Mission 16: Part 4

A few restless hours had passed as the shuttlecraft Ulysses cruised along toward the moon. Long ago, manned spacecraft used to take days to reach the moon but with modern advancements in space flight and drive engines, the commute for most small ships was only four hours at the most. During that time, the Nova Rangers and their allies made use of the lull to prepare for their daring raid on the forward base of their alien enemies. Before the shuttle had launched, several crates with special equipment had been loaded including seven suits of Eidolon armor and corresponding battle gear. During their wait, the seven of them changed into the form fitting alien suits which had been recovered off dead clone soldiers in previous battles.

Ella wrinkled her nose in distaste as she tried to move and adjust to the female battle suit she had been issued. Like her male comrades, she was finding that they had to adjust to the clone soldiers' slightly different build and one size fits all approach toward equipment. As she continued to stretch, Erik noted her discomfort and gave a teasing grin, "Relax Ella. It looks good on you."

"Really? I think it stinks," she muttered.

"I'm not surprised. There was a dead person in that suit," the Blue Ranger pointed out.

Ella glared at him while the other men in the shuttle stifled their laughter. She simply gave a quiet huff and continued to fidget, "Well, I still don't like it… it's tight and this suit is crushing my boobs too."

The male Rangers paused again in mildly awkward silence, uncertain how exactly to reply to that before Taldyr saved them all and changed the subject, "This ship… the Ulysses. I am not familiar with the name."

Bharata chimed in from a corner where he had been in quiet meditation, "It's named after a mythical hero. The people of ancient Greece called him Odysseus."

"Well… I guess it's fitting," Julian murmured quietly while looking out one of the windows to the starry expanse outside, "He was one of the few legendary heroes who journeyed into the Underworld and lived to tell about it. God knows we're kinda doing the same thing here too."

"And we'll survive too," Martin said as he headed back toward the cockpit controls, "Just remember why we're doing this. Everyone, you'd better get seated again and strap in. We'll be reaching lunar orbit in just a few minutes."

Everyone did so and got settled in their seats, but their blood froze as they looked out the shuttle's front window and saw several smaller Xeno warships patrolling the sector. The warships immediately changed course and moved to intercept the lone shuttle. The Rangers all put on the helmets of the Eidolon troopers to mask themselves and foil the enemy biosensors before Martin turned to Taldyr, "All right, everyone remember the plan. Just stay calm and let Taldyr do the talking."

A warning shot was fired across the bow of the shuttle before the speed of the Ulysses slowed and Martin gave a nervous gulp while holding his course steady. Taldyr frowned and looked to the Red Ranger, "Do not be afraid. Stay on course and fly casually."

Martin exhaled nervously while gripping the controls, "Right... fly casually he says."

Taldyr took a spot at the copilot's position as their shuttle was hailed by the alien spacecraft. Thanks to Erin's universal translators which had been brought along, the Rangers were able to make sense of the other clones, "This is the captain of the Umbra. Identify yourself Terran vessel."

Taldyr got on the comms and replied, "Umbra, this is Lieutenant Taldyr of the Dubai Expeditionary Force. My troops and I have hijacked a Terran shuttle and are returning to base. Requesting immediate assistance."

There was a long silence before the Xeno captain answered, "The Dubai Expedition? Where is Commander Decimus?"

"He died in battle. I am the last remaining officer of that force," Taldyr continued calmly, "I will transmit my authorization codes. Stand by."

The Rangers watched and waited in silence as Taldyr typed some codes into the comms and transmitted them to the Xeno patrol craft. After another agonizing wait, they got their reply, "Your codes check out Lieutenant. Welcome back. We will escort you to the lunar base."

"Acknowledged," Taldyr nodded as the radio channel cut out.

The humans all gave a sigh of relief as the Xeno ships turned and cruised ahead of them, leading the shuttle to their base of operations. Jake nervously cracked his knuckles, "I'll be damned... they bought it. This ruse might actually work. Nice one Taldyr."

"Remember it is only going to become more difficult once we infiltrate the base," the Xeno said flatly, "We will not have much time so we need to stay inconspicuous and work quickly."

"That means we follow Taldyr's lead on the ground. He's going to be the one who knows the way," Martin said as he idly steered a course and flew the shuttlecraft into the dark side of the moon. The cabin was plunged into blackness save for some low powered lighting in the cabin and the sensors used to navigate.

"I'm still not totally sure. Are you sure we can really trust him?" Julian asked.

"At this point in the game, I'm afraid we don't have much choice mate," Jake replied trying to sound reassuring.

As they made their way around the moon, the Rangers all looked out and saw the scope of the large base below them on the lunar surface. The large Xeno mothership had landed and formed the central hub of the base while a few smaller carrier ships that had been damaged in the first fleet battle lay adjoined to the central craft. In a way, the configuration almost resembled the connecting spokes on a wheel. Despite the darkness of that half of the moon, the facilities were lit, albeit with a dim light. Life support systems were not a major concern for most of the Xeno Machina so power generated for that purpose was kept at a bare minimum.

A few new messages in alien text showed up on the main console and Taldyr translated them, "Captain, they're giving us landing instructions and docking codes. Take the shuttle down to the second landing pad on the right there."

"All right. This is it. We're only going to get one shot at this so remember the plan," Martin said as the shuttle touched down gently on the enclosed landing pad. As the docking clamps locked down and a connection hatch was brought out, the Rangers and their allies all kept their helmets on to conceal their identities.

"I can't see a damn thing in these helmets," Jake grumbled as he tried to adjust his gear and get a better peripheral view. "And I'm not a big fan of using these Xeno weapons either."

Erik shook his head, "Get used to it Corporal. We have to blend in for now. We're only going to use our morphers if things get really dicey… which they probably will at some point."

"Positive thinking big guy. Mind over matter, remember?" Bharata tried to offer helpfully.

The Red Ranger cleared his throat and gestured to some portable cases in the shuttle's hold. "Okay, let's remember to take those cases of explosives and plant them correctly. Erik, you're in charge of the demolition team. Bara and Jake, you two go with him and follow his instructions. Erik, do you remember my other orders that we spoke about in private last night?"

"Yes sir. I'll know what to do," the big German airman nodded as he picked up a case of explosives, "Good luck Captain."

Martin nodded, "Julian and Ella, you two are with me. Taldyr will take us to the cloning facility and we'll grab a Conduit helmet there. From here on out, Taldyr will take the lead in talking and we defer to him."

As the airlock began to open, Taldyr gave a nod, "Thank you Captain. Your trust in me has not been misplaced."

The Rangers watched silently as a group of Eidolon soldiers entered the shuttle with their spear blaster weapons at the ready. Once they had secured the door and made a quick sweep, they stopped upon seeing Taldyr and the disguised Rangers.

"I trust everything is in order?" Taldyr prompted patiently while offering a small Xeno identification badge to prove his identity.

The leader of the boarding party eyed the badge carefully before giving a slow nod. He turned to some of the cases in the hold. "Welcome back Lieutenant. What's all this?"

Taldyr waved it off, "When we took this vehicle, we seized some Terran weapons and technology in the hold. I plan to bring this to our labs for further study."

The Xeno guard nodded again and relaxed his stance, "Very well sir. We will take it from here."

"No," Taldyr said authoritatively, "I will have my troops do it. They have been through enough and I want them to gain a little extra glory by personally delivering the spoils of victory from their human foes."

The guard nodded again and backed off, "As you wish sir. I have been instructed to advise you that Warmaster Hellspont wishes to personally debrief you himself. I would not make him wait too long."

Taldyr nodded, "Of course. Thank you trooper."

He gestured to the Rangers and gave a brisk wave, "Now get to work, all of you! This is no time to relax!"

The Rangers exchanged uneasy glances before picking up some of the small containers and walking off the shuttle. As they walked from the gate, they followed Taldyr down a long dimly lit corridor. It wound a round a few times and the humans all sucked in their collective breaths when they passed a few Eidolon soldiers and worker drones. Eventually, they came to a fork in the corridor and Taldyr gestured down one hallway, "That way leads toward the base's power generators and communications array. Just follow the route I marked for you on your datapad maps."

Martin stopped to reach out and shake Erik's hand firmly, "Good luck Lieutenant. We'll see you back here soon."

"We won't let Erin down sir," the Blue Ranger answered before picking his crate of explosives back up. With that, he and his team hurried down the branching hallway to their destinations.

Taldyr waited for a moment before titling his head toward the other hallway, "Everyone, follow me… this way."

Erik Dobermann Jr. led his team down the dimly lit hallways and tried to move as fast as they could with their explosive cargo. While Martin and the others would go after the Conduit, Erik and his team were in charge of rigging explosives to confuse the Xenos and disable their systems allowing them to make an escape when the time came. From time to time, Erik would stop to check a small diagram of the base that Taldyr had given him. So far so good. His only major concern was getting questioned by any other Xenos or presented with coded challenges.

As they made their way around the bend, they came upon the terminal rooms controlling the base's communications and power generators. At the moment, the hallway was empty save for two Eidolon guards posted outside one of the generator rooms. Erik nodded to his comrades and prepared something from his supply pouch before they approached together. Upon reaching the door, the guards blocked their way, "Halt. State your business here."

"We're here to do some routine maintenance work," Erik answered calmly causing the guards to turn to each other in confusion.

"I don't remember any maintenance crews being scheduled to come today."

Bharata and Jake swiftly grabbed the troopers and slammed their heads back against the wall before Erik stepped up and pricked the aliens under the chins of their helmets with syringes. It only took a few moments for the powerful sedatives to take effect and the comatose guards slumped over. The three Rangers quickly entered the generator rooms and dragged the guards bodies away behind some equipment crates to hide them. While Jake restrained the troopers' arms and legs, Erik handed Bharata a satchel of explosives, "All right Bara, you know what to do. The communication relays should be located in the room just down the other hall. One to the left."

The Green Ranger nodded and pointed to his stealth feature button his morpher, "They won't know what hit them sir. I'll be back before you know it."

Erik took up his own satchel charges and looked to the Silver Ranger, "All right Jake, let's go. We don't have a lot of time."

As they picked up their bombs and began to sneak through some of the passageways of the generator room, Jake eyed his comrade, "I thought you were a medic sir? Since when did you know how to wire explosives too?"

Erik grinned quietly and waved the younger Ranger on, "You'd be amazed at what other handy things they teach you in Special Forces training. You never know when they come in handy. Now let's get a move on."

Meanwhile, Taldyr led his group of four out from the hall and around a large concourse ringing the outer side of the central command ship's hub. The Rangers could only gawk at the large impressive interior of the ship. On one hand it was wide and cavernous, but at the same time it was cluttered with pipes, circuitry, and machinery. There was a sort of strange order to the seeming chaos while other soldiers and horrific cybernetic drones shuffled about with their duties. In a way, it was almost like being inside the vital organs of some kind of living mechanical creature. Roboticized aliens of other conquered races passed by like zombie automatons. Like most other drones, they were fitted with extensive mechanical implants and they paid the "Eidolons" little mind.

"Come along," Taldyr said quietly as he continued to lead the way. Martin, Ella, and Julian followed closely and continued to eye their surroundings in complete dread. "Remember this pathway just in case of an emergency."

Eventually, they made their way around the platforms until they came to a new part of the ship leading to the cloning facilities. Upon entering that sector of the base, they came to one of the rooms dedicated to that function. The team was immediately confronted by two drones standing watch over some birthing tubes lining one wall. To the Rangers' horror, they could see developing humanoid figures within the vats connected to tubes and cables. They floated in a strange liquid that helped promote growth and provide nutrients and every so often, the tubes would bubble.

"This is sick and twisted," Julian muttered in dread as he continued to stare at the artificial humanoids being grown. Along the other end of the wall, there were several more matured specimens which were connected to Conduit helmets and attached to the wall. They all appeared inert and comatose while being inundated with controlled doses of information used to train and indoctrinate them.

One of the science drones who was in charge of maintaining the room turned curiously, "Lieutenant. Are you lost? Is there anything I can do for you?"

Taldyr quickly turned his blaster spear on the servitor and fired right into its chest, "I need you to stay down."

As the drone collapsed with a smoking crater in its chest, the other guard drones moved to intercept but Martin and Ella used their own Xeno spears to fire several energy bolts into the torsos of those guards. The moment they collapsed, Martin hurried to the door and shut it, "All right, let's get to work. Ella, start planting some of those charges. Julian and Taldyr, get on those Conduits."

While the Red Ranger guarded the door and kept watch, Ella emptied out a case and began planting C-4 explosives around the room. Meanwhile, Taldyr punched in a few codes in a wall console which allowed Julian access to one of the matured clone soldiers. Julian fumbled nervously with some tools for a moment before going to work on the base cords connecting the Conduit helmet to the wall. A couple tense minutes passed before Julian severed the connection of the Conduit and freed the helmet. Unfortunately, the sudden jolt and disruption sent a shock through the clone and killed it. As Julian slowly removed the helmet, Taldyr grimaced and put a compassionate hand over the dead clone's forehead.

"Forgive me brother… for what I've done, and for what I'm about to do."

As the Rangers regrouped in the room, Taldyr threw himself on Martin and began to put him in a headlock. The alien drew a Xeno pistol and put it to the Red Ranger's chin while Ella and Julian froze in shock. "Both of you, leave this place right now!"

Ella reached for her morpher at her wrist, "Taldyr? What the hell are you doing? Why?"

"I knew it! I knew he was a traitor! He couldn't be trusted!" Julian cried in alarm as he held the case containing the newly recovered Conduit helmet.

"Forgive me. I have my reasons for doing this," Taldyr answered shooting at the ground by the Pink Ranger's feet to force her back. "Go now! Take your Conduit and leave! I will take your Captain."

"Do what he says Lieutenant. Save yourselves and get back to the shuttle," Martin grunted while trying to break free of the Xeno's choking grip.

"To hell with that! I'm not leaving you Martin!" Ella cried in outrage.

"Ella!" Martin answered sharply, "The success of this mission hinges on this very moment. Please… just trust me. Secure the shuttle and wait for Erik. That's an order."

Ella gritted her teeth with a conflicted look on her face. She didn't want to leave her friend and leader behind, but he was trusting her. He had said before she was a good soldier and he trusted that she'd always follow his orders. She didn't know what was going on or why, but she had a job to do and protecting Julian was now her responsibility.

She stood down and nodded grimly before putting her helmet back on, "Come on Julian. We're going."

"What? Why?"

The Pink Ranger gave him a push toward the door, "Now's not the time. Just go!"

As the two made their escape, Ella gave one more worried look before heading back toward the halls leading back to the shuttle. Once they were gone, Taldyr growled, "You're a fool Captain Sterling. You must know I'm going to take you to Warmaster Hellspont myself."

Martin smiled defiantly, "Good. I'm counting on it."

As a group of Xeno guards rushed into the room after hearing the sounds of weapons fire, Taldyr switched the mode of his blaster to stun and shot Martin in the back. As the electrically charged pulse dissipated, the Red Ranger collapsed face-first in an unconscious heap on the floor. The other Xenos paused and stared at the intruder in shock before Taldyr looked up at them with a smug smile, "What are you all waiting for? Pick that Terran scum up off the floor. We're going to give the Warmaster a little gift."