Rangers
in Space: Chapter Seven
Enter
Darkonda
"Alien cultures
are difficult to understand, and can sometimes seem immoral. What we must
realize is that some of our customs seem just as wrong and unjust to them."
— Dr. T.W.
Drakes, 2103
"Exploring Xenocultures:
The Path to
Understanding"
The
weeks following the Astro Ranger's battle at Titan were filled with conflict.
The ship had followed a lead on Zordon to a volcanic world in the inner
galactic rim known as Aloc Four. The lead turned out to be false, and the
Rangers had been forced to battle past an army of Magma creatures to escape.
Following their
visit to Aloc Four, The Megaship was ambushed by a squad of criminals
known as the Red Star. The Red Star employed mercenaries and bounty hunters to attack
the Rangers, but their Megazord managed to fight of the assailants.
After making
three more probe drops, the Megaship answered a distress call from a crashed
cargo vessel. The Rangers engaged Astronema's Craterites and Quantrons before
they could reach the crash site, then they had to defeat one of her genetic
creations, this one having a mushroom motif Justin couldn't shy away from
making fun of.
The Rangers
also took the offensive from time to time. They managed to intercept and
destroy several patrol ships and supply convoys, and took out a few of Sauron's
smaller outposts.
Due to their
extensive battles, Justin and the others talked Tommy into allowing a brief
shore leave. They all suspected that Ashley alone was the one who managed to
convince him.
Cy directed
them to a small planet called Setiacu. Cy assured the teens that Setiacu was of
no strategic or political importance and far removed from galactic happenings.
They agreed to
spend only a day, and not even an entire day. They'd also use the time to make
repairs, gather supplies, and rethink strategies.
The rangers and
Cy all manned their bridge stations as they traveled towards Setiacu.
"Do they have
pools and stuff?" Justin asked.
"Something like
that," Cy said.
"It's not like
any of us packed our trunks," Tommy said.
"If we can make
food in the synthatron, surely we can make clothes," Chris said.
"Sure, if you
want a swim suit made out of lettuce," Ashley said.
"That might be
nice," Justin said.
"Oh please
don't," Kat said as she laughed.
A small light
beeped on Chris' console. "I'm picking up something ahead of us on long range
sensors. I'm having trouble getting a description..."
"Are we in
visual range?" Tommy asked.
"Yes," Chris
answered.
"On screen,"
Tommy said as Chris pulled up the image. It appeared to be a cloud made up of
small metallic objects.
"Ashley, boost
power to the sensors," Tommy said.
"Sensors at 110
percent efficiency," she said.
"They're
ships," Chris said. "Thousands of small ships, no more than a few meters long."
"Hail them,"
Tommy said.
"I'm not
getting a response," Kat said.
"We should go
to tactical alert, just to be safe," Cy said.
Tommy shook his
head. "I don't want us to appear aggressive and risk drawing on an attack.
What's the tactical analysis of those ships?"
"It's strange,"
Justin said. "They each have power, but no individual power source. It's like
they're all connected somehow. No weapons we can identify, but they do have
some rather odd transceivers."
"Odd how?"
Tommy asked.
Ashley took a
closer look on her monitor. "It's not something I recognize. I'm not sure what
it does."
"Bring us out
hyperspace. We'll drop a probe to monitor them and then be on our way," Tommy
said.
Lights started
flickering around the bridge as the ship shuddered and was pulled out of
hyperspace.
"Report," Tommy
said.
"That swarm of
ships has us caught in some kind of energy web," Justin said. "I'm guessing
that's what those transceivers were for."
"We're losing
power," Ashley said. "That web is interfering with all our systems."
The rangers
looked ahead to see a large group of ships jet towards them.
"Polarize the
hull plating," Tommy said. "Bring the Megalasers online."
"We can't,"
Ashley said.
Tommy watched one
of the ships fly out of viewscreen range, and heard a clank as the ship
connected to the Megaship's hull. The other small ships seemed to keep their
distance.
A
quick flash of pink light appeared that formed into a soldier with an insect/reptilian-type
face, whose body was covered in a bulky, leathery armor. The creature pulled
out a weapon, but Cy was quick to draw both his side arms and blast the
creature down.
A flash of
light appeared to the right side of Tommy, and he side kicked the intruder in
the gut, following with a backfist as two more intruders entered the bridge.
"Morph!" Tommy
shouted as the five Rangers transformed into their armor. They batted away
intruders left and right as Cy blasted the creatures with his two side arms.
"What are these
things?" Astro Red asked.
"No clue," Cy
said as he fired two more shots. "Maybe new bio weapons for Sauron."
"Intruders have
entered engineering," DECA reported.
"Chris, Ashley,
go," Astro Red said as they ran to the turbolift. "Keep your comm lines open."
Astro Black and
Astro Yellow ran to the turbolift.
***
The three
insectoid invaders in the engine room were tampering with the Mega Accelerator
when lances of cyan energy pierced them, and they collapsed to the ground. Mega
Black and Mega Yellow ran into the room with their Astro Snipers aimed forward.
"There were
only three of them," Astro Yellow said over her helmet's communicator.
"Wish we could
say the same up here," Astro Red said. "See what you can do."
"Right," Astro
Yellow said as she walked over to a terminal on the side wall in engineering.
She removed the plating from the wall and began fiddling with wires.
"What's the
plan?" Astro Black asked.
"Those small
ships out there are linked, right?" she said.
Astro Black
nodded. "Yeah."
"Well," she
explained, "I'm betting if we fry the systems on the ship attached to our hull,
we'll take out the whole swarm."
"Worth a shot,"
Astro Black said. "How exactly?"
"By overloading
the hull plating," she said.
"That doesn't
sound so..." Astro Black was cut off as three more soldiers appeared. He blasted
one in front of him and backfisted one that snuck up to his side. "I'll cover
you."
***
Astro Red used
his Drill Saber to stab through a creature's chest, and after he pulled out his
sword, he spin kicked the soldier across the face.
"Tommy," Astro
Yellow said. "It's about to get bumpy."
"What do you..."
before Astro Red could ask, the deck started to shake violently.
Blue sparks and
electric flashes danced across the hull as Astro Yellow overloaded the
plating's defensive fields. The energy pulse generated by the overload slammed
into the alien ship attached to their hull and overloaded its systems. The
resulting feedback was enough to disable every ship in the swarm.
The deck
stopped shaking as Tommy powered down his armor. "Whatever she did worked," he
said as he examined the ship's systems. "Let's get out of here."
"Agreed," Cy
said as he grabbed the throttle control and pushed the ship to hyper-rush
velocity.
***
Astronema was
standing at her command post as Eclipter approached her side.
"The swarm has
failed," he reported.
"I knew they
would," Astronema said. "Nothing but a wasted experiment."
The swarm had
actually been a race of insectoid-like humanoids that traversed the galaxy,
mostly keeping to themselves and operating under a hive mind. Sauron had bent
that hive mind to his will.
"Are the
Rangers still on route to Setiacu?" she asked her prized warrior.
"Yes,
princess," Eclipter said.
"Excellent,"
she said as a twisted grin spread across her face. "Send our new infiltration
prototypes to Setiacu at once."
***
The Astro
Megaship approached Setiacu at impulse speed as the rangers manned their
stations. The ship's hull plating had been severely damaged, but all other
systems were operating normally, and Cy was confident he could repair the
plating with Ashley's help.
The rangers
watched the viewscreen as the gold-white-and-blue world twirled in the
distance, surrounded by sleek space stations. Each station was highly ornate
with symbols and carvings from more than 1,000 cultures.
The Megaship
wore its latest holo disguise, the Titan's Hammer, as it moved in
towards the control station.
"Open a
channel," Tommy said.
"Channel open.
Audio only," Kat said.
"This is the Titan's
Hammer, requesting permission to dock," Tommy said.
What they heard
over the comm line shocked them. They expected to hear greetings and landing
instructions, but heard only screams, explosions, and a single mad voice
laughing.
"Quite a party
down here," the screechy voice said. "You should come join."
"Where is that
coming from?" Tommy asked.
"Looks like the
main city," Kat said.
"They're under
attack," Chris said. "Some kind of fortress and Craterites. Lots of them."
"Let's go,"
Tommy said as they all ran from the bridge.
***
A
dark, circular fortress hovered over the pleasure planet's capital city,
blotting out the sun as hundreds of Craterites leapt to the surface. Fires tore
through the streets as people everywhere ran in panic.
The fortress
opened an iris port on its ventral side and reigned destruction upon the city
in the form of blinding energy blasts.
The five
Rangers raced to the city on their Cyber Sliders. This was the worst attack
they'd seen yet, and they had trouble believing Astronema would launch such an
assault. They had no doubt she was cold hearted enough, but Astronema always
operated with precision and specific targets of importance in mind. The attack
they witnessed was sloppy and relentless.
The Rangers
leapt off of their Cyber Sliders and into the fray.
Astro Red
flying sidekicked a soldier down near a pile of flaming debris and a row of
half torn columns. He turned to his right and knocked a Craterite's saber away
before backfisting that soldier across the face. He snapped to his left and
outer crescent kicked a soldier down, then skipped forward while jump kicking a
soldier in the head.
The Rangers
split up to attack their opponents, their year spent as Zeo Rangers had taught
them everything they needed to know about how to work together to contain and
eliminate a large enemy force.
Astro Red round
kicked a soldier in the gut, then knife-hand chopped the Craterite in the back.
He turned to his left and leapt towards a soldier. But as he set up to flying
punch the Craterite, a blur of yellow energy swept the soldier away and
replaced it with a small alien child. The switch happened too fast for Astro
Red to avoid slamming his fist against the child's face. The young boy screamed
as he blacked out an fell to the ground.
"No!" Astro Red
shouted as he leaned over and scooped the unconscious boy up in his arms.
Bright red blood was across the child's face. If the Red Ranger had not pulled
his punch at the last second, the child would be dead.
The
yellow flash bounced off of several columns before landing on top of what had
once been an atrium. The other Rangers gathered around Astro Red, and the new
villain laughed mockingly at them. "You really should try to watch your aim."
"You'll pay for
this!" Astro Red shouted.
"Temper,
temper," the creature said.
"Who are you?"
Astro Pink shouted.
"I am
Darkonda," he said as he bowed mockingly. "A pleasure to meet your
acquaintance. Now if you'll excuse me, I must be going."
Darkonda
flashed away in a streak of yellow light.
***
Setiacu was run
as a business, and like all businesses, it had a manager: Ketarin, of the
Gumbwei race. Ketarin's face was pale blue, and his bald head was covered with
blocky stumps. He had invited the rangers to his office to thank them for their
assistance.
The six rangers
sat around a rectangular table in Ketarin's office as he poured them glasses of
a green tinted liquid to drink.
"If not for
your assistance, the casualties would have been much worse," he said as he took
a seat at the head of the table.
"Have you heard
anything from the boy?" Tommy asked, visibly concerned.
Ketarin nodded
as he looked over a data pad off to his side. "I did manage to track him down.
He's undergoing Tensian Spore treatment. He should make a full recovery by
tomorrow. I could arrange a meeting if you would like."
"Please," Tommy
said as he nodded.
Ketarin took a
deep breath and leaned back. "Now, I would like to repay you if I could..."
"That won't be
necessary," Tommy said politely.
"Yeah," Justin
added. "We're not in this for rewards or anything."
"The reward I
offer is simply knowledge," Ketarin said. "As you can imagine, many people from
many different worlds pass through my resort. People tend to talk."
"What sort of
information do you have?" Cy asked.
Ketarin's face
was beaming with pride. "A few days ago a group of Krysh paid a visit to my
resort."
"Krysh?" Chris
asked as he raised an eyebrow.
Ketarin nodded.
"They are a band of mercenaries for hire. They stayed here under fabricated
identities with the intent of harassing my good-willed customers. We of course,
had them under surveillance."
"What'd you
find out from them?" Ashley asked.
"They were
traveling from the Valjoran System near the Unknown Regions," Ketarin said.
"After falling back from a hit-and-run mission of little consequence, they
sought cover near the Argolos Nebula for repairs. The Nebula interferes with
sensor data, so they knew they could hide there for as long as they needed.
"While in that
sector of space, they discovered an uncharted planet. A jungle world that by
all accounts seemed uninhabited to them...except for a large school of Piranthocs."
"Our
translators didn't pick up that last word," Tommy said.
"Piranatrons,"
Cy said. "They saw Piranatrons."
Ketarin nodded.
"Yes."
"They're all
extinct except for the ones enslaved by Divatox," Chris said. "That means..."
"Zordon,"
Justin said.
"Do you have
the coordinates for this nebula?" Tommy asked.
Ketarin's face
grew less positive. "Unfortunately no. But I know someone who does. I can give
you his coordinates and he will lead you in the right direction."
"Thank you,"
Tommy said.
Ketarin nodded.
"It is the least I can do for your assistance. You Rangers are a rare breed
this day and age. I'd like to stay on your good side."
***
Astronema was
not happy. She wrinkled her brow as she watched a replay of the battle on
Setiacu.
"Who dared to
attack without my command?" Astronema asked. "I had my own plans for that
world."
"A little
competition never hurt anyone," a demonic voice said from the entrance of
Astronema's bridge. She turned to face Darkonda.
Eclipter had
his sword drawn in less than a heartbeat. He swung at Darkonda, but the demonic
creature swung his own sword to block the blow.
"Eclipter,"
Darkonda said with a hissing laugh as he held the android's sword at bay. "Is
this any way to treat an old friend?"
"Eclipter,"
Astronema said in a firm voice. "Who is this intruder?"
"I'm in the
running for Sauron's new right hand man," Darkonda said, "our friendly
neighborhood lord of darkness isn't too happy with your lack of results."
Astronema aimed
her staff as Darkonda's head. "I suggest you get off my fortress," she said in
an icy-cold tone. "I've never liked having company."
Darkonda
laughed. "Who thought after being raised by this block head you'd have a sense
of humor. Very well, I'll be going. But don't be surprised if you bump into me
again soon."
Darkonda
knocked Eclipter's sword away and disappeared in a blur of energy.
***
It was the
oddest hospital Tommy had ever seen. It appeared more like a zoo to him, with
various animals and insects locked in cages, making noises as medical personnel
fed them.
He walked down
a circular hallway made up of white arches connected with a gray chained mesh.
He eventually made his way into a large waiting room that was packed with the
families of those wounded in the attack. He pulled out the data pad he was
given and took a second glance at the pictures Ketarin gave him. The parents of
the boy he had injured looked human enough. The only visible notices he saw
were larger pupils and brown spots running from their temples and down the
sides of their necks.
A white robed
doctor, an Elanian, walked up behind Tommy and placed his hand on the ranger's
shoulder. "May I help you, young one? I am Doctor Krayra"
Tommy turned to
face the doctor. He had a scaly face and head with no noticeable nose or
lips.
"Um, yes,"
Tommy said as he consulted his pad. "I'm looking for the parents of a boy who
was injured. His name is Icheb. He's a Voran."
The doctor
sighed. "Yes, Icheb...I'm afraid his parents didn't survive the attack."
Tommy rolled
his hands up into fists and took a deep breath to control his anger. "Can I see
him?"
Krayra nodded.
"This way."
Tommy followed
the doctor through the halls as he observed even stranger creatures locked in
cages. "What are all these cages for? It looks like a zoo."
The doctor
cocked his head. "I am sorry, what is a zoo?"
Tommy detested
when translators failed. "It's a place on my world where animals are held for
display."
"Intriguing,"
Krayra said. "We use them all for medical purposes. Some of the best medicines
and treatments were created by nature herself. Take, for example, Icheb's
treatment with the Tensian Spores. Those spores can be used to cure anything
from the common aliment to reattaching severed limbs."
"Where do the
spores come from?" Tommy asked.
"Tensar," he
said. "Only Tensar. They are quite wealthy as a result."
Tommy nodded.
The doctor pointed towards a circular door. "This is Icheb's room."
"Does he know
about his parents?" Tommy asked.
The doctor
solemnly nodded. Tommy sighed as the door irised open, and he walked inside.
Icheb was lying on a fanned out bed. His dark hair was a tossled mess. He
looked to be around eight Earth years old.
"Hey, Icheb,"
Tommy said as he walked inside.
The boy's face
lit up. "Are you the Ranger?"
Tommy nodded.
"One of them," he said as he tugged at his red undershirt. "I'm the red one."
"It was an
accident," Icheb said. "Don't feel guilty. I'm just glad you're real"
"What do you
mean?" Tommy asked.
"Teacher always
said that those stories about Rangers were just stories, but I always hoped
they weren't," Icheb said.
"How come?"
Tommy asked as he took a seat near the bed and leaned forward, giving the child
his attention.
The boy
slightly waved his head back and forth, a gesture Tommy assumed was the
equivalent of a shrug. "I just hoped. I really liked the stories. The stories
said we had Rangers on Vora a long time ago."
"What were they
like?" Tommy asked.
Icheb smiled,
his eyes bright as he told the tale. "They were Jakrai, outcasts cuz
they couldn't read minds like the rest of us. People back then were mean to the
Jakrai, did bad things to them. Some of the Jakrai got real mad
and started to hurt everyone else, cuz they didn't wanna be hurt anymore. They
tried to take over, and the bad gods helped them.
"The good gods
like Korveil, he's the god of fire, he's my favorite, they picked five Jakrai
and showed them love so they wouldn't be mad anymore. Then each of the good
gods gave one of the five Jakrai a power. They had a really big fight,
and the good Jakrai beat the bad ones. That's when people started being
nice to all the Jakrai."
"That's a cool
story," Tommy said as he grinned. "Are there still Jakrai on your
world?"
He nodded. "My
sister is one. My..." he stopped in mid-sentence as his face became sad. "My mom
and dad didn't like that at first but they loved her anyway."
Tommy nodded.
"They sound like good people."
Icheb nodded.
"Ya know, what
happened here..." Tommy shook his head. He had mentally prepared a speech to give
Icheb, but nothing seemed appropriate at the moment.
"Why did it
happen?" Icheb asked.
"Well, there
are just some bad people out there. People that like to pick on those weaker
than themselves," Tommy said.
"Like bullies?"
Icheb asked.
Tommy nodded.
"Yeah, just like bullies. I've never liked bullies."
"Me either,"
Icheb said. "They're like the bad people that picked on the Jakrai."
"Exactly,"
Tommy said. "That's why I'm a Ranger. I don't like to see people get picked on
or hurt because of bullies."
Icheb and Tommy
continued to talk, neither one of them noticed a blur of yellow light approach
the building.
***
Cy and Ashley
had returned to the Megaship to repair the hull plating and other damaged
systems before heading out to the Valjoran System. Chris accompanied them to plot
the fasted route using the coordinates they were given from Ketarin. The Black
Astro Ranger was becoming quite good with sensor and scanning systems, and had
expressed interest in astrological navigation. He found he had quite a knack
for that as well.
While the three
were top side and Tommy was visiting Icheb, Kat and Justin walked through an
open market to gather supplies. It was the closet thing to a shopping district
they had seen, only enhanced by a variety of holographic images.
Kat picked up a
transparent ball of light that had a dozen points of light bouncing inside of
it. As she shifted the sphere, the dots joined to create different landscape
images.
She sighed.
"We've seen all these wonderful things since we've been out here, but the circumstances..."
she shook her head.
Justin nodded.
"Maybe when this is all over we can take a pleasure cruise or something."
Kat's
heart fluttered for a moment, then she realized that Justin meant 'we' as in
all of them, not just the two of them. She smiled anyway.
"That would be
nice," she said.
The two rangers
continued walking through the market plaza and noticed a crowd start to form
behind them. The crowd seemed to keep their distance, some with looks of awe
and others with fear.
"Fans?" Justin asked
Kat as he pointed out the crowd to her.
"I don't know,"
she said.
One of the
crowd members, a female that resembled a walking panther dressed in dark purple
rubes, walked over to the two Rangers and knelt.
"Rangers...my
world, Vashala, was taken by Sauron's forces. I would ask you to please free
the place of my birth so that my people can once again walk tall and proud,"
the Vashalan said.
Other members
of the crowd started walking up to the rangers as well. Some kneeled, others
bowed or just offered gifts.
"Please watch
over Sanak. My home it is," a male covered in orange fur said.
"Glarkom has
fallen under his shadow. Save us," said a female, who was only a meter tall
with bubbly eyes.
The two rangers
were speechless as the crowd continued their pleas.
***
"DECA, display
grid 6-3-B," Chris said in the Megaship's Astrometrix lab. The room was
circular and covered with gray steel plating. A large holoprojector took up the
majority of space in the center of the room as it emitted an image of the
section of space Chris referred to.
He stood in
front of the room's sole control console, which was mounted on a small pedestal
near the room's entrance.
He sighed as he
examined the large three-dimensional map. The fastest way to their contact in
the Valjoran System was unfortunately the most dangerous. The quick route
required them to take the Tershat Corridor. Even if they managed to pass
Astronema's patrol ships along the corridor, they would have to travel through
a small gravimetric anomaly which, although harmless, would deny them
hyperspace travel. Traveling at sub light velocities through the anomaly would
open them up to assault from the pirate group within. To make matters worse,
the area the anomaly spanned was covered with asteroids.
Once past the
gravimetric anomaly, the Megaship would simply have to travel through several
sectors of space known to harbor armies loyal to Sauron, move through an area
dotted with plasma storms, and avoid the subspace tear on the edge of the
Valjoran system.
He sighed as he
ran through another set of calculations. The doors behind him swept open, and
Ashley walked in. "We're almost ready to go."
"Great," Chris
said without looking up from his station.
"What's wrong?"
she asked as she stood behind him.
"This
astronavigation stuff is a lot harder than I thought," he said. "There need to
be...I don't know...highway signs or something."
Ashley smiled
as she put her arm around Chris and kissed him on the cheek as she would kiss a
brother.
"What was that
for?" he asked as he blushed.
"I'm just proud
of you, that's all," she said. "It wasn't too long ago this whole space thing
had you scared out of your mind."
Chris shrugged.
"It's still taking some getting used to."
Ashley smiled.
"I'm getting back to the engine room. Let me know if you need any help later."
"Thanks," Chris
said a he looked over his monitor again, determined to find the best route.
***
"What's the
power output up to now, DECA?" Cy asked.
"90 percent
efficiency," DECA said.
"Blaster
bolts," Cy said as he slammed his fist against the engine room wall. He closed
his eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm himself. He went through a
silent prayer in his mind, asking for patience and clarity of thought. He
needed the latter as the result of a certain Pink Ranger.
She's so unlike
the others, he thought to himself. So...pure.
He shook his
head and continued his work. He was beginning to notice a connection forming
between her and Justin. A connection that went beyond friendship. Would it be
right of him to step in and get in the way of that? Could he if he tried?
He shook his
head again to clear his thoughts. I'll have time to think about this
later...need to stay focused on the mission...
He would have
returned to his work, but an alarm distracted him as it blared throughout the
ship.
"What's wrong,
DECA?" Cy asked.
"Darkonda is
approaching the Setiacu Medical facility."
***
Tommy left
Icheb's room and tracked down Dr. Krayra in a hallway.
"What's going
to happen to him?" Tommy asked. "Does he have any other family he can stay
with?"
Krayra sighed.
"It doesn't work quite like that in their culture."
"What do you
mean?" Tommy asked.
"You will find
this hard to understand," Krayra cautioned, "but you must remember that they
hold their customs as dear as you hold yours."
Tommy grew even
more concerned. "What will happen to him?"
"The Vorans
view a child losing his parents at Icheb's age the greatest of tragedies. He no
longer has his caregivers to lead him to adulthood, and Vorans believe it would
be a great disrespect to the parents' memory to have another raise him," the
doctor explained.
"What are you
getting at?" Tommy asked.
"Vorans believe
that when they die, their mind is released from their body and joined to the Gai-hikara,
the Great Light. The Voran believe that a child who has lost both his
mother and father has no other choice but to join his parents in the Great
Light," Krayra said.
"That's crazy,"
Tommy snapped at the doctor. "He's only a kid. There has to be someone who'll
look after him."
The doctor
shook his head. "To have someone else raise him would disrespect the memory of
his parents."
Tommy's
communicator went off, but he ignored it. "He's just a kid. He deserves to have
a life. He has no one, who will know if he's raised by someone else?"
"He would,"
Krayra said, understanding Tommy's frustration. "He understands his fate."
Tommy raised
his voice. "He's just a-" his communicator went off again, and he answered.
"Yes?"
"This is Ashley,"
she said, choosing to ignore his tone. "Darkonda is in your area."
"I'll meet you
guys outside," Tommy said. When he looked up, the doctor was gone.
***
The rangers
regrouped outside of the hospital and morphed. Cy spoke to them over their
helmet communicators. "Go to the west entrance," he directed him. "Down to the
lower level."
The
Rangers descended a wide stair case into the dimly-lit lower level of the
medical facility. The stairs led to a corridor with pipes running across its
walls. They came to a stop and looked ahead of them in shock. A insectoid-type
monster covered in a red-and-purple tinted exoskeleton stood behind a group of
Craterites that were shielding themselves behind a dozen children. The kids
seemed to be in some sort of a trance, their empty eyes staring ahead into
nothingness.
The monster
made a series of clicking noises that their translators couldn't decipher.
"This is just
wrong," Astro Blue said.
"We can't fight
past those kids," Astro Pink said.
Astro Red
rolled his hands up into fists as he thought of Icheb.
The insect
monster extended his hand, and the kids charged alongside the Craterites. The
Rangers were faced with the challenge of countering the enemy soldiers' attacks
while not harming the children. They had little, if any, room to maneuver, so
they kept their blows simple and short-ranged.
Astro Red kneed
a soldier in the gut, then elbowed it in the back. He moved forward, but was
blocked by a group of children. He dove over them, somersaulted across the
ground, and landed behind them. The Red Ranger started to run down the corridor
after the insect monster.
After seeing he
had enough space for an aerial maneuver, Astro Red flipped over the creature
and landed in front of it while assuming a fighting stance.
"You're not
getting away that easy," Astro Red said.
The monster
made more clicking noises as it charged towards Astro Red and swung his right
claw arm towards the Ranger. Astro Red grabbed the creature's arm, then slammed
the back of his fist across the insect's face.
Several meters
down the corridor, the other Rangers were being overpowered by the Craterites.
The enemy soldiers used their sabers, kicks, and punches to knock the Rangers
onto the ground. Children piled on top of the Rangers, preventing them from
moving since they dared not fight back against the kids.
Astro Red
attacked the insect monster with a punch combination, then he jump-hook kicked
the monster to the ground.
Darkonda
appeared in a streak of yellow light as he stood with his arms crossed,
standing in between the two combatants while staring down at his fallen
monster. His back was towards Astro Red.
The villain
made a sigh of disgust as he shook his head. "You can't find good help these
days."
"You," Astro
Red said as he snapped into a fighting stance. "We have a score to settle."
Darkonda turned
to face the Ranger, in his hands were the shoulders of a boy around Icheb's
age. "Temper, temper...remember where that got you last time."
"Who are you?"
Astro Red asked. "You're not just one of Astronema's goons."
"My, my...not
only can he put up a fight against little kids, but he's tough too," Darkonda
said. He laughed tauntingly at the Ranger. "Now come on," Darkonda said as he
extended his arms. "I'll let you take a clear shot."
Astro Red stood
still, his gaze drifting to the tranced boy standing in front of Darkonda.
"Nice little
trick, isn't it?" Darkonda asked, speaking of the trance the children were
locked in. "Courtesy of the Verilian Bug you met and so nicely kicked the crap
out of."
"You better
hope it's reversible," Astro Red said.
Darkonda
laughed. "Or what? You'll attack me? That worked so well last time." He ran his
clawed finger across the boy's cheek.
Astro Red
slightly lowered his guard, and Darkonda was quick to take advantage of it.
From his eyes, he fired yellow energy lightning that whipped against Astro Red,
lashed across his armor with bursts of spark, and knocked him to the ground.
The villain
tossed the boy aside and walked towards the fallen Ranger. "You Terrans are all
the same." He kicked Astro Red upside the head, then he charged in, lifted the
Ranger by the neck, and slammed him back and forth between the two piped walls.
Darkonda held
Astro Red by the neck and pressed the Ranger's back to the piping as he kneed
the hero in the gut and tossed him down. Astro Red barley had time to rise to
his knees before being kicked against his face plate.
Astro Red
rolled with the blow and somersaulted backwards across the ground. Darkonda became
nothing but a blur of motion as he zoomed past the Ranger in all directions,
slicing him across his armor with bursts of spark as he fell to the ground.
Darkonda landed
in front of Astro Red and laughed. "Gods, I'm good at this."
"That's it,"
Astro Red said as he rose to his feet. "I've had just about enough of you."
"So the Ranger
gets a second wind?" Darkonda asked.
"Let's see how
great you are when you have to fight fair," Astro Red said as he assumed a
fighting stance.
Darkonda
snapped his right hand out as he held a dagger. The dagger pulsed with energy
as it extended into a long saber. "Have it your way, Terran." He ran towards
the Ranger and swung horizontally, but Astro Red ducked under the blow and
dashed behind the villain.
The opponents
turned to face each other, and Darkonda immediately swung his blade towards the
left side of Astro Red's neck. Astro Red grabbed the villain's wrist and
twisted him around while slamming him against a pipe.
"Now who's
laughing," Astro Red said as he tossed Darkonda backward. The villain went
crashing through a wall and ended up outside of the medical facility in a wide
open plaza area.
Astro Red
landed in front of the villain, and Darkonda slowly rose to his feet. The
Ranger activated his helmet display and selected a weapon they recently
discovered in the Megaship's database. He had been itching to try it out.
"Battleizer!"
he shouted as a slender black brace appeared on his right wrist. He pressed the
first of three buttons on the device, which caused his fist to illuminate with
a red glow of energy.
He leapt
towards Darkonda. "Riser Chop!" He knife-hand chopped the villain on the chest
with a burst of spark, then leapt towards Darkonda a second time. "Riser
Punch!" Astro Red's knuckles slammed against the villain with a burst of spark
that knocked him backward.
Darkonda rose
to his knees, and the two lines of spikes on his head emitted fierce energy
blasts that exploded around Astro Red as he rolled through the sparks.
The opponents
stood and faced each other. Darkonda smiled, displaying a mouth full of
crooked, pointy teeth. "Well, as much fun as this is, it's time I got going."
The villain
disappeared in a flash of light.
***
On the other
side of the plaza, Astro Yellow, Astro Pink, and Astro Blue were forced to roll
across the ground on their backs as the children tried to get choke holds on
them. They were in no danger from the kids, but they couldn't risk harming the
young innocents.
The Verilian
monster had its arms wrapped around Astro Black's chest and was preventing him
from moving. The Black Ranger struggled to break free from the creature's
grasp.
"Hey bug brain,
leave my friends alone!" Astro Red shouted as he ran to the scene. The monster
squeaked something in his own language and tossed Astro Black to the ground.
Astro Red
snapped to a fighting stance as he and the monster started to circle around
each other. Then they dashed towards each other as Astro Red leapt through the
air.
"Riser Punch!
"Riser Chop!"
His strikes
sparked against the monster's chest as the injured creature stumbled backward.
As the monster fell, its control over the children was released. The kids rose
off the Rangers as the team regrouped.
"You guys
okay?" Astro Red asked.
"Never better,"
Astro Blue said.
The Rangers
faced the fallen monster's form, waiting for the inevitable. Then it happened.
The monster grew to giant size.
"Astro
Megazord, online!" Astro Red shouted as the Megazord was formed. The Rangers
joined in their cockpit. "Astro Megazord...Galaxy Mega!"
The Galaxy Mega
blasted through the planet's atmosphere and landed to face the giant Verilian
Bug. The creature charged towards the Megazord, but Galaxy Mega dodged each
strike with seemingly little effort.
"Nice footwork,"
Astro Yellow said.
"Let him have
it," Astro Blue said.
The Megazord
backfisted the monster twice with its left arm, then slammed its right fist
against the creature. The Verilian bug crashed to the ground.
"Download,
Astro Megazord Saber!" Astro Red shouted as the Megazord's saber appeared.
"Energize saber!"
The blade
energized as the Astro Megazord swung horizontally, running the monster through
as it fell backward and exploded.
***
Icheb's room
was empty.
Tommy walked
down the halls of the medical facility at a heightened pace, looking through
the crowd of patients and doctors as he tried to find Krayra.
He noticed the
back of a bald head covered with brown scales tinted orange and recognized the
man as Krayra. He grabbed the doctor by the shoulder and twisted him around.
"Where's
Icheb?" Tommy asked.
The doctor
sighed. Tommy couldn't tell if it was out of sympathy or impatience, nor did he
care. "A group of Vorans are returning him to their homeworld as we speak. The
ceremony will be completed there."
"Ceremony?!
They're going to kill him!"
The tint of
Krayra's scales changed from orange to red as he pried Tommy's hands from his
shoulder. "I understand your frustration, but the situation is out of my hands.
I am bound to respect the customs of other species. I healed the child and
returned him to his people. What they do with him is their own business."
"But...it's
wrong," Tommy said as he shook his head.
"Not to them,"
Krayra said. "To them, they are reuniting a child, struck with grief, with his
parents. They're honoring his parents by not letting an outsider raise their
offspring."
Tommy sighed
and shook his head.
"I am sorry,"
Krayra said. "Now if you'll excuse me...I have patients to attend to."
The doctor
walked off.
***
Astronema
slowly removed the light suit of armor from her black leather body suit as she
stood in front of the mirror in her quarters. She laid the armor in a pile on
the right side of the mirror as her staff rested on the frame's left side.
Lastly, she
removed her locket. She flicked it on as she stared at the hologram it
projected. The hologram of her family. When she saw their faces, she was
reminded of why she fought. She was reminded of why she needed to be relentless
and merciless in order to defeat her enemies.
A dark laughter
came from the shadows behind Astronema, interrupting her nightly ritual. She
grabbed her staff and snapped around. The laughter came from Darkonda. The
devilish creature held his hands up in a non-threatening manner.
"How did you
get in here?" she asked. She knew Eclipter was standing guard outside her door
and contemplated sending him in to escort Darkonda to the nearest airlock and
toss him into space.
"I have my
ways," he said with a fiendish grin. "I figured this was the best way to get
your attention."
"This is the
best way for you to get killed," she said. "No one enters my quarters."
"I'll just be a
minute," he said. "I have a generous proposal for you."
"I don't want
to hear it," she said.
"Of course you
do, or you would have shot me down already," Darkonda said. Astronema hesitated
as the creature continued. "Allow me to join you. Those Rangers were more
trouble than I thought, and they've been quite a problem for you too."
"Eclipter
believes you are not to be trusted," Astronema said.
"Of course I'm
not," Darkonda said. "But we do have a common enemy. If we combine our forces,
we can defeat our enemy."
"And then?"
Darkonda
laughed. "After the Rangers are gone...well...like you said. I'm not to be
trusted."
Astronema
couldn't help but grin. "I see."
"Sleep on it,"
Darkonda said as he bowed and teleported out in a flash of yellow light.
***
Zordon was
surrounded by a shroud of darkness, his mind trapped and unable to travel the
astral plane. For the first time in his existence, he was cut of from The
Power.
He knew what
Sauron was doing. The fiery clouds of darkness closing in on him were the
warlord's dark energies, and they were consuming him.
His mind
drifted to his Rangers. He knew they were looking for him and knew they would
find him. Zordon relaxed, ignoring the flow of evil around him. He prepared for
what he had to do when that time came. He prepared to face death's embrace.
To be
continued...Chapter 08