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. Just thought we should be clear on that.
Note: Thanks for the reviews and I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. Here's another chapter, I'll see you next week (or earlier if I get some reviews) with another one.
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It has been an hour since the Megaship had left the asteroid belt that was Gorah Khan. During a routine flight, TJ detected strange readings from a nearby rogue planet. Taking a small detour, the Megaship approached what appeared to be another asteroid belt, although there were also bubbles floating around. After a moment, Zhane decided to check on the repairs to the power relays, prompting TJ to take over the control.
Andros looked up the star charts in the memory banks. TJ piloted the Megaship, skillfully and carefully maneuvering the vessel so that it doesn't hit a flying rock or bubble of blob. Zhane controlled the power systems so power was evenly distributed to shields and engine power. Alpha 7 relied on his quick processing power to make minor repairs to systems.
Zhane watched one of the consoles bleep at regular intervals. Almost worried, he turned to TJ at the helm, "Try to take it easy, TJ. Even if the capacitor wasn't damaged, this Megaship isn't as well equipped as the old one. It can't handle all the maneuvering you're doing."
"Fine," TJ said with a smirk, "when this case is done, we're building a better Megaship."
The two Kerovans looked at their Terran friend with quizzical looks on their faces. The light hearted moment ended with a buzzing sound from the tactical station. Zhane rushed to the console and brought up a hex-chart on the tactical screen. The hex-chart is an integrated mapping system that replaced the older radar; the starmap is made up of hexes and a colored hex indicates a ship or other object. The blue hex in the middle of the map is the Megaship. To the upper left of the blue hex was another bogey four hexes in size, blinking at once.
Zhane observed the bigger bogey on the screen. The software could be malfunctioning, as usually a group of fighters would cause each of the red hexes blink at their own pace. Then he figured it out; it wasn't a group of fighters. It was a giant spaceship.
"Guys," Zhane concluded, his voice carrying a bit of worry, "I think we found our planet killer."
"Hey, rich boy. Get over here," Eric Myers shouted from the Silver Guardians SUV. On the other side of the street, his co-leader partner, Wes Collins, emerged from the front door of the biggest deli shops in Silver Hills. Calmly looking both aways, Wes gave a quick jog across the street and jumped into the vehicle through the open top with two wrapped hot dogs in each hand.
"Here," Wes said, extending the wrapped bun.
Eric took the wrapped hot dog, removed the layer of foil, and studied the sausage for a moment. Noticing several traces of thick yellow condiments, he tilted his head towards his partner, who looked back with a look of awkwardness and sudden fear... a common effect instilled by Eric.
"You put mustard in this?" The words spewed from the Quantum Ranger were cold and calculating.
Wes looked at his partner in awe, "You said you liked mustard!"
Eric began, paused, and waved Wes off, "Ah, screw it. You're friggin' hopeless."
Wes laughed and the two consumed their hot dogs leisurely. When they were both done, Eric started the engine and proceeded to drive down the main highway. After ten minutes of driving down a road in silence, Wes decided to engage in conversation, much to Eric's liking, because a silent road trip killed him. That's saying a lot for someone who used to consider himself a loner no more than a couple years ago.
"So where're we headed?" Wes asked.
"Angel Grove outskirts," Eric answered, "Oliver wants us there for something. I don't know what for, but I'm willing to bet this whole Mariner Bay thing has something to do with it."
Wes thought for a moment.
"Do you think we should contact the future?" he suggested, "Try and figure out if this is a result of someone tampering with the timeline or if this is a regular occurance?"
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Eric said, "I wanted to log on to the future database for any information on improving my Q-Rex, but of course, that's classified information."
Wes shrugged, "You know how it is with them, Eric."
Eric shrugged back, "Yeah, right. Anyway, I'd figure I contact Trip to see if he could work his way around this little red tape, but I can't get a signal from Time Force."
Wes turned to the Quantum Ranger, "Nothing? On any frequency?"
"Nope," Eric replied, "And I wouldn't count on not being able to operate that thing, because it was working fine."
Wes looked ahead aimlessly, wondering what could have gone wrong that he wouldn't be able to keep tabs with Time Force. Especially considering they were given high-level authorization to operate equipment that wasn't supposed to in their possession in the first place.
"We'll... uh, worry about it later," he said finally, "Right now, we have to get to Oliver's place A.S.A.P."
The office of Carter Grayson was practically dark, with the only sources of illumination being the viewhole of his door, the computer monitor, and a single lit candle on his bookshelf. The viewhole showed a good portion of the city that had fallen victim to the Varox' suicidal attack. Nothing particularly satisfying about that view, so much that Carter wanted to block the viewhole off, but with the base being on emergency power for the time being, blocking off the port would cut off most of the light, as the computer monitor was barely bright on its own and the candle was looking to be extinguished in a few scant minutes.
"Commander Grayson," a male voice from the comm said, "Doctor Mitchell is here to see you."
Carter looked up at the door and turned off the computer monitor before answering, "Let her in, Reno."
The door opened and in walked a blonde-haired woman, wearing a white labcoat over a black shirt with pink rims on the neck collar. On the sleeve of the coat was a silver and black variant of the Lightspeed sigil with the medical insignia imprinted over it. Carter smiled as he saw the woman he recognized as Will Mitchell's daughter and a former Lightspeed Ranger.
"Dana," Carter said gleefully, "it's been a long time."
Dana couldn't help but grin, "I hardly call six weeks a long time." She helped herself to a chair and studied Carter's depression-ridden face, "How are you holding up here?"
Carter sighed, "I'm holding something, but it isn't up." As he said that, he tossed a small stack of sheets towards a growing pile of discarded paper in the corner.
"Looks like Dad chose the right time to retire," Dana said seriously, "If he had to handle the workload you're getting, he'd have a heart-attack on the spot."
Carter almost smiled, "Your dad would commit suicide just to roll in his grave having to deal with this. You would think that a desk job would be the easiest thing in the world. But no, you have to deal with report after report after report. I'd like to think that I've held up well, but then you throw this at me and I feel like I'm falling apart balancing all this crap on my own."
Dana nodded, "You won't have to handle all this on your own, Carter. I've got some of my medical staff tending to some of the casualties. I'd be glad to split the paperwork with you if you want."
Carter grinned for a moment, "Thanks, Dana. I appreciate it."
There was a moment of silence before Dana asked, "Any word from Chad and the others?"
Carter shook his head to answer 'no' and tossed aside another pad of paper with casualty reports. He soon buried his head in depression, prompting Dana to place a hand over Carter's shoulder.
"I'm sure he's fine," she said, although she couldn't find any solace in the words that came out of her own mouth.
Unsurprisingly, neither did Carter.
Andros, Zhane, and TJ looked at the hex-chart's four-hex bogey, still perplexed by their single-pulsating behavior. Since its discovery, work on keeping the Megaship in top condition doubled as they attempt to pursue the bogey. The various commands inputted by the three Rangers were becoming a stress for the computer, despite being the advanced computer system KO-35 ever mustered.
"Tell me it's a glitch," TJ groaned, "Please tell me it's a glitch."
Zhane shook his head. Andros slumped and turned. TJ threw his arms back and went back to the pilot's seat.
"That's no glitch, guys," answered Zhane depressingly.
"And neither is that!" Andros cried nervously as he pointed to the main viewer. The bogey was a large spherical object with several spikes placed at various positions. Other than a few faint light sources and certain red points on each spike, the object was completely black. Upon closer magnification, there are various potholes with spewing steams.
"We need to get closer," said Andros, "If this thing's responsible for the destruction of those two planets, it needs to be stopped."
"We are in no shape to be taking on THAT," Zhane warned, not his usual confident self, "We're not able to take on that at FULL strength, let alone with a damaged capacitor."
"We have to risk it," Andros insisted.
The Megaship began to slowly gain speed as it followed the massive ship. Upon reaching range, bright blue laser beams fired from the Megaship's main cannons. Each beam managed to blast the surface of the planet-killing vessel, but no damage marks were made. The red points on the three nearby spikes began to glow brighter until the spike was visible to the naked eye. The Megaship continued speed towards the surface of the ship, firing more lasers that seemingly did little or no damage.
Realizing that the lasers weren't making a dent on this ship, TJ switched to proximity torpedoes, a new addition to the Mark-II. Targeting one of the vents, he fired one torpedo, a bright green light that completely contrasts the red glowing points. The torpedo, however, exploded upon impact with steam from one of the vents. The red points dimmed down and each released a red spark directed at the Megaship. Noting this, TJ turned to the Red Space Ranger with concern and anxiety on his face.
"Can the Megaship withstand about a hundred projectiles?" the Red Turbo Ranger asked. The Kerovan looked on as red spots on the viewer grew closer and wider.
"Let's get out of here," Andros declared as he took control of the piloting system. The Megaship managed to avoid one or two projectiles, but fell into a storm of projectiles that collided all over the ship. At first, each impact was blocked by a blue energy field that would occasionally appear. After the first forty hits, each impact caused an explosion. Under a storm of red projectiles, the Megaship was covered in explosion after explosion, looking somewhat like a fireball.
Within the Megaship, consoles exploded, sparks flew off fallen cables, and fires started in various panels within the halls of the ship. Zhane was flung back by the tactical console's sudden explosion, TJ was knocked unconscious by a piece of debris that flew from one of the auxiliary panels, and Alpha 7 was crushed when his regeneration chamber suddenly caved in. Only Andros struggled to maintain his composure so that he would be able to steer the crumbling Megaship away from the massive bogey and its projectiles. The DANGER signal soon flashed on the helm console, indicating that the ship's hull integrity was almost gone. Andros pulled whatever energy was left to the engines, but problems grew worse when the computer (or what's left of it) indicated that one of the projectiles had landed a hit on one of the Megaship's main engine, thus slowing down the ship.
Andros stood helplessly in the middle of the Megaship's bridge. He stood and watch as the viewer's last image is that of a red projectile moving closer...
To be continued...