the Hydro Contaminators?" Jason asked, recalling the files he'd seen on Billy's trip to Aquitar.
"This is different," Delphine protested.
"No it' not." He sighed, "Look, give us some time. We're trying to find a way to deal with the dragons in a non-lethal manner. Quite frankly, having you breathing down our necks is not helping. Either be part of the solution or be part of problem."
He waited silently for a reply. A small, broken voice cut through the silence, "Delphine, this Billy."
"Go ahead, Blue Ranger."
Jason could hear the pain in Billy's voice. He was unsure if was due to his injuries or to what he'd just seen happen to Asia. "We deserve a chance to preserve our world, our way of life."
"What do you have in mind, Blue Ranger?" Delphine remained in formal mode.
"Let us see if we can force the dragons into the now uninhabited areas. We won't use lethal force. Our Ranger team has been successful in keeping the dragons out of San Diego without harming them." Jason could hear some amusement in Billy's voice, "We're getting some fascinating data, and some there are some very interesting speculations going here. We may be able to communicate with them."
Trey broke in, "No species in the galactic history has been able to communicate with the dragons. What makes you think you are capable of doing it?"
"Maybe you just weren't asking the right questions in the right tone of voice," Ms. Storm's voice came through the background of Billy's microphone.
"If Billy thinks he can communicate with the dragons, the I vote we give him a chance," another voice came through the Aquitian background.
"You do not have a say in this Cestro," Trey told him. "You have betrayed your Ranger team."
"I did what I thought was right," Cestro replied.
"Which is more than you were willing to do, Trey," Jason accused the Triforian Gold Ranger. "We helped you, when you needed it," he told him. "And it damn near killed me in the process." Jason felt his anger rising. "Attacking me and my world is how you repay that? Maybe Earth doesn't need to be part of any galactic alliance if that's the way you repay kindness."
"I am Prince of my planet, I have to do what's best in their interests. I cannot allow my personal feelings to come into play Jason. You and Billy saved my life. I appreciate that, but I cannot allow that to influence decisions of galactic importance."
Jason's voice hardened, "Fine, I understand that. But, you should understand this. We're fighting for our very existence. That little stunt you just saw, will probably warp weather patterns around the globe for the next decade or so. Not to mention killing over half our planetary population. If you're giving us a choice of dying at the hands of the dragons, or by your hand, we'll make sure we take the dragons out with us, and as many of you as we can."
"You can't do that!" Trey protested.
"Yes, I can. Not only can I, but I will." Jason waited several heartbeats before continuing, "Or, you can give us chance to work this out peacefully." Jim Kirk would have been proud of his performance.
Jason's sensors showed several tight-beam communication relays going back and forth between the Aquitians and the Triforians. Finally, Trey said, "Very well. You have one week, to try and make contact with the dragons. After that, we have no choice but to escalate the conflict."
"One week it is, Trey." Jason said, as he turned his ship around wondering what ever happened to Zordon's admonition against escalating a fight.
Teelo watched the newcomers with some amusement. This was his first mating flight and he really had no expectations beyond possibly catching the eye of some female of similar experience. He knew the chances of that, however were few and far between- he was too new to his second element, his scales only now beginning to lighten to reflect that he'd finally begun to master Air.
The clutch he was watching was made up of several dragons of different masteries- a clutch with very little in common at all. There were TWO blacks- masters of all the elements plus the void, two yellows- both females he noted with some hope- who'd mastered Fire and Earth, two female pinks- an unusual combination of mastery of Fire, Air, and Water simultaneously, a single deep red male who showed a specialization in Fire, and a white hatchling- the largest he'd ever seen.
He laughed gently to himself and did loops in the sky in amusement as the hatchling tried to get Karissa's attention. Noting one of the female yellows watching him, he couldn't resist showing off and released his first element in a rainbow of colors around him.
The clutch seemed to be more interested in driving off the other males, than attracting Karissa to them. He smiled as Karissa forced the hatchling to the ground, scolding him for getting involved with adults. This mating flight was important to her, being as he scales showed she was on the cusp of mastering the void. By the next mating flight she probably would have passed on to the Elements, so this was her last chance to bring more of their kind into the universe.
Finally the red and two blacks drove off the rest of the males, to hunt for easier mates. No dragon in their right mind would fight a black, even a small one over a mate. Karissa turned to them in expectation, but they did something that surprised both the elder female and Teelo: they flew off in the direction of the land, just before they folded space, and disappeared in a rainbow of color. Teelo was so surprised by the way things turned out that Karissa's nuzzling him caught him off guard. Before he turned to the large female that he now had to himself, he made a mental note to find that clutch and do something nice for them.
