Even though it had been a week, it still hadn't sunk in for the Rangers. In a matter of hours, the forces of Jark Matter descending from space, SPD branding them Criminals. The two rangers had continued everyday, hoping that they would find other rangers. But other than a few spare electronic parts, they had found nothing.
Yesterday their routine had been interrupted by the appearance of a space ship. It had been shot down high above the Earth and crash landed near the outskirts of Angel Grove. In a bizarre twist of fate, the pilot was another ranger, the yellow ranger. The team didn't know what to make of Steven. He was direct and blunt, almost bordering on rude. He was also extremely anti-social, ending their conversation yesterday by walking back into his ship and leaving the team alone in the desert.
The teens didn't know why they had come back today to help the yellow ranger. Maybe they felt guilty about leaving a fellow ranger alone on a strange planet. Whatever the reasons, the Rangers pulled up alongside the wreckage of Steven's ship in Tori's car. The yellow ranger had been busy overnight, fixing most of the damage to the rear of his ship. The front end was still quite badly damaged though so clearly the red ranger wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.
As the teens approached the ship, the rear door was open, "Should we knock?" Kelsey asked everyone.
"Not sure, he didn't appear to want us around yesterday", Jessi replied.
"Maybe he's a little lonely", Tori added.
Jessi snorted, "Perhaps you should go and keep him company then", the girl blushed in response.
"Well we won't get any answers standing out here", Kelsey said to the others. Walking slowly through the main door, the teen's jaws dropped as they got their first glimpse at Steven's ship. The corridors were plain grey, interrupted occasionally by a pair of sliding doors. There was no sign of Steven so they moved further into the ship. They paused briefly outside the engine room to marvel at the sheer size of the crafts engines. Periodically the teens felt like they were being watched as they could hear a mechanical buzzing echoing through the corridors.
After getting lost in the identical corridors a few times, they eventually arrived on what they assumed to be the bridge of the ship. There were two standalone consoles in the middle of the room, all covered with various controls that meant nothing to the teens. Around the room were more control panels and viewing screens and directly in front of the teens was a central window, giving them a view outside the ship. As they looked around, Tori noticed Steven's uniform jacket hanging on the back of what she assumed was the captain's chair, "He's around somewhere", she called out to the others as she gently touched the item of clothing.
The others though weren't that interested, they were too busy admiring the technology on display, "Look at this", Kelsey said to Jessi as the pair looked over the main flight controls, "I wonder where this all came from", Jessi replied.
"The main space harbour on KO-35", a voice stated. They turned around and saw Steven walking onto the bridge, "my planet has some of the best ship builders in the galaxy". He brushed past Tori with barely a glance and retrieved his jacket, "I wasn't expecting visitors today", he added.
"Look man we're sorry for breaking onto your ship", Kelsey began, "we just want some answers".
"Jark Matter", Jessi added, "and I think you know something about them".
Steven didn't respond and walked over to one of the consoles on the wall of the bridge. After pushing a few buttons an image began to play. It was the leather suited female and the black and green creature that had attacked, "Her name's Trakena and the monster beside her is Metal Alice.".
"Who are they?" Kelsey asked.
Steven glared at the red ranger, as if to say he was coming to that part, "Jark Matter is made up of a number of groups, each with their own agenda. Some of them have found their way to Earth, like Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. Others like Trakena have focused their efforts on other planets on the edge of the galaxy". Steven paused for a moment as his jaw clenched, like he was trying to supress a painful memory.
"The Don is the head of Jark Matter", Steven continued. The next image was of the Don. The teens gasped, "Rumour has it that he once destroyed an entire planet with a single blow".
"I can believe that", Jessi stated Steven arched an eyebrow in surprise. The yellow ranger waited for another smart comment from the others but none was forthcoming. Steven though wasn't in a joking mood, "This isn't a laughing matter and nor is a game", he snapped.
"Calm down", Tori soothed.
The yellow ranger took a few deep breathes before continuing, "I'm sorry but Jark Matter has done more to harm peace in the galaxy in the last few years than Dark Specter managed in centuries. They've conquered hundreds of planets and been responsible for the deaths of millions of people", he paused before continuing, "included many on my home planet". Almost instinctively Tori was by his side but Steven flinched at her touch like he had been electrocuted.
"So what would you like us to do?" Kelsey asked.
"Nothing", Steven replied, much to the surprise of the rangers, "this is my fight and I fight alone". He shut down the on screen images and began to fiddle idly with some controls.
"Look You cant do this alone", Jessi began
"I told you I was fine", Steven snapped, "now if you'll excuse me, I need to run a systems diagnostics check". The rangers were reluctant to leave but after a few moments, Kelsey led them off the bridge. Once Steven was sure they were gone, he ran his hands through his hair in frustration and lent back in his chair.
"They could have been a great help Steven", the ships computer called out.
Stevn sighed, "I know DECA but its best if I do this by myself. I've already lost one team, I don't want to lose another". The computer didn't respond and left Andros to his systems check.
On another part of the ship, the rangers were trying to find a way out, "This damn place is a maze", Kelsey grumbled, "and what's that guys problem, all we did was offer to help him".
"I dunno but he knows more than he's letting on", Jessi replied.
"At the risk of sounding like a Star Wars cliché, I sense much anger in him", Tori added.
The teens finally found the cargo bay doors and stepped back out into the desert. They took another look around the ship, "We're not just going to leave him though are we?" Tori asked.
"By the sounds of it he doesn't want us around", Jessi replied.
Kelsey thought about this for a few moments, "He's going to need supplies at some point which means he's going to need to head into the nearest town".
"Which just to happens to be Angel Grove", Jessi added, picking up on her friend's thought.
"Exactly, so for now we head back to the ship", Kelsey said, "in a few days time, if we haven't seen Steven around then we'll return back here". The others nodded in agreement before returning back to Tori's car. The blue jeep's engine fired into life and sped off across the desert, kicking up a sand cloud behind them. None of them looked back at the Ship, if they had though, they would've seen a figure standing in the doorway. He looked at the car in disappointment before he headed back inside.
-Warrior's way-
High above the planet, the Earth had acquired a new orbiting satellite. It was a circular disk with communication towers and docking ports sticking out into space. The craft was grey in colour unless its cloaking system was engaged. It would then disappear into space, briefly leaving behind a green line pattern in the darkness.
Inside the Warrior's way, The Don Lady Gaga sat on her throne and looked down at the planet. After the yellow ranger had crashed her initiation ceremony, she had tracked him to this corner of the galaxy. Her fighters had damaged his ship and caused it to crash onto the surface below. The warlord wondered what the chances were of the ranger crashing on a planet that she had attacked just a few days before. He must've gone to check on Gosei, how foolish of him she thought.
Lady Gaga had ordered the ranger's execution at the earliest available opportunity and she knew that she could just descend to the surface below and kill him at any time. He didn't have his ship, or any backup, it would be easy. Perhaps a little too easy. Since a young age Lady Gaga had been instilled a sense of honour in her. A number of generals found this slightly strange, as a rule evil didn't usually go hand in hand with honour. Her argument was that defeating a fully armed and prepared enemy would crush their spirit even more when they were inevitably defeated. Plus destroying a weakened enemy, where was the fun in that?
"Is something troubling you my Lady?" Drake asked as he carefully approached her throne.
"Just thinking", she replied, "why would the yellow ranger remain on this planet? He has no allies on this planet. In the past when we've fought, he normally leaves the surface within a matter of hours".
"Perhaps his ship is extensively damaged", Drake offered as a suggestion.
"Come on Drake, you know as well as I do how strong they build ships on KO-35", she began. "I'm still picking up his life signs so unfortunately he isn't dead", She stood up and walked a little closer to the viewing screen, "Perhaps we were too hasty to declare the power rangers dead".
"We haven't picked up their morphing signatures though", Drake replied, "I'll have the Quantrons keep an eye on the situation but for now I suggest you get some rest".
"Yes it has been a long day hasn't it", Lady Gaga responded with a stretch, "call me if anything changes". Leaving Drake behind she covered the short distance to her chambers in a matter of seconds. Once the door was secure, Lady Gaga looked in her mirror and allowed her hair to return to its natural state, shoulder length blonde. No one had seen her with her natural look in over a decade.
She inspected her eyes and they were more bloodshot than usual. When Don Armitage had named her his successor, he had infused her with some of his own power. Lady Gaga did feel more powerful but strange at the same time. She was getting tired quicker and also having some weird dreams. Shaking this off as a side effect of Armitage's power, she sat on the edge of her bed and unzipped her boots before removing her leather gloves. As she drifted off to sleep, her final thoughts were about the yellow ranger and now satisfying it would be to end his life, once and for all.