"I have examined the debris from the destroyed shuttle craft and have found no signs of life Dark Spector. The humans on board have been destroyed," Astronema assured him as she stood in front of him. Across from her was Ecliptor, who remained silent.
The sight of Dark Spector was enough to send a chill down her spine, but she stood firmly with a look of confidence on her face.
"You are wrong," his voice bellowed, vibrating everything in the room, including Astronema herself. "The humans were teleported onto a cloaked shuttle, and the ion trail from that shuttle leads to Eltar. The humans have survived, and are already on their way to Zordon," he told her.
"There is still nothing to fear my master. We still have the Zeonizers in our possession. Without them, Zordon will not be able to….." she was cut short.
"Actually Princess, the Zeonizers have been stolen," Ecliptor mentioned.
She turned to him. "Stolen? By whom?"
"We are unsure at the……" he was cut short.
"Find the Zeonizers and destroy the humans before they are allowed to gain their new ranger powers. Nothing must prevent me from overthrowing the galaxy," he told them.
"I understand master," she said, bowing slightly as Dark Spector disappeared. "Why wasn't I informed that the Zeonizers had been taken?" she asked.
"Forgive me my Princess. I take full responsibility for the incident and will do my best to secure them again," Ecliptor promised.
"You'd better. If Zordon is able to recruit new rangers, things won't be as easy as we anticipated. I think it's time to call in someone who has experience with dealing with the rangers," she said.
"Who did you have in mind my Princess?"
"Get Lord Zedd and Rita on a sub-space channel and tell them to report to me at once," she ordered.
"At once Princess," he said, walking away.
*-*
Fatigue was beginning to set in.
Weeks ago, when he was snatched out of the Temple of Light by a group of Dark Spector's minions, he was convinced that Zordon and the Power Rangers would mount a rescue. Lord Zedd himself interrogated him, but he revealed nothing. He stood firm in his belief that help was on the way.
But that was weeks ago…..
The chains shackled to his wrists were beginning to tear into the skin on his arm as blood trickled down the chains, falling to the floor. He wasn't sure how long he'd gone without food, but it was taking its toll on him. The room itself was a dark, damp place with all types of creatures scurrying beneath his feet. He'd gotten use to the damp smell, and every now and then, in the distance, he could hear someone (or something) walk by the door to his cell, but that was it. He'd had days to ponder his situation, and came to the realization that if the rangers hadn't come for him by now, they had probably been defeated by the Dark Alliance. 'Or worse,' he thought. The mere thought alone made him shutter. 'Maybe they've been…. Destroyed,' he sighed inwardly.
His thoughts shifted to his own situation. 'If I was of no value to them anymore, I'd be dead by now,' he thought to himself, trying to take comfort in the fact that he was still alive. There had to be something they wanted, something they needed from him. Keeping him alive served no purpose, unless they had a plan.
His thoughts were interrupted when the door to his cell opened, allowing light to pour in. He closed his eyes to shield them, but with little success.
"You are pathetic," a voice bellowed, echoing through the cell. "And they call you a God."
He remained silent.
"You'll be interested to know that a transport ship carrying rangers from Earth was destroyed earlier today. There were no survivors, so if you were expecting a rescue attempt, you can rest assured they're not coming," the voice told him.
"And you came all the way down here to inform me?" he inquired.
Whoever… or whatever it was responded by hitting him across the chest with what seemed to be a whip, ripping the flesh of his chest. "That's what I came for. With Eltar under the control of Dark Spector, soon every planet in the universe will fall to the Dark Alliance. And there's nothing you can do about it Great Sage," the creature mocked.
"Good will find a way to prevail," he sighed as the creature closed the door again, encasing him in darkness.
-*-
'Approaching Eltar,' the computer announced.
Tommy and the others hurried over to a window to catch a glimpse of the planet. It seemed much bigger than Earth, and didn't seem to have as much water. Just as they'd heard, Eltar had two suns in orbit; the light reflected off the orange-ish planet, giving it a kind of glow.
"It's beautiful," Tanya sighed, reaching over and grabbing Adam's hand.
"Hard to believe that the entire planet is locked in a war," he added.
"The war has gone badly for the rebellion forces. The Astro rangers are on KO-35 defending their planet; Ninjor and several other supporters are on missions of their own. Eltar was the first planet to fall to the Dark Alliance, and it's the focal point for Dark Spector's operation. It's imperative that we gain control of Eltar," William brought up as he began the landing procedures.
"That's what we're here for, right guys?" Tommy commented.
The others nodded. "Right," Katherine said, speaking for the entire group.
"Disengaging cloak and completing docking procedures… now," William said as the ship shook slightly as it landed. He walked over to a second set of controls, opening the doors, then stood aside allowing the others to step out the shuttle first.
Tanya and Katherine stepped out first, getting a good look at the surroundings. From a distance, they could see that a major city was in ruins. Smoke filled the sky, blocking most of the sun's light.
"I can't believe it," Adam sighed.
"Come on, we should get to work," William said, walking ahead of them and leading them into a building. The five of them stepped onto a plat form, and after William entered a sequence of numbers onto a keypad, the flat form began to lower. When they reached the bottom, a set of silver doors slid open, revealing a central operation center.
"Zordon," Kat yelled after noticing his tube in the center of the room. She rushed over to him, staring up with excitement.
"It is good to see you too Katherine. All of you," he said.
Across from Zordon was Alpha, but he seemed to be wrapped up in his work as he went over calculations.
"Zordon, Tommy's shuttle was destroyed by Velcofighters on their way here, I had to teleport them to my ship," William said.
"Did the cloak malfunction?"
"Negative. I didn't even know what the Velcofights were shooting at until one of the energy cells exploded and their cloak disengaged. It was like the Velcofights knew they were coming," he commented.
"It's just as I suspected, there is a traitor among us," he said.
"A traitor, but how?" Tommy asked, stepping forward.
"For weeks now, it seems as though the Dark Alliance has been one step ahead of us the entire time. They were able to orchestrate the abduction of the Great Sage, attack key outposts along the system, and even target our main bases of operation here on Eltar. There is no question: there is a traitor," Zordon explained.
"But who? Who else knew that we were on their way to Eltar in the first place?" Adam inquired.
"It was a mission of the utmost importance. Only a handful of people were aware of the situation: myself, the Phantom Ranger, William, Alpha and Zolara," he said.
"Zolara?" Tanya inquired.
"My sister. She'd been serving alongside the Great Sage on the high counsel of Eltarian leaders for nearly 5000 years, but now she works here with us. Our biggest concern right now is to retrieve the Great Sage and shift the balance of power away from the Dark Alliance," Zordon explained.
"What about the other planets in the rebellion?" Katherine asked.
"They are protected… for now. The Gold Ranger is on Triforia defending his home world, Ninjor is locked in battle in the Torias sector, and the Astro rangers are protecting KO-35. Eltar is the focal point of their assault because of the Temple of Light. As of yet, no one has been able to gain access to it, but if Dark Spector believes that there is no way for him to retrieve the power inside the temple….." he was cut short.
"He'll destroy it," Zolara said as she walked into the room. The others turned to her with skeptical looks on their faces. "I am Zolara, and you must be the legendary Zeo rangers my brother has spoken so highly about since his return," she said.
Before any of them had a chance to comment, Zordon interrupted them. "Zolara, take the rangers to the main chamber and give them their morphers. The situation worsens as time goes on," he said.
"At once," she turned to Katherine and the others. "If you'll come with me," she said, gesturing them to follow.
The five of them simply followed Zolara out the room, and into a room that seemed to be surrounded by complete light. There were no floors, no ceilings… at least none they could notice. For as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but light.
"It's time rangers," she sighed.