Chapter One

The speeder zoomed over the sandy surface of the Egon Desert towards the nearest civilian settlement on the outskirts of IGPF protected territory. The speeder engines were being pushed to level 10. Normally no one would dare to take them past a 5 in this environment because of the need for control, but this was no ordinary run. Every moment needed to be felt by the passenger and had to correspond with the conditions around him. This wasone reason the Red Ranger was glad he had learned telepathy which he used to sense everything that was around him.

"Andros," came a voice over the communication system in the dark helmet. "Docking bay 4, over. "

"Roger that. I'll be come back in a couple of minutes. Over," Andros responded.

"Roger. Glad to hear it. Be careful. There have been some reports of hostiles in the North Region. Over."

"Zhane," Andros said with a smile in his voice. "You worry way too much." Suddenly, Andros forced the vehicle into several dangerous stunts that took him over several cliffs and riding on a straight line that was three feet narrowrock bridge that led to the city.

The speeder pulled safely into Docking Bay 4 where a dismayed Silver Ranger said in a chair waiting for his best friend. The engines died as Andros got off the vehicle. "Well, what did you think?" the Red Ranger asked as Zhane stood up and hit his fist against the other Ranger's extended one.

"You scared me. You really scared me. What were you thinking!" Zhane asked almost letting his anger take over. "You could have died!"

Andros just chuckled and shook his head. "You don't know me very well, do you?"

"Okay, I'll give you that you are one of the most experienced and trained Rangers on the force, but you can't do that. You scared the crap out of me," said Zhane as they neared the exit doors. "Though, in all seriousness, why are you here? We didn't except you back for another couple of days. What happened?"

"Well Zhane, the best thing ever happened to me. I got married."

"You what?"

Carlos sat on the bridge of the Astro Megaship reviewing the latest sensor sweep of Earth as Cassie walked in. Cassie walked to where Carlos was and put her hand on his shoulder.

"How is it going, honey?" she asked him as he put his feet on the console in front of him.

"Ok, baby. Um… This is something with Ashley, but you can't tell TJ," Carlos said looking straight into her eyes. "She's missing."

"What! What happened to her? Where is she? Are we sending out search parties? Why didn't you tell me sooner? She could be getting tortured. How inconsiderate are you?" screamed Cassie into Carlos' dumbfound face.

"I just found out, Cassie!" Carlos said, exasperated. "Not more than five minutes before you came in. Zhane and Andros contacted me with the news."

"Zhane and Andros? What did they say?" Cassie asked.

"They told me that Ashley disappeared on Zenobia just north of the Egon Desert. She was on a mission for the Ranger government when she went missing. No one knows what her mission was except her partners who disappeared with her."

"Who were her partners?"

"Avis, the Green Astro Star Ranger, and Jae the While Astro Star Ranger. Andros only knows where they disappeared, but not even he knows what their mission was."

"How is Zhane taking all of this?" Cassie asked.

Carlos thought before answering. "He was pretty upset. He's been dating Avis for a year now. Apparently, they've gotten pretty close."

"TJ isn't going to like the news either," Cassie said. "But we've got to tell him eventually."

"Now is as good a time as any. At least we can give him good news too!"

"Good news! What good news?"

Carlos stood up and looked at his wife. "Andros also asked all of us to go to Zenobia to look for them. He wants us to help in the rescue effort."

"TJ will appreciate that," Cassie agreed. "Let's go."

The couple walked to the Glider bay. No one was there, so the Rangers had a clear chance to take the gliders to Zenobia. TJ was on the surface of Earth while the Megaship was orbiting. DECA had been instructed to bring the Megaship to Zenobia as soon as the Blue Ranger returned from NASDA.

TBC