Power Rangers SPD: Year Two

by D.Nic

A deadly threat escapes containment and wreaks havoc on Newtech City, leaving SPD battered and bruised. Nothing will ever be the same, as they struggle to come together to defeat this new enemy. Completed!

15. Vessels

POWER RANGERS: SPACE PATROL DELTA

YEAR TWO

"VESSELS"

It was a beautiful ring. A beautiful ring for a beautiful woman, Jack thought to himself, as he gently slid the gold band onto her finger. Jack looked up into Ally's smiling face. The diamond sparkled so brightly that it made her face glow. Jack smiled. He looked around and everything in his life seemed to glow. He looked over at the large altar and Commander Cruger standing in front of it, presiding over the lavish ceremony.

Jack saw Cruger give him an approving nod. He looked back at Ally and heard her faint giggle. She looked beautiful in her flowing white gown. He was glad her veil didn't cover her face. She was too stunning to keep hidden. Behind Ally, he could see Z and Syd and Kat all dressed in long, silver silk dresses. Each was holding a bouquet of flowers, except for Z, who held two. One of them belonged to the bride, who had her hands full holding onto the man she was about to officially marry.

Jack smiled at his friends, knowing they were always at his side. They weren't the only ones. Jack glanced behind him and saw Sky, Bridge and Boom all looking suave in their tuxedoes. Jack grinned, as he got approving nods from his groomsmen. As he slowly began turning back to look at his bride, he glanced at the church pews. The place was packed. He couldn't help but give a nodding smile to Isinia, Quinn, Sam and Piggy when he saw them sitting in the front row.

This was a perfect day for Jack. Everything sparkled: the church, the guests, him and his bride. Jack met Ally's eyes again, as he heard Cruger say, almost in slow motion that it was time to kiss the bride. Jack smiled widely, as he leaned in, gently touching Ally's lips with his own. The cheers from the guests and the wedding party seemed to drown out the music playing. Jack grabbed Ally's hand and the two proceeded to exit down the aisle. As Jack got closer to the back of the church, however, he noticed a large black box sitting in the aisle, blocking their way.

He slowed down as they approached it. It looked strange, Jack thought. It was the only thing there that wasn't glowing brightly. It was completely black. His right hand squeezed a little tighter in Ally's hand. He moved his left hand towards the black box and as he lifted the lid, he realized it wasn't a normal box. It was a coffin.

Jack opened the lid slowly and his eyes grew wide, as the terror spread in his face. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Ally," Jack said, shocked.

He quickly moved his hand away from the coffin, causing the lid to slam shut. The glow that permeated throughout the room was gone with the loud crash of the coffin's lid falling. Jack noticed his hand was empty. He turned to his right. Ally was gone.

"Ally!" he yelled.

Jack turned his back on the coffin in the aisle and now saw that the entire church was empty. All of his friends and his wife were gone. Jack didn't understand. The look of confusion made it's home on his face, as the church seemed to get darker. Jack looked to his left and right and then saw that the pews were gone, replaced by more black coffins, identical to the one behind him. Jack could feel his heart rate quickening.

He walked to his left and opened the first only for a second. That's all it took to see that the body inside was another familiar face.

"Kat!"

Jack went to the right side of the aisle and opened the coffin opposite that one. He was again shocked to find Boom, dead inside of it. He ran back to the left and opened another.

"Piggy!" he yelled.

Back on the right, he opened another. It was as if his mind was telling him to run, but his body couldn't stop. He opened the lid and found the wife of his commander. Isinia was dead. He opened the next and found young Sam.

"No! He's only a kid," Jack screamed.

His hand grazed the next and he found Quinn Gray, the new Green Ranger, whom he had only met once. His corpse still stunned Jack. He went to the next and found one of his closest friends.

"Syd, no!"

Jack turned to another and opened it, seeing the body of Bridge Carson. He shook his head violently, not truly believing this could be true. He opened the next and saw another shock. Sky was dead too. Jack was so shocked that he just backed away from it.

"This can't be happening," Jack said.

He turned and there was one more coffin, sitting opposite Sky's on the other side of the aisle. Jack could feel his pulse racing, as he reached out and raised the lid quickly, practically tossing it to the side, as if he knew what he would see inside.

"Z!" Jack yelled loudly. "No! What's happening?"

Jack backed away from the coffins, towards the altar. He backed right into it. As his hands grazed the altar, he realized that it was actually another coffin. He turned and opened the lid. Jack could feel himself losing it as he saw who lay inside.

"DC!" Jack yelled, as he looked at Cruger's lifeless body lying before him.

Jack backed away from the coffin, but hesitated to go too far, because he knew the others were there, all around him. Jack grabbed his hands and shook his head violently, trying to break free of this nightmare.

"What's happening to me? This isn't possible!" he yelled, as he fell to his knees.

As he screamed in anger and fear, he felt his left wrist aching. He pulled up his tuxedo sleeve and saw the Omega morpher stuck to his body. It was branded to him, like a torturous noose around his neck.

"Nooo!" Jack yelled, as he touched the device on his wrist, then grabbed it, pulling as hard as he could.

He could feel the burning heat of his flesh ripping from his body. The pain was almost as unbearable as seeing those he cared dead. There was no way he could save them or himself from the ultimate pain.

The Infirmary was tinted at night, but not completely dark. Z Delgado turned slightly on the bed where she laid and had slept for the past few nights. She wanted to be near Jack. However, the beds in the Infirmary were not built for comfort. She shifted her weight a little, then realized she was thinking too much and officially broke her sleep pattern. She opened her eyes a bit and looked over at Jack.

Her eyes grew wide when she noticed he was shaking violently in his bed. Z jumped up from where she had been asleep and rushed over to his bedside, trying to calm him, as she saw Jack's eyes rolling back in his head.

"Jack! Jack, what's wrong?" Z screamed to him, but Jack didn't respond. Z pushed an emergency alert button near the head of Jack's bed and a nurse immediately stormed in.

Seeing Jack's spasms, she ran over to the wall's intercom system.

"Doctor Sevarus to the Infirmary. We have an emergency. Doctor Sevarus to the Infirmary," she called out.

She grabbed a needle from a drawer, along with a small bottle of something, as Z watched, worried for Jack's health. The nurse gave Jack the shot, which seemed to calm him down. Z, however, wasn't going to be calm anytime soon. Something was wrong with Jack and it was something she had never seen before.

Anubis "Doggie" Cruger settled into the Supreme Commander's office. It had only been a few days since he had officially moved to Galaxy Command. This office was slowly becoming his own. Cruger had resisted the urge to jump right in.

Honestly, he had always been a man interested in success. His promotion to the position of Supreme Commander, however, came at a high price. On top of that, he didn't truly want to feel settled here. There was still a dangerous conflict happening on Earth. Cruger felt strange not being there. He twisted in his chair and glanced at the wall behind his desk. He had brought the photograph taken on the day of Gruumm's capture from his quarters. It hung there, framed on the wall. A few inches below it, his Shadow Saber was displayed. As Cruger thought about the figures in that picture that he had left behind, his hand instinctively reached out to touch the sword, just as the doors to his office opened.

"You wanted to see me, Supreme Commander?"

Cruger turned to see the question was posed by the arriving Galactic Council President, Otto Cali. Cruger nodded his head affirmatively, as Cali took a seat in front of his desk.

"I received word that a new Commander to lead S.P.D. has already been sent to Earth," Cruger said, giving Cali a curious glance.

"Yes," Cali responded quickly.

"It's my understanding that it is the Supreme Commander's job to choose officer assignments, especially ones as big as this," Cruger said, as he looked Cali in the eye, not giving him a happy look.

"I sense that you have a problem with the choice to bring in Silverback?" Cali wondered.

"You sense correctly," Cruger said, sternly. "I'm the Supreme Commander and it's supposed to be my decision. You wanted me to do this job, yet the first thing you did was take it out of my hands."

"That wasn't our intention, Anubis," Cali spoke, in his usual emotionless tone. "The Council felt that a decision needed to be made quickly. S.P.D.'s Earth post is one of its most pivotal. We felt that any dawdling could lead to more trouble there."

"Dawdling?" Cruger looked confused.

"Quite frankly, Anubis, promotional decisions have been placed in your hands before and the Council has not always been pleased with your...thorough approach to making those types of decision. But, I'm surprised you're upset by this," Cali explained.

"Why are you surprised?"

"Because, Silverback is quite qualified," Cali said.

"That's not the point," Cruger replied.

He knew Silverback was a great warrior, but he didn't believe Silverback would be the right fit to guide his Rangers in this fight. However, Silverback was a friend and he'd never question his ability in front of a superior like President Cali.

"Then, I really don't understand," Cali said. "Silverback has been on the front lines of more conflicts than a lot of our officers. He was even there to help back up S.P.D. in the Troobian conflict. From what I understand, he also helped train B-Squad, so we figured they would be familiar with him and that it would make the transition go smoother. I don't see the problem."

"Silverback's a tremendous asset to S.P.D., especially in training. However, his command style is one the Rangers are not familiar with," Cruger said finally.

"Well, there's growing pains when any administration changes guard, Anubis. The Power Rangers will deal with the change. After all, they've had you to prepare them," Cali said.

"Still, I'm not sure that making such a quick decision was the right call," Cruger admitted.

"I disagree. I saw the damage Omallix can do up close and any hesitation on our part gives him time to strike again," Cali said. "The Council agrees with me."

Of course they do, Cruger thought to himself.

"Was there another candidate you had in mind?" Cali asked. "The Council would certainly be open to suggestions from the Supreme Commander. As I said, our intention was never to exclude you."

"Well, I haven't had much time to think about it, but I felt that a promotion from within might have been a better idea. Someone like Kat Manx, who knows the Rangers inside and out and knows this conflict," Cruger said.

The Galactic Council President gave Cruger a surprised look.

"Doctor Manx? She has no combat leadership experience. She's a scientist," Cali shot back.

"She's had emergency training, sir. She's a quick thinker and cool under pressure. She's been invaluable during this war with Omallix and she's been an integral part of every victory we've had," Cruger said sternly.

"All the more reason for her to remain in the laboratory, where she can continue to assist the Rangers. After all, that is her primary duty." Cali said seriously.

Within minutes this conversation was over. Cruger knew, because Cali unceremoniously exited, after seemingly putting his foot down. Cruger couldn't help but shake his head. His branch of Space Patrol Delta had become more than just a group of strangers doing their duty. They had become a family. One of their own was now taken away from them and replaced. Cruger winced as he realized if they were all a family, Silverback would classify as the strange uncle who everyone kept their distance from at family functions. Cruger sighed, knowing that wouldn't prove to increase S.P.D.'s odds against Omallix.

In orbit of Earth, Omallix's base floated, hovering ominously like a meteor waiting to strike Earth at any moment. Inside of the large structure, one being was ready to strike emotionally.

"I just don't understand," Jintari said, angrily. "The Omega Ranger was our greatest weapon and you just left him down there for S.P.D. to retrieve!"

Omallix turned to face the small, stout green creature. He glared at him.

"Landors was becoming too mentally fragile. We could not guarantee his loyalty," Omallix responded.

"I made him invincible. There was no way he could break free of the mind control," Jintari said.

"I had a bad feeling about him. He was beginning to regain his memory. The cameras inside the laboratory showed him breaking down only hours before he was to strike down Cruger," Omallix said.

"Still, it is disappointing. He could have destroyed Cruger and the Rangers," Jintari said, sounding like a spoiled child who wasn't getting his way.

The alien scientist folded his arms in a huff, just as Cartiron came walking into the throne room, looking a bit apprehensive. He walked over to Omallix.

"Master, there is a problem down below," Cartiron said.

Omallix stood from his throne, as Cartiron led the way out of the main room. Jintari scurried to catch up to the two, taller beings. Soon, the three were descending the staircase into the basement of the building-turned-space base. The heat was impossible to ignore. It was almost smoking in the lowest level of the base.

"What is going on?" Omallix asked, confused.

He walked further into the basement area, where they kept his army of monstrous volunteers. Now, however, the numbers had dwindled greatly. In fact, there were only three creatures moving around in the basement. Omallix looked completely confused.

"It appears that most of the army has died out," Cartiron said. "Those that did not perish from the heat, apparently gave up and fled."

Omallix shook his head in anger.

"Why is it so hot down here?" he asked, angrily.

Jintari's eyes seemed to be shifting around a lot, as he thought about the temperature in the basement. He knew exactly what caused it.

"Well, evil one, I believe that may actually be my fault," Jintari said.

Omallix stared at him.

"What?"

"Well, in our haste to reach Andrus III and Galaxy Command, I pushed our thrusters to their limit. It no doubt made the heat index rise down here," Jintari confessed.

Omallix stomped his metallic foot on the floor in anger. He knew that he ordered Jintari to get them there as quickly as possible, but he never expected this result. Without the Omega Ranger, they needed a new plan and they needed one quickly. The Rangers were without their leader, but it wouldn't last for very long, he knew.

"You're right, Jintari," Omallix said. "This is your fault. Therefore, I expect you to fix it!"

"But, sir, I don't know what you want me to do," Jintari said.

Omallix looked at the three alien creatures left in his army. None of them looked very formidable and honestly he wondered how any of them survived over the others. They didn't look very strong either.

"We need a new battle plan. You will make these monsters useful, Jintari. Either they go into battle, or you do!" Omallix said forcefully, before stomping up the stairs.

Jintari was left looking worried. There was no way he was going to try to battle the Rangers. Deep down, he was aware that Omallix knew that as well. The threat, however, would drive him to find a solution to their current problem. Then, as he heard Omallix's heavy footsteps storming up the stairs, an idea popped into his head. Jintari smiled.

Inside the S.P.D. Infirmary, Z Delgado stared at her best friend. Jack had been calm all morning, since his seizure that managed to terrify her almost as much as the thought that he had died in the fire massacre several months before. Jack hadn't really wanted to talk about it and Dr. Sevarus advised him to get some rest. She had been there holding his hand almost the entire time.

"You gonna stare at me all day long," Jack said, with his eyes still closed.

Z couldn't help but crack a smile, as she saw him do the same.

"Shut up," Z said. "Aren't you supposed to be resting?"

"I would be, but your cold clammy hand is sending shivers through my body," Jack said, as he started to giggle.

Z let go of his hand, before giving him a swift tap on the arm. Jack opened his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" Z asked.

"I told you ten times that I'm fine," Jack said, staring her in the eyes and hoping it convinced her. "Now, don't you have a job or something to do around here?"

"I'm not leaving you," Z said. "There's no way you can convince me otherwise. I hoped and prayed for the day that I could see you again and now that I've got it, you can't get rid of me that easily."

"Thanks sis," Jack said.

Z sighed. Just hearing him say those words to her meant so much. At that moment, the doors to the Infirmary slid open and they were joined by Sky, Syd, Bridge & Quinn. Jack turned on his bed to look at the arriving visitors.

"Well, look at this," Jack said, slyly. "The gang's all back together, with one notable exception."

He nodded to Quinn. Bridge was standing next to him.

"Yeah. All we need is Commander Cruger," Bridge said. The room went silent again. Sensing he may have said the wrong thing, he added, "or maybe Gruumm?"

Jack chuckled. It almost served as a signal to the others that they were free to laugh as well.

"Sorry. I didn't want to intrude," Quinn said to him.

"Nah, it's cool," Jack said. "You got the morpher and from what I can remember you're pretty good with it."

"Next time you'll have to be on the same side, though," Syd said with a smile.

Jack nodded in agreement.

"I don't think we have to worry about that. I'm all me again," Jack said.

"That's good to hear," Sky said. "We heard you had a little scare this morning."

Jack looked over at Z, who gave him a guilty look.

"It's okay. I'm fine. I don't know what happened," Jack said.

"Dr. Sevarus thinks Jack's seizure may have been a side effect from Jintari's mind control," Z said somberly.

"Well, you look a lot better now," Syd said, trying hard to avert her eyes from Jack's wrist.

Jack noticed her look.

"Yeah, it's kinda nasty-lookin, I know," Jack said, as he raised his left wrist, where the Omega morpher was literally attached to him.

"No. It looks good on you," Bridge said quickly.

Everyone's eyes seemed to veer towards him. Bridge noticed the brutal stares.

"What I mean is that you looked good out there as the Omega Ranger. Well you looked bad, but that's cuz you were bad. I mean the color looked good on you," Bridge said, trying to smooth things over...badly.

"Thanks Bridge, but hopefully I won't be keeping it," Jack said.

Sky looked a bit confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Dr. Sevarus is a pretty good surgeon. I'm hoping he can fix all this," Jack said.

"But, you're still gonna stay on as Omega Ranger, right?" Sky asked.

"Sky, I wasn't meant to be Omega Ranger. Sam is," Jack said. "I left S.P.D. for a reason. I'm not looking to get back in."

Aboard Omallix's base, the evil villain sat on his throne, staring out the glassed window in front of him. He stared at the planet floating in space out there. He had vowed so many years ago to make one man pay for all he had done to him. But now, in this time he had grown to want a larger agenda. Destroying his old adversary was no longer an option, but he could destroy S.P.D. and it's current Rangers. Heck, with the way things were going, he could probably destroy the entire planet. Omallix reveled in that thought, as Jintari came walking into the area. Omallix saw him and was a bit surprised. His green scientific companion seemed to be walking with confidence.

"My lord Omallix," Jintari said proudly. "I believe I've come up with the solution that we've been looking for."

"Tell me more," Omallix said.

"We have three monsters in the basement that are at our disposal. They are obviously fiercely loyal, or they would have fled with the others. They are also extremely resilient, as judged by their survival of the intense heat from our thrusters," Jintari explained.

"Yes. Go on."

"If we can take those qualities and make their physical presence stronger, we might have three very powerful creatures on our hands," Jintari said.

"I agree. But, how do we make them stronger?" Omallix asked.

"I thought on that question very hard and then it dawned on me. The solution to our dilemma has been staring me in the face all this time," Jintari said. "It's you!"

Omallix stood up from his throne and walked over to the short green alien. He stared down at him, making sure that he looked him deep in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Omallix inquired.

"Think about it, Omallix. When I found you in the gutters of Newtech City twenty years ago, I helped make you stronger. I turned you into the menacing force you are today," Jintari exclaimed.

Omallix grabbed the green creature by the neck and lifted him off the ground, instantly changing his mood from pride to utter terror.

"You little weasel, you didn't make me what I am. My hatred for humanity was already set in motion," Omallix yelled.

"No...that's not...what...I...meant," Jintari managed to speak as he could feel his windpipe closing in.

Omallix dropped him to the floor. Jintari struggled to catch his breath.

"Explain yourself, now!"

"My master," Jintari started, as he managed to breathe in a few more gasps of air. "What I'm trying to say is that the technology that I used to make you stronger could be used again to make your army stronger."

Omallix finally understood what Jintari was getting at.

"Yes," he said, his voice was low and thoughtful. "You may be on to something."

Omallix began pacing around the throne room, thinking of the possibilities.

"We've seen the Rangers are virtually no match for my abilities. If we could make those three monsters almost as strong as me, then we might have something," Omallix said.

Jintari, meanwhile, was struggling to stand up. Omallix turned and walked back towards him quickly. Jintari instinctively put up his arms in fear.

"But," Omallix said, loudly. "They can never be stronger than me!"

"Of course not, sir," Jintari said quickly. "I doubt I could make them stronger than you. You are so unique and powerful on your own. But, they could still be strong enough to defeat the Rangers, especially if we augment them with the same fluid that runs through your body."

"Good. I want you to make this happen. Do you have everything you need?" Omallix asked.

"Yes, sir. This old science center is full of parts and devices. I'm sure I can piece together what we'll need," Jintari said. This time, however, his voice was a little less confident. "However, there is one little complication."

Omallix stared a whole through the alien scientist.

"What is it?"

"Well, the three creatures in the basement are all aliens of species that I have no experience with. I'd need to know about their genetic structure in order to make the equipment work and even if I did know more about them, I'm not a talent with alien augmentation and that's what we need. I can create the equipment needed, but making it work on them will take someone with more expertise in genetics," Jintari said.

Omallix began thinking and pacing a bit more, before turning back to face Jintari.

"Then, you are in luck because we have a genetics expert right here onboard," Omallix said, craftily.

"Felix?" Jintari inquired. "He's proven he won't cooperate."

"Then, we'll have to send in Charlie. She's proven that she can reason with his catty nature at times. We will get her to convince him," Omallix said.

"I don't like keeping those two together for very long," Jintari said. "As much as Charlie gets to him, it works both ways."

"I'm not worried about Charlie's loyalty," Omallix said. "She fears me and that is what keeps her in line. It will continue to be that way. I have a feeling that she will be able to make Felix cooperate by making him fear me as well."

The doors to Kat's laboratory slid open. Bridge and Quinn walked inside and were shocked by what they saw. The clutter that had piled up in Kat's work area over the last few months was gone. The place looked spotless. Bridge and Quinn exchanged confused looks.

"Uh, I'm sorry. Did we walk into the wrong room?" Bridge asked aloud.

"I don't think so," Quinn said slowly. "Kat? Are you here?"

The two were once again caught off-guard when Kat popped up from behind her desk. She looked like she had been on her knees in a cabinet behind there.

"Gentleman, what can I do for you?" Kat said, as she stood up and straightened her clothes.

"You can explain this," Bridge said, as he waved his hands around the room.

"Yeah. What happened in here?" Quinn asked.

"Did Commander Silverback make a surprise inspection?" Bridge added.

"No. I just thought my laboratory was in need of a serious cleaning. I can't really be expected to do my job with the place being a mess," Kat said.

Bridge & Quinn exchanged curious glances, as they noticed Kat's demeanor seemed so formal and even a bit robotic.

"Are you feeling okay, Kat?" Quinn asked.

"I'm fine," she responded.

"Are you sure? We kinda wanted to check on you since you didn't show up at the Infirmary. We were all gonna visit with Jack together, remember," Bridge said.

"Sorry. I got busy in here. I've got so many things to do. Plus, we don't know when Omallix is going to strike again, so I want to be prepared," Kat said, blandly.

"Okay," Quinn said, looking a bit worried. "Well, we just wanted to make sure you were doing all right."

"I'm perfectly fine, keeping myself busy with work. Everything's back to normal around here," Kat said, with a courteous smile. "Let me know if you need anything."

Bridge and Quinn exited the laboratory and both looked completely freaked out.

"I'm sorry. Did I miss something, cuz I know sometimes I miss things?" Bridge asked.

"No. That was weird. You think it has to do with Cruger leaving?" Quinn replied.

"If it does, we're in for more changes than we thought," Bridge said, as the two walked off down the corridor.

Several corridors away, two more B-Squad cadets were walking. As they did, Syd's hand grazed Sky's. She gave him a sheepish grin and took hold of his hand. Sky quickly pulled his hand away.

"Stop that," he said quietly.

"Why?"

"Because, someone might see us," Sky said.

"So what?"

"I thought we talked about this," Sky said, more sternly. "Now that Silverback's here and breathing down our necks, we have to make sure we don't give him anything more to complain about. He cannot find out about us."

"I know that," Syd said, as she frowned. "I'm sorry."

The two continued on their way towards the Command Center.

"Is it all right if I ask how your investigation into your dad's logs is coming?" Syd asked, a bit annoyed at the previous topic.

"Of course," Sky said, as he sighed. "I contacted my mom."

"Really? What did she say?"

"Well, I told her what I knew and she didn't remember my dad acting strange around the time that his personal logs were deleted. She look through the personal files she had in storage and there wasn't anything referencing Omallix in them," Sky explained.

"That's too bad," Syd responded, grimly.

"Well, she did give me a lead though," Sky said.

"Spill it," Syd said.

"She gave me the contact information of one of my dad's old friends and teammates. His name's Zachal. He's Barconian. She said he and my dad were close. He even came to dinner at our house a few times when I was a kid," Sky said.

"She thinks he might be able to help?"

"Well, apparently he was the last member of my dad's team to retire. He left S.P.D. a few months before Omallix was captured. So, he might know something. I already got in touch with him," Sky said. "I'm gonna meet with him later today."

"Do you want me to come along?" Syd asked.

"No. I think I better take care of this myself," Sky said, before giving her a slight smile. "Thanks for asking though."

Syd smiled back, just as they reached the Command Center. The doors slid apart as the two walked in and both were immediately shocked at what they saw. A maintenance crew was in the middle of dismantling Cruger's command chair and station. Sky and Syd walked right over.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?" Sky asked sternly.

One of the workers looked over at him.

"We're taking this out of here," he responded.

"On who's authority?" Sky yelled.

"Mine," a voice came from behind them.

Syd and Sky turned to see Silverback entering the Command Center. He walked slightly hunched over and bow-legged. Unlike most command officers in S.P.D., Silverback didn't wear the traditional long black officer's jacket. He wore black pants and a short officer's jacket that cut off at the waist and sported the same design and insignia they were used to seeing on Commander Cruger. Sky and Syd saluted Silverback as he got closer to them. The new commander walked right up to the two cadets and stared each one of them in the eye.

"Do you have a problem with my orders?" Silverback asked, in his trademark drill sergeant tone. No matter what he said, it always sounded as if he were yelling at the top of his lungs.

"No sir," Syd said immediately.

"Sir, that was Commander Cruger's chair," Sky responded.

"Commander Cruger is now stationed at Galaxy Command," Silverback said, calmly. "If you like, I can ship it to him there."

"That won't be necessary," Sky said, as he sighed. "But, sir, it is also a vital component to the Delta Command Megazord bridge."

"I understand that, Cadet Tate," Silverback spoke. "I have been very well versed on this building and all of the technology at its disposal. These gentlemen were under my orders to set up a replacement cockpit control station in the Delta Command Megazord bridge to compensate."

Sky looked a bit annoyed by Silverback's quick response.

"Not that the Delta Command Megazord is very useful with no one to pilot it," Silverback said sarcastically, as he began pacing around the Command Center. "Does that meet with your approval, Cadet Tate?"

"My approval is not important, sir," Sky said, as he finally realized there was no sense in arguing.

Silverback walked back over to look Sky in the face.

"What was that, Cadet?" he asked.

"My approval is not important, sir," Sky repeated.

"Now you're gettin' it," Silverback said, loudly. "I'm the commander around here! That means I'm in charge. I make the decisions! If I want decorating tips, I'll dig up Martha Stewart and ask her myself. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir," Sky said.

Silverback looked at Syd.

"I didn't hear you, pinky!"

"Yes sir," both cadets called out.

"Now that we got that straight, I think we're gonna get along just fine," Silverback said, with a smile.

Inside his quarters, Quinn Gray held an electronic data pad. He had just finished writing a letter to his mother. At least, he thought he had finished. Then, something popped into his head and he started typing on the small device again, adding a paragraph to the end of the letter:

iOh, and I was wondering about something. Sky, our Red Ranger, is trying to find some information on his dad, Nathan Tate. Apparently he captured Omallix all those years ago. There's some data missing from the files and no one seems to know what happened to them. Kat told me that you knew Officer Tate, so I figured it couldn't hurt to ask you. If you know anything about the old investigation that might help, let me know. Sky would be relieved. He's been really troubled about it. But, from what Bridge has told me, he's intense about a lot of things. Anyway, if you remember anything, let me know.

Talk to you soon,

Quinn/i

Quinn finished typing and finalized the letter by saving it on the electronic device. He didn't truly believe his mother would be able to help, but he figured it was worth a try. She rarely even talked about Nathan Tate and he had told her everything about Omallix. If she knew anything that could help them, she would have been the first to speak up. Quinn sighed, as he headed to the Rec Room, where he could attach the pad to a communications relay and send it off to his mom.

On the second floor of Omallix's base, Jintari walked with Charlie. As they got closer to the laboratories at the end of the hallway, Charlie shook her head.

"I don't know if I can do this," she said.

"You have to. Omallix is counting on you to get Felix's cooperation," Jintari said, sternly.

"Felix has resigned himself to giving up. There's not much more that I can do," Charlie responded.

"Well, you better think of something. Omallix made it very clear that if you don't get Felix to help with my plan, he'll be coming after you," Jintari said. "I'm sure you don't want that."

Charlie sighed deeply, as she reached the entrance to Felix's laboratory. Jintari headed towards the doorway to the second laboratory next door. He looked at Charlie and noticed her hesitation.

"I'll be finishing the construction on the transformation device over here. When I'm done, I'll move it into that laboratory. I expect Felix to be ready to work when I do," Jintari spoke, before disappearing inside the other lab.

Charlie shook her head negatively, rolling her eyes after the alien's departure. She took a deep breath and keyed in her access code to the laboratory. The doors slid open and Charlie walked in. Her eyes immediately drifted to the corner where she had found Felix every time she entered the lab in the past week. He was sitting there, legs crossed, staring at the sky. Charlie looked around and noticed that each meal tray she had brought to him was still untouched. She sighed.

"How long can you go on like this?" Charlie asked.

"I haven't eaten in six days. I'm sure death is on its way," Felix said.

"You're just going to give up?"

"At this point, Charlie, it's all I have left," Felix said, as he lowered his head to look at her. "You have a better suggestion?"

Charlie was taken aback by the glazed over look in his eyes. He looked frail, almost lifeless. She knew he was right about death coming his way, but Charlie had a job to do and she was willing to accomplish anything to get it done.

"My suggestion is that you get up off the floor, eat something and fight!" Charlie said, angrily.

"Fight for what?" Felix said. "You win. Omallix wins. He's used me, beaten me down. There's nothing left."

"And you're just going to sit by and let that happen?" Charlie shouted. "What happened to your fighting spirit? What happened to never giving up, just like S.P.D. never gives up?"

"What do you care?" Felix said, a little louder.

"You know Felix, for the last few months you and I have been stuck together. We never wanted this. I know I didn't. I came here to be a soldier, to be a threat to S.P.D. I'm not giving up on my goal," Charlie said.

"Who asked you to?" Felix shrugged.

"You did!" Charlie shouted. "You asked me to! You tried every chance you could to get me to see the error of my ways. Funny, I thought you were more resilient than I was. It's one of the things I hated about you. Now, there's nothing left to hate. You're just a miserable little nothing."

Charlie noticed Felix eyeing her and his gaze was getting more solid, more penetrating. She was breaking through.

"Well, I'm sorry I can't oblige your obsession, Charlie," Felix responded.

"You could," Charlie offered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Felix asked.

"You can be resilient again. You can fight for survival and fight to get out of here. Isn't that what you want?" Charlie yelled.

"There's no way out!" Felix yelled.

Charlie smiled on the inside for the first time in a long while. She could feel the heart and emotion in his voice that time. Felix was gaining life once again.

"There could be," Charlie said.

"What?" Felix asked, looking confused.

"You're smarter than you look. You made me realize that. Why would you stop fighting? S.P.D. certainly hasn't," Charlie said. "There's no doubt they know you're here after Sam and Jack both saw you. All you've got to do is hold on, but you're choosing to give up."

"I can't hold on like this," Felix said, as he waved his arms around the room. "Performing grotesque operations to boost Omallix's forces. I can't do that anymore."

"Just once!" Charlie yelled. "Just do it once more. If it doesn't pay off, you can give up. I'll let you give up. I'll give you what you want."

"What?" Felix said, curiously.

"You perform one final task for Omallix and if you truly have no fight left in you after that, I'll give you what you want. I'll help you give up. I'll kill you myself!" Charlie uttered, in a dark serious tone. "But if you don't do this final task, I will personally see to it that you live long enough to see S.P.D.'s destruction. I will guarantee that you outlive them all even if I have to force feed you myself."

Felix gave her a serious look, as he rose to his feet. He walked over and stared her in the eyes. In that moment, Charlie felt pleased with herself. She had gotten Felix to feel again. Even if it was his determination to look death in the eyes, it was enough. It was enough to get him onboard with Omallix's next plan of action.

Inside S.P.D. Headquarters, Z Delgado strolled down the corridor, headed towards the Command Center for her duty shift there. She turned the final corner and approached the entrance, when she noticed four familiar faces coming towards her. She smiled.

"Hey guys," she called out.

"Well, isn't this is a surprise?" Syd said aloud, with a sly grin. "You're actually going to do some work?"

"Yeah," Quinn agreed. "I can't believe we're seeing you outside the Infirmary."

"Very funny," Z said. "I don't want to neglect my duties around here. Besides, Dr. Sevarus was coming to examine Jack and they needed privacy. Plus, Silverback made it clear that I was not to miss another shift."

"Speaking of which," Sky said with a sigh. "Things are gonna be a little different in the Command Center. Silverback's making the place his own. So, be prepared. He's in charge now and there's nothing we can do about it. We just have to deal."

Everyone nodded along. They took a few steps forward and the doors to the Command Center slid open. The first thing Z noticed was Commander Cruger's missing chair. She almost said something aloud, but held her tongue, as she saw Silverback standing in the spot where the chair normally sat. The five B-Squad cadets lined up next to one another, as Silverback walked over, eyeing each one.

"I hope you're not always this late, Cadets!" Silverback spoke, in drill sergeant mode.

"It's my fault, sir. I take full responsibility," Sky responded.

"Of course you do, red!" Silverback shouted. "But, I realize that we're all in the 'getting to know you' phase. Now, you should all know that I don't tolerate tardiness!"

"Yes sir," Sky said.

Silverback looked at the other four cadets.

"Is this a one-man team?"

"No sir," the other four cadets shouted together.

"Good," Silverback said, as he turned away from them and walked towards the main control console in the middle of the Command Center. "Now, that you're all here for your duty shift, I can inform you that you will no longer be assigned duty shifts in the Command Center."

The five cadets all exchanged confused looks. Sky took a deep breath.

"May I ask why, sir?"

"You may. It is my opinion that as long as we are at war, we don't need our Rangers in here monitoring the city. We need our Rangers preparing for the battles ahead," Silverback explained. "Therefore, instead of Command Center duty shifts, you will instead take part in extra training sessions, to prepare your bodies and minds."

The cadets shared glances, showing they weren't too happy with that.

"So, no more cadets in the Command Center?" Sky wondered aloud.

"You're exaggerating," Silverback stated. "Non-Ranger squads will still do their time in here. B-Squad, however, has bigger priorities. Understood?"

"Yes sir," the five cadets answered in unison.

"If I may ask, Commander," Z spoke up. "Who's gonna run the Command Center when we're not here?"

"I'm glad you asked that question," Silverback said. "I have a personally appointed crew that is being specially-trained and will take over as the full-time support staff here in the Command Center."

The cadets nodded along, as the doors to the Command Center slid open. Everyone instinctively looked behind them, but they didn't see anything...until they looked closer to the floor.

"R.I.C.!" Syd shouted, before looking closer and feeling disappointed. "Or not R.I.C."

Silverback's four-legged companion trotted right over to him. The Commander bent down and patted the red and silver robotic canine on the head.

"You all remember Murphy," Silverback said to the Rangers, who all nodded. "He's just the first member of my staff. The rest will be arriving in a day or so. Now, talk's done. I think you all have some training to do."

The Rangers sighed, as they marched out of the Command Center.

Inside her quarters, Isinia Cruger was tidying up the place. Her husband was no longer living there and she never got visitors when he wasn't, but she still liked to keep things looking neat and clean. She was caught off-guard when she heard the metallic female voice of the S.P.D. Headquarters computer call out.

"Isinia Cruger, you have an incoming transmission from S.P.D. Galaxy Command."

Isinia looked curious and walked over to the computer terminal at her husband's desk. She hadn't bothered to let anyone remove the equipment since his departure. She sat down and smiled, as the caller's face appeared on the screen.

"Doggie," Isinia said, cheerfully.

"Hello, my dear," Cruger said. "How are you?"

"I'm doing all right, I guess. It's a little empty without you here," Isinia said.

"I had a feeling," Cruger said, sarcastically. Isinia chuckled.

"How are things going for the new Supreme Commander?" she asked.

"Slow and steady," Cruger said. "I'm still getting my bearings, but I'm settling in. How are the Rangers?"

"They're settling too, from what I can tell. Things have been a little tense since Commander Silverback arrived," Isinia revealed.

"I can imagine. What about Kat? I haven't been able to get in contact with her," Cruger wondered.

"She's been staying put in her laboratory since you left. I invited her to dinner yesterday, but she declined. She said she had too much work," Isinia said, somberly. "She's taking all of this very hard."

"I know. Kat has never been ruled by her emotions. I'm afraid Omallix's tactics have worn her down. Maybe you can talk to her?" Cruger said.

"I've tried," Isinia said. She noticed her husband's look and she sighed. "But, I can try again."

"Thank you," Cruger said, nodding lovingly to his wife.

The five B-Squad cadets entered the Rec Room, all looking tired. It had been an hour since their duty shift turned into a training session. Bridge yawned, as he joined Quinn, Syd and Z in sitting down. Sky remained standing.

"I'm ready for a nap," Bridge said.

"I know," Syd agreed. "Two training sessions in one day. The last time we did that, we got stuck in the simulators."

"Hey, anyone think maybe Silverback's another clone?" Bridge offered, looking idiotic. When he noticed the others giving him crude looks, he sighed. "Well, he could be," he said grimly, as he leaned back on the couch.

"I wish," Quinn said.

"Well, training's done," Sky said. "We don't have to worry about it anymore today."

"As if there's nothing else to worry about," Z said. "Guys, I'm worried about Jack. That seizure he had was really scary."

"Dr. Sevarus is keeping an eye on him," Sky said. "Plus, once they do the surgery to remove the Omega morpher, he probably be fine."

"Is anyone else a little upset about that?" Bridge asked. "I mean Jack was amazing as Omega. We could really use his help."

"I agree," Syd said.

"Jack doesn't want to be a Ranger. He gave it up," Z responded. "I get the feeling he's itching to get as far away from that morpher as possible."

"It's too bad, but I think Z's right," Sky said.

"Jack's not the only one around here we need to keep an eye on," Quinn spoke. "Kat's been acting weird too."

"Yeah, it's like she's hiding in her lab or something," Bridge revealed.

"I think that's totally Cruger-related," Syd said.

"Makes sense," Sky said. "Those two have worked together since before we were born. Speaking of which, I have a meeting I need to get to."

"What are we gonna do about Jack and Kat?" Z asked.

"Yeah, and Silverback's new tactics?" Syd added.

"We could contact Cruger," Bridge offered.

"No!" Sky said sternly. "We can't bother Cruger with any of this. Silverback's in charge. There's nothing we can do about it. We just have to do our jobs and deal with it. We can't go running to Cruger every time we have a problem."

The others nodded along.

"We just have to stick together. We can do this," Sky said, before leaving.

Omallix and Charlie waited patiently in the throne room of his base. Cartiron soon entered, followed by one of the three alien creatures from Omallix's shrinking army. Charlie and Omallix both immediately noticed how timid the creature seemed in Omallix's presence. Charlie sensed the creature was female. Cartiron brought the creature to stand in front of Omallix, who sat on his self-appointed throne.

"Master," Cartiron spoke, in his dark tone. "This is Oartha."

Omallix stood from his seat and stared at the creature. Oartha was a plant-based life form. However, she appeared to also have spider-like qualities. Most of her body was a metallic silver color, but her arms legs and head were light green. Her face was a large dark red eye that resembled a spider, made up of a thousand smaller eyes. Her silver and green body included two arms that were green, resembling a plant. There were small silver spikes sticking out of both arms and both of the creature's legs.

"What are your skills, Oartha?" Omallix asked.

"I...uh...I can...shoot very powerful spikes from my arms...and...my webbing can trap...any opponents," Oartha spoke, very nervously.

"She's a bit timid," Charlie said to Omallix, before turning to the alien. "You do realize that you'll be facing S.P.D. out there?"

"I want to serve Omallix the best I can," Oartha responded, still appearing nervous.

"You will, Oartha," Omallix said. "Charlie will take you to get prepared."

He gave Charlie an ordering nod. Charlie led the creature off to Felix's laboratory. After the two had departed, Omallix walked over to Cartiron.

"Was that the best one you could choose?" Omallix asked.

"Well, my master, Jintari's new technology hasn't been tested. I felt that you might prefer a test subject. I believe the other two creatures may be more powerful," Cartiron said. "However, my lord, if you truly believe Jintari's technology will make your minions stronger, why not use it on me. My loyalty and skill has already been proven."

"Keep strong, Cartiron," Omallix said. "You are my ultimate backup plan. When I have exhausted all options, I know that I can count on you to get the job done. Remember that I want S.P.D. to suffer a long and agonizing defeat. If Oartha can wear them down, it will still be a victory for us."

Cartiron nodded in agreement. Upstairs, Oartha found herself being strapped down on a large examination table. The alien creature couldn't help but look around in fear, not knowing what was about to happen. Above her, she saw a very large mechanical device, protruding from the wall. It extended from there all the way to the middle of the room, hovering above the exam bed. Oartha noticed the twenty-inch needle attached to the end of the device. She looked at the creature standing over her, scanning her body. He had been silent the entire time.

The one she knew as Charlie stood near the doorway, with her hand on a communications panel. Oartha was starting to regret her decision to stay aboard Omallix's base, but she wanted to be stronger. She yearned to be better and she thought that if she proved herself against the greatest fighters in the galaxy, she would finally be taken seriously. She looked over at Charlie, who started speaking into the intercom after Felix nodded to her, grimly.

"Jintari, the creature is secure," Charlie spoke. "We're ready to begin. Felix is transmitting the genetic data to you now."

Felix pressed a few buttons. In his large two-story technical laboratory that was located on the other side of the wall where the device originated, Jintari heard Charlie's words through his own intercom. He checked his computer readings and saw Felix's data. Jintari made sure to double-check everything, never sure that he could trust Felix. After downloading the information, Jintari realized which of Oartha's strengths would be heightened by the genetic manipulation. He smiled, as he grabbed a canister from a password-locked drawer in his lab.

Jintari held up the silver canister, before pouring some of the contents into a liquid energy holder, attached to a long clear tube. He pressed a few buttons on a remote and he saw the red fluid travel through the tube all the way through the wall. He knew where it would lead on the other side of the wall. In Felix's laboratory, he heard the hum of the machine and was forced to watch as the needled lowered closer and closer, until it penetrated Oartha's body and began filling her vessels with the red fluid that would make her wish of being stronger a reality.

Behind the wheel of a patrol jeep, Sky had left the big city behind. This rural part of California wasn't extremely populated. It was a 2-hour drive from Newtech City, but Sky had a mission. The jeep's GPS locator led him to his destination. He drove onto the huge property. Sky noticed the crops being grown on the plantation. A small house rested in the middle of the large farming ground. Sky parked the jeep and got out, looking around. He took a moment to breathe in the fresh air.

Sky walked towards the house when he heard some rustling near a large area of crops. He walked closer, as he saw a very tall alien man emerge. Sky knew this was who he was looking for. Zachal was a Barconian. There weren't many living on Earth. As a matter of fact, Sky had a feeling Zachal was the only one. Barconian's were farmers. The only time they ever left their home planet was to transport their crops to sell to other worlds.

As Zachal caught a glimpse of Sky in the distance, he blinked a few times. His large, glassy blue eyeballs were hard to miss, since they were the size of tennis balls. Zachal had white hair, like all Barconians. Like many reaching old age, his extended down his back, almost to his feet. However, on this day, Zachal had it tied in a braid that rested over his shoulder. He was wearing a gray jumpsuit, with a white apron on top of it. Sky figured he had been working in the crops.

As Zachal walked closer, Sky realized just how tall he was. Most Barconian's were over seven feet. He seemed to squint his large eyes as he looked at Sky.

"Officer Zachal, my name's Sky Tate," Sky introduced himself, extending his hand.

"Tate," Zachal said, surprised. "I thought you looked familiar. Schuyler Tate. The last time I saw you, you were barely as tall as my knee!"

"It's been a very long time," Sky said, as Zachal happily shook his hand, repeatedly.

"I haven't been called Officer Zachal in ages," he told Sky.

"I guess I should have said Mr. Zachal," Sky corrected himself.

"Just Zachal. That's fine," he said. "Speaking of things I haven't encountered in ages, seeing the old S.P.D. letters brings back a lot of memories."

"I'm kinda glad you said that," Sky said. "I've got some questions that I'm hoping you can answer."

"Really? Well, I've been retired a long time, but if I can help S.P.D. again, I'd be glad to," Zachal responded.

"It's about my father," Sky revealed.

Zachal gave him a surprised look.

Inside the S.P.D. Infirmary, Jack sat on the side of his bed. As he swung his feet, he couldn't stop thinking about the nightmare he had. It was still hard for him to believe Ally was gone. He had seen her die right in front of him. He squinted his eyes, trying not to picture it again. But, his friends were still alive. That's why his dream didn't make sense. Omallix was a tough customer, but Jack knew they could survive this. They all could. They had to.

The doors to the Infirmary slid open and Dr. Shivan Sevarus walked in, carrying an electronic pad in his hand. He walked over to Jack, calmly. Given his bone structure, it always looked like Sevarus was smiling. I did make Jack feel a little more comfortable, especially since he didn't know Sevarus.

"So, what's the diagnosis, Doc?" Jack asked.

"Well, your latest MRI shows that the effect that Jintari had on your brain has completely dissipated. It's good news. There doesn't seem to be any residual damage," Sevarus explained.

"I figured. I seem to remember everything now," Jack said, looking troubled. "Even the stuff I'd rather forget."

Sensing Jack's troubled feelings, Sevarus nodded.

"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked.

"Nah. Not really. Z's got me all talked out," Jack said, with a forced chuckle.

Jack looked down at his hands, locked together. His eyes veered to the Omega morpher on his left wrist. He lifted it up.

"What about this?" Jack wondered. "Can you remove it?"

"Well, that's a little more complicated," Sevarus said. "It appears that they somehow attached the morpher to your muscle tissue. They even managed to bond it to one of your blood vessels. It's a genetic breakthrough. I didn't think they had that kind of knowledge and power."

"Dr. Felix," Jack said aloud. Sevarus sighed.

"Unfortunately, my colleague is a genius in genetics. I'm upset that he was forced to do this to you and he'd be the only person that could attempt to remove it, without causing irreparable damage to you," Sevarus explained.

"What kind of irreparable damage?" Jack asked, curiously.

"Jack, I couldn't do the operation," Sevarus said, afraid of what Jack might be willing to endure. "As a doctor, I have an oath to do no harm."

"Well, Felix broke his oath, so I don't see why you can't do the same thing. Now, come on. Be honest with me. What would it take to get rid of this thing?" Jack asked.

Sevarus sighed.

"To remove the Omega morpher from your arm, we'd have to do seriously invasive surgery and we would probably have to amputate your wrist and maybe your entire forearm," he revealed.

Jack took a deep breath. Sevarus could see his eyes moving erratically, as if he was thinking about the procedure.

"Jack, I can't do that," Sevarus said. "The morpher isn't doing you any harm right now, other than a few aches. I couldn't justify the surgery."

"That's the difference between us, Doc. I can justify it. I don't want this sick gift from Omallix on my body," Jack said, angrily.

At that moment, the emergency alarms sounded. Jack instinctively hopped off the bed and looked up at the alarm panel in the ceiling. He looked even more upset. Sevarus stood closer to him.

"Maybe that should be your justification for keeping the morpher," Sevarus said, quietly.

Jack turned, giving him a serious look.

Inside the Command Center, Silverback glanced at the action, going on about a mile away from S.P.D. Headquarters. He groaned .The doors to the Command Center slid open as four B-Squad cadets came running in. They all took their positions around the main control console in the middle of the room.

"What's going on?" Z asked.

"We've got a monster attacking," Silverback said, as he pointed to the holographic projection of Oartha spitting some thick white webbing from her mouth.

The cadets & Silverback watched as the webbing covered a couple in a local park, trapping them. They began screaming. Oartha laughed wildly, saying the only thing better than this would be defeating the Power Rangers.

Quinn shook his head. "She's about to find out how bad her wish is."

"Where is Cadet Tate?" Silverback yelled.

"Oh," Syd said. "He left for an urgent meeting."

"Why wasn't I informed?" Silverback yelled.

Before any of them could answer, Silverback stomped his foot on the floor loudly. Murphy, who had been sitting at his side, quickly hopped a few feet away to avoid being stepped on.

"We'll go ahead," Bridge said. "Sky will hurry once he knows what's happening."

The others nodded and lined up together in front of the control console.

"Ready?" Bridge shouted.

"Ready!" Syd, Z and Quinn responded.

"S.P.D. Emergency!" the four shouted.

Within seconds, the morphed Rangers were out of the Command Center. Silverback walked over to another station that handled communications. He pulled up the frequency for Sky's morpher. His finger was about to press the alert button, but then he hesitated. Silverback had a curious glance, as he walked back to the main control console and watched the Rangers' arrival at the park to confront Oartha. At his side, Murphy let out a slight robotic whimper. Silverback looked down, seeing the large question mark appear on Murphy's facial readout.

In the park, Oartha had her next targets in mind. Two women had been jogging in the park, wearing headphones. They hadn't heard the screaming of the other visitors. By the time the two noticed the fleeing park pedestrians, it was too late.

"Well, hello ladies! Wanna join the party?" Oartha yelled.

She opened her mouth wide, with a cackling laugh that caused a slick white webbing to shoot from her mouth and land on the two joggers. They fell to the ground screaming. Oartha got closer to the duo, when she heard voices yelling from behind her.

"Leave them alone!" the Yellow Ranger shouted.

Oartha turned to see the four S.P.D. Rangers staring her down.

"Well, well. It took you long enough," Oartha shouted.

"Syd, Z, go help those people," Bridge ordered from beneath his helmet, before nodding to Quinn. "We'll take her!"

The Blue and Green Rangers launched a dual attack, with their Deltamax Strikers drawn in sword mode. Bridge attacked from the front, going for a swiping attack across the monster's chest, but Oartha blocked the shot. The Green Ranger took to the air, coming down with a slashing strike, which she also blocked. Both Rangers went in for attacks, but Oartha popped Quinn in the stomach, knocking him backwards. She blocked another attack by Bridge and swiped her green arm at his chest, causing him to fly to the ground in a flash of sparks. The Green Ranger attacked again, but met the same fate.

A few feet away, the Yellow Ranger used her Deltamax Striker sword to swipe away the white webbing that trapped the couple. Several feet away, the Pink Ranger was accomplishing the same task with the two trapped joggers.

"Hurry! Get to safety," Syd yelled.

The two woman ran off. While the Yellow Ranger was helping the couple get to their feet to escape, the Pink Ranger turned back to Oartha, only to find her staring her down.

"You've crossed the wrong female today!" Oartha yelled.

Syd drew her Deltamax Striker sword up for an attack, but Oartha raised her arms high, causing the silver spikes on them to shoot out at the Pink Ranger, lighting her up in a barrage of sparks. She went flying to the ground, where the other Rangers joined her.

"This is not going well," Z said, from beneath her helmet.

"We've got to keep it together until Sky gets here," Quinn said.

Bridge helped Syd up off the ground.

"Okay guys, let's do this," Bridge said aloud, taking charge. "Deltamax Strikers, laser mode!"

The four Rangers all transformed their pistols into their most powerful mode. They all fired at Oartha at once. The blasts sent the plant-spider hybrid alien flying into the air. However, when she landed on the ground, she rolled right back to her feet. Oartha took to the air, shooting her spikes down on the Rangers again. The attack sent all four Rangers flying into the air, sparking with damage. They all soon crashed to the ground.

A hundred miles away from that battle, Sky found himself in the home of Zachal. The Barconian man led him into a small room in the back of his house. He turned on a light and Sky smiled. The first thing he noticed was Zachal's old S.P.D. uniform hanging on the wall. Sky couldn't help but reach out and touch the green suit.

"I bet that brings back a lot of memories," Sky said to Zachal.

"It does. That's one of the reasons I rarely come in here," Zachal said.

Sky knew he was telling the truth when he felt the dust on his fingers from the suit. While Sky was looking around at things in the room, Zachal seemed to be searching for something. He found a small box and opened it up.

"Take a look at this," Zachal stated.

Sky walked over to him and looked at the photograph Zachal retrieved from the box. It was a posed photograph of the five members of his father's S.P.D. team, standing in front of S.P.D. Headquarters.

"The base was brand new back then," Zachal said.

"That's great," Sky said.

"So, you didn't tell me what it is you wanted to know about your father," Zachal said.

"Well, it's kind of complicated. I'm sure you've heard about all the violence in Newtech City, thanks to an escaped criminal named Omallix?" Sky spoke.

"Yes. It's hard not to hear, even all the way out here in the middle of nowhere," Zachal said. "It's terrible."

"Did you know that my father arrested Omallix, fifteen years ago?" Sky asked.

"I retired a few years before that. I wasn't privy to the investigation," Zachal said, looking confused.

"Well, my mother told me that you and Nathan kept in touch. You guys were good friends," Sky said. "I thought maybe he had mentioned it to you."

"No. Nathan got very private in his final years. He pulled away from everyone at S.P.D., except for Ellie," Zachal revealed.

"Ellie Gray?" Sky asked.

"Yes," Zachal said, as he pointed to the Yellow Ranger in the photograph. "That's her. They were close, the best of friends. He took things very hard when Silas died. Silas Jacobs was the Blue Ranger on our team. Nathan blamed himself, thinking his leadership was at fault, but it wasn't anyone's fault. Silas ran into a building trying to save a little girl. A bomb went off. We were all changed after that."

He pointed to the morphed Pink Ranger in the photograph.

"Darby took it bad as well. She retired a few weeks later and moved to Mirinoi. She didn't even go to the memorial service. Ellie retired the next year. After that, it was just me and Nathan. Cruger was training cadets as fast as he could to promote them to officer's status. We knew our time was coming to an end," Zachal explained.

"I finally decided to give it up. I tried to convince Nathan to do the same, thing, but he was so adamant about continuing on, in Silas' memory," Zachal said. "Nathan never mentioned Omallix to me. I think he was a little upset that I decided to retire. I owed him a lot. He made me feel at home here on Earth. If it wasn't for your father, I probably would have left Earth. But, here I am, still here."

Sky looked a bit disappointed.

"You wouldn't happen to know about him deleting some of his personal logs?" Sky asked.

"No. Doesn't seem like Nathan though. Although, the last few years, he did seem a bit more erratic. I'm sorry I couldn't help him more. Ellie and I talked about that a lot after he died. We all felt a little guilty, thinking that maybe if we had stayed around, we might have been able to convince him to slow down. I'm sorry you had to grow up without a father," Zachal said, somberly.

"Thank you," Sky said, as he sighed. "I'm still left with major questions. Why did he delete those logs and how did he capture Omallix all those years ago?"

At that moment, Sky's morpher sounded. He pulled out the device.

"This is Tate. Go."

"Cadet Tate!" Silverback's yelling voice pierced Sky's ears. "We are under an emergency. Your team needs you. Get your butt back here, now!"

Sky's frown from hearing Silverback matched his worried feelings. His friends were in trouble and he was almost two hours away.

On the battlefield, the four Rangers were regrouping. Bridge & Z flew into the air, landing on both sides of Oartha. They grabbed at her arms, to prevent another spike attack. In front of her, the Pink and Green Rangers had their Deltamax Strikers drawn in laser mode. The two fired on Oartha, but she unleashed yet another attack from her arms. The tips of her green arms shot heavy vines, which she used to latch around the Blue & Yellow Rangers, pulling them closer to her chest, as shields.

The laser blasts collided with the two Rangers, instead of her. Syd & Quinn immediately holstered their weapons and ran to their fallen comrades, trying to help them up. Oartha, however, was still watching closely. She let out her cackling scream, which caused the thick webbing to shoot from her mouth and cover all four of the Rangers. The Rangers screamed, as the webbing tried to burn through their suits, as it smoked and sizzled.

"I can't break free!" Z yelled.

"It's too strong," Syd added.

"I can't reach my Striker," Bridge yelled.

"What are we gonna do?" Quinn said.

Aboard Omallix's base, Charlie strolled down the second floor hallway purposefully. She was carrying a large flatscreen viewing monitor. She keyed in her access code to enter Felix's laboratory. She found the doctor sitting on the examination table that had been previously used to strengthen Oartha. He hopped off of it, as he saw Charlie.

He watched as Charlie set up the monitor, plugging it into a power outlet. She turned it on and Felix was upset, as he saw Oartha's last attack on the four B-Squad Rangers.

"Oh no," Felix sighed. "Do I have to see this?"

"Probably not, but I do enjoy the view. Omallix felt that you might want to see your efforts at work. It certainly looks like Oartha might destroy the Rangers," Charlie said, as she took a deep breath.

"Feels a little good," Charlie said. She walked over running her hand on the monitor. "You can keep this. Oh, and I'll be back once the battle's over. We can discuss how to kill you, unless you've decided to fight for yourself."

Charlie left Felix alone in the laboratory. He heard the door's locking mechanism after Charlie's departure. Felix couldn't help but move closer to the monitor. He gave a deep sigh.

"Come on, Rangers," he said quietly, hoping they would survive.

On the battlefield, Oartha continued to laugh incessantly at the predicament of the Rangers. The four of them were trapped in her webbing and she continued to pile more on. Inside the thick white substance, the four B-Squad Rangers were all groaning in pain.

"I think it's starting to melt through my suit," Syd yelled.

"We gotta do something!" Z yelled.

"I got it!" Bridge yelled. "It's time to kick it up a notch!"

"S.P.D., S.W.A.T.!"

In an instant, Bridge was decked out in his S.W.A.T. armor. With his Delta Enforcer in hand, he aimed at the webbing and fired wildly, causing the white substance to break away. The other three Rangers were still struggling to get to their feet. He went on the offensive, alone, against Oartha. He fired his Delta Enforcer repeatedly, but the alien jumped into the air to avoid the shots. He took off, launching himself into the sky as well. Oartha shot off one of her vines, grabbing a hold of the Delta Enforcer.

As Bridge struggled to keep his grip on it, he found himself grabbed by her other arm's vine. The Blue Ranger was forced to let go of his Delta Enforcer, as he was ripped away from it. Oartha landed on the ground and began cackling in victory once again. Then, she was shot from three different directions, causing her to drop the Blue Ranger and his weapon. The other three Rangers joined him, now wearing their S.W.A.T. armor as well. They helped Bridge to his feet.

"Thanks guys," Bridge said. "This floral fiend is brutal!"

"We can take her!" Z yelled. "We just have to do it together."

Bridge scooped up his Delta Enforcer and went running towards the creature, followed by the Yellow and Green Rangers. The Pink Ranger stayed behind long enough to ask a question.

"Where are you, Sky?" Syd said to herself, as she went running off to join her comrades.

The doors to Kat's laboratory opened and Isinia Cruger walked in. She saw Kat hunched over a monitor at her desk. Isinia walked closer, seeing what she was looking at.

"How are the Rangers doing?" Isinia asked.

"They're struggling. I can't seem to find any weaknesses in this new monster. I know it's Hortucian, but that species has never been known to be this powerful," Kat explained, as she looked up at Isinia. "What's wrong?"

"I was just curious," Isinia said. "I can't really go strolling into the Command Center to find out now that my husband's not the boss."

"He is the boss. He's just got a bigger office," Kat said, as her eyes veered back to the battle playing out.

"I guess that's true. Speaking of offices, I'm surprised you're here and not in the Command Center yourself," Isinia said, curiously.

"I feel that my duties are better performed here," Kat said. "All of my tools and equipment is here. I'm able to monitor the battle from here too, so it all works out. Commander Silverback agrees."

"Kat, I'm worried," Isinia said.

"The Rangers will pull through," she replied.

"I mean that I'm worried about you," Isinia said. "It isn't like you to hideout in your lab, while there's trouble."

"Isinia, I'm trying to focus on my work right now. I don't have time to debate my behavior. I'm just trying to do my job," Kat said, sternly.

Isinia sighed, as she saw Kat's eyes now completely focused on the Rangers' battle. She turned and exited the laboratory. Kat looked over to the doors for a second, as they closed behind Isinia. She sighed.

On the battlefield, Oartha sent another barrage of spike attacks at the Blue and Yellow Rangers, but they managed to flip away from them. Both fired their Delta Enforcers, which caused Oartha to stagger.

"You're under arrest," the Pink Ranger yelled behind her.

Oartha turned, quickly, cackling loudly. She sent the webbing from her mouth shooting at the Pink Ranger. Just in the nick of time, the Green Ranger dove at her, preventing the white hot substance from connecting with his teammate.

"Thanks," Syd yelled to him.

They joined their two teammates and all trained their Delta Enforcers on Oartha.

Aboard Omallix's base, the evil villain was watching things play out. Cartiron, Jintari and Charlie were all present, watching the battle on the large viewscreen in the throne room.

"I don't think so," Omallix growled, before turning to Jintari, who was standing at his station. "Jintari, it's time to make Oartha into an even bigger girl!"

Jintari nodded, as he worked his station's controls and accessed the growing ray that was aboard the base. He knew that making the monster grow, would only enhance her strengths even more. He had a feeling the Rangers were done for.

Within seconds, the red ray of energy shot towards Earth, penetrating Oartha's skin, before the Rangers could fire their Delta Enforcers. Oartha exploded into a cloud of smoke and the Rangers found themselves staring at a very large monster. The Blue Ranger grabbed his morpher and activated the communications panel.

"Kat, we need the Flyers!" Bridge yelled, as the Yellow Ranger leaned in over his shoulder.

"And Sky!" she added.

Inside her laboratory, Kat activated the S.W.A.T. Flyers controls from her computer terminal.

"The Flyers are on the way, Rangers!" Kat yelled to them.

"Where's Sky?" Jack asked, loudly, as he watched the battle play out on Dr. Sevarus' medical monitor, which he rigged to access the Command Center's viewing systems.

He didn't know the answer to his question. He stood up from Dr. Sevarus' desk and started pacing the room. He lifted his left wrist close to his face. He stared at the Omega morpher there, embedded in his arm. Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

The doors to the Infirmary slid open and Dr. Sevarus walked in, seeing Jack standing in the middle of the floor with his morpher wrist raised.

"Thinking about doing something spontaneous?" Sevarus asked.

"I have to get rid of this," Jack said finally. "I don't care what it takes. I want it gone."

"Jack, it's too dangerous," Sevarus said. "Think of your friends and how they would feel if something more happened to you."

"I can't think about them," Jack yelled. "Not now."

He looked over at Piggy, laying comatose.

"I can't think about the future," Jack said.

"Well, I'm not performing any surgeries until you've had a chance to think about what you're doing," Sevarus said, before leaving the Infirmary again.

Jack took a deep breath, as he walked back to the monitor and saw the four S.W.A.T. Flyers firing on Oartha.

"Okay guys. Let's keep it together," Bridge said from the cockpit of S.W.A.T. Flyer 2.

The blue flyer made a pass around the enlarged Oartha, joining the other three. All four vehicles fired their lasers at the same time, hitting Oartha, but doing little damage to her.

"Try again, Rangers!" Oartha yelled, as she sent her fiery spikes at the flyers, hitting both the yellow and blue flyers.

"I'm hit," Z yelled, as her Flyer began spinning out of formation.

As she gained her bearings on the controls, Bridge struggled to do the same, as the S.W.A.T. Flyer 2 grazed the side of a building, causing damage to one of its wings.

"Uh oh," Bridge said, from beneath his helmet.

He could hear the alarms going off around him. He called out, knowing Kat could hear him.

"Kat, I'm hit!" Bridge yelled.

In her laboratory, Kat scrambled to another monitor, which scanned the flyer. She ran back to her regular monitor.

"Bridge, it's not a fatal shot," Kat yelled. "You ruptured your back left laser cannon. The build up of laser energy is what's causing you to lose control. You'll have to divert the energy to your right cannon."

"Okay," Bridge said, sounding confused. "How do I do that again?"

"You can access the cannon controls from the panel beneath your cockpit controls. You should be able to reach it from where you are," Kat said.

"I'm trying," Bridge said, as he reached out his right hand, but could only graze the panel with his fingertips. "I think this cockpit was built for someone with longer arms."

"It was!" Kat yelled. "But, Sky's not in there. You are."

"I'm gonna have to unlock my harness," Bridge said.

"Bridge, no!" Kat yelled. "That's too dangerous."

"Cadet Carson, do not remove that harness! That is an order!" Silverback's stern voice came bursting through.

Bridge kept trying to reach the panel. Inside the Command Center, Silverback's eyes were entranced on the battle. While he kept an eye on the three S.W.A.T. Flyers battling with Oartha, he made sure to keep focused on the blue Flyer, which was still moving erratically. The doors to the Command Center slid open and Sky came running in.

"Sir, what's happening?" Sky asked.

"What's happening is that you're team is getting creamed, Tate! Where have you been?" Silverback yelled.

"I had an urgent meeting, regarding my father's logs dealing with Omallix," Sky said. "I feel that they might be able to help us defeat him."

"Right now your team needs to defeat a monster!" Silverback yelled, angrily. "How about some focus on that?"

"I'm outta here," Sky said, as he grabbed his morpher. "S.P.D., S.W.A.T.!"

Within seconds, S.W.A.T. Flyer 1 was on the scene, firing a barrage of laser attacks at Oartha. The creature sent her vines flying out at the red Flyer, but they were stopped by laser attacks from S.W.A.T. Flyers 4 and 5.

"Thanks," Sky yelled from his cockpit.

"No problem," Syd said. "You got here just in time."

"Bridge could use some help," Z added.

"I'm on it," Sky said. "Keep her busy."

Inside the Infirmary, Jack watched the latest developments and the Red Ranger's arrival at the battle.

"It's about time," Jack said quietly to himself.

He stood up and began pacing the room again, until his eyes caught sight of Piggy. Jack sighed, as he walked over to his comatose friend and looked down at him. Jack shook his head, negatively, seeing the machines helping Piggy to breathe.

"None of this is right," Jack said out loud. "You shouldn't be here, Piggy. I shouldn't be here. This is just all wrong."

Jack closed his eyes tight, as he thought about Ally and the day at Luna Province where he planned to pop the question. It was so hard to remember the good time they were having, before that wall of fire took his love away from him. He remembered talking to Piggy on the phone and ordering him to get to Luna Province before sunset. Jack shook his head, realizing that he might have sentenced Piggy to death if he had been there on time.

"I'm sorry," Jack said to Piggy. "It's my fault you're in here. I was being selfish and I made you go out there and Ally too. It's my fault she's dead and there's nothing I can do about it."

On the battlefield, the blue S.W.A.T. Flyer was on it's way towards the ground, as Bridge took his eyes off the cockpit window to focus on the control panel that he still couldn't reach. He looked out the front window and saw he was getting closer to the ground below. Then, he felt something under him.

"Did I crash into something?" He asked aloud to no one in particular.

"Just trying to help you out, buddy."

Bridge heard Sky's voice and he looked out his windows, trying to see S.W.A.T. Flyer 1, but he couldn't. He used his onboard scanners to detect the flyer, which he now knew was underneath his flyer, holding it up.

"Kat says you've got a malfunction?" Sky wondered. "Think you can fix it?"

"I'm on it," Bridge said, as he unlocked his harness.

"Cadet Carson, no!" Silverback's voice came shouting over the communications systems.

"Bridge, that's not a good idea," Kat added, from her laboratory.

"Just tell me what to do," Bridge yelled, as he reached down and opened the panel.

"Okay," Kat said. "There should be a row of buttons. The far right and far left buttons should be red."

"The far right button is red, but the one on the left is yellow," Bridge told her.

"Okay, you're going to have to reroute the energy from the yellow side to the red side," Kat told him, as she began giving him specifics to get it done.

Given the small space inside his cockpit. Bridge couldn't really see inside the panel. His right hand was doing all of the work, while he had his other hand grasping the S.W.A.T. flyer's controls. Outside the cockpit, Sky kept his flyer steady, as he was right below Bridge's flyer, keeping both crafts from swerving too much. Nearby, however, the rest of the Rangers weren't faring well.

Oartha spit her webbing at the pink S.W.A.T. Flyer. The burning substance caused sparks and smoke to invade Syd's cockpit. She tried to hold her flyer steady.

"I can't see a thing!" She yelled.

"I'm coming," Quinn shouted from S.W.A.T. Flyer 3.

He swooped in close to Syd's flyer.

"I'm going to try to blast it off," Quinn said.

From inside his flyer's cockpit, Sky heard Quinn's suggestion.

"No!" Sky yelled. "That's too dangerous."

"Quinn, look out!" Z yelled, as she saw Oartha going for another vine attack.

The yellow S.W.A.T. Flyer whizzed by to warn him, but got caught by the vine instead. Oartha used her other arm to send a separate vine straight at the green S.W.A.T. Flyer as well, catching hold to both of them. From his cockpit, Sky could see this all going down. He had to help them.

"Bridge, you have to hurry!" Sky yelled.

"I'm almost done," Bridge said. "Just go!"

"Are you steady?" Sky asked.

There was silence.

"Bridge, are you steady?" Sky asked again.

"Yes," Bridge said.

In a second, the red S.W.A.T. Flyer was gone. Sky zoomed towards Oartha, blasting her arms, causing her to release the yellow & green flyers, before she could target them with her spikes. To keep Syd from being hit as well, Sky shouted out an order.

"Syd, sweep down 2 meters, now!"

The pink S.W.A.T. Flyer dropped out of the way of the barrage of spiked weapons. Sky used his flyer's tractoring system to grab the webbing off of the pink S.W.A.T. flyer. The four Flyers all joined together, firing their lasers at the same time. The blasts took Oartha down to the ground.

"It's time to bring the flyers together!" Sky shouted.

It was at that moment that he realized Bridge wasn't in formation. He looked out his cockpit, searching for S.W.A.T. Flyer 2. Then, he saw it. Bridge's flyer had crashed to the ground.

"Bridge!" Sky yelled. "Bridge, can you hear me? Kat, what's his status?"

"I don't know," Kat yelled from her laboratory. "He's not answering. The Flyer seems to have taken minimal damage."

"Can they still form the S.W.A.T. Flyer Cannon?" Silverback shouted.

"Yes," Kat said. "Bridge's flyer took heavy damage to its underbelly and to the weapons systems, but it should still form."

"Do it, Tate!" Silverback screamed.

"What about Bridge?" Sky asked.

"That monster is the bigger priority!" Silverback yelled. "Manx will control S.W.A.T. Flyer 2 by remote."

"Yes sir," Kat called out.

Sky let out an angered yell, before pulling his flyer towards the others, who had been keeping Oartha down with some laser shots from their flyers. They formed the S.W.A.T. Flyer Cannon and took aim, as Oartha got to her feet.

"Fire!" the four Rangers called out.

Within moments, Oartha was caught in a huge explosion, with nothing left by a containment card. From inside his laboratory onboard Omallix's base, Felix saw all of this play out. The sight of the containment card falling from the explosion seemed to cause a lightbulb to turn on in his brain.

"Oh my god," Felix said, with a smile. "That's it!"

Inside the Infirmary, Sky entered to find Jack.

"Hey," he said somberly.

"Hey," Jack responded.

"Did you see what happened out there?" Sky asked.

Jack nodded.

"You did what you could," Jack said.

"I'm not so sure," Sky said. "I never should have left Bridge."

"He told you to go."

"I'm Squad leader. I should have stayed. I'm losing my focus. I'm so preoccupied with this stuff with my dad that I let them all down out there," Sky stated.

"There was nothing more you could have done," Jack said, as his eyes veered off towards Piggy. "Maybe there's nothing more any of us can do to stop fate."

The doors to the Infirmary slid open and Bridge was wheeled in on a gurney, looking unconscious, under a white sheet, in his cadet's uniform. Z, Syd & Quinn entered, following the orderlies and Dr. Sevarus. Z walked right over to Jack, giving him a hug, as she looked extremely worried about Bridge. Quinn was closer to Dr. Sevarus.

"Is he gonna be all right?" he asked him.

"He suffered some serious lacerations and his right arm took the most damage," Sevarus explained, as he walked over to the bed and pulled down the sheet. "It appeared that when his Flyer crashed, his right arm was still inside the panel. There was nothing we could do to save the arm."

Gasps were heard from everyone present. Bridge's right arm was gone. There was nothing left by the sleeve of his uniform. Z planted her head in Jack's shoulder, turning away from the sight. Quinn lowered his head. Jack raised his own arm, which he had volunteered to lose and glanced at the morpher stuck to it. Syd instinctively moved her hand to Sky's, squeezing it tightly.

THE END