By Angel Mouse
Cam and Merrick picked their way through the rubble, Zaron walking behind them. Andros and Billy were bringing up the rear as they made their way deeper into the ruins that was the capital of Eltare. Suddenly Zaron stopped and pointed off to one side.
"We're here." The four rangers moved to his side and began to clear away the rubble from a barely concealed doorway. After a few moments it was free of the rubble and Zaron approached it, opening a hidden panel. "Just what is it exactly you're hoping to find here Andros?" He entered and the other rangers followed him, Andros once more bringing up the rear.
"Information on the enemy. Weapons caches. Locations of possible allies we could recruit. Anything really. You said you'd been living here and gathering as much information as possible. This is what we'll need before we plan and make our next move."
"Oh, I understand now. Well, I hope what I have gathered here helps." The five of them walked through a doorway and into a large cavernous area, deep underground, as they had been going down some stairs since entering the passageway. It was huge, easily fitting in the two small scout type ships plus piles of equipment discarded everywhere. Andros glanced to his right to see Cam and Billy's eyes light up. He grinned and looked back down at the scene before them. They could defiantly use some of these things, especially the scout ships. They looked very similar to the Phantom Ranger's ship and if the same people had made them, they would have a few handy little tricks that they could use. They reached the floor of the hanger and Zaron pointed to the ships.
"I found these on the home planet of the Phantom Ranger. One is practically intact, the other not so, but I brought it here for spare parts. A lot of the technology though I didn't understand, perhaps you will have better luck." Billy grinned and grabbed Cam's arm, dragging him towards the ship.
"Don't worry; I'm sure we will figure it out. Zordon's told me about the Phantom Ranger, I hope to meet him one day." Andros managed to keep the smirk off his face. Little did Billy know that one-day he would become the Phantom Ranger for a short time while the original Phantom was recovering from severe injuries he had sustained. Andros kept that piece of knowledge to himself. The two rangers walked over to the ships and began to poke around. Merrick turned his head slightly and looked at Andros.
"I'll keep a look out, we don't want to be surprised down here."
"Good idea. Call if you see anything." Merrick nodded and quickly left, bounding up the stairs. Zaron led Andros over to one side where some computer banks were set up. He gestured to them.
"In here is all the knowledge that I was able to salvage after the years of attacks against my people. It is there that I found the prophecy that led me to Dulcea and then yourselves. It also has other bits of information, some may be relevant, and some may not be. I don't know." Andros slid into the seat in front of the main screen; glad it was a configuration he was used to.
"That's okay Zaron. We'll upload everything to the Mega Ship, that way we can go through it and see what we can use." Andros raised his wrist and activated his communicator.
"DECA, do you read me?"
"Yes Andros. What can I do to help you?"
"Establish a link to the following computer system, I'm opening a channel. Upload all it's files to your main frame - keep them separate though."
"Understood, establishing link now." There was silence for a few moments and then her warm, calm tones came back. "Upload will take approximately thirty minutes Andros."
"Good, thanks DECA, let me know when it's finished."
"Understood. Andros, Zhane wishes to speak with you." Andros sighed and nodded even though DECA couldn't see it.
"Put him through DECA." They had left the other Rangers sleeping on the Mega Ship, so obviously Zhane had woken up and found them gone. A very annoyed Silver Ranger suddenly spoke.
"And just what do you think your doing?"
"Gathering data and picking up a scout ship?" Andros kept his tone light, knowing that Zhane wasn't angry with him.
"And you left me behind because?"
"You needed some sleep. Besides, we needed someone up there who knows the Mega ships systems and who isn't injured. We're fine down here. Billy and Cam are literally drooling over scout ships from Phantom's home planet and we're getting a lot of data from Zaron's computer systems." There was silence a moment and Andros could just see Zhane standing there, arms folded and sighing.
"Alright then, just watch yourself."
"Always do."
"Yeah, right." Andros grinned even through Zhane couldn't see it and Zaron just stood behind him, watching and listening.
"You've been spending too much time with Ashley Zhane. Your even starting to sound like you come from Earth."
"Hey, don't insult your wife like that. Catch you when you get back." The channel closed and Andros chuckled to himself softly. He knew that Zhane'd corner him when they returned to the Mega Ship. He could just see his friend now, sitting in his chair, arms folded and eyes on the control panel, making sure that they were okay. Andros looked up to find Zaron watching him.
"Anything wrong Zaron?" Zaron shook his head and gave Andros a small smile.
"No, actually, for the first time, I think we've actually got a chance of pulling this off." Andros grinned at him and stood, clapping him on the shoulder.
"Well, we'll see about that. Now come on, let's get this stuff organised into piles that we can transport up to the Mega ship, and then we'll leave the area. Somehow I have the feeling we're on borrowed time."
After a couple of hours, a group of very tired, dirty but generally feeling good group of Rangers transported themselves back to the Mega Ship. DECA had teleported the two scout ships into the main cargo bays on her lower decks, along with spare parts and some weapons that needed some work. Billy and Cam were already making up lists of what needed doing on the scout ships and had their heads down, deep in discussions. DECA was offering suggestions and advice occasionally and they soon had a workable schedule. The others had left them to it and made their way to the bridge. They found Zhane sitting at the scanning controls, chatting softly to Ashley. Ashley looked a little better today, but her arm was still in a sling and her wrist still had a bandage on it. Andros gave her a gentle hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better thank you. DECA says the cast can come off in a day or so. Karone's still sleeping." Andros nodded.
"Great. Well, we've gotten everything we've come for." Andros turned to Zaron. "Zaron, do you know if Triforia and Aquitar are still standing?" Zaron shrugged.
"No, I'm afraid not." Zhane and Andros exchanged glances.
"Okay, Aquitar first, then Triforia." Andros nodded in agreement.
"Good idea Zhane. DECA, set course for Aquitar, hyperrush five."
"Course laid in, hyperrush five." The ship left orbit and Zaron moved forward slightly, watching the view screen as his home planet faded away. Merrick saw this and moved to his side, speaking softly.
"Will you be all right?" Zaron gave a small sigh and then nodded.
"Yes, I will be. I'm the last of my people you see Merrick. This planet was our home for so many millennia. It was the centre of all that was good and right and the ancient home of the Power. It saddens me to see it in ruins and abandoned like this. But I guess, out of everyone here, you would know how that feels." Merrick nodded slightly; his arms folded in his customary stance.
"Yes. But I guess I'm the lucky one Zaron. I got a second chance to redeem myself and protect the ones I care the most about again. There is nothing stopping you from rebuilding your world. Even though right now that looks to be an almost impossible task, there is one thing my new friends have taught me is to never give up hope." Zaron nodded as Eltare faded away completely and turned to look at Merrick.
"I know, and I won't. Thank you." Merrick just nodded and they stood there, off to one side, watching the three Astro rangers talk. It was easy to see the bond that they had, and considering what they had been through over the years; it was understandable. Billy and Cam finally finished speaking and looked up, eager grins on their faces.
"Excuse me Andros, but we've finally got an idea of what needs doing and some things that we may need." Andros looked up and smiled.
"Great. Well, let's go get some dinner, get Karone up and then do some planning and delegating." They all nodded in agreement and headed out to the rec room.
Zhane walked in with Karone, who was looking a lot better than she had been, and they took their seats around the table. Andros smiled in welcome at his sister and passed her a glass of water.
"You're looking better Karone."
"Thank you, I'm feeling all right now thank you. I just needed a good sleep."
"Good to hear. Now, we're just doing some planning." Andros glanced down at the computer readout in his hand. "Ashley, until your right to fight again I want you and Karone to go over all the data we got from Zaron's computers. You both have good strong analysis skills and know what to look for, so that'll keep you out of trouble for a few days." The two girls looked at each other and then as one they turned and looked at Andros, expressions of innocence on their faces as they stuck their tongues out at him. The male rangers laughed softly and continued eating. Andros sipped at his drink and glanced down at the readout again. "Cam and Billy will continue to get one of the scout ships up and running. The rest of us are going to come up with some sort of plan to infiltrate the enemy and see if we can discover what they are up to." Here Andros looked up at Zaron. "Zaron, do you have any idea where these guys came from and what they want? Perhaps, if we can figure out what they are after and what they want, we may be able to come to a peaceful solution, instead of us getting into a fight I'm not sure we could win." Zaron sighed; he knew this question would come up sooner or later. He shrugged, lacing his fingers together and sitting them in front of him on the table.
"I don't know Andros. I truly wish I did. You may able to spot something in the data that I haven't been able to discover. Everything that myself and the few other allies I had before they were killed or destroyed could find out about them is in that data we retrieved." Zaron sighed. "The Inquitians seemed to think that they were after revenge for a deed done against them long ago, but they were unable to say what or where they had even come up with that idea. They were destroyed soon after they came up with that theory. The few people I spoke to about them weren't able to tell me much. They are a secular people, not having a lot of outside contact with others. What little contact they had was usually violent, quick and left no survivors. As I said, there's not much there." Silence settled over the table of rangers, only being disturbed by the movement of cutlery or the shifting in seats. Finally, Cam broke the silence.
"Well, if Billy and I can get this stealth ship up and running, if we've found their home world, someone could go and do some sneaking about, try and find out what they are up to and why this whole mess exists." Andros nodded.
"I agree, that's if we can find their home planet. What we may have to do is wait until we come across a place that's being attacked and who ever we send in the stealth ship can then follow them back to their home planet. But, that's down the track. First things first, let's get this data analysed, and see what we find at the planets we know used to be friendly." Zhane gave a tiny laugh and grinned at them all.
"Well, data analysis will probably be the easiest thing about this whole situation we have to deal with. Now, who's up for a game?" They all looked at him, stunned for a moment and then they all burst out laughing. If there was one constant in the universe it was that Zhane would always find a way to lighten any situation.
A few hours later all of the rangers had retired for the evening, except Karone, who was feeling wide awake and wanted to get a start on the analysis. She'd been at it a few hours, chatting to DECA while beginning the long and arduous task of going through the files. She felt rather then heard Zhane walk into the bridge and come up behind her. She leaned back against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Are you okay?" Karone smiled gently and turned her head slightly to look at him.
"Yes I am. I thought you were asleep." Zhane shrugged and slipped into the chair next to her, after giving her another squeeze.
"I couldn't sleep." Karone looked at him, noticing the haunted look in his eyes and the faint dark circles underneath them. She reached over and turned his head to face her.
"Zhane, are you alright?" He stared back at her and then sighed, knowing he couldn't hide anything from her.
"Yeah, I just can't get used to sleeping without you next to me." He glanced away and Karone could see the lie in his eyes.
"Zhane." Her tone held a faint warning in it and he flashed her a quick grin but then sobered and sighed.
"Alright, I had another nightmare." Karone took his hands in hers and looked at him.
"Bad?"
"Bad. But not about what happened to me, it was more about what happened to you." He looked up at her, his eyes haunted.
"What about me?" He paused a moment and then spoke, his heart in his words.
"I saw the attack yesterday, and you being hurt. Except.. except.." Karone thought she knew what was coming but she had to get him to say it, so that she could help him deal with it.
"Except what Zhane?"
"Except you didn't wake up again. You were killed." A tear welled up in the corner of his eye and Karone reached out and wiped it away. She smiled gently at him and letting go of his hands she cupped his face on her hands and stared him in the eyes.
"Zhane." He looked at her and she smiled warmly at him. "Zhane, I told you a long time ago that we're going to be together for a very long time and nothing is going to part us. So no matter what, we'll always be together. I know this, in my heart, so do you." Zhane sighed and reached up, putting his hands on hers and smiled at her.
"I know Karone. I know. It's just sometimes, it's hard not to worry. The whole time you were off with the Galaxy rangers I worried, but I kept my promise and didn't come and check up on you, as much as I wanted to." Karone grinned at him, wiping away the last of the tear on Zhane's cheek and his fears.
"I know. And we've already had this conversation, haven't we?" He laughed and reaching over dragged her from her seat and into his lap.
"Yes, we have. Now, how about you come back to bed with me and we can get some sleep." Karone giggled and kissed the top of his nose.
"All right, I'll come back to bed with you, but you have to promise to behave." Zhane gave her a wide-eyed innocent smile, all traces of the nightmare having been banished.
"Who me? I always behave." Karone giggled again as she slipped out of his arms and began to walk backwards towards the door to the bridge. She waggled her finger at him.
"Since when?" And with that, she turned to run out of the bridge as Zhane had shot out of his chair and was heading towards her but suddenly DECA interrupted them.
"Zhane, Karone. Can you take a look at this please." They stopped and turned, heading back for the main panel.
"Bring it up on the main viewer DECA." The viewer changed to show some strange looking ships leaving the planet that they were approaching.
"According to my sensors, these ships have just left Aquitar and they are off an unknown configuration." Zhane glanced down at the sensor readings and frowned, all trace of playfulness gone. Karone looked up at the screen.
"DECA, compare these ships to anything in the files we got from Eltare, is there a match?" Zhane glanced over at Karone, understanding immediately what she was thinking.
"Checking now." The silence stretched out for a few moments while Zhane busily began to reprogram there course, just in case. "Match found." The view screen brought up two images, the one of the ships leaving Aquitar and another from the files. "The records indicate that this is a Schreka storm ship. It carries their shock troops, similar to the ones we have already encountered."
"Where is it heading DECA?"
"Unknown, extrapolating a probable course." The view screen changed images again to show a most likely course through the system. Karone looked over at Zhane, waiting for him to speak. Zhane glanced down at the figures he had and then up at the screen. Nodding to himself he spoke, his tone firm and strong.
"DECA, activate full stealth mode and change course to follow them, but, keep them at the extreme edge of your sensor range. We don't know their capabilities yet and we don't want to risk being spotted, even at full stealth."
"Changing course and activating full stealth. Shall I wake the others?" Karone shook her head and Zhane sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"How long before we get near any planet DECA?"
"If they hold to their current course, approximately ten to twelve hours."
"Then don't wake anyone. The next few days, plus the past couple of days, have been a bit hectic. I'll tell everyone when they wake in the morning. Make sure you wake us when everyone else gets up."
"Understood Zhane." Zhane finished locking in the course changes and sighed. He looked over at Karone and managed a small smile.
"Looks like Andros is getting his wish. He wanted to follow these guys, now we are." Karone moved to his side and wrapped her arms around him, leaning against him. He encircled her in his arms as well and leaned his head against hers. "I just wish we had more time." Karone managed a tiny laugh at those words.
"Considering how we got here, somehow, I think time is all we have." He looked down at her and smiled, leaning in slowly he gently kissed her. They broke apart after a moment and Zhane glanced up at DECA.
"DECA, any deviation in their projected course or it looks like they've spotted us, wake me first. Andros needs his sleep."
"Yes Zhane." Zhane smiled at Karone.
"Come on sweetheart, let's get some rest. I have the feeling that over the next few days, it's going to be in short supply." They left the bridge and DECA dimmed the lights as they left. It was going to be a long watch.
"I told DECA to activate stealth mode and." Andros held up his hand, fighting to keep a grin off his face himself. Zhane could have that affect on his sometimes.
"I know what you did." Andros sighed and then did grin. "Sometimes Zhane, you really, really take the cake." Zhane grinned back at him.
"I know. Hey, I just did what you would have done."
"Yeah I know. But you should have woken me." Zhane shook his head.
"No, you needed your sleep, we all did. DECA knew what to do and in.." Zhane paused and glanced up at one of DECA's cameras, " how many hours DECA?"
"Six point three Zhane."
"See, in six hours we'll get where ever they are going. We can see then what they are doing. If this is their home planet or not. If they attack this planet, we can go fight them to get a handle once again on their fighting style. Gives the brain boys over their time to get the stealth ship ready and us valuable information." Zhane's expression was earnest and Andros just shook his head.
"Zhane, sometimes." Zhane grinned.
"I know." Andros sighed.
"Alright, you did the right thing, but you should still have woken me."
"So you could give the exact same orders I gave? I don't think so. Now, come on, let's eat and get down to some real planning." The others laughed at this and Billy waggled his fork at Zhane.
"And don't think Cam and I will forget the brain boys remark either any time soon Zhane." Zhane grinned at them both.
"Hey, you both love it." They all laughed at that and finished eating their breakfast. Without thinking, both Andros and Zhane lifted their hands and the dirty dishes floated back to the synthetron to be cleaned and recycled. The other rangers were still trying to get used to the almost casual seeming use of telekinesis by the two rangers but sometimes, it was handy and it did save time. They made their way to the bridge, but Cam and Billy made their way down to the hanger deck. Merrick went with them, as he had been helping them with a lot of the labour and sometimes, an extra pair of hands came in handy. The three of them had been getting along really well and had been spending a bit of time together. The three of them felt slightly out of place, more so than the others, because they hadn't worked together before. Whereas the others all knew each other and had even been on the same ranger team. So, they spent most of their time since leaving Eltare working on the scout ship to get it ready.
Andros took his seat and Zhane slid into his next to him. Ashley and Karone had taken their seats over by the side and had gotten straight back into the analysis work they had to do on the data they had retrieved. Zaron walked over and stood behind Andros, watching them work for a few minutes. They had been following the ships now for almost twelve hours since DECA had first detected them.
"So, what now Andros?" Andros didn't look up from his sensor screen as he adjusted their course slightly.
"Now, we wait. It looks like they are heading for that planet about an hour from here. Now, we have no idea if it's to attack it or that's their home planet, so we'll wait."
"And if it is their home planet?"
"Then we send someone down to do a little bit of spying."
"And if it isn't?" Zhane glanced sideways at Andros, his eye's mischievous.
And you're about two seconds away from clouting him I bet; obviously he wasn't listening when we outlined this course of action over breakfast.
Zhane, stop it, I'm trying to be serious here
Yeah but he's not really helping is he Suddenly Zhane got an image of Andros clouting him around the head and he grinned, putting his head back down. The short telepathic exchange had taken mere moments so there was no interruption of the flow of conversation between Andros and Zaron.
"Then we go down and fight them, stopping them from hurting whoever's down there. And, we send someone to follow them when they leave."
"Okay, I just wanted to be sure that I got the situation right." Andros refrained from answering that, shooting a look at Zhane that clearly stated the silver ranger was to keep his thoughts to himself. Zhane saw the look and went back to studying his readings. Zaron moved away from the two of them and went back to sitting down over by the girls, helping them where he could with the interpretation of the data. Andros leaned back in his chair, thinking and after a few minutes, Zhane soon intruded on his thoughts.
You're wondering what we're going to find, aren't you?
Yes. I'm half expecting them to attack this planet, it's been too easy to come across them like this, and follow them to this planet. Zhane turned his head, looking at Andros.
You're worried, aren't you? Andros nodded.
This whole situation has me worried. Up until now, it's been too easy so far. Andros could see Zhane nod slightly in agreement out of the corner of his eye.
I know. Something smells about this whole situation Andros. It's too easy, too pat. A prophecy that we haven't heard of? Duclea bringing us forward from the past, yes, I can understand that, but everything's just been too easy since we've gotten here. Andros sighed and shifted in his seat, not looking at Zhane, instead, he watched his wife with a small smile on his face.
It's just a vague feeling right now, but you're right. Something's not quite right. We'll just have to see what unfolds and hopefully we will be able to cope with what ever happens. Andros looked over at Zhane and his best friend nodded, agreeing with the silent words. Karone stood up then, taking their attention away from their conversation and each other. She brought over some computer readouts and handed them to Andros.
"Have a look at this; I think this is what we're looking for." Andros took them from her and looked them over, after a moment Zhane's head joined his pouring over them. He looked up and smiled warmly at his sister.
"Excellent work Karone. This will defiantly help us track down their home world and work out what they want. Get DECA to run some extrapolations on these co-ordinates and we'll go from there." Karone beamed with the satisfaction of a job well done and went back over to Ashley and Zaron. Just then the other rangers came back on to the bridge. Cam and Billy looking very dirty - covered in grease, oil and dirt - but both had satisfied smiles on their faces. Merrick looked just as dirty and just as satisfied.
"Andros, we're all finished. One working scout ship; it's big enough for two people, a pilot and who ever is going to be the snoop; and she's ready to go." Andros broke out in an even bigger smile.
"Fantastic." He then titled his head to one side in confusion. "But snoop?" The earth based rangers all bursts out laughing at the confused look the two astro and one galaxy ranger had on their faces. Ashley came over and slung her arm around Andros's shoulders and smiled.
"Snoop means, my dear husband, to spy on some on. It's Earth slang." Andros blushed slightly.
"Oh, thank you Ashley." That caused them to laugh even more and the atmosphere on the bridge became lighter. When the laughter died down Merrick looked at the others, his soft voice holding a slight teasing quality.
"You guys might like to be dirty, but I don't. I'm going to shower." Billy and Cam seemed to suddenly notice how dirty they were and grinned sheepishly at each other and quickly followed him out of the bridge. Laughter followed them out as the other rangers watched them live.
Fifty minutes later the atmosphere on the bridge was very different. A tense, strained atmosphere was hanging around the rangers. The ships they had been following had taken orbit above the lone small settlement that was on the planet. Sensors had revealed there was a small human settlement there and they weren't very technologically advanced. Andros had taken the Mega ship in closer, behind the planet's moon. They watched in silence for a few moments as an orbital bombardment commenced but no one said anything. Andros had plainly stated they needed to see what was happening first before they acted. More than a few concerned glances were thrown at him but the bombardment only lasted a minute. Only Zhane and Karone knew how much anguish this decision was causing Andros, so they were standing either side of him, giving him their support. Andros was firm in his decision as for the moment, information was more important. It was then that Zaron finally understood what Dulcea meant by him being able to make the hard decisions, he was doubtful anyone else would have been able to. So Zaron stayed in the background, content to watch for moment, waiting for something else to happen. But he didn't have to wait long. As soon as the bombardment stopped and ground forces began to be sent down from the orbiting ships to the planet's surface, Andros finally acted.
"Ashley, you're still hurt, you stay here. Keep the Mega ship behind the moon, but monitor us. We'll call if we need any help or an immediate evacuation. The rest of us will go down and help those people. Karone, you and Billy get them evacuated to the nearby mountains, there's bound to be caves there they can shelter at until this is all over. The rest of us will keep them busy." The remaining three other rangers just looked at Andros, ready and determined to do what ever they had to. Andros looked at them all, his expression stern.
"Now, the object is to drive them back and off this planet. Once they are off, they should flee back to their home planet, and that's our objective." Andros looked around at the waiting Rangers and nodded. "Okay, let's go, and watch your backs." Giving Ashley a quick hug, Andros led the rangers out at a run, each of them calling out their morphing call. Ashley watched them go, absently rubbing her injured wrist. Zaron reached out and put his hand gently on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you." Ashley gave him a wan smile.
"No, it's okay. It's just…" she trailed off and he nodded in understanding.
"You'd rather be down there, with them."
"Yes." He could hear her heart in her voice and smiled gently.
"I wouldn't worry too much, from what I've seen they can all take care of themselves. But I'll leave you to your watch." Ashley gave him a grateful smile.
"Thank you Zaron." Nodding, he left them on the now empty bridge. Besides, he had things he wanted to do to aid in his quest.
It was a small rural farming community, no more than a few hundred people. The kind of place where everyone knew everyone else. They were few if no problems and the people were happy in their isolation. They had little or no technology to use and it was the kind of place was traditions were kept alive, stories were handed down from generation to generation and it was a quiet, peaceful lifestyle. But all that was no more today. Chaos, death and destruction reigned down on the small community today, and with nothing and no one to defend them, they were without hope.
Until the coloured lights in the sky appeared in the centre of small village.
The six figures emerged from the coloured streams light, causing the fleeing villagers to stop a moment. They were tall, striking in appearance, in different types of armour and looked dangerous. But then suddenly, one of the elders of the village remembered a tale told him by his great grandfather and he blurted out in pure joy to his grandson.
"Power Rangers!" Andros turned slightly as he heard the old man and smiled under his helmet. Nice to see that they were still recognised in some parts of this mixed up future. He nodded to the old man and turned back to the others.
"Alright guys, let's do it. Karone, Billy, get these people out of here!" The old man watched in awe as the figures in blue and pink came running towards them, as the other four figures rushed towards the attacking monsters. Four, against so many, the old man's heart quailed for them but they rushed forward anyways. Then suddenly the woman in pink armour that was standing over him drew his attention. He got the impression she was smiling beneath her helmet and her voice was soft and warm.
"Sir, please, we must leave the area." He nodded and allowed her to help him along. Other villagers, when they saw what was happening, gathered with them and the two rangers began to lead them away from the fighting and destruction. The one in blue glanced back a few times and then looked over at the woman in pink.
"They are holding their own for the moment. How much farther are the caves?" Karone glanced down at the hand held scanner she had out in front of her and then up at him.
"About another five hundred metres Billy. There will be lots of shelter there for these people. They'll be safe there." Billy nodded and helped the people along, throwing one last glance at the others over his shoulder.
"Right, let's get them there." Karone thew a glance over her shoulder and began herding the people towards the caves. The fight against the Schraka warriors was going well from what she could see. They had numbered almost over forty warriors, so that averaged about ten warriors per remaining Rangers. Nothing they weren't used to over the years. Andros and Zhane fought like the excellent team they were. Merrick and Cam fought well, quickly finding each other's style and method of fighting and adjusting their own styles to it. Something only the very best warriors could do. But for the moment, Karone and Billy's main concern was getting the civilians out of the way; the others would have to do it without them.
Tbc.. In the next chapter our Rangers begin the task of tracking down the home planet of the Schraka, with startling results…