On The Armada Command Ship, Damaras raced through the corridors after getting the signal that Argus had returned. He arrived to find him heavily damaged from his battle with the Rangers, his metalwork scorched and dented. Most prominently, his right arm was missing, ripped from his body. He was carrying it in his left hand, his sword still clutched in the hand of his severed arm. Repair droids were already rushing towards him, but Damaras got to him first.

"Leave us!" He roared angrily as he stared at Argus. "You disobeyed a direct order!"

"I disobeyed no order." Argus answered. He just stared at him in disbelief.

"I ordered you to stay on the ship! I ordered you to maintain a guard over Prince Vekar!" He yelled.

"That is correct." Argus responded.

"Then you disobeyed a direct order!" Damaras reiterated. "The Prince is incapacitated! When the Prince is unfit to give orders, command of the ship and our forces falls to the Chief Tactical Officer!"

"That is correct." Argus said again. Damaras just glared at him.

"Then you disobeyed a direct order!" He stated coldly.

"I disobeyed no order." Argus told him. "I obeyed a direct order."

"The Prince is laid up in the infirmary!" He yelled at him. "He is no more capable of giving orders than he is facing the Rangers himself right now!"

"That is correct." Argus told him. Damaras by now was struggling to keep his temper in check. Argus was talking in riddles; something that he was not programmed to do. He was programmed to give direct answers. He clenched his fists as he tried to keep his cool.

"If the Prince gave you no order, and as Chief Tactical Officer I gave you no order, how then were you able to act?" He asked him.

"I was given a direct order by my Chief Tactical Officer." Argus told him. Damaras was ready to explode.

"I AM THE CHIEF TACTICAL OFFICER!" He screamed, his voice reverberating around the ship. Argus just looked at him.

"That is incorrect." He responded. "I am going to the repair bay."

"Don't you walk away from me!" Damaras said as Argus turned and walked away. "What do you mean you walking tin can? Answer me!"

It was too late though; Argus was walking with purpose towards the repair bay to be returned to optimal condition. Damaras just shook his head in frustration, before following Argus to the repair bay.

Back on the Red Galleon, the Rangers were licking their wounds after the battle which had brought ruin to Times Square. As Emma limped into the room, handing an ice-pack to Jordan, he held it to the back of his neck.

"This is getting WAY too familiar." He grumbled. "Hasn't someone explained to these guys that the good guys are meant to win?"

"We...kind of did." Gia reminded him as she bent and straightened her leg, working out some of the movement after taking a hard hit to the knee in the battle. She hissed as the pain shot through her. "I guess none of us ever come out of a fight with perfect hair and make-up like in a TV show."

"I don't get it, I just...I don't get it." Noah muttered, looking at the wreckage that had been his cannon weapon. He had warned them that he hadn't tested it, but he hadn't expected it to fail so spectacularly. They had salvaged what they could of it...which wasn't a whole lot to be honest. If he was entirely honest, he would probably end up just starting from the ground up again. It didn't look like anything was worth keeping. "I was so close!"

"Noah, why did you try building that thing anyway?" Jake asked him. "I mean, I know we're always looking for the next power up and all that, but...why build that thing when we have the swivel guns on the ship? We could just take one of them off!"

"Jake..."

"We know they work!" He interrupted him.

"Jake...it's basic physics." Noah told him. "The issue isn't just getting a lot of power to come out of it; it's balancing it with a dampening system to reduce the return force."

"Meaning...?"

"Meaning the swivel guns have a hell of a kick!" Gia told him. "Newton's first law says for every action there's an equal and opposite reaction."

"Yeah, Mr Burley said that." Jake agreed.

"Force equals mass times acceleration right?" She asked him. He just nodded. "Since the acceleration of the energy would be the same, the only thing that would change would be the mass."

"Uh...OK?" Jake asked. "Meaning...?"

"Meaning it isn't a problem when it's attached to a ship that weighs several tons!" She explained. "Firing it by hand would be a good way to take an express flight to Taihiti!"

"So...we need Noah to figure out this dampening thing." Jake conceded.

"We need SOMETHING." Jordan replied. "We lucked out with Argus that he underestimated that blast when the cannon blew up. We can't rely on that kind of luck again."

"Well, maybe we wouldn't have to if someone had done what needed to be done!" Jake said, glaring at Orion. The Silver Ranger felt his glare and looked a little put out. "What about it Orion? One minute we're having to tell you that you can't just blow the shit out of everything in your way, then when we actually have one of The Armada's most powerful troops bang to rights, you suddenly decide that's the time to hold back?"

"You don't understand." Orion told him.

"Well why don't you help me then?" Jake asked him. "I'm sure we'd all love to know!"

"I just...I couldn't do it!" Orion told them. "I'm sorry, but Argus...there's something about him..."

"What is it?" Gia asked. She could see how troubled he was. She gestured to Jake to back down. "Why couldn't you do it?"

"I couldn't...because I know him." Orion told them. "At least, I know who he was before."

"Before?" Emma asked. "You mean...before he became a cyborg?"

"What's the story Orion?" Noah asked him. Orion just sighed and looked to them.

"I've suspected for a while." He told them. "There were just a few things he said, some things he did that reminded me...one time when we fought, he called my Silver Spear a toothpick."

"So?" Jake asked.

"I started to suspect, but...I had my suspicions confirmed when I saw him today, when he used the Solar Flare." He told them. "It's one of the most powerful sword techniques in existence."

"Yeah, we kind of got that." Noah answered.

"No, you don't get it. There are maybe half a dozen people in this sector of the galaxy that can use it." He told them. "I've only ever seen one person use it."

"Who?" Gia asked.

"Marv." He replied. "He was on Lafitte's crew with me."

Orion was on the bridge of an Armada raiding ship, wading through waves of X-borgs with his trident. They had ambushed it shortly after it had gone to collect tribute from a trading post on the edge of their territory. A little way off, Marv was having the time of his life, tagging enemies as they piled through the door with his twin blasters.

"Vekar never learns does he?" Orion said with a smile. "He always follows the same protocol, no matter how many of his ships we take out!"

"Vekar's and idiot, even his own people know it!" Marv laughed out loud as he tossed a grenade into the corner, taking out a large group. "Why do you think he uses droids so much? They're the only ones dumb enough to follow his orders!"

Orion couldn't help laughing. There had been times he doubted he would laugh again following the loss of his home, but Marv helped him take a certain joy in his mission of revenge. He was able to make Orion laugh when he had forgotten how.

He was distracted, and it cost him. He was thrown to the floor as an explosion ripped through the wall, stunning him. Marv was immediately beside him, pouring blasts into the entrance way, through the smoke.

"What...what is that?" Orion asked.

"Something bad, something very bad!" Marv told him. "Know what we said about Vekar never learning? It looks like he is!"

Orion couldn't see properly, all he could see was a dark, shadowy figure. Marv threw a grenade, which went off with a deafening explosion. However, as his vision cleared, he could see that the creature was still coming.

"Shit!" Marv stated as he put his blasters away. He pulled out his sword, the first time Orion could remember seeing him do so.

"Marv, what are you doing?" Orion yelled. "If grenades don't work..."

"Trust me!" He called out. Orion just watched as the blade of his sword burst into flames, flames which quickly went from a lazy, flickering orange, to a bright, intense yellow.

"Marv?" He asked. Marv didn't respond though. He was concentrating too deeply on the deadly technique. The air around him grew warm and heavy, making breathing difficult. Marv brought the blade down from above his right shoulder, bringing it down diagonally, leaving a trace in the air. He did the same in the other direction, creating an X-shape that burned with an intensity Orion could not believe. Marv gritted his teeth as he gripped his sword more tightly.

"Solar Flare!" He roared, casting it forward. Orion couldn't see for what felt like several minutes as a result of the intensity of the attack. By the time his vision started to come back, the bridge was completely scorched black, and most of the systems were flickering and sparking. He saw Marv on his knees next to him, breathing heavily, the sword held limply in his fingers. He looked to Orion, who was staring at him completely speechless.

"You didn't think I carried that for show did you?" He chuckled, nursing his ribs as he coughed slightly. "Yeah...there's a reason I don't do that too often."

"Subtle as always Marv, that's what I love about you!" Lafitte said in a drawl as he walked into the room. He hefted a small canvas bag in his hand, which jingled as he did so. "Fortunately you haven't destroyed EVERYTHING worth stealing. Orion, help him back to the ship would you? Kolo's setting the charges."

With that, Orion helped Marv to his feet, positioning himself under his arm for support.

"Wow...so...you think...?"

"I don't think, I know." Orion interrupted Emma. "Argus IS Marv!"

"I'm so sorry." Emma said sympathetically.

"Look, I know he might have been your friend, but he's Argus now!" Jake stated.

"You can say what you want Jake, I can't just kill him!" Orion told him flatly. "Marv and I served together a long time! He saved my hide more times than I can remember! If there's even a chance, the smallest chance, that we can get him back, I'm going to take it!"

"Orion." Gia chipped in, getting up and hobbling over to him slowly as she straightened up to her full height. She looked straight at him. "It's admirable you want to help your friend, and if we can, I swear we will do everything we can."

She grabbed him and pulled him in closer.

"But you know what we're facing. You know how powerful Argus is." Gia reminded him. "If it comes down to it, if our lives, the lives of everyone on the planet rely on it, you have to be able to pull the trigger."

"I know...I just..."

"I'm serious." Gia interrupted him. "We'll do everything we can to help him, but if you can't do the job, if you can't make that decision, now's the time to bail."

Orion thought about it long and hard. He knew that Gia was right, that the safety of the team was the most important thing. Marv had said the exact same thing, it was the only reason he had fled when he believed Marv had sacrificed himself to let him escape. He looked to Gia and nodded.

"If I can't help him, I'll give him peace." Orion said sadly. "You have my word."

"Um...so...what now?" Emma asked, looking to Jake and Noah. "What's our next move?"

"Well, we think we have a lead." Noah told them. "It's pretty solid."

"The vision took a bit of a roundabout route, but it all came to the Dino Thunder team." Jake told them. "We know that Dino Thunder Black, Tommy, and Dino Thunder Blue, Ethan, don't have the keys."

"Right...so who does?" Jordan asked. "It's got to be either Red or Yellow, they're the only ones left."

"Well, we haven't confirmed which, but since only one of them turned up in our visions...and had a connection to more than one of the Rangers we...well...look, let's just say, we really think it's Dino Yellow." Noah explained. "She seems the most likely candidate."

"If it isn't her, we can always track down Red anyway." Jake stated.

"Great, that's fantastic." Gia answered. "So...who is it?"

"Well, that's where we have a problem." Noah told her. He went to the computer and pulled up an image. "Allow me to introduce the Dino Thunder Yellow Ranger..."

"Kira Ford?" Gia asked, needing to sit down. Emma just smirked a little.

"I think someone's a little star-struck." She teased her. "Didn't you have all her CD's?"

"Emma..."

"Of course...was it only her music you were interested in?" Emma asked. Gia just cast her a death-glare, but she was blushing slightly.

"Well, we know who it is!" Orion stated. "So...what's the problem?"

"Kira's a singer." Noah explained. "She's on tour..."

"So we pull up her tour schedule and we can find her!" He announced. "Problem solved!"

"Yeah." Gia commented. "The world's most wanted fugitives strolling up to one of the world's most famous singers without attracting attention! That'll be simple!"

Orion was about to answer, but just sat down silently. The Rangers had a lot to think about. If Noah was right, the key wasn't hard to find. Unfortunately that wasn't the problem. The problem was how to get it.

On The Armada Command Ship, Lavira was working on repairing Argus after his battle. She had been forced to leave the Prince's side, despite her reservations, once she realised her greatest creation had failed in his mission of revenge and returned, critically damaged.

Damaras was in the room with her, checking consoles as she worked. She knew that he was looking for how Argus could have refused a direct order from him, something that he had always believed was impossible, ever since they had created him. She finished with the circuitry in his replacement arm and started to close everything up.

"What...what is this?" He asked as he observed something. "This code...I've never seen this before!"

Lavira paused hearing this. She had yet to de-activate her over-ride code. Damaras had arrived in the repair room before her, so she hadn't had a chance to de-activate her own control programme before he could start checking out Argus' programming. He was nowhere near her level, but Damaras was no fool when it came to weapon's technology.

"This coding...it's..." His words tailed off as he read it. Lavira slowly put down her tools and turned towards him. "This is how it was done! He was assigned..."

"He has a protocol which assigns him to another ship." Lavira told him. "The King Mondo."

"There is no such ship! We do not have a King Mondo!" He snapped. Just then, he realised something. He just glared at her. She just nodded. "You..."

"I acted where you refuse to do anything!" She snarled. "The Prince..."

"You sent one of our most powerful warriors into battle, and turned him into scrap!" He yelled. "How?"

"I created an over-ride code when I created him." She told him. "It assigns him to the King Mondo, a ship where the Prince is still Commander, and I am Chief Tactical Officer."

"That is TREASON!" He snarled, drawing a weapon. As he did so, he looked around, hearing weapons powering up. He looked to Lavira who just smirked at him.

"It is a poor weapons' designer who is destroyed by their own weapons." She told him. "And you are on a ship full of my creations."

Bruisers levelled blasters his way. Damaras weighed up his options and put his weapon away. Even if he did take out Lavira, she was right. Most of the crew, most of the weapons...even the ship itself was largely her work. He couldn't guarantee that she wouldn't have put similar safeguards in place for all of them. She just stepped forward.

"I cannot prove you are a traitor, and that is the only thing keeping you alive." She warned him. "But if you ever give me reason to suspect otherwise...watch your back!"

She just sat back in her chair and picked up one of her tools.

"Now, if that's everything?" She asked. Damaras just turned and stormed away, clearly unhappy. "I thought so."

As she got back to work, Argus' systems were shut down, but his biological components were still working. If anything, the fact his cybernetics were offline allowed him a clarity he normally didn't have.

He found himself in the past, standing in a store room with Lafitte. He was inspecting the latest plunder taken from an unwary trading ship.

"Look, all I'm saying is we need to seriously think about this from now on." He told him. "Orion already refuses to come on these missions!"

Orion was not interested in plunder. Sure, he didn't exactly turn down his share on a point of principle, and he definitely didn't mind when they docked somewhere to spend their gains, but his main motivation for joining Lafitte's crew was to get back at The Armada. He accepted that Lafitte and Marv occasionally went for other targets for profit, but he politely refused to go along whenever they weren't going after an Armada ship. His vengeance blinded him to the fact they still caused pain and suffering, but as long as he continued to fight when needed, Lafitte didn't care how he spent this other time as long as he didn't ask for a share.

"All I'm saying is we're getting really close to..." He paused as he tried to find his words. "We have sold in this area before."

"We've traded our plunder in a lot of places." Lafitte replied.

"Not like this!" Marv responded. "What if we attack a ship that has...some of our..."

"You're worried about some of the plunder we took from Andresia!" He said with a smile. Marv just looked to him.

"Orion's a friend, I don't think..."

"And I don't think he would be YOUR friend much longer if he found out that your hands aren't exactly clean in this." Lafitte told him. "How long do you think your friendship would last if he found out you had been there when we sold those slaves?"

Marv just closed his mouth, unable to answer. Lafitte patted him on the shoulder.

"What Orion doesn't know won't hurt him." Lafitte told him. "Now, take your share and get back to work."

Marv just started to sift through the plunder, assessing his share of the goods, but he felt sick to his stomach. Orion had grown on him, and become a good friend, but a lot of that was based on a lie. Orion believed he was the last Andresian. Marv, however, knew that wasn't true. He had been there when Lafitte had sold the rest.

Fin

A/N: There we go folks, the end of this story...and a short hiatus while I head out West! Hope you all enjoyed it.