Mission 3: Part 1

The dim lights of the chemical vats pulsed while Warmaster Hellspont watched new tubes be inserted with freshly synthesized proteins. He crossed his arms and sniffed toward one of the head Xeno Machina technicians. "Isn't there a way to speed this process up?"

The Xeno servitor who monitored the vats was a freakish humanoid amalgamation of organic body parts and mechanical science equipment who turned to his superior and focused a bionic eye, "Creating a fresh batch of artificial soldiers will take some time sir. Their metabolism and body processes have to reach stable levels before we can prepare them for direct combat."

The two paced deeper into the hellish laboratory filled with biomechanical experiments and rows of birthing tubes with which the Xenos created their new soldiers. Hellspont passed several nightmarish experiments without breaking stride or paying much mind to a convulsing subject on the table who was being given cybernetic implants, "These new humanlike soldiers we've been using… they resemble the Terrans… flawed and soft."

The Xeno scientist shook his bionic head, "In resemblance Warmaster, but these Eidolon soldiers have superior genetic enhancements and bionic implants to make them stronger, faster, and more adaptable than the mindless battle drones we used to use."

Hellspont stopped and examined a row of nearly matured male and female clone warriors in their tubes. It was true that they had proven far more effective in battle against the human soldiers of Earth who had always had the advantage of being more flexible and adaptable. Unlike the battle drones of roboticized humanoids who acted as a mindless collective and relied on overwhelming force, these new soldiers had been able to improvise and adapt to a greater degree by using tactics and discipline that were until now, unheard of among the Xeno Machina forces. They were still unable to halt those new Nova Rangers, but the Eidolon soldiers were a good match for any well trained UNAF soldiers and that was progress.

The Warmaster turned on his heel and waved his arm, "Give me a list of your newest experiments. I might as well plan another raid while we wait for the new troops to be produced."

The freakish technician bowed and turned back toward the rows of lab tables while the moans and cries of tortured test subjects echoed through the gruesome chambers.

The sounds of a computer database program whirred from a laptop as Lt. Erin Reilly paced about one of the large airy study rooms of Atlantis Base paging through a book of Cryptography. While she busily skimmed the pages, the young Irish woman hummed a quiet song to herself as the laptop scanned through several records to try and make connections to some of the salvaged Xeno gear she had borrowed from Dr. Beckett's lab. Ever since the battle in Paris, France Erin had become intrigued with the idea that a possible connection existed between the alien script of the hostile Xeno-Machina and the benevolent Adventi aliens whose recovered technology had helped the people of Earth advance their capabilities even further.

Whenever she had set her mind to something, Erin had always doggedly pursued it even when she was younger. Because she came from a family of high achieving academics and showed signs of prodigious linguistic skills early on, she decided she'd approach this same problem as she would any other during her years of studying: aggressively but methodically.

While she worked, she set down the book and consulted another data pad until she was interrupted by the whoosh of the study room door opening. She glanced over and saw her teammate, the Green Nova Ranger Bharata Timothy. The young Indonesian man had dressed down to some green sportswear civilian clothes and sported some sports goggles instead of his normal glasses. He greeted her with a cheerful wave, "Erin! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

The Yellow Ranger raised an eyebrow and gave a slightly amused smile, "Oh?"

"Yeah, the rest of us wanted to know if you wanted to come join us in the West End for a game of Solar Frisbee."

Erin grimaced, "Oh, I don't know Bara. I've got a lot of work here and I'm trying to make some headway with these glyphs"

Bharata put a cajoling hand on her shoulder and tried to pull her away from the work, "Ah, your research isn't going anywhere. Come on. It's our day off and we even convinced Captain Sterling to come play. Erik had to spend all morning twisting his arm over breakfast."

Erin bit her lip, "Geez. I don't know… I mean, it all sounds fun but…"

Both Rangers were interrupted as the Nova morphers around their wrists chimed and Martin's voice came through, "Sorry everyone but I think we'll have to put Solar Frisbee on hold today. I just got a call from General Caldwell for a new mission."

Erin pouted in disappointment as she closed her laptop and paused her work while Bharata gave a glum sigh at having their rec time cut short. With that, they headed out the study room door and made ready to report for duty.

Back on the Xeno-Machina flagship based on the moon, Warmaster Hellspont sat at his command chair on the bridge, eying a data tablet before the field commander he had summoned approached from one of the side hatches. The Xeno was a lean biomechanical humanoid with light armor plating grafted over the skin of its body. Unlike many of the heavily armed and armored Xeno warriors, this one was more of a scout used for infiltration, spying, and stealth missions.

As Hellspont studied the newest creation from the labs, he noticed the most striking feature of this enhanced operative. The Xeno wore a sturdy helmet with thick metal grates over the face mask, except in the eight face slits where eyes in each spot. They were clearly organic eyes, but enhanced with Xeno-tech to increase their function. As it approached the command chair, it stopped and lowered its head to speak in a low raspy voice, "Reporting for duty Warmaster."

Hellspont smirked and nodded as he reclined in his chair, "Good. I've selected you for a very important task. I've received some intelligence that suggests an Adventi outpost has been unearthed on the planet. If it contains any more data that can help the humans defend themselves, I would like you to go and destroy that place."

The Xeno scout tilted its head and blinked several eyes, "I don't understand. How were you aware of this? Our forces have been stuck here on the moon."

The Warmaster chuckled, "My last raiding parties have been busy. In addition to the attacks I ordered, I had them set up equipment on the surface to intercept some of the communications of the Terrans. As long as they don't find those listening posts, we can continue to spy on them."

The Xeno bowed its head and turned to leave the bridge, "If that is your wish, I will carry it out then Warmaster."

As he left, Hellspont turned in his chair and looked out toward the viewport of the ship, "See that you do."

A beam of light flashed down upon the sandy dessert as Earths' orbital relay assembly teleported the five Nova Rangers from Atlantis Base to a campsite near the United States-Mexican border. As the light faded, the five Rangers put on their sunglasses and field patrol caps to reduce the glare of the hot dessert sun. As they got their bearings, Dr. Lucy Beckett radioed the team from Atlantis Base Operations and sent them updated navigational data.

"Welcome to Mexicali, Rangers. The archeological dig site shouldn't be far from the scientists' campsite. I've already notified Dr. Guzman of your arrival and he should be with you shortly."

"Thanks Luce. We'll check in again with you once we get situated," Martin answered before ending the transmission. He looked north around the arid rocky landscape of Baja California in Mexico and sighed. "To think… America is just a little further north of here. I miss home already."

Erin smiled and shrugged before casting her gaze out toward some rocky uplands just south of them, "Cheer up Captain. If the intel that Caldwell gave us is true, we've got a really exciting assignment here. Can you imagine what we could find in a buried Adventi outpost?"

Erik nodded and checked his own nav equipment, "Actually, it wouldn't be too far of a stretch. The original Adventi spacecraft that was found a few decades ago was dug up in the Mojave Dessert further north of here."

At that moment, the whole squad turned their attention toward a strong-looking middle aged Hispanic man wearing khaki field clothes and an orange bandana. He wore a small backpack with dig equipment poking out and he gave a friendly smile while extending a hand, "Hi! Welcome to Camp Baja! You must be the Power Rangers!"

Martin stepped forward and shook the archeologist's hand, "Yes sir. I'm Captain Martin Sterling, and this is my team. Erik, Bharata, Erin, and Ella."

The Hispanic scientist smiled and nodded, "And I'm Dr. Emilio Guzman, from the University of Mexico City. It's an honor to be able to meet a team of Rangers. I've heard a little about your battles in Europe so I have no doubt this will be the safest campsite in the desert. Come with me. I'll show you around."

After a quick tour of the base camp, Dr. Guzman escorted the five Rangers toward a small rocky upland just a short walk away. "We've been digging here for a while just on the outskirts of Laguna Salada and were surprised when we came across a place dug into the hills which shared some similarities with the extraterrestrial discovery in the Mojave. We have reason to believe the place we found is Adventi in origin."

"I wonder if our Ranger gear would get a reaction there," Bharata mused thoughtfully as they walked, "After all, our suits and weapons were engineered from that tech as well."

"I can't wait to get in the shade," Ella mumbled as she wiped her brow, "It's a bit too hot out here for me."

Erin hefted her gear and hurried to walk alongside Dr. Guzman, excited at the chance to talk to a fellow academic and exercise her curosity. "Dr. Guzman, do you have any theories as to why the Adventi might be here in Mexico?"

Guzman shrugged, "Hard to say. I imagine that maybe some of the spaceship crew who survived the crash traveled south here and set up a place to live?"

"If that's true, can you imagine how much more data we could collect? Maybe they'll have things we didn't discover in the wreckage of their ship. Maybe…"

"Maybe you should just calm down and take a few breaths first Lieutenant," Martin said with a gentle grin, "It's better that we don't jump to conclusions either. Caldwell's orders were to help investigate the site and secure it for the authorities."

After a short walk through the dry rocky terrain, the Rangers came to a dig site in the hills where several workers were already busy helping to excavate the area. A passageway had been carved out of the rocky hills and went deeper inside, inspiring all the Rangers to wonder what secrets lay further in the darkness. Dr. Guzman picked up a shovel and a lantern flashlight before waving the group inside. "I'll show you some of the chambers we unearthed. It seems there's some alien tech built into the place that you might be interested in."

After lighting the lantern, the Rangers pulled out their own flashlights and followed the archeologist inside past a rocky hallway. Once inside the structure, the place opened up into a large multi-chambered dwelling. Dr. Guzman swept his light around and led the way, "It's interesting. The interior in many ways is reminiscent of the insides of some ziggurat temples found in central and southern Mexico. It almost makes you wonder whose architecture influenced who."

As the group passed some walls, they were surprised as some of the walls and walkways lit up with a soft ambient blue light. Most likely, it was reacting to the presence of the ambient energy fields coming from the Nova morphers.

"Whoah… cool," Bharata exclaimed as he walked over to several metallic wall panels that lit up around the edges.

"That's not all," Dr. Guzman smiled as he led them across the room to a console jutting out of a wall. It almost seemed to resemble some makeshift alien workstation. Martin looked around carefully, "Doctor, do you know where the energy source for this is coming from?"

Guzman shrugged and shook his head, "I haven't the slightest idea. We haven't excavated too deeply in here yet so it may take time."

The Red Ranger nodded, "Bharata, I want you to scan some of these nearby rooms and try to figure out what is making this place tick. Erik, you and I are going to do a sweep to make sure this whole compound is secure."

"Captain, do you mind if I take a crack at that computer console?" Ella asked hopefully, "Maybe I can try to figure out how to access the place's systems, or datalogs."

Martin nodded, "Good idea. Erin, maybe you should help Ella out with that Adventi script. Hopefully you can extract something new or interesting."

"Yes sir!" Erin grinned enthusiastically as she and the Pink Ranger headed to the console and began to work.

While the three got to work, Martin and Erik gripped their portable rifles and prepared to do a security sweep when the sounds of panicked voices and fearful cries echoed through the caverns. The two oldest Rangers looked to each other and began rushing for the exit when they saw Dr. Guzman running with them.

"Stay back Doc. This might be too dangerous for you," Erik began but the archeologist waved him off, "No. This is my expedition and my responsibility. I'm coming with and that's final."

The Red and Blue Rangers exchanged a grimace before Martin nodded, "Fine. Let us take point then. You need to keep your head down and try to stay out of danger."

The three hurried to the narrow entryway leading outside when they came across a chilling sight. Sprawled out along the entrance halls were several members of the dig team. Blood had been splayed on the walls and the mangled remains of some of the diggers lay in the dirt where they had been killed. Erik gasped and slapped a fresh battery pack into his laser rifle. "What the... what the hell happened here?"

Martin signaled for silence and kept his rifle trained on the entrance before Dr. Guzman shouted from behind, "Look! On the ceiling!"

Both Rangers looked up just in time to see Hellspont's new long-limbed Xeno scout drop from the ceiling and reveal itself from its holographic stealth mode. It reared up in a spider crawl position and turned its head, blinking its eight eyes to intimidate the Rangers. Martin and Erik gasped before opening up with automatic laser fire. The las bolts tore up the entire hallway as the Xeno charged forward, returning fire from a hand cannon it was armed with. Despite taking several hits, the Xeno scout plowed ahead with a malicious laugh and bowled the Rangers over. He surged deeper into the tunnel but not before firing one more shot and striking Dr. Guzman full on, burning a hole through his torso.

Erik rolled over and saw the archeologist was dead before charging after the Xeno. Martin reached for his morpher and signaled the rest of the team, "Everyone! We've got a hostile Xeno coming your way!"

As they all burst into the main chamber, Erin and Ella were just looking up and scrambling for their weapons as Bharata was returning from an antechamber off to the side. The Green Ranger gasped in shock as the monstrous eight eyed scout blew past him while trying to escape. Erik charged toward the antechamber leveling his weapon, "Let's corner him here! Lock and load!"

Amid the confusion, Erin glanced over to the computer equipment she and Ella had set up to try and interface with the compound. As she saw Adventi glyphs filtering through, she caught a few familiar words: Energy, Wall, Activate. Seeing her teammates in danger, she grabbed the interface and keyed in several commands to activate what she believed to be force fields within the outpost to hopefully trap the Xeno.

All the combatants stopped and stared in awe as the lights of the compound flickered a moment and several solid force field barriers made of energy sprung to life, walling off the doorways. In the moment of confusion, the monstrous Xeno scout fired a blaster shot which clipped Bharata in the side and glanced off his flak vest. The wounded Green Ranger fell backwards to the ground as the Xeno tried to charge and ran headfirst into the force field that now activated.

"Bara! Hang in there buddy. I've got you," Erik cried in alarm as he rushed to his comrade and pulled him aside to administer first aid.

"Bastardo!" Ella fumed as she angrily raised her assault rife and aimed it at the Xeno to get revenge for her comrade. Martin immediately pushed the rifle back down.

"No! Hold your fire Ella! Not on the force field. For all we know, your las bolts will ricochet off and hit us instead."

"But Captain, that thing hurt Bharata!" Ella protested before she finally relented and lowered her weapon.

Martin turned and looked sharply to Erin, "What happened Lieutenant? What did you do?"

The Yellow Nova Ranger sputtered for a moment before regaining her composure, "I... I tried to help, sir. I thought maybe if we raise some force fields, we could trap the Xeno."

"Oh he's trapped all right," Martin nodded grimly before heading over to the main door leading out of the compound. He tapped it lightly a few times and found his gloved finger repulsed by the energy barrier, "And it looks like all of us are trapped here too. Can you drop the force field?"

Erin hurriedly looked to the laptop and tried a few keystrokes before nervously shaking her head, "I... I'm sorry sir. These command codes are all still a little too complex for me."

The Red Ranger blew out a long breath trying to focus through his frustration and growing fear of their bad situation. He glanced over to where Erik was working to treat the wounded Bharata, then toward the snarling Xeno in the next room who cackled and pounded at the barrier to taunt them.

Turning to the Pink Ranger, he said, "Ella try to get a signal out to Atlantis Base and see if they can help. Then I'm going to need your programming expertise to try and work the compound's systems."

"What about me?" Erin asked tentatively. While she did come up with a temporary solution to their problem, she was also feeling a little guilty for possibly creating another one.

"You're going to translate system commands for Ella and get us out of this mess," Martin answered giving a serious look as he passed by her.

Erin watched as he moved to stand guard by the other doorway before she bit her lip and looked to her own datapad. Just like on her first day of action in Paris, the young Yellow Ranger felt that she was in over her head and wondered if her talents would even be enough to ensure the safety of her team. Right now, everyone would be counting on her and she had a growing dread she just might let everyone down.