Rangers in Space: Chapter Twenty-six
Countdown to Destruction: Five
THE
GALAXY
The
skies over Fray'loth erupted into flames as Machine gear ships pounded away at
the surface with massive beam cannons. Their crab mecha tore through the skies
and unloaded missile payloads that exploded against the surface with violent
force.
Massive
Fray'loth Talvoth-class Warbirds moved into position to intercept the machines.
The Fray'loth ships returned fire with a volley of plasma disrupters and
particle beam cannons. Several of the gear ships were ripped apart and
exploded, opening a hole in the enemy's advancing lines.
The
lead Fray'loth cruiser exploded, and fiery debris showered down to the surface,
shattering through buildings and ripping through homes before exploding against
the surface.
Gear
ships unloaded countless Cogs onto the surface. The iron warriors spread
through the streets and opened fire with optic blast bursts that ripped through
anything that moved.
***
A
Night Sister in armor of black scales stood on the rim of a crater looking down
at the Kilwan mage academy. She extended her hands towards the air and called
upon a vortex of swirling dark clouds.
Purple
lightning streaked from the clouds and exploded against the academy walls. The
walls were pulverized and debris spread everywhere as the Night Sisters below
rushed towards the compound. Each witch carried staffs etched with magick.
Kilwan's
mages stepped forth to defend themselves with energy barriers and offensive
bursts of fire and electricity. The Night Sisters deflected the attacks with
their staffs and hurled bolts of black flame towards the mages. The flames
exploded among the mages, incinerating some and severely burning others. The
stank of burnt flesh quickly drifted through the air while the Night Sisters
pressed forward.
***
The
Vongnar ships opened fire with darts of energy that exploded against several
Triforian ships. Triforian cruisers fought back with golden energy lances, but
the Vongnar cruisers were small and difficult to hit.
The
creatures covered the streets like a dark sheet, spreading destruction and
consuming everything in their path. Golden armored Triforians opened fire with
pulse rifles and other weapons to try and hold back the spider soldiers. Their
efforts failed.
***
THE
MEGASHIP
Astro
Silver shot through space on his Cyber Slider, leaning forward to increase
speed as a group of Sting Wingers closed in on the Ranger. The creatures
extended their claws and fired pulses of jade energy that exploded against
Astro Silver's back, knocking him off course and off balance.
Astro
Silver went tumbling through space, trying to blast the Sting Wingers away. He
fired golden energy darts with his blaster, but each blast missed.
The
Ranger fell from his slider and started stumbling through the vacuum of space.
He would have lost hope, if not for the sight of the Megaship. The vessel rose
up behind the two creatures and locked weapons on target.
On
the Megaship's bridge, Tommy stared ahead at the viewport. "Fire."
Justin
triggered the Megalasers. Twin beams of blue energy burst from the Megaship and
incinerated the Sting Wingers with bursts of flame.
Chris
checked his readings. "That was it. There was only two of them."
"Bring
Zhane on board," Tommy said. "Everything's going to hell. Let's see if he knows
why."
***
Zhane
was on board the ship in less than a minute. Tommy and the silver-haired
Kerovian walked from the docking port on their way to the main bridge.
"The
KO-35 mecha corps was taken completely off guard," Zhane said. "They lost more
than half their forces."
"It's
not just the KO-35 rebels," Tommy said. "Sauron's forces are attacking almost
everywhere. Our entire communications network is crippled...something has to have
happened. There's no way they could have mobilized this quickly."
They
entered the bridge. Kat turned to them immediately and went straight to
business. They had no time to greet Zhane.
"Phantom
Ranger managed to send a comm burst," she reported.
Chris
downloaded the data to his star charts. "The Kyrana and Machine Remnant are
taking Aquitar and Frayloth, Night Sisters are attacking Kilwan, Divatox is on
Avalon, mixed groups are attacking Titan, the Rigel Expanse, Coalition,
Confederation, and Triforia. More than 200 other systems are under
attack…that we know of."
Justin's
monitor beeped. "Things just got more complicated. 2,000 Velocifighters and
five Kilrathi battle cruisers just jumped into hyper space. Towards Earth."
Tommy
narrowed his eyes. "Set a course. Maximum Hyper Rush."
***
RIGEL
EXPANSE
Macus
and his men took defensive positions near the station's docking port. The
white-faced commandos, brown hair with white stripes, aimed their blasters at
the docking port door.
"Open
fire as soon as those doors open," Macus ordered his men. "We will not let this
station fall."
The
station was one of the last military bases in the expanse.
The
docking port doors started to spark as a plasma torch started sawing through
the steel. Macus and his men raised their weapons, ready to fire.
The
Rigelian's energy blasts splashed harmlessly against the Zentron's armor.
"No
energy weapons," Macus shouted to his troops. "Arm your Vi-blades."
Each
commando armed a pair of foot-long blades, and each blade was surrounded by a
sonic field. The troops charged forward and started thrashing through the
Zentron, stabbing and cutting across their armor.
Macus
took the point. He spun forward while cutting through a soldier's throat with
one blade, and jammed his second knife through a villain's chest. He followed
by slamming a spinning heel kick against another Zentron's head.
The
Zentron kept pouring forward into the base, despite how hard the Rigel troops
fought. Bones snapped and broke. Flesh ripped beneath blades. But the Zentron
kept calling.
"Fall
back!" Macus ordered.
One
of the Zentron's blades tore through Macus's shoulder. He winced in pain, but
speared his blade into a villain's faceplate.
The
Rigelians fell back while firing pulses of crimson energy to distract the
advancing soldiers. The troops moved back far enough for emergency bulkheads
slammed into place.
"Move
back to Point Six," he said. "Order all soldiers to arm shrapnel grenades."
The
space station rocked from an outside explosion. Macus activated his wrist
communicator. "What's going on?"
"Another
ship latched onto the top of the station," a voice answered.
"Order
Beta and Gamma teams to suit up and go EV," Macus said. "Have them take spatial charges. Let's blow
that ship off our hull."
***
KILWAN
Kerice
stood on the castle wall and narrowed his crystal-blue eyes at the approaching
Night Sisters. The Eltarian mage ran his hands through his tattered blonde
hair.
Nearby,
allied archers shot arrows laced with magick and combat mages hurled fire bolts
towards the approaching Night Sisters. The villains erected force barriers that
blocked the attacks.
One
of the Night Sisters extended her hand towards the sky and fired a black bolt
of lightning. Dark cloud swirled ahead and a storm suddenly cut through the
atmosphere. Black lightning exploded against the mage castle, sending rubble
and stone toppling everywhere.
Kerice
slipped from the castle wall and started plummeting towards the ground below as
the earth turned into black flames.
***
THE
MEGASHIP
The
bridge was dead quiet. The rangers and Cy manned their stations. Long range
sensors were useless. Communications were impossible. Sauron had managed to
isolate everyone but his own forces. And the rangers were not sure how.
The
Megaship was traveling the Suter route, swinging around the edge of the galaxy
towards Earth. The ship's engines suddenly squealed in protest as the ship
dropped out of hyperspace.
Chris
called out from his station. "We've hit an interdiction field."
"Polarize
the hull plating," Tommy commanded, wishing ablative armor was repaired.
"Megalasers to full power. Attack pattern break-7."
Zhane
stepped off the bridge.
The
sphere ships belonged to the Adowee, a superstitious race of beings made out of
gas. The ships themselves were armed with dozens of particle beams.
The
Megaship rolled while firing its afterburners and charging towards the center
of the sphere ship formation. The spheres opened fire with red energy beams.
Cy
dove the Megaship through a tight drop, missing most of the beams, but some
blasts exploded against the Megaship's hull. Justin trigged the dorsal
Megalasers and opened fire with blue energy darts that exploded against the
sphere ships.
Two
sphere ships flew down to block the Megaship's heading, while two closed in
behind the Megaship. The others blasted down from above, particle beam cannons
firing. Blasts of energy exploded against the Megaship hull, knocking the
rangers around on the bridge.
Lances
of blue energy illuminated space as Justin returned fire, cannons blazing in
every direction.
Tommy
stared out the forward viewport at the two spheres ahead. "Now!"
The
Megaship bow opened and the Megashuttle shot out with Zhane at the helm. The
shuttle shot forward with its vulcan-cannons firing as the Megaship arced
backwards towards the other ships. The spheres were caught off guard.
Energy
darts sprayed rapidly from the shuttle, exploding against the lead sphere
ships.
The
Megaship passed between the rear ships, opened fire with a full Megalaser
spread that started to rip their hulls apart. The interdictor drive was damaged
in the process.
The
shuttle and Megaship arced around in a figure eight maneuver and regrouped,
firing another salvo to clear off the sphere ships and blasting back into
hyperspace.
***
TITAN
Flames
danced into the night sky on the Simian world. The once great planet of
warriors was in ruins. The battle was already over, but evil soldiers were
patrolling the streets for left over victims. Colossal statues had toppled.
Buildings had broken.
The
Emperor sat on his throne, the old creature holding his ground and waiting for
death to come for him. He did not plan to go without a fight, though he could
barely move.
Several
bounty hunters entered the throne room. Each hunter was armed with various
jagged blades, poorly assembled suits of dull armor, and ragged scarves.
"There's
the old man," one of the hunters hissed as he armed a fist blade on each hand.
"He's mine."
A
silver fire ball flew out of nowhere and slammed against the hunter's chest.
The villain's armor incinerated and the hunter's body scorched as he was tossed
backward.
Grifalzor
stepped forward from the rear of the throne room. A descendant of Goldar,
Grifalzor wore shining silver armor, lined with gold around the edges. He
carried two slender longknives as weapons.
"Touch
the Emperor and you will die!" Grifalzor shouted. "On second thought...you will
die anyway!"
Grifalzor
used his wings to pounce forward and swung his blades in an outward 'x'
pattern. The knives cut through three soldiers, tearing through their armor and
ripping through their bloody flesh.
The
Titan turned to his left and slammed a knife handle against a soldier's
faceplate. He turned and chopped his other blade down, cutting off the
soldier's head.
***
TRIFORIA
Prince
Trey dashed forward through the streets of his homeworld. He could see the
advancing swarm of spider soldiers from the Ravin'lah cluster ahead.
The
prince armed his Zeo braces. "Ultra Transform!"
Golden
energy shimmered around the prince as he morphed into his Ranger form. He
placed his hand in front of his visor and summoned his Power Staff with a burst
of energy.
A
trio of the large spiders pounced towards him. Zeo Gold spun horizontally,
thrashed the legs out from a creature with the end of his staff, and slammed
the staff through the second spider's head. He pulled the staff from the second
spider's head and clubbed the weapon across the third spider's skull. The
creature's skull shattered on impact.
Countless
spiders swarmed forward. He rolled beneath one of the creature's bellies and
stabbed upward, puncturing its guts. Zeo Gold rolled back to his feet and
sliced the legs out from another arachnid. The swarm continued to advance
around him. He couldn't slow them down. They poured past him and swept through
the streets.
"It's
time for a gold rush!" he shouted as he raised his staff into the air. "Victory
Flash!"
He
fired a volley of golden energy bursts that exploded against a group of
spiders, incinerating and scorching some of the arachnids. But not enough. Not
nearly enough.
***
KATANA
BATTLE GROUP
The
Katana Battle Group formed minutes after the communication grid collapsed.
Katana was a contingency plan put into place months ago. A last-ditch effort to
invade the Eltarian system and kill Sauron.
Kruger
looked down to the technician pit on the bridge. "Magnify viewer."
An
image of Eltar grew larger on the viewport. The once great planet was
surrounded by large vessels that appeared as solid rock. Sauron had used the
planet itself as a weapon, carving ships and fighters out from the crust and
inner core.
Various
races loyal to Sauron lent their own support to the world-born fleet. Sphere
ships formed around Kilrathi battle cruisers. A race called the Qatra
contributed its hammer-shaped frigates. The Wyrun, Red Star, and countless
other pirates and criminals lent their freighters and cruisers.
Squadrons
of Velocifighters fleshed out the enemy ranks.
Kruger
opened up a comm line with his fellow fleet commander, the white-furred Admiral
Trefli'ah from Fray'loth. Trefli'ah had been a key player in the Rigel
Campaign. The Admiral commanded the fleet beta attack wing, and Kruger
commanded the alpha wing.
"Admiral,"
Kruger said. "Our ships are in position."
Within
his own ship, the furred admiral nodded. He studied the enemy's layout, perplexed
by the ships of rock. "Very well. Begin the attack."
Kruger
nodded. "Order dreadnaughts into position. Full Quantum missile barrage. Target
their lead ships and fire."
The
massive Titan cruisers loomed forward, forming the spear of the allied fleet.
Doomed missile packages slid down on the ventral side of the ships' bows.
Without warning, the ships opened fire with a Quantum missile bombardment that
streaked through space likes blue comets.
The
missiles slammed against a group of Red Star and Kilrathi cruisers. Their armor
buckled from the blasts as explosions ripped across the hull. Velocifighters
hit their after burners and charged forward to attack the allied fleet. Pieces
of wedge-shaped rock broke off from Sauron's capital ships and formed up
alongside the Velocifighters.
One
of the weapons officers looked to Kruger. "We have impact. The enemy fleet is
launching fighters."
The
Velocifighters and rock ships streaked through space towards the allies.
"Order
dreadnaughts to lay down covering fire for our fighter transports," Kruger
ordered. "Escort ships, bring fighter wings one and five into position. Launch
wings two and seven, and have them fall back into defensive positions."
The
dreadnaughts armed rotating missile packages at the ventral, port, and
starboard sides of their bows. Particle beam cannons snapped into position in
the bow's dorsal side.
The
launchers started spinning, tossing orange-tinted photon missiles through space
towards the enemy fleet. Particle beam cannons fired beams of orange energy.
The missiles exploded in the midst of the enemy fighter wing, sending shrapnel
and fire tearing through the stone fighters.
A
group of freighters flew from the allied fleet, escorting Rigel V-Fighters
towards the enemy.
***
KILWAN
The
young Night Sister Synthi, the same who had taken the rangers prisoner a year
ago before they became Astro Rangers, held a black staff down towards Kerice's
neck.
She
smiled like a hunter at the mage. "My, my...aren't you a yummy little thing."
Kerice
was groggy, still injured from the fall. But not that injured. He narrowed his
eyes and fired a telekinetic pulse that blasted the Night Sister backward.
Kerice
shook his head as the last of his dizziness faded. He rose back to his feet.
And searched through his memory for an appropriate spell.
Before
he could utter a word, Synthi extended a hand and fired a jagged purple energy
bolt that slammed against Kerice. The mage clenched his jaw with pain as the
blast tossed him backward.
Kerice
landed on his back, his gaze drifting up to the smoke across the sky. His
academy was burning. He heard the sounds of fiery explosions. The crack of
lightning. The blast of energy shields.
Synthi
walked over to him, a mocking grin on her face. "This is my first time away
from home...please make it more enjoyable...in any way you see fit..."
Kerice
narrowed his brow as he rose to his feet. "Are you propositioning me?"
Synthi
smiled. "The battle is won. I could spare 20 minutes or so..."
Kerice
shot to his feet and extended his hand, firing another telekinetic pulse.
Synthi extended her staff and deflected the pulse, crumbling a nearby rock
column in the process.
***
EARTH
Astronema's
grunts set down on Earth. Quantrons and Craterites spread through the streets
as Velocifighters covered the skies, descending on the most densely populated
cities on the planet.
***
A
white blur of motion jumped across the rooftops of Tokyo. The figure landed in
the center of a plaza, amidst thousands of Craterites.
Ninjawhite,
Trini, drew her sword. She had thought
her Ranger days were over. She was studying with her father, inspiring to be an
agent. Life, apparently, had other plans for her.
"Hidden-style
ku cut!" Ninjawhite shouted. Her energized saber curved through four arcs,
thrashing through a group of purple soldiers with a series of sparks an
explosions.
The
soldiers closed in on the Ninja Ranger with jagged sabers. Ninjawhite looked
backward and snapped a hook kick across a soldiers face. She turned to her left
and brought her sword razing through another Craterite's chest.
The
soldiers pushed forward towards Ninja White. They recognized her as their most
significant threat.
Ninjawhite
leapt up and extended her hands. "Ninpo shard attack!"
A
cloud of energy diamonds formed in front of her. The diamonds shot forward
without warning, cutting through several dozen of the soldiers.
She
landed, and one of the Craterites thrashed her with its jagged saber. Her body
whipped around and another soldier slashed across the Ranger's armor.
***
Luke
and his friends were working part time at the Pegasus auto garage in Angel
Grove, making some extra money for movies and beer.
The
earth beneath their feet suddenly shook as large explosions sounded from
outside.
Luke
and his friends left the garage to see the streets in flames. Fighters overhead
streaked by the city and blasted energy bolts of destruction that crashed
through buildings.
"What
the hell is going on?" Tyler said.
Luke
narrowed his eyes and looked to his teammates. He pulled out his Turbo key and
snapped it upright. The others nodded and did the same. They stood firm towards
the hundreds of Quantrons and Craterites crashing through the streets in a wave
of destruction.
"Shift
into Turbo! Axel Power!" they shouted as they inserted their keys and morphed
into their Ranger forms. The Turbo Rangers armed their Vi-blades and rushed
forward into battle.
Red
Racer dashed forward through the soldiers, swinging his blade left and right as
he hacked his way through enemy lines.
Blue
Racer somersaulted through the air and slammed his feet against a Craterite. He
leaned down and punched the grunt across the face.
Green
Racer parried a blow and swung horizontally across a grunt's chest. The
Craterite fell backward as explosions ripped across its body.
"Auto
Blasters!" Turbo Pink and Turbo Yellow shouted. They stood back-to-back and
fired green energy lances that exploded against a group of soldiers.
The
Quantrons moved in like an unstoppable wall, slamming against the five Rangers
and slicing them with crescent-shaped blades.
***
A
squadron of Velocifighters descended towards Miami. Phoenix Ranger, Kimberly,
stood on the rooftops of the city and watched through her visor as the fighters
descended.
The
Ranger extended her hands towards the approaching ships. "Tempest winds!"
The
resulting wind wave slammed against the Velocifighters, knocking them from the
air in spheres of explosions. Phoenix Ranger knew she couldn't stop each of the
fighters, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying.
***
Ryouma
and the other five rangers from his team rode on stampeding horses towards the
city of Stone Canyon, leaving the boundaries of the Ginga Forest behind.
The
horses burst into the city, leading the rangers through a charge. They drew
their Seijuukin, thrashing at Craterites from their horses.
They
dismounted at a plaza and readied their Galaxy braces.
"Galaxy
transform!" the rangers shouted while slapping their braces. "Ha!"
Energy
swirled around the five rangers as they morphed into their armor.
Hyuuga
lifted his sword into the air and shouted. "Knight rebirth!" Green energy
twirled around him as he morphed into the black armor of KuroKishi.
Galaxy
Red pounced forward with his Kiba Claw and Seijuukin. He swung both blades
outward in an 'x' pattern, ripping open a Craterite. He landed and chopped his
sword down, knocking a soldier's blade away before bringing his dagger against
the back of the soldier's neck.
Galaxy
Green gilded forward with his sword backwards, handle up and blade down, and
slashed across a soldier's chest. He landed in a crouched position, pushed off
the ground, and flipped forward through the air while slamming a double kick
against another Craterite.
Galaxy
Blue snapped a Craterite's neck and backfisted a second soldier out of his way.
A third Craterite swung its jagged blade down towards the Blue Ranger's head.
Galaxy Blue drew his Seijuukin and parried the blow while thrashing the soldier
across the chest.
Galaxy
Pink and Galaxy Yellow both charged forward on all fours, dragging Craterites
across the ground. They slammed the Craterites against each other and rolled
across the ground.
KuroKishi
leapt forward, somersaulting through the air as his blade energized with onyx
power, and swung the sword downward through a powerful diagonal arc. The blade
streaked with power while thrashing across three of the soldiers.
A
group of countless Quantrons teleported to the surface to reinforce the Craterites.
The Quantrons took the Rangers off guard and slammed against them, blades
twirling and thrashing across armor.
***
Jason,
Rocky, and Adam stood back-to-back as Craterites approached from all sides. The
three teens had been on campus at Angel Grove University when the attack
happened.
"Let's
bag 'em," Jason said as he pulled out his morpher. Rocky and Adam readied their
Aura braces.
"Shogun
transform!" Jason shouted. "Ninja power!" Energy circled around him like the
wind as he morphed into his Ninjared armor.
"Chakra
ignite!" Rocky and Adam shouted. "Aura Power!" Energy shimmered around them in
blue and green light as they morphed into the Tenma Ranger and Lion Ranger.
Ninjared
swung upward with a diagonal strike that thrashed through a Craterite. He
snapped forward with a spinning hook kick that slammed across a second
soldier's head. More of the soldier surrounded him. He swung left and right
with his saber whirling, striking through any opponent within arm's reach.
Tenma
Ranger tornado kicked a Craterite to the ground. He armed his nunchuku and
swung the weapons forward, bashing across a second soldier's head. He
inner-crescent kicked that soldier down.
Lion
Ranger speared his staff against a Craterite, and slammed the edge of the
weapon against the back of the soldier's head. He swung the staff backward,
twirling the weapon while smashing across another soldier's head.
For
every soldier they knocked down, ten more took its place. The Craterites pushed
forward, surrounding the three Rangers.
***
The
Megaship speared into real space around Earth's orbit. Zhane's Mega Winger flew
in from a perpendicular vector. A cloud of Velocifighters blocked their path.
The rangers saw several explosions erupt on Earth's surface.
"Polarize
the hull plating," Tommy said. "Auxiliary power to Megalasers. Take us home..."
The
Megaship charged forward towards the hundreds of fighters in the distance.
Chris
called up a sensor report. "Quantrons are on ground in the United States,
Europe, Japan, and China. All active Ranger teams and heroes seem to be
responding."
"Head
for Angel Grove," Tommy said as the Velocifighters grew larger on the
viewscreen.
Justin's
monitor started to blink. "We're entering firing range."
"Everyone
hold on to something," Tommy said.
The
forward view screen flashing with blinding red energy as nearly a hundred
fighters opened fire at once. Blasts slammed against the hull as the Megaship
rolled and maneuvered, trying to avoid as may blasts as possible. The Megalasers
returned fire with a full salvo that sprayed countless energy darts into the
fighter cloud.
The
blue energy beams ripped through cockpits, tore apart wings, and incinerated
pilots. The Megaship fired its afterburners and blasted deeper into the fighter
cloud as explosions ripped across the hull. Hull plating energy buckled as
blasts cut deep into the ship.
Countless
streams of energy illuminated the forward view port as the bridge shook from
numerous impacts. A port station exploded from an energy overload that took out
the main lights. The dim emergency lights lit the bridge, accompanied by sparks
from several control panels.
"Hull
plating is off line," Ashley said.
"Transfer
emergency power to structural integrity fields," Tommy said as another volley
of energy blasts slammed against the ship. "Change heading to 3-1-7 mark four.
Continue firing all cannons."
The
Megaship rolled hard to starboard and fired a salvo of blasts that exploded
against the Velocifighter screen. But the fighters kept coming. Trios of
fighters rotated attack runs on the Megaship from all directions, making it
nearly impossible for the ship to maneuver.
"Have
Zhane come about and turn their left flank," Tommy ordered. "Ashley...Tap into
the Megashuttle. Drain all the power you can, then drop it."
The
Megaship's bow split open and discharged the Mega Shuttle. The shuttle twisted
and turned as it was thrown through the Velocifighter formation. It's systems
overloaded on Ashley's signal, creating a massive explosion that wiped out four
squadrons of fighters.
The
blast gave the Megaship some extra breathing room.
"How
are we holding up?" Tommy asked.
"You
don't want to know," Ashley answered.
Kat's
monitor beeped. "Zhane is in position."
"Tell
him to have his zord rise up and arm the beam cannon," Tommy said. "Tell him
he's the only way we can reach the surface."
Kat
fed Zhane his orders. The rangers heard his reply over the comm system. "No
pressure."
"Zhane,
I'm not in the mood for banter," Tommy said.
Astro
Silver switched his zord to warrior mode. "Mega Winger, rise up!"
The
energy beam effortless cut across the Kilrathi cruiser's shields and armor,
slicing through the ships innards, melting bulk heads, and exposing engines.
The five Kilrathi ships exploded one-by one as they ripped apart.
The
beam cannon powered down. It's only drawback was that its power supply was
limited, normally to three shots at a time.
The
Megaship blasted through the Kilrathi wreckage and entered the Earth's
atmosphere.
***
The
GALAXY
The
last of the Machine crab mecha secured the capital city of Fray'loth. Cogs
rounded up survivors and herded them towards transport sites, where they could
be divided for various types of slave labor. Gen. Venjix did not like to waste
time.
The
black-armored Machine had spent the year rebuilding an army that the Zeo
Rangers had destroyed. Sauron had expedited the process considerably. The
Machine Empire was once again a force to be reckoned with.
"Settle
in the occupation force," Venjix ordered his troops. "Prepare to launch our
next attack on surrounding systems. I will coordinate from here."
Nearly
a hundred gear ships left Fray'loth for their next targets.
***
Zeo
Gold was getting tired. Every muscle in his body ached in protest, but he moved
on. Hacking his way through an unending group of spider creatures. He batted a
spider aside with his staff and thrust the end of his staff through another
soldier's belly.
He
sidekicked a spider and smashed in its skull with a strike from the staff. He
tried not to get distracted by the screams of death coming from all around him.
Webs were starting to cover the streets as inured soldiers and civilians were
strung up by the insect army.
"It's
time for a-" one of the creature's leapt on top of Zeo Gold and squeezed
tightly, cracking at least two of the Triforian's ribs. Zeo Gold tried to
strike back, but his lungs ached for oxygen. The grip was too tight.
Zeo
Gold fell into darkness.
***
Fired
burnt across the mage academy of Kilwan. Synthi spun forward, bashing her staff
across Kerice's face. The mage fell backward. Synthi aimed her staff towards
the mage's head. The staff crackled with black energy.
A
sly grin crossed her face. "Your quaint little academy is fallen. Most of your
friends are probably dead." She licked her lips. "But I would like to keep you.
For my play pen."
***
Macus
was alone in the lower levels of the Rigel station. His commando teams had
succeeded in blowing the enemy ship off the station's hull. But countless
Zentron warriors still stalked through the station's corridors.
He
heard a group of the enemy soldier passing through a corridor that ran
perpendicular to the small passage he hid behind. He armed his vi-blade.
***
The
Aquition city was in flames as Namor's troops moved forward. The planet's
Ranger team was surrounded on all sides by amphibious soldiers covered with
dark scales.
Pegasaur
Ranger, recently escaped from the zord outpost, was knocked backward by a
fin-shaped blade. Explosions sparked across his blue armor as a soldier leaned
down and started chopping, no sign of relenting.
***
The
Katana battle group was in shambles. Three dreadnaughts exploded from a volley
of molten plasma fired by the vessels carved from Eltar's surface.
Kruger
opened up a comm line with his fellow fleet commander, the white-furred Admiral
Trefli'ah. "Admiral, we need to fall back and regroup..."
Trefli'ah
narrowed his eyes as he stared out the view port. More ships of rock flew from
Eltar's surface and reinforced the enemy fleet's defensive lines. He lowered
his head, his fur wrinkling with shame. "Fall back."
***
EARTH
The
Rangers leaned as far forward on their sliders as possible as they shot down
like bullets towards Angels Square. Dense groups of Quantrons spread across the
streets for as far as the eye could see.
Astro
Red backflipped off his Slider, letting the sled crash through a dense group of
Quantrons in the center of the city street. Red Ranger landed while thrashing
his saber downward in a powerful strike. He snapped out his leg, side kicking a
Quantron in the faceplate.
He
swung his blade to the left, cutting through the armor of three Quantrons. Two
of the soldiers slashed their blades across Astro Red's back. The Red Ranger
snapped his leg around in a hook kick that knocked smashed the two Quantrons
aside.
Astro
Red hopped onto the roof of a nearby car to get more maneuvering room. He drew
his Astro Sniper and fired darts of blue energy that exploded through Quantron
armor.
He
activated his helmet communicator. "Chris, look at the Quantrons' dispersal
pattern. Transfer all data to myself and the other Rangers. We can't lose sight
of each other."
Astro
Red hopped off the car and slammed a sidekick against a Quantron. The soldier
crashed backward into three other Quantrons.
Astro
Black cut across a corner towards a second pocket of Quantrons. Black Ranger
swung his staff, smashing the side of a soldier's helmet. He stabbed his staff
against a Quantron and used the leverage to hurl the soldier backward. The Quantron
went crashing through a nearby window.
"Tomahawk
Hurricane!" Astro Blue shouted as he spun forward, holding his tomahawk out and
chopping through a row of soldiers.
A
Quantron threw him off balance with a swipe from a crescent-shaped blade. Explosions
ripped across the Ranger's armor.
A
wing of Velocifighters broke through the atmosphere and swooped down towards
the ground battle. The fighters opened fire with pulses of energy. Energy
blasts exploded around the Rangers, sending them tumbling through the air along
with Quantrons.
Astro
Red slowly rose to his feet. "Drill Sniper, booster mode!" he aimed the weapon
at one of the Velocifighters, but a Quantron slashed across his arm and kicked
the Ranger backward.
Another
whine cut through the air. The Mega Winger zoomed down from the clouds. The
ship locked onto three Velocifighters and opened fire with rapid-pulse blasts.
The blasts exploded against fighters, causing the small attack ships to burst
into spheres of flame.
A
fighter opened fire on a nearby building. The top half of the building exploded
into rubble. Debris started crashing to the ground below.
Astro
Pink leapt aside to avoid a large chunk up concrete. She rolled to her knees as
a Quantron thrashed upward across her chest.
Astro
Red speared his saber through a Quantron's faceplate and spun forward,
decapitating a second soldier.
Mega
Winger rose to warrior mode and landed on the streets, crushing a group of
Quantrons beneath its feet.
Velocifighters
flew towards the Mega Winger and opened fire. Each blast exploded against the
zord's armor, knocking it backward. Mega Winger opened fire with head-vulcan
cannons that shot darts of energy into the air. The energy blasts exploded
against several fighters, blowing them from the skies.
Astro
Silver opened up a comm line with the other Rangers. "Guys, these fighters are
moving for an attack run on the city's main shelter."
"Quantrons
are moving that way too," Astro Black said.
"Damn,"
Astro Red cursed beneath his breath. "Chris, come with me."
Astro
Red charged forward through a wave of Quantrons. The Rangers sword spun in a
series of intricate slashes and maneuvers. The blades cut down every soldier
that got in his path, knocked blades away, and pierced the enemy formation.
Astro Red was not about to let anymore innocents get hurt.
***
Quantrons
spilled into a vacant city blocked and charged towards the shelter's main
entrance – a large metallic blast door on the side of a tall building.
Velocifighters
above opened fire on the building. Walls exploded and windows shattered as half
the building collapsed, spreading debris and dust on the streets below.
Darts
of blue energy exploded against a group of Quantrons. Astro Red and Astro Black
moved in from around a corner, passing under a walkway bridge while firing upon
the soldiers.
Astro
Red downloaded his drill saber and leapt forward. He landed while bringing his
down in a wide diagonal arc. His saber thrashed through three enemy soldiers.
Astro
Black slammed a hook punch across a soldier's head and pushed forward with a
cross punch that smashed in a second soldier's faceplate, shattering its visor.
"Why don't these freaks just go home!" he said as he slammed a punch across a
soldier's head.
"Try
asking them," Astro Red said, trying to break the tension. Chris was normally
calm. He hoped his friend would be okay in the battle's aftermath...if they all
survived.
"Go
home!" Astro Black shouted as he smashed the side of a Quantron's helmet with
his fist. The Quantron stayed on its feet. "Nope. Still here." Astro Black smashed his elbow across the
soldier's head.
A
blinding, pale-green light shot forward from behind the Quantrons. A group of
the soldiers exploded, the light burning through their armor and vaporizing
them.
Astro
Red smiled beneath his helmet as he saw the attacker. "Alright, Adam."
Lion
Ranger moved forward through the Quantrons. He whirled his Thunder Staff,
batting Quantrons aside left and right.
***
The
Kilrathi landed a small group of troops in Angel Grove before their ships
exploded. The six muscular lion creatures stalked through the deserted streets
with their blasters. Groups of Craterites dotted the streets where the soldiers
stalked.
"They're
hiding underground in holes," one of the soldiers growled in his native tongue.
"Cowards..."
Darts
of blue energy exploded against the lead Kilrathi. The energy blasts ripped
through his armor and tore through his body.
Countless
Craterites fell into formation to protect the Kilrathi as Astro Blue charged
forward to attack. He slammed a front kick against a soldier and spun forward
with his axe while slashing another Craterite aside. He kept his momentum,
using his axe to hack through the soldiers like a machete cutting through dense
jungle.
***
Another
five hours passed. Five hours of continuous fighting. The sun had set. Astro
Yellow was below a building overhang outside a hotel as a wave of Quantrons
approached her. She leapt forward and slammed an axe kick against a soldier's
collar bone.
Her
muscles ached more with every blow and burned with fatigue. But she kept
moving. She slammed a hook kick across a soldier's head.
A
Quantron moved in behind her and slashed her back with a crescent-shaped blade.
Explosions sparked across her armor as she collapsed. She bit back a scream as
another soldier slashed upward across her chest armor.
A
curved blade swung down towards her helmet. A drill sword blocked the blow and
kicked the Quantron away. It was Astro Red. He parried a blow and slammed the
end of his saber through a soldier's faceplate to keep it away. He spun
backwards with a reverse sidekick that smashed a Quantron backward.
Astro
Red helped Astro Yellow to her feet. "Hold on, Ash."
Astro
Red thrashed his blade upward through the chest of another Quantron, explosions
sparking on impact.
A
dark shadow passed over the night skies above. It was Astronema's Dark
Fortress. The fortress dumped another group of Quantrons onto the streets.
"Tommy,"
Ashley said. "We have to fall back."
"What?"
Astro Red said as he cut down another soldier.
"We
need to regroup," she said. "We can't do this alone. There's too many of them,
and we need a plan."
Astro
Red cut through another soldier's neck. More Quantrons and Craterites
teleported down from the Dark Fortress as others simply jumped from the vessel.
"Kat," he said, opening a comm line. "I need you to send out a signal. Broad
frequency rotations. Contact every Ranger, Rider, or cyborg, and have them
regroup with us. The location...make it the old lair under the subway."
The
Rangers started to fall back.
The
Mega Winger still stomped through the streets, but was badly damaged. The Dark
Fortress opened fire with a volley of jade energy beams that tore through the
zord's hull. The Mega Winger's armor ripped apart as the zord's energy core
overloaded and exploded. Astro Silver evacuated his cockpit seconds before the
zord went up in flames.
***
The
fighting ended. Quantrons positioned themselves in holding formations in most
major world cities. Citizens were rounded up into groups on the streets for
slave labor or to be melted into genetic soup for soldiers and gene beasts.
Most
Angel Grove residents who survived the attack were safely secured in shelters.
Other pockets of residents were rounded up at Angel's Square by Quantrons.
Astronema
stood on center building of Angel's Square, where the street formed a "Y." It
was the site of the earth Rangers first battle against one of Bandora's
monsters five years ago.
Eclipter
stood at her side.
"The
Rangers are still alive," she said to him.
"We
have lost track of the Megaship, princess," Eclipter said. "They may have left
the system."
"I
find that very doubtful," Astronema said. "Find them and destroy them. Pry open
every shelter that the humans are hiding in."
***
Tommy
stood in the lair of his former sensei Kaku. The barren brick room brought
mixed memories and emotions back to Tommy. Almost dying at the hand's of Jinn.
Meeting Adam and Rocky for the first time. Learning the truth about his
father's heritage. Kou, the young Kiba Ranger who had died in battle.
Various
rangers and heroes crowded in the chamber. Chris and Justin helped Tommy set up
a holo-projection screen near the front of the room.
Tommy
recognized almost everyone. Ryouma and the rangers from the Ginga tribe who had
fought the space pirates Balban, Jason and his ninja team responsible for
eliminating the Youkai, Luke and the Turbos who faced the space pirate Divatox,
Rocky and Tommy's other former teammates, including his brother Teddy.
A
young Japanese man stood in the back of the room next to Kouishiro, Kamen Rider
Kuuga. Tommy assumed the stranger was Kamen Rider Black. The third Kamen Rider,
Dex of Edenoi, was in the lair as well.
The
youngest in the room were the Beetle Borgs. Tommy also recognized, by name at
least, the two Nova Troopers, Ryan Steele, and SHOC.
And
Billy was there. Tommy had not seen his former friend in more than a year. He
had vanished from sight without a word. Then the Rangers learned that Billy had
many secrets he never bothered to share. He basically developed an entire
secret organization, ISIS, behind everyone's back. Now Billy was in the lair,
and still had not given a word of explanation.
Tommy
took a deep breath and activated the holographic screen. He would have given
anything to have Zordon back.
"So
here's the plan," Tommy said. "Cybertron...you, SHOC, and the Beetle Borgs will
head to Fray'loth and stop the Machine's advance. Their army is strong, but
take out their leaders, and you'll leave them disorganized and out of the fight
for years.
"Ryouma,
you and the Galaxy Rangers will head to Avalon and take Divatox and her
pirates. Group up with a team there called the Avataars, then head to Kilwan
and regroup with the mages there. They'll know what to do next.
"Dex,
go to Titan. Kamen Riders Black and Kuuga will go with you. Only bounty hunters
are there now, but the big guns will be moving in after the path is cleared.
That system is too important.
"Turbos,
head to Triforia to back up Trey.
"Jason,
you and the Ninja Rangers stay here on Earth with Strange, and the Nova
Troopers. Do what you can to save lives.
"Astros,
you're heading over to the Expanse. They're our only allies in that half of the
galaxy, and we can't lose them. Cy, you'll take my morpher."
Ashley
wrinkled her brow. "What about you?"
"I'm
taking the Power Rangers to Eltar," he said. "We're going to stop Sauron...cut
off the head of the snake, and rescue Zordon. We're going to end this war."
The
Countdown continues in Chapter 27...