Chapter 7 – Forever Red
October 3 2002 – The Moon
A bright red light filled a dark corner of the old Moon Palace as the red rangers teleported down from the Astro Megaship. At the head of the pack was Cole Evans, still slightly bemused at being appointed the squad leader for the assault. "Looks like some kind of factory", Wes whispered from his position near the back of the queue.
The Red Time Force Ranger was correct, the group had landed at the edge of a large room with a golden colouring floor. There were several large machines doted around which looked like they had been cobbled together from pieces of scrap metal. In the far corner they could see a ramp that led down to the planet's surface, "They look like the remains of the mining equipment that Psycho Red and Yellow left behind", TJ stated.
"Why were two Psycho Rangers mining on the Moon", Carter asked.
"A demented plan of Psycho Red's", Andros replied, "he used the magical residue that was underneath the surface to give himself a power boost".
"Any chance that Venjix has done the same thing?" Tommy questioned the Red Space Ranger.
Andros thought this for a moment, "Unlikely, Red mined the place to exhaustion. Plus he blew up the excavation zone in an attempt to kill us".
"Good times", TJ smiled, "we need to get through as quickly and as silently as we can".
Cole nodded in agreement and slowly looked around the corner. Unfortunately he could see that they were completely surrounded. There were Cogs up on the raised gantry that went around the room along with several guarding the exit. The second they left their sheltered spot, they would be seen, "What's it look like rookie", Jason whispered to the Red Wild Force Ranger.
"Not good", he began, "there's Cogs up top that will instantly alert their friend's to our presence".
A few silent looks were exchanged between the red rangers and they were all thinking the same thing, they were trapped, "Alright Cole, so what's the plan?" Tommy asked.
For a brief moment, Cole had a 'deer in the headlights' expression appear across his face. Their infiltration was not going the way they practiced and he was found himself wondering how he ended up in this position.
Flashback – 4 hours ago
"I'm sorry you want me to what?" Cole exclaimed.
After their enforced period of separation, all of the red ranger's gathered in the situation room to discuss their options. The day that had been lost to allow their tempers to cool proved costly as the Megaship's sensors showed that the Neo Plutonium had been activated. It was only a matter of time until Serpenterra was free and flying towards Earth. That meant that the rangers needed to act and quickly.
There was a quickly round of silent and murmured apologies, some more genuine than others, when the red rangers reconvened that morning. Ironically the fight had released some of the tension amongst the group and they agreed to at least remain civil with each other until the end of the mission. A hasty plan of attack which involved a small strike team that tackle the tricky task of neutralising the reactor whilst the rest kept the Cogs and the Generals at bay. All they needed now was a team leader and to everyone's surprise, Carter immediately nominated the newest red ranger. "It's the only sensible option", the Red Lightspeed Ranger explained, "like it or not, all of us have our formed our sides and are dealing with our own issues. The only truly neutral person we have is Cole".
"He's right", Leo added, "if the rest of us gave an order there's a chance that someone wouldn't listen to it".
Tommy leaned back in his chair and sighed, "How has it come to this, that a group of rangers can't trust each other?"
"That's something we'll have to worry about later because we're running out of time", Jason added before looking at Cole, "what do you say rookie, are you ready for this?" Cole looked around at the expectant faces of his peers and nodded slowly in agreement.
Present
For the second time that day, Cole saw that expectant look on his fellow red rangers faces. They were looking to him to come up with a great plan to evade the Machine Empire's welcoming committee. Unfortunately for them, he only had one idea, "We're going to have to charge in", he stated.
Eric chuckled, "I knew I liked you kid", he stretched his arms slightly, "sometimes the brute force approach is the only option".
"But we're going to be clever about it", Cole interrupted the Quantum Ranger, "Carter you're the best one with a blaster so I need you up top providing cover", the Lightspeed Ranger nodded in confirmation, "take Andros and Aurico with you, they'll be the best to help you clear a path".
"What about the rest of us?" Tommy asked.
"Like Eric said, sometimes brute force is the only option", Cole smiled.
"We need to do this quickly", Jason added, "or at the very least we need to stop them from reaching Serpenterra".
"Everyone know what they're doing?" Cole said and everyone nodded in agreement. He thrust his fist forward and one by one, the other red ranger's followed suit. There was one final defiant nod before the ten red rangers charged into the room.
Carter, Andros and Aurico immediately headed for the staircase, knocking Cogs out the way in the process. The attack had come so quickly that the footsoldiers didn't have any time to react. Aurico had called on his Aquitar Blade and cut down the first wave of troop that were coming down the stair. With a quick thrust of his blade, he pierced the chest compartment of the Cog nearest to him.
Andros breathed a sigh of relief when they reached the top of the stairs, now he was on a flat surface he could bring his martial arts into play. He sprinted for the corner of the gantry and nailed a dropkick on the Cog guarding the area. With the metal man broken into pieces, he kicked a couple of parts into the faces of a couple of his friends that were heading his way. In their confusion, the Cogs caught the pieces of their fallen comrade leaving them open to Andros's attack. He grabbed hold of a supporting pole and swung around, knocked them over the edge and down to the ground, "I think that's the last of them", he called out to the other two.
"Great I should be able to pick them off from here", Carter replied. He took aim at several Cogs on the floor below and fired off four consecutive shots. All of his shots pierced the Cogs through the head, instantly disabling them.
"Good shooting", Aurico praised his fellow red ranger. The Aquitian held his position on the staircase, preventing anyone from reaching his colleague. That didn't stop six Cogs from trying though, "Good thing I'm well hydrated", he muttered to himself as a small water sphere formed in his hand. He tossed it into the air and using the flat end of his sword, he knocked it into the oncoming robots. The water overloaded their electronics and the Cogs tumbled back down the stairs in a shower of sparks.
"That's a new trick", Andros said to Aurico, he now had an Astro Blaster in hand and was helping Carter provide covering fire to the other red rangers.
"Unlike dogs, old Aquitians can be taught new tricks", Aurico joked.
Down on the floor the remaining seven red rangers were ploughing through the remaining footsoldiers. They were kept on their toes by the laser fire coming in from the gantry but they had to trust that Carter and Andros wouldn't shoot to near to them. Despite the animosity between the Red Space Ranger and the two oldest rangers, they did trust him enough not to shoot them. Discarding his leather jacket, Jason charged in against a pair of Cogs and quickly dispatched them with a split leg kick, "Feels good to finally get out of the training room", he said.
"Tell me about it", Tommy replied as he decapitated a Cog with a tornado kick. He ducked underneath a punch from another robot and kicked it straight in the stomach. It hit the nearby wall and broke apart on impact, "I forgot how much fun it was taking these things apart".
Tommy was so busy congratulating himself that he didn't notice a Cog sneaking up behind him with its weapon ready to fire. Just as it fired, its arm was knocked away by the timely boot of the Red Turbo Ranger. Tommy looked around as the shot crashed harmlessly into the ceiling. TJ completed the job by ripping the head off the metal man and slamming it into the ground. "Thanks TJ", Tommy wheezed and he extended his hand, "I owe you one".
There was a brief hesitation but TJ quickly accepted the gesture, "You're welcome, now let's finish the job", he added with a small smile. Tommy was slightly surprised by TJ's change of attitude but there would be plenty of time after this was all over to ask him about that.
On the other side of the room, Leo and Wes were standing back to back with several Cogs coming towards them, "So you live on another planet", Wes said, punching a Cog in the chest in the process, "what's that like?"
Leo hit another Cog with a spin kick, knocking its head loose, "Quite similar to Earth actually just loads more trees". A straight kick to the stomach disabled another metal man, "I hear that you're girlfriend's from the future, that's a little different".
"Didn't yours come back from the dead", Wes kept his focus on an oncoming Cog, ducking out the way at the last second. He grabbed a discarded metal pipe from the floor and rammed it through the chest of his attacker.
"Her body was merged with the remains of a psychopathic AI suit", Leo replied, "technically she wasn't dead". He swept the legs out from underneath another Cog and it hit the ground hard. A swift punt later and its head was completely detached. It crashed through the chest of another footsoldier, permanently disabling it.
A few feet away, Cole was picking up on the conversation between the Red Galaxy and Time Force Rangers, "How can they be discussing things like that so casually?" he said.
"Trust me kid, their story barely scratch the surface of weird Ranger related shit", Eric replied. The Quantum Ranger flipped away from a pair of Cogs but surprised them by jumped straight back in their direction. A spinning kick smashed their chest compartments and the smell of melting circuits filled the air, "Cole watch your six", Eric called out.
Cole wasn't overly familiar with Eric's military speak but even he knew that meant something was coming up behind him. Without turning around he unleashed a straight kick that took the head off an approaching Cog, "You didn't call me kid", Cole said to the Quantum Ranger.
"Think you've grown out of that nickname", he clapped the Red Wild Force Ranger on the shoulder. He looked around the room and let out a low whistle, "We've really made a mess haven't we". The floor was covered with left over part that used to belong to the Cogs but the good news for the rangers was that none of them were still active.
"That's why we don't get invited to many parties", Tommy joked, "is everyone alright?"
"A few bruises but nothing major", Andros stated as he, Carter and Aurico joined them from their high vantage point.
"Good then let's move out", Cole said to the rest of the team.
The ten red rangers ran down the ramp and down on to the Moon's surface where they were confronted by the last five Generals of the Machine Empire, "I see my Cogs failed to slow you down", Venjix sighed.
"Yeah just like old times", Tommy smiled.
"Do you really think you can stop me", Venjix said with an air of menace.
"Please your last attempt to attack the Earth was stopped by three geeks with a laptop", Jason snorted. Venjix had tried to upload a virus to the Earth's computers which was called Mean Screen. Fortunately his attempted were stopped by Xander, Billy and Trini using their hacking knowledge and the High School's network.
"That will not happen again", Venjix roared and pulled out a small box. He pushed a couple of buttons and Serpenterra's eyes blinked into life, "behold my personal zord of destruction".
"We need to stop him from getting into Serpenterra", Cole said to the others and pulled out a small cell phone. He then noticed the other red ranger's preparing their various morphing devices.
"You read our minds rookie", Jason smiled and thrust his Power Morpher forward, "It's Morphin' Time, Tyrannosaurus".
"Zeo Ranger V, Red"
"Shift Into Turbo"
"Let's Rocket"
"Go Galactic"
"Lightspeed, Rescue"
"Time For Time Force"
"Quantum Power"
"Wild Access"
The Machine Empire Generals had to shield their eyes as a bright red flash of energy burst out from the ten human. When the light cleared there were ten red rangers standing in front of them, determined that the Earth would not fall that day. The Generals prepared their various weapons, the battle for control of Serpenterra was about to begin.
TO BE CONTINUED