Written by DTM666
Disclaimer: The author of this piece would like to state that 90% of the
characters featured here are properties of BVS Entertainment Inc and not that of
the author. 10% of the characters featured here are original creations of the
author.
Also, the author understands that this piece automatically negates
events that occur any and all PR incarnations that occur after Power Rangers
Wild Force; hence no Dino Thunder or Ninja Storm is featured here and hence
Tommy is not a doctor of anything. This is an AU, so to speak. Just thought we should be clear on that.
---
The hidden Control Center that was developed is the current headquarters of one Thomas Oliver, who now looks over the network of activity through advanced technology that seemed to have originated on Eltare. The chamber hasn't changed much in the past seven years since he stumbled across it. It was still advanced despite its age. It consisted of nothing more than three chambers; the main Mission center that held all the intergalactic scanners and communications systems, an equipment room, and a training area capable of creating various holographic opponents at various skill levels.
Although he is not exactly fond of underground bases, Thomas was glad that it was conveniently built under the 20 acres of land that he happened to own, where he eventually built a small house. With the exception of the Black Matter and Serpenterra missions, he has not kept in touch with many of his friends. Some would say he was almost more seclusive than William Cranston, the original Blue Ranger who hadn't been seen much since his return from Aquitar years back. However, the one person he had kept in touch with frequently, the Kerovan named Andros, was a man who became a right-hand man.
On the massive viewer, Thomas observed what happened in Mariner Bay through the monitor in his control center. Through special technology, he had gained access to the receiving signal of the Red Ranger of the team fighting the Varox bounty hunter. He watched with great interest as the Rangers downed the Varox and as the Red Ranger approached the Varox to confirm his death. Then he witness a build-up of energy before the screen went blank.
Thomas worked the controls to regain the picture, but couldn't access the Red Ranger's signal. In fact, none of the Rangers' signals were active, so he had the computer access the LSS (Lightspeed Satellite System) so that he could get a clear view of the city. When he gained access, he would witness the city of Mariner Bay for a split second before it became engulfed in blinding white light.
He could not believe his eyes. The Varox were not known to be commit suicide, but even so, they're necessarily known to cause a destructive blast upon death. Thomas worked the LSS controls so he'd get a good look at the ground of the city, but he couldn't see anything due to the heavy smoke that obscured its vision. When the smoke cleared, Thomas' jaw almost dropped as the images showed a good portion of the city was literally blown to pieces. Not one building in the surrounding area was left standing; only rubble filled the streets and the rotting human corpses that weren't buried in the rubble... well, let's just say they don't look appealing now.
Disgusted at the sight of the ruined city, Thomas turned off the monitor and slumped into his seat, burying his face in his hands. He mourned for those lost, then looked up and realized if the Rangers fighting the Varox survived... of course not, he thought to himself, no one could survive a blast like that... not even a Power Ranger...
---
It has been two years since Cole Evans joined with nine veteran Red Rangers in the mission to prevent the corrupt General Venjix from acquiring the massive warzord Serpenterra. Two years since he has learned of others just like him, fighting for a common goal.
Two years since the Wild Force Rangers killed the Orgs for good.
Since then, things have changed. His friends have went separate ways; Alyssa Enrile, the completed her school studies and went on to teach at an elementary school in Stone County. Taylor Earheart, the Yellow Ranger and the veteran of the Wild Force team, re-joined the U.S. Air Force and is currently fighting a scuffle overseas, although she . Max and Danny, the respective Blue and Black Rangers, travel around the world... doing stuff. The loner, Merrick, also travels to seek answers, leaving Cole to tend with the local animal shelter that was established in Turtle Cove, his current home.
Although he misses his days as a Power Ranger, he is glad that he can rest easy. He can usually tell himself that all is well, since Earth hasn't had much of a major incident in two years. That is, until recently.
Although it wasn't comparable to a hydrogen explosion, the blast was big enough to be seen from Turtle Cove. On the roof of the animal shelter, Cole observed the huge cloud of smoke emerging in the far off-distance. Being the least experienced Ranger, he didn't know the exact cause of such an explosion. Suddenly, the fact that he was no longer an active Ranger didn't comfort him one bit. Behind Cole, a pair of jet fighters flew by, apparently headed towards the wasteland, wherever it was. His view quickly returned back to the large mushroom cloud forming in the distance, not noticing someone else emerging from the steps below to greet him.
"Hey rookie." the man said, his voice heavy with remorse.
Cole quickly turned around to see the original Red Power Ranger, Jason Lee Scott. He seemed surprised by his sudden appearance.
"Hey, old-timer," Cole said nervously, "what are you doing here?"
Jason shrugged, "Enjoying the view." That was meant as a sarcastic remark, although Jason only allowed himself a half-smile that quickly faded.
"With a mushroom cloud from afar," suggested Cole, letting out a half-smile, "I doubt you can enjoy it."
"Possibly," the veteran Ranger replied, returning a smile, "but when you're doing the Power Ranger thing for as long as I have, you tend to let these things slide." That last comment caused the younger rookie to chuckle, which made Jason's smile wider... before it faded when he spoke, "but this kind of thing," he paused slightly, "you can't let slide."
Jason stood beside the rookie and stared at the smoke. It has been seventy-five minutes since the blast occurred and no one in Turtle Cove, or anywhere for that matter, seems to know what the cause of the blast was... or how much damage it has done.
Cole turned to the veteran who has been on the job since day one. He looked into his eyes to see sorrow and anger. He came with one conclusion: Jason has no idea what's going on either. That isn't much comfort for the rookie.
"I wish I could do something," the only words Cole could let out.
Jason nodded in agreement, "So do I, Cole. So do I. But we can't."
"That sucks." Cole mused, "At least you have powers. If I still had my Growl Phone with me..."
"What would you do?" Jason said, cutting Cole off, "You really can't do anything to change what happened. You'd be dead either way."
Cole slumped his head, knowing the veteran's right. Jason laid a comforting hand on the rookie's shoulder.
"Sometimes it's hard being on the sidelines, kid."
---
Captain Taylor Earheart, once a Yellow Wildforce Ranger, now a celebrated pilot for the U.S. Air Force. Assigned as flight leader to render aid to the new ground zero, she didn't know what to expect. Her experience in the Air Force and her two-year tour of duty as a Power Ranger didn't prepare her for the devastation that had besieged the once calm town of Mariner Bay. Over her comm system, she heard nothing that was coherent; supposedly pleas for assistance, scramble orders. It was hard to determine who was talking to who.
Using the auto-scrambler specially built by BioLab Inc. into her cockpit, Taylor concentrated on finding a spot to land while also avoiding pieces of falling debris that had been floating around the sky since the explosion. Her three wingmen were also. However, the furthest behind got hit with a small metal object and couldn't sustain control. Taylor, managing to get a clear signal, told him to drop out. The wingman, in confirmation, ejected from his fighter, which was quickly destroyed by collision with a heavier object. Taylor checked to see the ejected pilot was falling down fast, but managed to pull out his parachute in time.
She managed to send an order to her remaining wingman to survey damage in other parts of the city while she searched for any potential survivors, while watching for debris. When the other jet was out of sight, Taylor searched for a suitable landing spot. Miraculously, there was a stable platform perfect for landing. Upon making contact with the ground, Taylor leaped out of the cockpit and looked at the rain of falling building debris and the wreckage that was once Mariner Bay.
My God, she thought to herself, how could this happen?
In all her years in both her professions as a Ranger and a pilot, she has never seen a city devastated this. Even as a veteran Air Force pilot, she couldn't bare to see many scarred and rotting corpses, laying around the wreckage of a city. Behind her, something struggled to emerge from the ruins. Taylor, having collected her bearings, turned to see who was emerging.
It was a Power Ranger, although not similar to any Ranger that she has known. She knew, possibly through the Silver Guardians, that Mariner Bay had their own set of Rangers, but she also recognized what they looked like. What was emerging from the grave was not the traditional Lightspeed Ranger that she did recognized. The Ranger, covered heavily in dust so it was hard to determine who it was, struggled to get back on his feet, but collapsed on the floor again. Taylor rushed towards him and attempted to help him...
The Ranger looked up at Taylor and soon lost consciousness. Probably dazed, she thought to herself. Feeling obligated to do so, she decided to check around for this Ranger's companions. Knowing where to look was the problem.
Thomas Oliver sat in front of the computer monitor for the past half-hour, unable to find the right words to type. He didn't know Carter Grayson much, but knew much about him, especially his recent promotion as Lightspeed Rescue's new Commander. After some thought, he began typing on the keyboard.
From : Thomas Oliver
To : Carter
Grayson, Lightspeed Rescue
Subject: Hoping for the best
Hey man. I saw what happened just a while ago. I'm sorry. I hope everything goes well with the rescue operation.
Your fellow Ranger, Thomas Oliver.
He stared blankly at his message for another hour. He can't think of anything else that will comfort his friend or ease the pain because the truth is there isn't anything else to say. With great reluctance, he clicked on the Send button and then sat back, thinking of a plan of action.
In his office, Carter Grayson was frustrated. As the head of Lightspeed operations, he was faced with a lot of paperwork. Today, the paperwork came piling in more than usual. Casualty reports, damage reports, assessments, various other documents filled his desk and dressers. At times, he wished he was still on the Ranger team. This time, he wishes the new Rangers led by Chad Lee were alright.
Things seemed hopeless as Carter checked his Outlook for more potential e-mails about scared people wondering where their family and friends are. He was courteous enough to reply with a generic reply.
"We're doing everything we can to find any survivors," the message would say, "the best thing to do is keep your head up and pray."
It seemed to be mostly that kind of message that filled his Inbox. Carter was just about to quit when one particular message caught his eye. This one was different from the rest. It was from Thomas Oliver, wishing him well with everything. While the message is rather short, it did lighten up Carter's spirits somewhat. Putting aside the pile of paper beside him, he opened up his email program and began typing;
From : Carter Grayson, Lightspeed
Rescue
To : Thomas Oliver
Subject: Problems
Thanks for the spirit booster, Tom. You can't imagine how much that makes me feel better.
Things have been really hectic this past day. The same can be said for today. It's getting to the point where I may have to get a new hard drive just to store these millions of e-mails. People worried about their loved ones, their friends... we should have been better prepared.
No word on the Rangers. Haven't heard from them since they fought the Varox bounty hunter causing trouble here. My guess is that he had some sort of miniature nuclear weapon that was probably responsible for the blast and... all this. That has to be a good way to start off your career as a Ranger... Christ, this is tough on me. My friend Chad was the leader, the rest of them were rookies... I hate to assume the worst case scenario, but I have to accept the fact that they're all dead... damn.
I have to go. Thanks again for the gesture. Carter
A rogue planet, a world without a star to revolve around. Practically uninhabited.
In an instant, a beam cuts through the sphere. An instant after, the beam halts and the rogue world begins to shatter into pieces. Asteroids and gelatinous globs abound, a spherical battleship flies through the debris without a scratch... without a dent... a seemingly invincible, powerful machine...
TO BE CONTINUED...