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Disclaimer: I do not own the Power Rangers. This is a fan work and no profit is being made from it.
Author's Note: Okay folks, this story is basically the closure of a plot point started in A Tale of Unfortunate Events. There is very little story here since it covers the event as a whole and not the story behind it. That will follow at a later date.
The Journey Resumes
18th December
"Life support has been fully restored," a voice announced over the vessel's internal communication system.
It had taken a while to secure the large vessel after the pirates had been removed. Their attempts had been severely hampered by whatever security force had been left on board. Half of the prisoners had been convinced that they were dealing with a zombie infestation before Visceron had discovered that the strange suits were being operated remotely by the vessel's security computer. After that it had been a matter of breaching the ship's inner security, forcing their way passed hundreds of deadly mechanised warriors to finally shutdown the computer core.
At which point all the ship's systems had crashed. Lighting, heating, all the basics of life support had failed. The propulsion and navigation systems had locked them onto a course they couldn't identify. And when it became clear that the shielding that had previously prevented large sections of the vessel from blowing out into space, had also failed, those on board had wanted nothing more than to flee.
Fortunately there had been those on board that were capable of taking command. And under their guidance, repairs to the damaged systems had started. While large areas were still uninhabitable, they had managed to create a habitat where the new crew could survive. And in the weeks that had followed they had managed to restore some of the most important systems. There was still much left to do before the vessel would ever be considered capable of moving.
The restoration of life support throughout the most vital areas of the ship heralded a big step forward. Being able to move safely from section to section meant they could commence repairs, tacking the worn out frame enough that it would survive being moved. With access to engineering they had been able to start the process of restarting the ship's massive engines. Just one working engine proved sufficient to get their trip underway, but with the modifications the pirates had made, systems that should have been restored automatically had required manual intervention.
With the hangar bay finally unlocked it was possible for the unlikely allies to go their separate ways.
The Phantom Ranger was the self-appointed enemy of the Dianthe Clan and dedicated to their eradication. Although still injured he was determined to resume his quest to put an end to the pirates as soon as possible. Andros however was more interested in seeking out the truth about KO-35. While he suspected their missions would overlap, it was clear their priorities were not the same. And Visceron had also chosen to go his own way. Not that Andros could blame him. Visceron's strength was as a spy, uncovering useful information. It had been agreed that he would resume his information gathering and would work on establishing a network of informants to keep Andros and his allies advised. That such a plan would keep him undercover and away from the Dianthe, was an added advantage.
And then the agreements had been reached. The Red Astro Guardian would after following up on one last lead, take the data the various parties had assembled and would hand it over to Zordon. Meanwhile the Phantom Ranger would resume his previous mission, and perhaps investigate the links between the new Grand Monarch and the Dianthe. The released prisoners would remain on board the giant warship they had renamed Galaxy Megaship. Under the guidance of Kimwon, a survivor of the Battle of Kerova and a man with experience of building and commanding large vessels. They would repair the ship and promised that if any of their friends called for assistance they would do everything in their power to provide aid.
When the new crew of the Galaxy Megaship had shut down the mainframe, they had not wanted to take the chance of somebody accidentally turning it back on. The computer core along with its security force had been unceremoniously deposited on a barren world.
But the world was not abandoned. Long ago it had been a world of weapon manufacturers and violent reptilian warriors. In their haste to make more and more deadly weapons, they had succeeded in trapping their world within a time bubble. To outsiders the planet appeared devoid of life while on the surface the population continued their mad drive to build ever more powerful weapons of mass destruction.
And so when the computer core had been dumped on their world, the inhabitants had been quick to examine it and its robotic warriors. They had overlooked the insanity of the computer core as they had sought to rebuild an army of deadly robotic warriors. They succeeded, but their repairs were too thorough. Within hours of activation, the machines started to wipe out their creators while promising revenge on the humans that had stolen their ship.
"Are you sure?" Kimwon asked again as he studied the Astro Morphers that Andros had presented him. Without the a suitable source of power they were useless, but it the crew could restore the engines and install suitable relay systems they could use the devices.
Andros couldn't blame the man for being uncertain, a wiser move would have been to keep all the Astro Morphers on board the Megaship. He had actually kept some back in addition to those he had locked in the Astro Megaship's vault. They would serve as a tribute to his fallen comrades, but he didn't need all of them and Kimwon and his crew needed a way to protect themselves from attack.
"You need every advantage you can get," he replied.
Kimwon nodded and thanked the Red Astro Guardian. Returning the gesture Andros returned to the Astro Megaship and departed.
As the Astro Megaship sped through the darkness of space, Andros pondered his final discussion with the Phantom Ranger. The revelations about the Grand Monarch had been enlightening, but it had been truth about his servants that had shocked Andros.
"She's alive," he whispered still not believing it.
Discovering that there were survivors of KO-35 had been a shock, but to find out that his sister was still alive had been too much. Why was she alive? What had they done to her? Would he ever see her again? Too many questions were flooding through his mind.
"I will find you Karone, I promise. And then I will find out who took you and I will make them pay."
End of Part
<post_date>2012-12-24 14:34:00</post_date><post_modified>2022-11-15 14:09:37</post_modified>
