Up on the Warrior Dome, Wrench was in surroundings that were somewhat less comfortable than he had ever intended to find himself in, the training rooms. However, for once, he wasn't just observing. This time round, he was actually training for battle.
Wrench, in general, had loved his new employer. Sledge as an employer was gruff, aggressive, and his idea of providing adequate equipment was just to scream at him that his ship had operated for millions of years without any problems so why did he need to buy anything now? Sledge was a hyper-capitalist when all was said and done. He always charged for his services, whether it was gathering asteroids, selling scrap acquired from his victims, or selling bounties to the highest bidder regardless of who they put a bounty on or why they had offered the bounty in the first place. For over 65 million years he had delayed his engagement to Poisandra despite his love for her, always insisting he needed just 'one more big score'. When he finally did marry her, it had been on his ship! He was all about accruing money but hardly anyone could ever remember him spending anything. It would have been a running joke if everyone wasn't so afraid of him. No one really knew what he was gathering all that money for since he never seemed to spend it, but he definitely didn't invest it back into his crew.
Cosmo wasn't exactly wasteful, but he definitely didn't mind investing in his product. He had seen Cosmo writing cheques that constituted the entire economy of whole star systems without even blinking. His promotion and advertising budget was truly eye-watering, his merchandise budget would all but end poverty in several galaxies overnight. Sure, he would cut back on some things like wages. His crew was still made up almost exclusively of robots or 'interns' he had either bought or abducted from other worlds, but when someone could benefit him, his executives, trainers, fighters, he was never shy about opening his wallet.
Wrench was one of the fortunate ones. Although he had signed on as an intern when he abandoned Sledge's crew, seeing the writing on the wall for the bounty hunter, he had only been an intern for a short time. He was only on the ship a couple of weeks before he heard rumblings of an escape attempt. This wasn't anything new, those who hadn't given in to despair and hopelessness still hoped of escape, but when he heard who was involved, when he heard that the Chief Engineer was planning to break out, he saw an opportunity. It didn't really matter to him if the wild-haired alien actually managed to escape or whether he was destroyed in the attempt, but when he heard the Chief Engineer was going to try to escape, all he heard was a way to create a vacancy for himself to pull him out of the slave pens.
It was a cruel irony what his decision led to. There was no way he could ever have imagined that when Mick and his accomplice Brody escaped, they would take with them the power that would create yet another team of Power Rangers. It sometimes felt like he was doomed to forever be clashing with those brightly-coloured Spandex-clad nuisances. He had hoped to never see another Ranger again once he left Sledge's ship, but as soon as the Rangers had shown up, and Galvanax had focused his obsessions on Earth and regaining the power from them, Cosmo himself saw an opportunity. In the Rangers he had seen an opportunity that had led to almost a whole season's worth of programming now and a merchandising juggernaut. He had also surprisingly revealed he was aware that Wrench was the one that facilitated the escape, but given the result, he was willing to appreciate Wrench's ingenuity and ambition and Wrench indeed found himself becoming the Chief Engineer.
Wrench threw his axe, destroying a couple of Basher Bots as they came at him. He loved being behind the camera on this show. He learned very quickly that while fighters made money, the real money and the long-term prospects rested on the other side of the camera. Ripcon, Galvanax's most powerful warrior had spent years trying to shift onto the production crew and in the end suffered the same fate as other warriors on the show, falling to the Rangers a couple of months back now. Wrench was keen to do as much as possible to stay on the right side of the camera, including suggesting a few warriors and doing a few talent spotting gigs on the side, but unfortunately when he was damaged by an intruder to the ship, a mysterious stranger he had yet to find any trace of who only identified himself as Lord Drakkon, in his vanity he had taken the opportunity, along with Cosmo's open check book, to buy himself every upgrade he could possibly think of, including a great many that he was working on himself.
Cosmo had only seen him in action briefly, but having seen him in action against the Rangers, and knowing he had some history with the Pink Ranger, all Cosmo could see was an opportunity to put on another huge show. Given the fact that he had paid for Wrench to become a walking weapon of mass destruction it was hard to argue that he had a point that he wanted to see a return on that investment. Wrench could only hope that not only would he survive the battle, but that could convince Cosmo to allow him to make his career as a fighter last only that one fight. Fighters didn't retire, fighters WERE retired.
He unleashed a laser from his eyes, destroying another Basher Bot, before a target appeared. It was a life-sized mannequin of the Pink Ranger! His chest cavity opened up and his Gatlin laser came out, firing and utterly destroying the target. He heard a round of applause from the observation deck.
"Very impressive Wrench, VERY impressive!" Cosmo complimented him. "I'm starting to wonder if perhaps you missed your calling."
"No, I'm happy enough to retire after one bout." He answered. "But I might just like to pay a little visit to a certain museum curator in Amber Beach before we leave."
"I may just let you." Cosmo replied. "You concentrate on getting ready. I'll handle the promotion."
Wrench picked up the head of the Pink Ranger target and crushed it in his hands.
"For a one-off show? I'll be ready." He answered.
Sunday, the Rangers once again assembled at the base to discuss what to do about Viera.
Viera had been able to shower and thanks to Sarah, change. Viera was pretty close to the same size and build as Sarah so it wasn't hard for her to find enough spare clothing to make sure that Viera had something to wear other than the rags she had been provided by her gaolers.
They all listened as Viera relayed what had happened to her. It seemed that having laid Sel to rest and getting to a safe place, she finally felt ready to talk. The Rangers listened on in horror as they heard about it all. How her coronation had turned into a bloodbath. How arms dealers and manufacturers, who generally didn't take sides, were providing massive armaments to all the other factions in order to see Viera's reign end as quickly as possible. How she had been tortured for days in her own dungeons, and how some of her followers sacrificed everything to help her escape. She looked to the others, who just stared back in shock.
"Wow." Was all Hayley could muster. "I thought our political landscape was messed up."
"I don't get it. Why would anyone WANT war?" Calvin asked.
"There are a lot of people with a lot to lose if war in the Lion Galaxy was to end." Mick told them. "Even a reduction would see a lot of people lose an entire way of life."
"But all the people that die…?"
"Collateral damage." Redbot answered. "It's all about the bottom line for a lot of people. As long as their way of life, their social standing, their wealth is growing, they don't care about whose blood gets spilled in the process."
"My supporters were overwhelmed. By now I'm not even sure I have any left." She told them. "Those that weren't wiped out will probably have gone to other masters, either willingly or unwillingly."
"I couldn't think of anywhere else I could go where I'd be safe." She told them. "There'll be a price on my head all over the Lion Galaxy, perhaps even beyond. Bounty hunters don't really care about jurisdiction."
"She's got that right." Sarah answered. "The only thing Sledge cared about was the bounty. He didn't even care if it was a legal bounty as long as someone was paying."
"The term 'bounty hunter' legally means very little." Mick confirmed. "There are a lot of sickos who'd be more than happy to hand Viera back."
"I…I remembered that you helped before. That you offered to help if I ever needed it." Viera responded. "If I ever needed help, it's now."
"Viera…"
"Please, I don't want to ask, I know what I'm asking is…"
"Viera, we can't." Brody told her flatly.
"What?" She asked. "But you said…"
"Brody, you can't be serious." Sarah stated.
"It's one thing asking us to fight a battle for you or rid you of Drillion but to fight a war for you?" Brody asked her. "We're Power Rangers, we're not an army!"
"Brody, side-bar for a minute?" Mick asked him. Brody and the others just followed him aside. Mick sighed as he looked to them. "I…I think we should consider this."
"What?" Brody asked. "Mick, in case you hadn't noticed we have our own problems!"
"Everyone has their own problems, but this is something that could make a huge difference!" Mick stated. "I know I wasn't Viera's biggest fan before, but I think she might be onto something. Millions of people die in the Lion Galaxy every single day."
"The operative phrase is 'in the Lion Galaxy'." Brody answered him. "I'm sorry for what she's been through and what things are like there, but I really don't see where this is our fight."
"Well, it's just as well the Aquitarians didn't feel the same way." Mick responded.
"I'm sorry?" Brody asked.
"Or the Triforians." Preston added. The others just stared at him. "What? I read!"
"What about the Mercurian? Or the Andresian? What if they had all felt the same way?" Hayley asked him. "Earth would be in a very different place than it is now."
"There are only six of us." Brody reminded them.
"Except thanks to the Corsairs that's not really the case anymore." Sarah reminded him. "You say we're not an army, but we can GET one."
"No one is saying we can abandon the Earth. We know that isn't an option." Mick told him. "But now we have the Lion Ship and the Lion Fire Armour…"
"Alright, OK. So, we deal with Galvanax, and then…then we see what we can do to help Viera." Brody stated.
"Brody…"
"Most Rangers are retired now, a lot of them for very good reasons!" Brody reminded them. "We have no right to demand anyone get back into action to fight a war in a galaxy most of them have probably never even heard of. We can only ask and work with those that say yes."
"You mean…?"
"Like I said, we can't promise anything. We can only work with those that agree of their own volition." Brody answered. "VIERA!"
Viera looked up and towards him. Brody just took a deep breath.
"Alright, I can't promise anything." He began. "We might have a lot of tech, but when all is said and done there are only six of us."
"But you said…"
"The thing is we aren't the only Rangers out there." Brody told her. "I can't promise anything because I don't know how many of them we will be able to reach, much less ask to take part in a war. However, once we've dealt with Galvanax, I promise we'll ask around."
"You mean…?"
"I mean I'll ASK." Brody told her. "Unfortunately, that's really all I can promise. I'm not making any guarantees, but if we can get an army, we'll provide an army."
"Thank you!" She replied with a smile. "I know I can't ask for any more than that."
"Alright, so for the time being you're going to be staying." Mick replied. "The good news is that we already have an identity made up from the last time you were here."
"The bad news is, I guess that means you're going back to High School." Calvin told her, producing a backpack full of books. "We kept it from the last time."
"I guess if this is the price of getting back to my home, I can put up with it for a while." She answered. "But what about my injuries?"
"Well, we were thinking we could fold that into your story, explain why you're back here." Mick answered. "We figured if we said your parents were in some kind of farming accident and were in the hospital you were sent here to be taken care of by your relatives while they healed up."
"And what about this?" She asked, gesturing to the collar around her neck. Mick just sighed.
"I thought about that as well." He told her, pulling something out of his pocket. He handed her a little charm that looked like a lion's face, the crest of her family. She just looked at him confused. "Since we can't take it off yet, I thought if we attached this we could at least make it look more like a necklace."
"I…I suppose that's the next best thing." She said reluctantly. Mick placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We will get that collar off you. I promise you that much." Mick assured her, before looking to Redbot.
"I'll just attach the charm." Redbot told her. "Try to hold still."
Meanwhile, at a bus station on the edge of town, commuters were buzzing around getting where they needed to go. Cafes were running a strong business from those waiting on their buses departing and those catching some quick refreshments after long journeys.
One of the buses rolled up, and a passenger stepped off, carrying very little in the way of luggage. He was wearing only a pair of denims and a Harvard sweatshirt. He looked around as he got off the bus, adjusting his backpack onto his shoulder, before moving off.
"Travelling light?" He heard someone ask. He looked to the man sitting at a table in the café. The man had two cups of coffee sitting in front of him, along with a bear claw. Looking around the man sat down.
"I'm not planning on staying long." He replied, taking the cup closest to him. "So, you're the one that contacted me?"
"No, but I work for him." The man replied, sliding an envelope across the table to him. The stranger opened the envelope and looked inside. He pulled out a photograph and stared at it. The other man could see his grip tightening and hear a kind of low growl in his throat.
"Thompson." He growled.
"So, as you can see your trip hasn't been wasted." The man in the suit replied. "You'll find enough in cash there to get you a decent motel."
"Why contact me?" The stranger asked. The other man put a key down on the table.
"There's something in locker 317 for you." He answered. "Enjoy the coffee."
With that, he walked away, leaving his own coffee behind. The stranger pulled more out of the envelope. It was numerous pictures of Al, his family, and his home. There was even a business card from his new business. The stranger picked up the locker key and put it in his pocket, before picking up his coffee and taking a sip.