Chapter 5. Confirmation of 2
On board a spaceship. One could hear chatter coming from a room, layered with small hints of crimson red and an overwhelming fire orange facade.
"Is that so?"
"Yes, Your Excellency. The monster that I had enlisted to destroy the Quasar sabers was silenced by a being in gold armor." – Furio explained.
"Hmmm. That is strange."
Scorpius looked to his side, lost a bit in his thoughts.
"We might have to be more cautious, Furio."
"How so?"
"The next monster you send to dispatch the Rangers. Make sure he's aware of such a thing happening to him."
"Of course, Your Excellency. Is there anything more you want to add?"
"No. That'll be all." – Scorpius's answered in a cryptic voice.
Furio bowed and got out of the room. He was extremely eager to please the insect Warlord; so much so, that a person, who was lurking in the shadows of the hallway, did not flesh out to him.
"It appears there is a new factor to my father's conquest plans."
Trakeena showed a malicious smile before shifting away to reflect on the past events.
Simultaneously.
"We're going to have to something with the Rangers." – Polus mentioned, clearly irritated.
"Relax, cousin. One scout's death does not simply mean their extremely powerful." – a female voice attempted to calm him.
"Rhea's right. You yourself alluded to them killing their 1st Scorpius's henchmen as a miniscule achievement." – Atlas reminded his brother.
"I do recall something like that."
The 3 Demigods were present in what appeared to be a lavish dinning room. The wall were covered in garnet red with sky blue ornaments continuing the full vertical length at precise intervals; the ceiling was of canary yellow hue. From it 3 magnificently crafted chandeliers hung, directly placed above both ends & the middle of gigantic table. At the table sat Polus and Rhea; the latter had initiated the taking of salad from the lone massive plate on the dining furniture. Their seats were luckily, happily parallel to the plate; this resulting in no need to expend unnecessary energy while getting nutrition into the body. Atlas stood to Rhea's right, near the end of the room. A substantial, relatively thin screen had been installed onto the wall, to which the male Demigod was close to. He had been analyzing the situation, trying to piece together the best reactionary move. The elongated time he spent on this matter finally unraveled his passiveness. That is why in a couple of minutes of his family eating he voiced:
"We still can't be oblivious to their path."
"How do you intend to handle this issue, Atlas?" – Rhea asked in a soft tone.
"There is absolutely no need to worry."
Polus took a several bites of the salad.
"Now who's being calm."
"Hey! I just got caught up in the moment. Nothing more." – the male Demigod made his case for his overview's drastic change.
"That is what almost certainly befell our scout." – Atlas stated cold-heartedly.
"Then come back to answering my original question – how do you expect to deal with the Rangers?"
"That is where, my dear Rhea, the others have to give their suggestions."
Fast as lightning Polus realized the implications being put forward by his elder brother.
"Do you really want to bother him? Surely you know that interrupting him while he's entranced on a pathway is detrimental to you in the long run."
"I'm willing to risk it."
"Then by all means. Call him." – Rhea said in the same softness as before.
The male Demigod didn't go back on his word & acted on his beliefs. Atlas – the eldest of the trio (he, Nemesis, Polus); also, the tallest one of them all, measuring at 197cm (~6 ft 4'/6 ft 5') in height. His skin – rice white; the physical spectra leaned heavily to athletics (90-10). Broad, muscular shoulders, devastatingly powerful arms, fatless chest & waist, legs resembling masculinity, strength similar to the arms – all of this attributed to this male Demigod. Blonde, short, thin hair, azure blue eyes, carefully sculpted face. On his character, he resembled some similarities to Nemesis & Euphrosyne, but incorporated unique ones too. On the ruthlessness aspect, he was closer Euphrosyne than Nemesis; really did not have the same killing mindset as the purple haired female. Callousness – close enough to both. He preferred Euphrosyne's analytical approach to the future. First separating attribute – lack of voicing his own thoughts on a matter, which could be labeled as 'minimalistic'; the male Demigod would argue that since the earliest recalled days of his life any topic at hand could be covered by the other 5 well enough. Second one – in combat deterioration. Strike for strike Atlas could be considered equal to Nemesis, but he lacked the crucial consistent concentration to win out a confrontation with her.
Rhea – last Demigod of female sex; eldest of her trio (she, Euphrosyne, Crius). Same height as Nemesis; skin – ivory white. Just as Atlas, harnessed far more athletic than acrobatic potential. Rhea's & Euphrosyne's were indistinguishable, their hair – drastically different. For one, she had blonde, thick hair running down to the midpoint of her back; exceptionally precise in coming down straight, most likely helped by 3 golden, sparkling clips on both sides that shackled the width to some extent. Sexual attractiveness – somewhere in between Nemesis & Euphrosyne. To put it short, she was significantly 'top heavy'. This was proof in some aspects: pronounced muscles on the entire hand, a protruding forward chest, accompanied by firm, the biggest of the 3 breasts. Her waist noticeably smaller; hips – slightly more than the waist. Her legs were arguably the least physically capable and the least attractive. Personality wise, again – ruthlessness, more or less, undefined in her. Simplicity and charm were her most evolved traits. Where Euphrosyne devised schemes that were ultra-detailed, Rhea approached a problem head-on, without much foresight. In conversation with member of her family, she would almost never raise her voice, express herself as softly as possible, maintain as caring of a look as possible. That care – usually a façade for the callousness and malevolence residing within the female Demigod.
Polus – younger brother to Nemesis; same height as her & Rhea, but smaller than Crius. He was the most acrobatically gifted male; yet still leaned to athletics (60-40). Less broad shoulders than Atlas, similar in muscle size arms; chest – clearly more well nurtured, pronounced than his brother's. Hips – widest amongst the male Demigods. Where Atlas's full physique from the front resembled the letter 'T', Polus's would be easiest to describe as an 'inverted I'. Hair & eyes – in the same sphere as the before mentioned male's; the only difference being Polus's crave or desire for his hair to resemble a climbing mountain or sharp wave. Character: active, arguably the most mobile one in the family, stubborn, sporadic, malevolent as the others; sometimes bizarrely vicious. The infrequency aspect of him was the one that the others noticed the most. Crius wanted him to smooth out his inconsistency. One time it worked; the other – it didn't. That was where the stubbornness came in. He viewed his instincts as unmistakable tools more often than not; this led to more than a few conflicts with his family. Where Crius, Atlas, Rhea, even Euphrosyne would just brush it off, Nemesis took every chance to get him in the Combat Ring against her. Rational thinking to her.
15 minutes later.
"Sir. You've got another incoming call from the Palace."
"Your interrupting my peace once again, High Commander."
"I'm fully aware of the possible repercussions for my intrusion."
"But?" – Crius asked his loyalist.
He was not the smartest person in the World; yet, the ability to realize where there is no need to be grumpy over a situation which has clearly been determined.
"Who is it calling?"
"Unsure, sir. The only thing we know that it is coming from the Royal Dinning Hall."
The male Demigod took in some fresh air through his nose before allowing an image of the caller to be displayed on screen.
"Dismissed, High Commander."
Said person wasted no time in getting out of Crius's sight.
All of a sudden, an image of a familiar face appeared.
"Brother."
Atlas wasn't slow in picking up Crius's unmistakable irritation in being connected through a hard to grasp distance.
"Atlas. You do realize you are impeding on my journey, right?"
His voice radiated cold-heartedness.
"I'm aware, Crius."
"Then please explain to me – what has transpired that it requires my attention?"
"It's about the Rangers." – a voice from the background let out.
The voyaging male Demigod showed malicious eyes to his older brother. The topic of discussion did not appear to be as 'important' as said person assumed it to be.
"Who is also attending this discussion?"
"All 6 of us."
"Hmmm."
In a split second, Crius jumped out of his armchair.
"At least it is not as bad as I estimated."
He walked over to a compartment in the wall.
"I'll attend this conversation, Atlas, but…"
Another malicious bolt.
"…You lose all of your allowed interruptions for the year today."
He understood the significance of that statement in several seconds. The aforementioned Euphrosyne power struggle, hierarchy turmoil, if doubted before, had no more place to hide.
Simultaneously on the Astro Megaship. Leo & Maya had just finished a deep kiss and walked out of the small room they had visited not even a week ago.
"You were amazing, Leo."
"You were also great, Maya."
They giggled together to the left of the chamber; Maya resting her right shoulder onto the wall, Leo – the left one. They both felt briskness within their emotional sphere, it permeated through every bone in their bodies. Soon, Leo noticed Maya giving him a fairly cryptic, probably teasing look.
"What is it?"
"Next time we should do something in a different position."
The female's last two words were showered with lust and vigor. Being brisk, amusingly confident, the Red Ranger retorted with a raising of his left eyebrow.
"A different position, Maya?"
He put maximum effort in to emphasize those words in a similar fashion to her.
"Don't play dumb, Leo."
Her smile widened.
"You know what I mean."
Softness like a pillow entered the air in between them.
"I believe that I do."
His eyebrow lowered.
"Though, I do believe our…Interlocking… Would be uncomfortable on the ground."
"Nice thinking, Leo. That might seriously ruin the experience."
"We'll figure that out through the day."
"Speaking of the day. I would like to change my outfit."
"Your outfit, Maya? You've worn the same clothes since the moment you arrived here?" – the Red Ranger asked, while being puzzled.
"I remember. It's just… I want to wear something more… Energetic, less dull."
Leo quickly ran some ideas through his mind.
"Well, you could talk with Kendrix about your desire to look more energetic."
"I might just do that."
She started to move down the hallway; Leo turned around & quickly caught up.
"Just don't wear something too tight."
She smiled with lustful eyes appearing just for a few seconds.
"No worries. That would leave me nothing more than miserable."
A little bit of time passed. The Demigods had switched seating positions in the Royal Dining Hall: Atlas now sat in front of Rhea, while Polus had finished eating and moved over to the nearest chair on his side of the table. Crius was sitting in his armchair with a dark blue hued liquid waving unnoticeably to the eye in a Martini glass; his facial expression was far from straightforward – at least two emotions were competing for supremacy within him.
Suddenly, the pneumatic doors slid open to reveal two beings.
"My apologies for being late."
Nemesis said calmly, softly. Actually took the time to brush her thick purple hair like a beauty Queen before walking over to Rhea's side of the table. Euphrosyne acted in an opposite manner – barely examined everyone in the Dining Hall. With the females' arrival, the whole mood of the room rocketed upward; consequently, Atlas did not wait for them to sit when he spoke:
"Everyone's here. We can discuss the matter at hand now."
"For me, the faster we do it, the better."
Crius brushed his glass slowly a couple of times.
"I don't if you know, but one of our scouts has fallen at the hands of the Power Rangers." – Rhea said relatively smug.
"Truly?"
"Yes, Euphrosyne."
"Well then. That does make the situation far less dull."
Nemesis had no traceable amount of concern within her. Said female Demigod angled her gorgeous purple eyes at the male Demigod who was out in space.
"How are we going to respond to such… Arrogance… From Type I Humans, Crius?"
"That is what we'll settle on in this meeting, cousin."
"Then let's stop wasting time."
"Yeah,…"
Crius grinded his teeth.
"…Let's."
Nemesis felt a rise in pleasure, looked away from her cousin.
"We cannot let them get away with murder."
"Nobody is proposing that, Polus." – Atlas remarked, somewhat annoyed with his younger brother.
"Good. Then I suggest one of us goes and confronts them face to face."
"Not that I would be the one to go due to my furthest distance from them, but such a response would eliminate a great advantage over them."
Crius sips a bit of the dark blue drink.
"Your talking about their unknowing of our existence?"
"Correct, Polus."
"Why is it important?"
"Simple. It produces fear which none of the Type I Humans can withstand to eliminate completely."
"They might figure it out in time, regardless of our input."
"That may be true, Rhea, although, what are they going to conclude on? That there is some other force involved with them that they do not know the full capacity of? Rhetorically, how is that going to calm them down?"
"Your presumption on them obtaining such knowledge does impose the notion that some of them might be Type II's?" – Euphrosyne inquired.
"Possibly, sister. Possibly."
"The longer we let them live unobstructed, the greater their threat becomes."
"Rhea's take is rational. That is why we should apply more pressure on them."
The tallest male looked at his younger brother; in a split seconds, read his emotional basis. Afterwards, went 180 degrees to Crius.
"Polus insight is noteworthy. What is your plan, Crius?"
"What is your plan, Atlas? Surely, you have some scheme arranged by this point."
"Maybe I do,… But I would appreciate your input on the matter before I present my conclusion." – the short blonde haired male reasoned, remaining unmoved throughout it.
Hiding behind his still, more or less, unchanged facial expression was the frustration about how everything had gone up to this point. Not only did Atlas disturb his voyage, he arrogantly, in a unsympathetic fashion pushed him to a spot, where he had to concoct some type of a response to the Power Rangers' action.
"If I'm alone & trying to halt the Humans' progress, I would send someone to meet them that had sufficient experience in combat."
"What do you mean by 'sufficient experience'?" – Euphrosyne asked with clear rise in anticipation for the future.
"The person tasked with eliminating them has to be a trustworthy one of ours."
"One we should confident in getting the job done?"
"Exactly, Polus."
"So how do we decide on one?"
"Easy. You send my a description of your candidate and I'll have my recommendation in an hour."
The blonde female overlooked each other family member's face with cryptic eyes before showing a smile.
"That appears to be reasonable. So…"
"Wait."
The soft traversing statement of Rhea was cut off by cousin Nemesis.
"Yes, cousin? You have a better plan than Crius?"
"If so, please elaborate." – Atlas rushed to put his question forward.
"No, no. I have no issue with the course of action."
"Then what is the stumbling block for you?"
"The need of an hour."
The ruthless female repeated her earlier look at Crius.
"Surely, my cousin, you don't require an hour to pick a person for a mission such as this? If I recall, you clearly downplayed their threat the 1st time they ended up on our radar. So,…"
The purple haired beauty was self-congratulatory in her reasoning for interrupting Rhea. This emphasized with an insanely fast smirk on her face.
"…Why would take so much time for such insignificance?"
Crius quickly milled a certain idea out of a bunch; it alluded to the lastly to arrive female duo. Even though Euphrosyne was being far less flashy, flamboyant than Nemesis, a certain tint in her eyes confirmed his suspicions. It took some seconds before he acted on them.
"Alright, Nemesis. I'll instinctively pick one strong person from one of yours."
"Good choice, Crius."
"Euphrosyne."
The armchair engulfed male pushed his chin a fair amount forward.
"Have anyone to recommend for the task?"
"Why yes, brother. There is my heart warming Mekasta."
"Is your decision final?"
"Of course."
"Well, well,…" – he started with a false surprise.
Everyone foresaw what was coming.
",…It appears she'll be showing her greatness very soon. She'll handle those Humans with the Quasar sabers."
He rested back to the best position in terms of comfort.
"If she takes some of your assigned people, sister, I won't judge. It' s just got to be less than 10. Finally, if Mekasta fails to eliminate at least 1, as soon as I come back, I'll be torturing her for a… Whole…Week. So,…Care to remove said person?"
"No way, brother. She'll carry out this task even with your imposed repercussions."
"Then it's settled."
"I guess it is, Atlas."
"I cannot wait to hear the news of their demise."
"We can agree on that, brother." – Nemesis voiced with a sympathetic smile.
"Don't call me when it's finished. I'll hear the news when I come back from my voyage."
"Have it your way, Crius." – Atlas stated.
With that, their meeting had ended. They may not realize it, but their prominence in the Demigods' sights had grown. Sometimes visibility is not a preference; one could only see how it panned out to determined how this turnabout will lay itself out in the World.
In an area on Terra Venture.
"Galaxy Megazord Saber!" – the Rangers Shout.
In 3 slashes, just 3, Scorpius's newest henchmen is destroyed; orange flames burst out at the moment of said beings demise.
Soon, the Rangers return back to the surface.
"Yeah. Alright. We did it." – Kendrix cheerfully exclaimed.
"Another one bites the dust." – Damon voiced.
"Furio is going to have a tantrum."
"Let him." – Leo & Maya said simultaneously.
The 5 Humans take in the surroundings around and walk away as a group.
Within the confides of 'the Palace'. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?"
"It's Mekasta, My Queen."
"Very well. You may enter."
Pneumatic door slid open and the physically excellent shaped, brown haired female walked into the room. Crius's sister's eyes portrayed a view of pleasure; it looked as if she was happy to see her. Mekasta had clearly chained her outfit from the previous time she spoke with Euphrosyne. Gold-cyan striped, cylinder shaped armor pieces confided her limbs, 2 parts per limb. The bone joints were obstructed by mahogany red strings; the gap between her legs had an 'X' shaped, same color of armor wielding. In addition, the hair was hanging together as a ponytail; no beauty products, which would be unnecessary to her presentability right now and later on the battlefield, could be traced.
"I must require your bending of the leg."
She listened to her instructions; it enacted itself into a sight of the her walking to the female Demigod and lowering herself barely in front of her. Euphrosyne wanted to make sure that her Esteem Bishop was up to the task; the goal, after all, had the entire family's following. Therefore, she slowly moves her right hand. It took several seconds before a delicate brush of the chin was executed.
"I've recommended you for a high profile mission, Mekasta. You remember?" – she questioned with malice and joy bizarrely conjoined together.
"Of course, My Queen. I will be engaging in a fight."
"How correct you are, Mekasta."
She moved back her hand.
"Rise & walk with me to one of the hangars."
Euphrosyne began to walk towards the door; Mekasta swiftly followed.
In the hallway.
"I will not smooth the reality of what has transpired out for you."
"I understand."
"One of our people has been killed."
Mekasta maintained her strong body position; weakness was the worst thing she could show to the female Demigod.
"Is that who my opponents will be?"
"Yes. Exactly."
Oh what callousness had poured into Euphrosyne's emotional state.
"Do we know how many?"
"5 as far as we know. These… Humans possess ancient weapons known as the Quasar sabers."
"Should I be intimidated by that, my Queen?"
"I value your confidence, Mekasta. In a way, you remind of my brother Crius. A real sight of a great object is what you both desire to be respectable to it."
"Is it a poor tactic, in your opinion?"
"No. It just has obvious flaws, my Esteem Bishop."
"Can't argue there."
Euphrosyne felt a raise of calmness within her; she happily cemented the emotion as the dominant one.
"I just want you to be cautios. I know I've trained you well and that you possess better skills than your opponents; though, how much will the weapons determine the outcome is impossible to predict."
Mekasta felt it was best to stay quiet.
At the hangar. Everything else, in terms of preparation, went along with forthcomingness. The brown haired mastermind acted in such a way in accordance with her beliefs. How courageous is Mekasta? How much does she integrate craftiness into her plan? Does she sacrifice a big of courage for a better scheme? Do the upholding of high standards stifle her activeness? Safe to say, her Esteem Bishop passed the test.
"Good luck on your journey to the Human Space Station, Mekasta. Remember, what is the bare minimum of your goal?"
"At least one Human dead & if possible – their saber retrieved for you."
"And… What are the repercussions of failure?"
"A week of egregious torture by your brother first, then unwon amount of the same activity from you."
"Which would all conclude?"
"In my demotion."
Euphrosyne smiled; genuinely pleased with how the female had gotten to this point of her life.
"Then there's nothing more to said. Good luck, Mekasta."
"I value your belief, My Queen. I'll do my best."
In a few minutes, a ship flew out from the Palace into space with one clear destination. The Rangers might have the upper hand against both the Demigods & Scorpius's Forces right now, but reality is far too dynamic to let such static boredom continue. Maintaining a successful campaign, more often then not, is significantly more difficult than starting one. Can or will determination to strive for victory be the deciding factor? Possibly.