Heather Hillard and Monica Oliver stood side-by-side in the control room of The Command Center's training room, along with their husbands, and the parents of their children's closest friends. Their children and their friends had just revealed themselves as The Power Rangers to them and had been training to fly strange spaceships with wings that opened into an X shape for the last several hours. Now, that they had the basic controls and maneuvers down, they faced their first true test. A simulated engagement between their X-wings, and Imperial TIE fighters.
"Zordon, what will happen if the X-wing one of the kids is in gets destroyed?" Monica asked looking at Zordon nervously.
"Not to worry Misses Oliver, should one of the ranger's craft be destroyed, they will teleport up here perfectly safe."
Monica nodded at Zordon before she turned her attention back to where the other parents were looking. The simulation was just beginning and the kids now wore orange jumpsuits with black leather boots and gloves. On their chest, each wore a lightweight light grey flak jacket with a life support unit over top. The last item of clothing they all wore, was a white flight helmet with retractable polarized visors with an amber tint and two insignias one on each side of the helmet. On the right, was an emblem that resembled an oddly shaped red bird. On the left, each ranger had an insignia replicating their individual Power Coins.
The training room transformed into a large hanger bay with several X-wings and other spacecraft they had not heard the name of. Then, the sound of loud alarm claxons was heard. "Imperial fighters inbound! Scramble all fighters! I repeat, scramble all fighters!" a male voice called over the starcruiser's intercom. Tommy and the others quickly climbed the small rolling leaders that had been placed by the six X-wings, lowered themselves into their cockpits, strapped themselves into the seats, and closed their canopies as they began warming their engines.
Tommy looked over at the Rebel Marine holding two large signaling lights, waving various fighters into action. Finally, he pointed them at Tommy then held the one in his left hand vertically, and waved the one in his right towards the hanger bay door. He lifted off and eased the throttle forward, and glanced over his shoulder as one by one, the rest of the ranger team lifted off. Each of them pushed their throttles to full once they cleared the hanger of The Moncalamari Starcruiser.
"Alright, pair off and cover each other," Tommy said over his coms unit.
"Right," Kat said confidently as she took position off of Tommy's starboard wings. Being the most capable pilots thanks to Tommy being guided by The Force and her experience with The Firebird Thunderzord they had paired off and would be most likely capable of covering the others as well as each other. She glanced over and watched as Billy eased his X-wing next to Jason, and Trini next to Zack. "Billy, your a little tight on Jason's wing ease to your starboard side."
"Affirmative, thanks Kat," Billy said his voice sounding nervous.
"Lock S-foils in attack position and angled your deflectors to front, here they come!" Tommy shouted. In the distance moving specks among the stars got larger, and then, green laser bolts began to streak past the assembled group of X-wings, A-wings, and a hand full of larger and slower Y-wings. The two large groups of fighters met head-on before breaking off into separate dog fights that overlapped one another into a deadly fur ball.
"I can certainly see why Rebel Pilots used these amber-tinted visors. Out here against the stars, these TIE fighters would be impossible to see at a distance," Billy said as he pulled his X-wing through twists and turns as he and Jason chased a pair of TIE fighters.
"Yo, Billy man, spare the techno-speak for later," Zack laughed.
"That's a kill!" Tommy said he sent a folly of red laser bolts at a Tie fighter and the completely unshielded craft exploded.
"Nice Tommy!" Kat said as she fired her volley of laser fire. "Score one for me too!"
"Tommy, Kat, Watch out! you've got a whole mess of them on your tails!" Trini yelled.
"We see them, thanks Trinie. Anyone got a shot?" Kat asked as she and Tommy began turning and rolling wildly trying to shake the group of TIE's.
"Hang on!" Jason yelled as he fired managing to take out one fighter.
"We'll try and..." Zack began before his comms line went dead, he had failed to notice a TIE closing on him and was now standing in the control room.
"One of them got Zack! Oh No! I can't..." Trini's line went dead and she too teleported into the control room.
"Billy, Jason, break off and cover each other!" Tommy yelled.
"But, Tommy," Jason began as he narrowly avoided a volley of green laser bolts.
"I have an Idea," he said as he looked at the throttle lever. He removed the durasteel locking lever that kept the port and starboard engines in balance and placed his hand on the port side half of the control. "Kat, slip in behind me and drop below my hull.
"Okay," she replied her tone nervous and uneasy. She did as instructed, trusting that Tommy had some kind of plan. Tommy glanced back and once he saw Kat get into the position he pulled back hard on the port engine control cutting power to it completely. At the same time, he stomped his left foot down on the left yaw pedal and held the control yolk tightly as he threw the fighter into a wild flat spin. As the nose of the X-wing came around, he opened up a long volley of fire. Several TIE fighters were destroyed by Tommy's laser bolts, and several more collided with each other as they panicked and tried to avoid Tommy's lasers and debris from the other doomed TIE fighters. Only three TIEs remained and they broke off, no longer interested in a fight as the rest of the remaining Rebel starfighters formed up on Tommy and Kat.
The simulation ended and Tommy, Kat, Billy, and Jason climbed out of their X-wings before they too vanished and the two teens joined the rest of their team in the control room."Nice work everyone," Tommy said smiling at his team. "We've done a lot today. Let's call it for now, and work some more tomorrow."
"Sounds good man," Zack said his tone somewhat somber.
"You okay Zack?" Jason asked.
"Yeah, I just don't like the fact that I would have bought it in an actual battle," Zack answered.
"Yeah," Trini said with a heavy sigh as she looked at her parents who looked horrified.
"I get it man," Tommy said placing his hand on Zack's shoulder. "If we end up in a battle like that, we do need to be prepared, and if we sense too much danger, we can always teleport out."
"I know Tommy. I'll shake it off. Anyone want to hit Ernie's?"
"Yeah, I could go for one of Ernie's turkey and Swiss wraps," Kat said. "Besides, my first ballet class is in a couple of hours," she added glancing at her watch.
"Alright, let's get some lunch," Tommy laughed.
"We should all head home as well, at least for a few hours. I don't think we want the neighbors any more suspicious than they likely are already," Heather Hillard said glancing around at the assembled parents.
"A wise decision," Zordon said. "Alpha and I will monitor all of you from here."
"If Darth Vader returns we will teleport all of you back here at once," Alpha added.
"Alright guys let's go," Jason said before they all teleported home and the teens made their ways to Ernie's.
"Hey, guys!" Ernie said waving at the teens from behind the bar when they walked in.
"Hey Ernie," they replied together as they took their usual table.
"Kat, are you okay? Word is there was some kind of attack at your place last night?" Ernie asked as he came t the table with a pen and pad of paper.
"Yeah," she answered with a nod. "Thankfully The Power Rangers showed up and ran whatever that thing was off."
"What a relief. I tell ya, I don't know what we would do without them looking out for us," Ernie replied. "The usual drinks?"
"Yeah, and a ham and cheddar sub with tomatoes, onions, and spinach for me please," Tommy said.
"Alright next?"
"I'll take one of those too, please," Jason said.
"Okay," Ernie said writing it down.
"Can I get a burger with everything and steamed vegetables please?" Zack asked.
"You got it," Ernie said with a smile.
"I'd like a grilled chicken breast sandwich, with lettuce and cheddar cheese, light mayo, and a side of mixed fruit please, Ernie."
"You got it, Billy."
"Can I get a spinach salad with shredded cheese and extra tomato, and chicken with the housemade raspberry dressing?" Jason asked.
"Sure thing Jason."
"I'd like a turkey and Swiss wrap please," Kat said when Ernie looked at her.
"Alright, and last but not least," he said as he looked at Trini.
"Another wrap please, Ernie."
"Sure thing, I'll be right back with your smoothies, and get these started for ya."
"Thanks, Ernie," Tommy said as Ernie began walking back to the bar.
On the moon, Lord Zedd stood in a hidden chamber deep within his lunar palace lit only by the light of a thousand candles. He stood in the center of a large circle filled with ancient runes as he read from an ancient tome of Blackmagic. He began to chant in an alien language as he raised his staff and drove the pointed end down into the center of the circle, causing the runes to glow a deep dark purple, and the flames of the candles to turn from yellow to blood red. He continued his chants and a few seconds later a portal opened.
Through it, he could see two guards in crimson robes with polearms at the ready, standing to either side of what looked to be a large metal seat pointed so it's back was to him and faced a large window looking out over a massive city as the sun rose on a new day. Zedd growled and readied himself for a fight. He stepped through and the guards activated their weapons. The ends of the polearms now had short blades similar to the laser sword he knew the green ranger carried, only red like the one he had indeed seen the armored warrior use the night before.
Before Zedd and the two guards could charge at each other the metal seat slowly turned, revealing an old man with a scarred face and sunken sickly looking yellow eyes in a long hooded black robe. "Welcome my friend," the old man said in an oily voice. "I trust your journey was as pleasant as I had foreseen?" Zedd said nothing. He only stared at the old man, a strange dark power seemed to radiate from him. One that Zedd had to respect, it in fact rivaled his own. "Leave us," the old man ordered. The two guards shut off their weapons and left the room, giving Zedd a wide space to himself as they passed.
"I am Lord Zedd, Emperor of all I see. Who are you?" Zedd said pointing the Z on the end of his staff at the old man.
"I am Darth Sidious, Emperor of this galaxy. I believe, Lord Zedd, we have a common enemy."
"The green ranger?" Zedd asked, "Do you know of this strange power he has that the others do not?"
"I take it the others that were reported with him on Dantooine were his friends, I believe if the descriptions I've been given are accurate you might call them the black, pink, blue, yellow, and red rangers?"
"Yes, The Power Rangers and their mentor Zordon are my mortal enemies, and I will see them destroyed."
"'Power Rangers' you say? Are they Jedi like the green ranger?"
"I don't believe so, at least they lack the power that Tommy, the green ranger has. He alone must be what you call a 'Jedi.' What gives him his power? I must know!"
"the same thing that provides me and my apprentice Darth Vader with our power. The Force. Lord Vader and I however draw on the power of the much superior Darkside of The Force."
"'Darth Vader?' You mean the creature that fought the rangers to a standstill last night?"
"Yes, a shame they managed to make Lord Vader retreat, but, valuable data was gathered regardless," Sidious said with a smile that made Zedd believe he had a plan. "Now come my friend, I wish you to view a test with me."
"What test?" Zedd asked as blast shields lowered over the windows and a large screen dropped from the ceiling showing a planet that looked not too dissimilar from Earth.
"The first full power test firing of The Empire's greatest weapon The Death Star."
Back on Earth, just as the rangers vanished their meals and paid their tabs, Tommy picked up Kat's bill as well, a massive but brief thunderstorm hit. The thunder shook The Youth Center even before what everyone else believed to be an earthquake began. The teens looked at each other and ran for a secluded hallway, did a quick glance to make sure they were not being watched and teleported away to The Command Center.
"Zordon, what's going on?" Billy asked once they came out of their teleportation, followed by their parents.
"My sensors indicate that Lord Zedd has used ancient and powerful magic to open a dimensional gateway.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Tommy said nervously.
"Most likely with good reason, knowing Zedd," Jason said as he leaned against one of the computer banks.
"Trini, if you'll assist me, I belive we may be able to deduce Zedd's logical destination," Billy said.
"Right," Trini said moving next to him as she moved next to Billy and began working alongside him.
"Why bother man? We know where he went," Zack said with a heavy sigh.
"Zack, your probably right, but, we need to be sure," Kat said looking at him with a look that told him she understood his frustration.
Tommy's sudden gasp caught everyone's attention. they turned to see him clutching his chest and breathing heavily as he held himself up against another of the computer banks.
"Tommy!" Kat said, being the nearest to him she moved to help him steady himself and was quicky joined by Monica Oliver.
"Are you Okay?" Monica asked her son.
"What happened?" Kat asked.
"A terrible disturbance in The Force," Tmmy answered breathlessly. "I...I heard millions maybe billions of people cry out in terror and then..."
"What man?" Zack asked.
"Nothing, like they were just gone," Tommy answered, a look of horror on his face.