"I think I should be one of two to go," Billy said to the room.
"Absolutely not!" Jason told him.
"Why not?" Billy demanded. I am not going to let Jason get away with continuing to try and protect me.
"Because you are the one member of this team he can't replace," Kim said. "You know everything there is to know about this base and about the Rangers. We can't risk losing you." She shook her head, "Jason's right. It can't be you."
"Nobody here's indispensable," Billy told her. "Zordon taught us that."
"Oh yeah," Tommy asked, "Then why did he ask you to stay on in an adjutant role after you gave up the Zeo Crystal?" Tommy leveled his gaze at Billy as if daring him to disagree, "Because we couldn't replace you." He shook his head, "Not even Justin could come close."
"Tommy," Billy told him, "I can take care of myself, and Mic knows this base as well as I do."
"No I don't," Mic said. "I don't know it half as well as you do. I get around that by using my electrokinesis to figure out what something does, but I couldn't build it. Building and design's where your expertise comes in."
"Uh, excuse me?" Rocky said.
All eyes turned to him, "I don't want to sound dumb or anything, but what is electrokine-whatcha'ma-call-it?"
"You're not dumb Rocky," Aisha said. "I don't know what it is either."
"You're an electokinetic?" Trini asked.
Mic nodded. "I have been since I was a child. Telepathy and a minor bit of teleportation too."
"I thought that was just something from the comic books," Trini said.
"Yeah, like Power Rangers," Mic smiled back at her.
"Uh, is someone going to tell me what electrokinesis is or not?" Rocky insisted.
Billy turned and looked at him, "Electrokinesis is the ability to manipulate electricity and electronics. Sometime it's called cyberpsionics." Then turning back to look at her, "She can literally reprogram a computer by simply touching it. Why didn't you tell me?"
She shrugged, "You didn't ask."
"This puts a whole new light on the situation." He turned to Jase and smiled, "I can at least admit when I'm wrong about something. As much as I would like to go, I'll stay."
Jason gave him a surprised look, "Since when is it that easy to get you to agree to do something you don't want to."
"Since someone can give me a logical and well thought out explanation of why it should be done."
Jason turned to Ms. Storm, "Ma'am, I think I'm going to keep you around for a while. Anybody that can convince Billy he's wrong has to have something going for them."
She smiled and looked at Kim, "I'm not sure, but I THINK I've been complimented. By a Naval Commander no less." She turned to her brother, "You taking notes brother-dear?"
Ben just smiled at her, "Don't even go there Mic. I'm your big brother, I always get to argue with you. It's in the Big Brother's contract we all have to sign." He winked at Rocky, "Right Mr. DeSantos?"
Rocky laughed, "Article four, paragraph three: "It is the sworn duty of all Big Brothers to make life difficult on their younger siblings- especially when they are female and attractive.""
Mic bowed, "Why thank you for that compliment, Mr. DeSantos." She turned to Ben and said, "As for you." She then stuck her tongue out at her brother.
Everyone laughed as the tenseness of moment was broken by the sibling interplay. Finally, Aisha spoke up, "Still, that doesn't help us. Who's going to talk to the dragons?"
Billy watched Jason consider his options. He knew the Ranger leader would come to a decision fairly quickly; it was in his nature, but that he would worry over it until the mission was completed. He turned to Mic, "Has Teelo expressed any desire for a particular person?"
Mic shook her head, "No."
Smiling he said, "Good." Billy watched his lover- God it felt strange to finally consider him that after all these years- as he paced the floor. Finally, Jason looked up at the rest of the team and said, "All right, this is what we're going to do. Ms. Storm, you, Adam and Kim are going to visit the dragons. The rest of us are going to stay here and come up with a plan for dealing with Kilpatrick. I don't like the idea of him trying to kill us, or blow up our only defense for this planet."
Next to him, he heard Ben mutter under his breath, "I knew I liked that man from the first moment I met him."
"Kilpatrick?" Mic asked stunned. "In that case I'm staying."
Jason shook his head, "No you're not." He looked over at her and said, "You volunteered for this mission, and even convinced Billy that he shouldn't go. I'm not going to let you let your personal feelings put the rest of this team at risk. Somehow I get the feeling that the reason he's been able to evade you two for so long is that you're too close to the situation. If he knows you as well as he seems to, then he's going to be ready to deal with what ever you come up with." Jason grinned, "The Power Rangers, on the other hand are an entirely different story. He has yet to deal with us. I think he may be in for a surprise."
"But I'm not a Power Ranger." Mic Protested, "I'm not part of your team. I'm just support."
"What ever gave you that idea? You don't have to HOLD the power to be a Ranger." Jason smiled over at Billy. "Just ask Billy. He did more good for the team without ever picking up a Power Coin or a Zeo Crystal than most of us do on the battlefield. Where the Power Rangers are concerned there are two things you should know. First is that there is no such thing as JUST SUPPORT. Second: once a Ranger always a Ranger."
Mic smiled and looked at Billy, "At least he didn't say: We live for the one, we die for the one."
Jason chuckled, "That too."
"One other thing," Adam said. "I want Doctor Storm with us."
Jason turned to him. "Why?"
Adam shrugged, "Just a hunch, but I get the feeling we may need his services before this is done."
Jason considered the request for a few moments. It was reasonable, and here at the Command Center they at least had access to the table for anything minor. Besides, both Trini and Billy had enough medical background they could handle anything that might come up. Finally he nodded, "Very well." He turned, "I'm putting Kimberly in charge of mission. The rest of you back her up."
"Me?" Kim asked. "Since when am I in charge of anything?"
He smiled at her, "Because this is negotiations and I can't think of anybody better at convincing somebody to do what you want than you."
"If it's negotiators you want, you should send Trini and Zack. They are at least trained diplomats," Kim told him.
Billy and Jase exchanged looks with Zack and all three turned to Kim in unison and said, "The best diplomat I know of is a fully charged phaser bank." All three men suddenly burst out laughing.
"Great," Mic said. "You three are as bad him," she pointed to her brother. "He quotes Wonder Woman, you quote Star Trek. Doesn't anybody watch or read anything other than Science Fiction?"
Jason smiled, "We all do, but that's just one of our favorite quotes." He turned back to Kim, "Yes, they're professional diplomats, but I have a hunch that what we need here is less diplomacy and more heart and spirit. Those things, you have in spades."
The first Pink Ranger blushed deeply. "Why thank you, Jason." She smiled and turned to Adam and said, "You heard that didn't you hubby-dear? I'm in charge."
Adam looked over at Jason, "I'll get you for this Bro. Just wait."
Jason laughed, "I'm sure you will." Then he turned back to the room, "Ms. Storm, if you'd inform our guest that we'll be leaving first thing in the morning- say Oh seven hundred." Billy took a moment to check the clock on the wall. Twenty-two hundred hours. It had now officially been sixty hours since he'd had more that about an hour's sleep.
"That's seven a.m. for us civilians," Kim grumbled.
~*~
Teelo watched as the woman called Mic entered the part of the cavern these called a "room". He was surprised at all the complex "machinery"- another term he was coming to grips with- that filled it. These humans had managed to mold their environment without using phyre. It was truly amazing.
"Teelo, we've talked it over. Adam, Kim, and I are going with you to meet the other dragons." She shook her head, "Maybe we can work something out here that's beneficial to both sides."
"I think the Council will be willing to work with you. After all, you ARE the first intelligent species we've encountered in the galaxy."
Mic smiled, "I wonder how the Triforians and the Aquitians feel about that?"
"Who are the Triforians and Aquitians?" Teelo asked. There was much for him to learn.
"They're alien races from other planets. They think we are parasites, living off your people," Mic said. Teelo detected a hint of bitterness in her voice.
"You are not fond of these people?" he asked.
Mic laughed, "Does it show that much?"
Teelo smiled, "Only a little." He gave her a confused look. These small forms were confusing. The emotions that poured through their bodies were chaotic, and confusing. There was so much power there, confined in so little space. He wondered how they coped with it all. However, he asked, "Why do you dislike them?"
Mic shook hear head, "I don't know. I guess because they were willing to turn their backs on earth, on Billy and the other Rangers." She sighed, "They were willing to let us die to protect your people."
"But you don't hate us?" Teelo asked. "After all, we were the ones killing you."
"No," she said. "You were doing what was natural for you. You didn't know we were here. When you found out that we were here, you were willing to listen. They aren't."
"I see," He sighed, "Perhaps it is best you go with me in your- what did you call them?- your 'Zords."
"I think that might be a good idea," Mic told him. "However, I don't have a 'Zord. I may be a cyberpsi, but I'm not a recipient of the Power, so I can't interface with them." She held her hands out to her sides, "With me, what you see is what you get."
He smiled, "What I see is interesting."
He noticed her color, her face becoming redder. She looked down at her feet, "Are you making a pass at me, Teelo?"
Teelo didn't understand, "What is a pass?"
She smiled and laughed, "Never mind." Looking up she told him, "We're leaving just after sunrise tomorrow. I'll show you to your quarters."
"Perhaps rest would be a good idea," Teelo told her. Maintaining this form was tiring him.
~*~
Rocky slipped under the cool sheets next to his wife. He was exhausted, he'd been up for almost three days and it was starting to take its toll on him. Lying back he closed his eyes, and let himself begin to slip off to sleep. As he slowly answered the call of the mountain lake in his dreams he felt a hand dance slowly across his chest, down his abdomen to gently flitter between his thighs. Tired as he was, he felt an odd stirring.
Opening his eyes, he looked into the face of his wife. Her chocolate brown eyes stared at him with a hunger that excited him. He felt her passion suddenly wash over him like plunging into a river of hot lava. Pulling the woman to him, he kissed her solidly, groaning as she pressed her body to him. //I want you Rocky!// her voice said in his mind. //Now!//
Suddenly, he felt her hands rip away his boxers as she shoved him back down. Throwing her legs over his she straddled his form as she pinned him to his pillow with a passionate kiss that took his breath away.
~*~
Kimberly Park couldn't figure out what it was, but for some reason her motor was running faster than a teenager on prom night. She waited until Adam came out of the bathroom, yawing. As her husband reached for the light switch next to their bed, she said, "Oh Adam,"
Adam smiled at her and turned to look, "Yeah?"
Smiling she pulled her hand from under the covers and dropped her night gown. "You're not too sleepy are you?" She smiled at the slow blush that rose in her husband. One of the things that she loved about him was his natural shyness, and for some reason the vulnerability he showed when it came to the surface, really set her motor to running on high.
"Uh, no." he said with a smile. "What did you have in mind?"
She leaned into him, and kissed him solidly. "I'm sure we can figure out something to do with whatever pops up." She found herself giggling like a schoolgirl as she pressed her body against his.
~*~
"Wanna' fool around?" Trini asked Zack with a look of mischief in her eyes. A look Zack had seen rarely of late- one that he was glad to see again. He loved his wife dearly, but there were times of late when their careers had made their chances to express that love few and far between.
Zack grinned back at her. "I was just going to ask you the same thing."
"Good," she said. "For some reason, I'm REALLY in the mood tonight."
~*~
Billy settled into his bed, really wishing he wasn't alone. The more he thought about it, the more he really wished he and Jase had been able to finish what they'd started earlier. Just as well, I guess. In the mood I'm in, it would probably be close to dawn before I settled down.
He closed his eyes and vainly tried to force from his mind the image of Jason, bare-chested and lying in his bed. The longer he lay there, the more he felt the desire in him rise. Finally when it reached a fevered pitch, he threw the covers from his body saying, "The worst he can do is toss me out on my ear."
Not bothering with a shirt, he buckled his web belt as he opened the door only to run headlong into a wall of Jason shaped muscle. "I. uh. thought we might could finish what we started earlier," Jason said as he closed the door behind him.
"I had much the same idea," Billy grinned back at him.
"Good," Jase replied as he pulled Billy into a kiss that sent shivers down the Blue Ranger's spine. After that kiss, Billy lost all coherent thought.
~*~
Twenty-two thousand three hundred miles in space, two battle cruisers took up geosynchronous orbit around the Earth. On the main bridge of the Triforian craft, Lord Trey, Prince of the Realm, and holder of the Gold Ranger Powers was going over the report Jason had sent up to him. "I don't believe it," he finally said to woman in white behind him. "No race in the galaxy has ever been able to make contact with the dragons, and here the humans are claiming to have done so."
Delphine smiled, an unnerving sight coming from a being with that many teeth in her mouth, "They ARE quite resourceful, you know."
Trey looked over at the leader of the Aquitian Rangers, "How did we come to this point Delphine? The Earth Rangers have always acted honorably. Why are we now on opposite sides of an issue?" Trey was disturbed over the fact that he'd had to fire on the man who'd saved his life by taking the Gold Powers temporarily. Jason and the Earth Rangers had literally saved his world by protecting the Gold Powers and he felt this was a poor way to repay them.
"Politics Trey," Delphine told him. "As Rangers of Aquitar, or Triforia we answer to our governments. Earth has no central government and therefore the Rangers are a rogue force. That's why they must protect their identities." She sighed, "And I have to say that Jason and his Rangers HAVE acted honorably. It's just that their honor and ours are at cross purposes here."
Trey looked over at her, and considered his next question very carefully. Finally, he said, "Are WE on the wrong side Delphine? Are we letting the prejudice the rest of the galaxy has toward humans color our own actions?" He leaned back in his chair, "They ARE fighting for their lives. Would we be willing to take the order to roll over and die, just because the galactic governments told us to?"
She looked at him, "I'm not sure. I do know that we are at least in the position that we have a standing in the galactic community. They don't. Outside of the Rangers, they don't' have the defenses to protect themselves, so the Galactic Council can dictate anything they want, and the humans have no choice but to comply or be destroyed."
Trey gave her a long look, "And would you carry out that order? Would you kill the planet that saved yours?"
"I am a Ranger. I will do my duty," she said.
He shook his head, "I'm not so sure that in doing our duty, we're not besmirching the name of Ranger."
She smiled, "Now you're starting to sound like Cestro."
"Cestro may have a point," Trey said. "Think about it, Delphine. I understand that the Council has sent a Hafar dreadnaught. Supposedly, it's to back us up, since this ship was damaged by Billy Cranston's planetary defense battery. I think it's to make sure we do our job, that maybe the Ranger code doesn't take precedence over the Galactic Council's orders."
Delphine appeared disturbed by his news. She took a moment to consider his words before replying, "I do not deal well with Hafar. They tend to shoot first and ask questions later- if at all."
"Exactly, they may come into orbit and start blasting away," Trey told her.
Delphine raised a brow ridge, "They do that before your deadline, and I'm going to park my dreadnaught in a very high orbit and watch. Cestro has been studying the defensive bolt they fired from the Command Center. It carried the full energy potential of Earth's magnetic field. Note even Pyramidus can stand against that kind of firepower for long."
Trey leaned forward and said, "I just hope Jason Scott is successful. If he has contacted the Dragons, then that fact will carry much weight with the Council."
"I agree. We became rather fond of Billy Cranston during his stays on Aquitar. I would not want to serve aboard the instrument of his death."
"Absolutely not!" Jason told him.
"Why not?" Billy demanded. I am not going to let Jason get away with continuing to try and protect me.
"Because you are the one member of this team he can't replace," Kim said. "You know everything there is to know about this base and about the Rangers. We can't risk losing you." She shook her head, "Jason's right. It can't be you."
"Nobody here's indispensable," Billy told her. "Zordon taught us that."
"Oh yeah," Tommy asked, "Then why did he ask you to stay on in an adjutant role after you gave up the Zeo Crystal?" Tommy leveled his gaze at Billy as if daring him to disagree, "Because we couldn't replace you." He shook his head, "Not even Justin could come close."
"Tommy," Billy told him, "I can take care of myself, and Mic knows this base as well as I do."
"No I don't," Mic said. "I don't know it half as well as you do. I get around that by using my electrokinesis to figure out what something does, but I couldn't build it. Building and design's where your expertise comes in."
"Uh, excuse me?" Rocky said.
All eyes turned to him, "I don't want to sound dumb or anything, but what is electrokine-whatcha'ma-call-it?"
"You're not dumb Rocky," Aisha said. "I don't know what it is either."
"You're an electokinetic?" Trini asked.
Mic nodded. "I have been since I was a child. Telepathy and a minor bit of teleportation too."
"I thought that was just something from the comic books," Trini said.
"Yeah, like Power Rangers," Mic smiled back at her.
"Uh, is someone going to tell me what electrokinesis is or not?" Rocky insisted.
Billy turned and looked at him, "Electrokinesis is the ability to manipulate electricity and electronics. Sometime it's called cyberpsionics." Then turning back to look at her, "She can literally reprogram a computer by simply touching it. Why didn't you tell me?"
She shrugged, "You didn't ask."
"This puts a whole new light on the situation." He turned to Jase and smiled, "I can at least admit when I'm wrong about something. As much as I would like to go, I'll stay."
Jason gave him a surprised look, "Since when is it that easy to get you to agree to do something you don't want to."
"Since someone can give me a logical and well thought out explanation of why it should be done."
Jason turned to Ms. Storm, "Ma'am, I think I'm going to keep you around for a while. Anybody that can convince Billy he's wrong has to have something going for them."
She smiled and looked at Kim, "I'm not sure, but I THINK I've been complimented. By a Naval Commander no less." She turned to her brother, "You taking notes brother-dear?"
Ben just smiled at her, "Don't even go there Mic. I'm your big brother, I always get to argue with you. It's in the Big Brother's contract we all have to sign." He winked at Rocky, "Right Mr. DeSantos?"
Rocky laughed, "Article four, paragraph three: "It is the sworn duty of all Big Brothers to make life difficult on their younger siblings- especially when they are female and attractive.""
Mic bowed, "Why thank you for that compliment, Mr. DeSantos." She turned to Ben and said, "As for you." She then stuck her tongue out at her brother.
Everyone laughed as the tenseness of moment was broken by the sibling interplay. Finally, Aisha spoke up, "Still, that doesn't help us. Who's going to talk to the dragons?"
Billy watched Jason consider his options. He knew the Ranger leader would come to a decision fairly quickly; it was in his nature, but that he would worry over it until the mission was completed. He turned to Mic, "Has Teelo expressed any desire for a particular person?"
Mic shook her head, "No."
Smiling he said, "Good." Billy watched his lover- God it felt strange to finally consider him that after all these years- as he paced the floor. Finally, Jason looked up at the rest of the team and said, "All right, this is what we're going to do. Ms. Storm, you, Adam and Kim are going to visit the dragons. The rest of us are going to stay here and come up with a plan for dealing with Kilpatrick. I don't like the idea of him trying to kill us, or blow up our only defense for this planet."
Next to him, he heard Ben mutter under his breath, "I knew I liked that man from the first moment I met him."
"Kilpatrick?" Mic asked stunned. "In that case I'm staying."
Jason shook his head, "No you're not." He looked over at her and said, "You volunteered for this mission, and even convinced Billy that he shouldn't go. I'm not going to let you let your personal feelings put the rest of this team at risk. Somehow I get the feeling that the reason he's been able to evade you two for so long is that you're too close to the situation. If he knows you as well as he seems to, then he's going to be ready to deal with what ever you come up with." Jason grinned, "The Power Rangers, on the other hand are an entirely different story. He has yet to deal with us. I think he may be in for a surprise."
"But I'm not a Power Ranger." Mic Protested, "I'm not part of your team. I'm just support."
"What ever gave you that idea? You don't have to HOLD the power to be a Ranger." Jason smiled over at Billy. "Just ask Billy. He did more good for the team without ever picking up a Power Coin or a Zeo Crystal than most of us do on the battlefield. Where the Power Rangers are concerned there are two things you should know. First is that there is no such thing as JUST SUPPORT. Second: once a Ranger always a Ranger."
Mic smiled and looked at Billy, "At least he didn't say: We live for the one, we die for the one."
Jason chuckled, "That too."
"One other thing," Adam said. "I want Doctor Storm with us."
Jason turned to him. "Why?"
Adam shrugged, "Just a hunch, but I get the feeling we may need his services before this is done."
Jason considered the request for a few moments. It was reasonable, and here at the Command Center they at least had access to the table for anything minor. Besides, both Trini and Billy had enough medical background they could handle anything that might come up. Finally he nodded, "Very well." He turned, "I'm putting Kimberly in charge of mission. The rest of you back her up."
"Me?" Kim asked. "Since when am I in charge of anything?"
He smiled at her, "Because this is negotiations and I can't think of anybody better at convincing somebody to do what you want than you."
"If it's negotiators you want, you should send Trini and Zack. They are at least trained diplomats," Kim told him.
Billy and Jase exchanged looks with Zack and all three turned to Kim in unison and said, "The best diplomat I know of is a fully charged phaser bank." All three men suddenly burst out laughing.
"Great," Mic said. "You three are as bad him," she pointed to her brother. "He quotes Wonder Woman, you quote Star Trek. Doesn't anybody watch or read anything other than Science Fiction?"
Jason smiled, "We all do, but that's just one of our favorite quotes." He turned back to Kim, "Yes, they're professional diplomats, but I have a hunch that what we need here is less diplomacy and more heart and spirit. Those things, you have in spades."
The first Pink Ranger blushed deeply. "Why thank you, Jason." She smiled and turned to Adam and said, "You heard that didn't you hubby-dear? I'm in charge."
Adam looked over at Jason, "I'll get you for this Bro. Just wait."
Jason laughed, "I'm sure you will." Then he turned back to the room, "Ms. Storm, if you'd inform our guest that we'll be leaving first thing in the morning- say Oh seven hundred." Billy took a moment to check the clock on the wall. Twenty-two hundred hours. It had now officially been sixty hours since he'd had more that about an hour's sleep.
"That's seven a.m. for us civilians," Kim grumbled.
~*~
Teelo watched as the woman called Mic entered the part of the cavern these called a "room". He was surprised at all the complex "machinery"- another term he was coming to grips with- that filled it. These humans had managed to mold their environment without using phyre. It was truly amazing.
"Teelo, we've talked it over. Adam, Kim, and I are going with you to meet the other dragons." She shook her head, "Maybe we can work something out here that's beneficial to both sides."
"I think the Council will be willing to work with you. After all, you ARE the first intelligent species we've encountered in the galaxy."
Mic smiled, "I wonder how the Triforians and the Aquitians feel about that?"
"Who are the Triforians and Aquitians?" Teelo asked. There was much for him to learn.
"They're alien races from other planets. They think we are parasites, living off your people," Mic said. Teelo detected a hint of bitterness in her voice.
"You are not fond of these people?" he asked.
Mic laughed, "Does it show that much?"
Teelo smiled, "Only a little." He gave her a confused look. These small forms were confusing. The emotions that poured through their bodies were chaotic, and confusing. There was so much power there, confined in so little space. He wondered how they coped with it all. However, he asked, "Why do you dislike them?"
Mic shook hear head, "I don't know. I guess because they were willing to turn their backs on earth, on Billy and the other Rangers." She sighed, "They were willing to let us die to protect your people."
"But you don't hate us?" Teelo asked. "After all, we were the ones killing you."
"No," she said. "You were doing what was natural for you. You didn't know we were here. When you found out that we were here, you were willing to listen. They aren't."
"I see," He sighed, "Perhaps it is best you go with me in your- what did you call them?- your 'Zords."
"I think that might be a good idea," Mic told him. "However, I don't have a 'Zord. I may be a cyberpsi, but I'm not a recipient of the Power, so I can't interface with them." She held her hands out to her sides, "With me, what you see is what you get."
He smiled, "What I see is interesting."
He noticed her color, her face becoming redder. She looked down at her feet, "Are you making a pass at me, Teelo?"
Teelo didn't understand, "What is a pass?"
She smiled and laughed, "Never mind." Looking up she told him, "We're leaving just after sunrise tomorrow. I'll show you to your quarters."
"Perhaps rest would be a good idea," Teelo told her. Maintaining this form was tiring him.
~*~
Rocky slipped under the cool sheets next to his wife. He was exhausted, he'd been up for almost three days and it was starting to take its toll on him. Lying back he closed his eyes, and let himself begin to slip off to sleep. As he slowly answered the call of the mountain lake in his dreams he felt a hand dance slowly across his chest, down his abdomen to gently flitter between his thighs. Tired as he was, he felt an odd stirring.
Opening his eyes, he looked into the face of his wife. Her chocolate brown eyes stared at him with a hunger that excited him. He felt her passion suddenly wash over him like plunging into a river of hot lava. Pulling the woman to him, he kissed her solidly, groaning as she pressed her body to him. //I want you Rocky!// her voice said in his mind. //Now!//
Suddenly, he felt her hands rip away his boxers as she shoved him back down. Throwing her legs over his she straddled his form as she pinned him to his pillow with a passionate kiss that took his breath away.
~*~
Kimberly Park couldn't figure out what it was, but for some reason her motor was running faster than a teenager on prom night. She waited until Adam came out of the bathroom, yawing. As her husband reached for the light switch next to their bed, she said, "Oh Adam,"
Adam smiled at her and turned to look, "Yeah?"
Smiling she pulled her hand from under the covers and dropped her night gown. "You're not too sleepy are you?" She smiled at the slow blush that rose in her husband. One of the things that she loved about him was his natural shyness, and for some reason the vulnerability he showed when it came to the surface, really set her motor to running on high.
"Uh, no." he said with a smile. "What did you have in mind?"
She leaned into him, and kissed him solidly. "I'm sure we can figure out something to do with whatever pops up." She found herself giggling like a schoolgirl as she pressed her body against his.
~*~
"Wanna' fool around?" Trini asked Zack with a look of mischief in her eyes. A look Zack had seen rarely of late- one that he was glad to see again. He loved his wife dearly, but there were times of late when their careers had made their chances to express that love few and far between.
Zack grinned back at her. "I was just going to ask you the same thing."
"Good," she said. "For some reason, I'm REALLY in the mood tonight."
~*~
Billy settled into his bed, really wishing he wasn't alone. The more he thought about it, the more he really wished he and Jase had been able to finish what they'd started earlier. Just as well, I guess. In the mood I'm in, it would probably be close to dawn before I settled down.
He closed his eyes and vainly tried to force from his mind the image of Jason, bare-chested and lying in his bed. The longer he lay there, the more he felt the desire in him rise. Finally when it reached a fevered pitch, he threw the covers from his body saying, "The worst he can do is toss me out on my ear."
Not bothering with a shirt, he buckled his web belt as he opened the door only to run headlong into a wall of Jason shaped muscle. "I. uh. thought we might could finish what we started earlier," Jason said as he closed the door behind him.
"I had much the same idea," Billy grinned back at him.
"Good," Jase replied as he pulled Billy into a kiss that sent shivers down the Blue Ranger's spine. After that kiss, Billy lost all coherent thought.
~*~
Twenty-two thousand three hundred miles in space, two battle cruisers took up geosynchronous orbit around the Earth. On the main bridge of the Triforian craft, Lord Trey, Prince of the Realm, and holder of the Gold Ranger Powers was going over the report Jason had sent up to him. "I don't believe it," he finally said to woman in white behind him. "No race in the galaxy has ever been able to make contact with the dragons, and here the humans are claiming to have done so."
Delphine smiled, an unnerving sight coming from a being with that many teeth in her mouth, "They ARE quite resourceful, you know."
Trey looked over at the leader of the Aquitian Rangers, "How did we come to this point Delphine? The Earth Rangers have always acted honorably. Why are we now on opposite sides of an issue?" Trey was disturbed over the fact that he'd had to fire on the man who'd saved his life by taking the Gold Powers temporarily. Jason and the Earth Rangers had literally saved his world by protecting the Gold Powers and he felt this was a poor way to repay them.
"Politics Trey," Delphine told him. "As Rangers of Aquitar, or Triforia we answer to our governments. Earth has no central government and therefore the Rangers are a rogue force. That's why they must protect their identities." She sighed, "And I have to say that Jason and his Rangers HAVE acted honorably. It's just that their honor and ours are at cross purposes here."
Trey looked over at her, and considered his next question very carefully. Finally, he said, "Are WE on the wrong side Delphine? Are we letting the prejudice the rest of the galaxy has toward humans color our own actions?" He leaned back in his chair, "They ARE fighting for their lives. Would we be willing to take the order to roll over and die, just because the galactic governments told us to?"
She looked at him, "I'm not sure. I do know that we are at least in the position that we have a standing in the galactic community. They don't. Outside of the Rangers, they don't' have the defenses to protect themselves, so the Galactic Council can dictate anything they want, and the humans have no choice but to comply or be destroyed."
Trey gave her a long look, "And would you carry out that order? Would you kill the planet that saved yours?"
"I am a Ranger. I will do my duty," she said.
He shook his head, "I'm not so sure that in doing our duty, we're not besmirching the name of Ranger."
She smiled, "Now you're starting to sound like Cestro."
"Cestro may have a point," Trey said. "Think about it, Delphine. I understand that the Council has sent a Hafar dreadnaught. Supposedly, it's to back us up, since this ship was damaged by Billy Cranston's planetary defense battery. I think it's to make sure we do our job, that maybe the Ranger code doesn't take precedence over the Galactic Council's orders."
Delphine appeared disturbed by his news. She took a moment to consider his words before replying, "I do not deal well with Hafar. They tend to shoot first and ask questions later- if at all."
"Exactly, they may come into orbit and start blasting away," Trey told her.
Delphine raised a brow ridge, "They do that before your deadline, and I'm going to park my dreadnaught in a very high orbit and watch. Cestro has been studying the defensive bolt they fired from the Command Center. It carried the full energy potential of Earth's magnetic field. Note even Pyramidus can stand against that kind of firepower for long."
Trey leaned forward and said, "I just hope Jason Scott is successful. If he has contacted the Dragons, then that fact will carry much weight with the Council."
"I agree. We became rather fond of Billy Cranston during his stays on Aquitar. I would not want to serve aboard the instrument of his death."
