POWER RANGERS: ZERO HOUR - Twelve
Written by DTM666
Based loosely upon Countdown to Destruction by Judd Lynn
Disclaimer: The author would like to clarify that Power Rangers and its characters is owned by BVS Entertainment and not the author.
---
"First intermix phase is complete. Readying for second phase."
"Confirmed, Billy. Going with second intermix phase... now."
"Careful, Justin. Try not to overload the neutrino power grid or we'll have to redo the whole system from scratch again."
"Right... Second intermix phase in progress. Should it take as long as the first?"
"I doubt it, but just in case..."
"What's that?"
"It's a chocolate bar, Justin. Want one?"
"Um, okay... Thanks."
---
Completing a pass through the Black Matter nebula, the Astro Megaship sped across the wartorn sector of space. From the viewport of his bunker, Andros could see the small specks of light in the background, indicative of the explosions and space battles being fought. It all happened so fast and just as quickly, an projected five percent of the galaxy was under Alliance control. Several hundred planets and systems ruled with an iron fist by Alliance leader Dark Specter. With such a large volume, Andros felt his chances of ever freeing Karone from the Astronema curse slipping away more than ever.
Tired of doing nothing, he left his bunker and took the long walk towards the bridge, where TJ was manning the navigational controls. Andros looked ahead at the main viewer, which was set to tactical mode. He saw two Velocifighters slowly trailing the Silver Ranger, who was barely hanging on to his disabled Galaxy Glider.
"Looks like Zhane's in trouble." As Andros said that, he immediately sprinted towards the navigation controls while TJ went towards Damage Control. "Power-up megalasers and lock on target."
Carlos nodded and carefully operated the target sensors. When he got a lock, he pushed the fire button and from the cannons of the Megaship shot two brilliant blue beams that struck the jet of the Velocifighter, destroying it on impact. The second Velocifighter quickly flew out of the Megaship's targeting radius and positioned itself behind the spaceship, but before it could open fire, Zhane managed to summon his Silverizer and fired a shot that destroyed the vessel.
"Looks secure, Andros," TJ pointed out, "We should reel him in."
Andros nodded and left the bridge. "Take the con, TJ. I'm gonna meet up with Zhane in the docking bay."
---
As soon as Pyramidus entered orbit of the closest Vican planet, she was met with a thousand laser bolts crashing against the mighty armor of the carrier zord/spacecraft. With several cannons armed, Pyramidus traded fire with several battle cruisers as it sped past them and towards the surface, where a sea of monsters was clearly visible even from the great distance the zord was in. In the main cockpit, Trey worked the master controls, keeping one hand on weapons and another hand on navigation. He had never had to deal with this many targets, even during the height of the Triforian wars.
After some time in the air, Pyramidus land with a loud thud, sending a massive shockwave within a radius of several miles that knocked down all the monsters within it. Slowly, the carrier zord moved about, firing its laser cannons at both ground and aerial targets, shooting down various Velocifighters and Gunboats as well as vaporizing monster troops on the ground. Then the battlecruisers emerged from the skies and shot a barrage of concussion missiles that punched through Pyramidus' armor, multiple explosions erupting the points of impact. Trey, with few options left as his zord was slowly dying under a hail of missiles, programmed the self-destruct sequence and abandoned ship, diving into the sea of monsters whom immediately surrounded the Gold Ranger.
A minute later, the flaming hulk of Pyramidus exploded, sending debris and flaming shrapnel all over the place. Whatever they touched was instantly destroyed and incinerated, but for all the monsters that were destroyed by the suicide attack, twice as many appeared to take their place and all them seemed to take their frustrations on the Gold Ranger, who struggled valiantly to fight against the great numbers. The thought that he was fighting a losing battle did cross his mind, but it didn't necessarily stop him from trying.
From the distance, Rita and Zedd/Flinn looked on as the battle progressed. Rita smiled a wicked smile, giving out orders and raving like a loon. Flinn, however, kept silent, studying the Gold Ranger as he fought off the monsters. After being manhandled, the Gold Ranger looked to be making a few kills and at that point, Flinn turned to Goldar, who nodded and extended his sword. Instantaneously, the sword shot out an orange beam that struck the gold armor of the Triforian prince and knocked him down immediately, where the surrounding monsters piled over him and kept him pinned to the ground.
---
"The rebels are getting bombarded by aerial attacks," Zhane told Andros as the two walked down the decks of the Megaship, "So far, some of their fighters are preventing some of the transports from reaching the surface, but they really need our help."
Andros shook his head with a bitter taste in his mouth. "It isn't just the rebels, Zhane. The Alliance have launched attacks everywhere. Dark Specter, Astronema, Divatox, Mondo, Zedd and Rita, some Varox bounty hunters, even the Guild of Bounty Hunters are in this war."
The two longtime Kerovans entered the bridge, which the other Rangers were prancing around from station to station as new reports on the war effort came in.
"We've gotten word that Divatox just gained control of Ganthra," TJ said bitterly from his station, "That's already seven systems under her control."
Andros nodded sadly. "Anything else?"
"It's widespread panic," Cassie replied anxiously, "Mondo's split off between the Machine Empire and the Outer Rim worlds. Rita and Zedd are going for Vika... a world of diplomats. They'll never know what hit them." She turned back to the console. "There's also battles in Centrius, Aquitar, Rigel, Orion, Antares, Endor, Yufara, Nimbus III, and Nemesis. The list keeps growing every minute."
Zhane stood there as Cassie listed the planets either in combat or under occupation control. It took him a moment to put it all together and then the realization hit him like a punch to the stomach.
"They're trying to take over the universe."
"Exactly," the Red Ranger replied, "This is the biggest attack they've ever pulled off. Dark Specter must be really confident that..."
"Andros," Carlos interrupted from a recon station. "I've got a reading on a large fleet of ships. A thousand Velocifighters, twelve Strike Cruisers, and twin Dark Fortresses, all of them on a parallel heading to..." Carlos' voice trailed off near the end as he saw the destination of the fleet.
Andros' eyes turned to the Black Ranger. He had a distinct feeling where that fleet was going, but he had to ask. "Heading?"
Carlos took a cold stare at the co-ordinates before answering, "They're headed for Earth."
On cue, the main viewscreen showed the massive army headed by the twin Dark Fortresses steadily approaching the Earth, which appeared to be a small blue spot in space. There was only stunned silence on the bridge, as the six Rangers saw the army make its way towards the unsuspecting planet, whose technology wasn't enough to fight an army half that size.
"Best speed to Earth," Andros ordered, "Prep all shields and weapons."
---
"This is serious," Jason Scott said as he pranced around the room, "We need a plan."
Rocky DeSantos, the shuttle's fast-study pilot, turned to Jason in bewilderment. "A plan? Are you nuts?! They outnumber us a gazillion to one! Even if we knew what to expect, we would have no chance in hell of surviving that wave of fighters!!!"
Adam placed a comforting hand on Rocky's shoulder. "Calm down, Rocko. I'm sure we can come up with something."
Jason nodded. "What does the shuttle have in terms of offensive weapons?"
"Not much," Rocky said, "A couple lasers that Andros installed recently along with something called a polaron disruptor cannon." He paused and let out a grin. "I heard he stole it from a Machine junkyard."
Jason blinked in astonishment as Rocky continued to spur technical data on the shuttle, none of which he paid any attention to except for the shuttle's top speed, which was just as fast, if not faster, than any jet fighter on Earth. When Rocky was finished, there was stunned silence as Jason and Adam exchanged quick glances of astonishment.
"We better get security, Adam," Jason said mockingly, "This can't be Rocky."
Adam nodded in agreement, a smile slowly creeping on his face. "You're right, Jason. I don't think Rocky could mutter all that techno-babble."
Rocky threw his arms up. "How can you guys joke at a time like this?"
Jason raised his hands, while silenced the second-wave Power Rangers. "Listen. Until those other Rangers get here, we're the only thing keeping be. Even if it means we'll get killed, we have to try and slow down their advances. There's no other option."
After a long period of silence, Rocky let out a sigh. "You're right, Jason," he admitted, "We've just got to make due with what we have."
"Right," Adam added, "Let's get it done."
---
Zedd scurried to the bridge as fast as he could, amidst the rocking of the hall via missile impacts. When he finally reached the control center of his flagship, he could tell from the main viewer alone that they were being assaulted by the high-end warheads of Varox assault cruisers. Zedd leapt to his command chair and immediately activated the manual targeting system, where a periscope-type device appeared before the fleshman lord. Clutching both hands onto the handlebars, Zedd gave the order to transfer control of the main disruptor cannons to his station, which was done. With the instruments of war, he targeted the nearest vessel and fired several salvos, all of which hit the ship. Much to his disappointment, the initial salvo did not do significant damage.
"My lord," the helm officer called, "I suggest we use the new plasma torpedoes against the Varox!"
Zedd considered the idea for one second. "Do it!"
Immediately, the helm punched in several commands into the computer and soon Zedd gained control of the torpedo launchers. Once again, he fired a single torpedo at the same cruiser and this time, the torpedo made a successful hit and caused the ship's engines to explode, disabling the vessel. The continuous rocking of his ship slowly came to a halt as Zedd made a brief scan of the surrounding area to find that the remaining Varox cruisers were breaking away.
Zedd turned to the Tengu Knights positioned at damage control. "How much damage have we sustained?"
One of the Knights approached the fleshman and bowed before giving his report. "We have sustained light superficial damage that can be quickly repaired within the hour. All systems have experienced temporary disruption, but all is well."
Zedd nodded, then turned to the helm officer. "And the other ships?"
The helm cleared his throat. "Three ships came through the battle unscathed. However, we've lost one ship due to the ambush and one more has sustained heavy damage."
Zedd thumped his fist against the armrest. Shortly, he raised the periscope to its proper place and stood from his seat, and made his way towards the exit. When the doors slid open, Zedd stopped himself when he saw the former Green, White, and Red Ranger block his way. Almost immediately, all the troops left their stations and positioned themselves around Zedd, which forced Thomas to step back and assume an offensive stance.
"It's alright," Zedd insisted, "Return to your posts."
The crew hesitated for a moment, but after a short while, did as ordered and returned to their appropriate stations. Zedd studied the rugged, battered form of his longtime nemesis for a moment and let out a slight chuckle. Thomas' eyes were affixed to Zedd's crimson visor, staring a hole through it and into the eyes of the monster it hid. Finally, Thomas' stone face broke its cold glare and slowly, a wry smile formed.
"You've changed, Zedd," he observed, "You're not the simplistic, petty warlord you used to be."
Zedd nodded. "You've changed as well, Oliver. You're not the arrogant loudmouth Punk Ranger you've used to be."
Thomas shrugged. "Things change."
"Indeed they do, my old enemy," Zedd agreed, "In these times, there's no room for complacency."
"So true," said Thomas, "But now's not the time for small talk. Did I just hear you say a planet to retake?"
Zedd nodded.
"Which planet?"
"Eltare. The homeworld of Zordon, currently the crown jewel of the Alliance conquests. While the Alliance is busy taking over the universe, Eltare will be vulnerable. We get in, we massacre the Alliance leaders of Eltare, and the whole group falls apart." Zedd took a step closer to Thomas, who made no reaction. "I don't expect you to agree with my plan or with my viewpoint, but I'd expect you to stay out of my way or I'll destroy you the same way I'll destroy the rulers of this world."
Thomas threw a smug grin. "Don't worry. I don't intend on fighting you. I intend on helping you."
Zedd looked at the Ranger quizzically. "You would willingly help me? After so long of fighting each other, you would fight alongside by my army of darkness? Why?"
"Like I said, things change," Thomas replied smugly, "Besides, if any evil force is going to rule Eltare, might as well be someone I'm familiar with rather than someone I'm not." He extended his gloved hand to Zedd. "Just this once, I'll fight by your side. Afterwards, we either become fast friends or we beat the living hell out of each other."
Zedd considered the offer. Suddenly, he was struck with an amazing sense of dejavu... this man's clone extended a similar offer to the fleshman mere months ago, an offer he initially felt reserved over, but one that produced an army of Wraiths and a doppelganger named Flinn who was instrumental in allowing Zedd to slip from Dark Specter's sights undetected. Unlike the clone, this was an easy offer to accept, as it was no more than the skills and loyalty of a man he had tried endlessly to convince to fight by his side. With that, he accepted Thomas' hand without regret.
"We'll arrive in Eltarian orbit in less than an hour," he said, "I suggest you get ready..."
End TWELVE