CHAPTER ELEVEN
What a way to go, Tommy thought to himself, as one of the Cogs above him raised his staff above his head, preparing to deliver a crushing blow, presumably intended to crush his skull. After all the monsters he'd destroyed, all the villains he'd defeated, all the nameless lackey's he'd cast aside in the name of justice, he was about to meet his end at the hand of a Cog.
Suddenly, his ears were invaded by the sound of a small explosion from above. One of the soldiers collapsed at his side, as the others raised their weapons in attack position. Tommy looked over at the wounded Cog to see a small burn etched in it's back.
But before the veteran Ranger could rise to his feet, his air was cut off yet again by the butt of a staff, which was abruptly jammed into his throat. Tommy wrapped his hands around the Cog's weapon, trying to break the hold. But it was no use, as black spots started to appear in hiss vision, as his resistance began to dwindle…
"Tommy!" Jason's voice called out. Moments later, he just barely made out the form of his close friend flying off his Galaxy Glider, executing a flying kick into his attacker, just as everything started to go blurry.
Moments later, Tommy opened his eyes to see Carter's face above him. In his hands he gripped his red Rescue Blaster. "Tommy, are you alright?"
Weakly, he nodded, as Carter helped him into a sitting position. "Sit tight, I'll cover you." As Tommy's eyes focused again, he was greeted by the sight of a battle spread out before him.
He saw Eric block a right hand from a Cog, and then kick the staff from the soldier's left hand. The Quantum Ranger then whipped the Cog over his shoulder by his arm. As a second attacker approached, Eric shot a stiff left front kick toward the Cog's torso. The robotic soldier blocked it, holding the Ranger's foot in its grasp. But Eric countered by kicking off on his right foot, and swinging it up to knock the Cog in its golden domed cranium. The Quantum Ranger then somersaulted between another Cog's legs, and kipped up. A tornado kick finished off the third robot.
Meanwhile, Cole struggled to hold up a Cog's staff as the robotic soldier pushed it down against him. His muscles began to quiver as his strength stared to fail. Suddenly, he gave in to the robot's power, and let the staff take him down. But Cole kept his feet up, and catapulted the Cog through the air. The Cog's grip broke, and Cole now held the weapon in his own hands. The Red Wild Force Ranger twirled it through the air, before hammering it into the Cog's torso, and then executing an axe kick that finished the robot off.
As two of them came at him from opposite sides, Jason leapt into a split kick that knocked them both to the ground. As another swung it's staff at his skull, Jason ducked, and hit a Sweep Kick that tripped his opponent. But the robot twirled up and charged at him again, staff in hand. The original Red Ranger was ready however, and grabbed the Cog's weapon. The robotic soldier made a loud squealing sound as Jason flipped his opponent over his head by the staff. The loud sound of steel against stone echoed through the air as the Cog hit the ground hard.
T.J. ducked an overhead swinging kick and then hit a loud punch into his opponent's face, knocking the android to the ground. Then, as another Cog swung a punch from his left, the Red Turbo Ranger blocked the shot, and took the robot down with an armbar. He caught sight of another Cog swinging down with his staff just in time to avoid the blow. The staff collided with the body of his previous attacker, as T.J. did a Sweep Kick that took down the staff wielding attacker. He then hit a hard blow to the Cog's torso, silencing it.
As two of the robotic soldiers approached Carter, who was still guarding the fallen Tommy, the Lightspeed Ranger sprayed one of them with laser fire from his Rescue Blaster. The other Cog quickly did a backflip and catapulted itself into the air, for a flying kick. Carter dove over Tommy's body, in protection of his partner and idol. The Cog flew over the two Rangers, and then grabbed Carter by his jacket. The android tossed the young man aside, and turned to Tommy…
The veteran Ranger stretched his arms out, revealing Carter's Rescue Blaster in his hands. He aimed and fired at the Cog, hitting it directly in the chest.
At the sudden sound of silence, the Rangers relaxed their bodies. Scanning the area, the rocky surface of the moon was now littered with the bodies of lifeless Cogs.
Tommy pushed himself up from the ground, and tossed Carter his blaster. "Good thinking" he said, dusting himself off.
He nodded. "Thanks."
"What was that about?" asked Wes. "We're still a good distance from the moon base aren't we?"
Andros nodded. "Venjix must have deployed search parties once his trackers picked up a cloaked signal."
"You think there'll be any more?" Eric asked.
"Maybe," the Kerovan replied. "Keep your eyes open."
The Rangers started for their Galaxy Gliders, which had now been scattered across the landscape.
"Leave the Gliders," Andros called. "We'll go on foot from here."
"On foot?" Cole repeated, surprised.
He nodded. "Their audio receptors might pick up the sound of the jets from a distance. If we go on foot, we might still be able to keep the element of surprise on our side. It's only about a half mile from here. We can make it."
"Okay then," Tommy nodded. "Let's go."
Leaving the Galaxy Gliders behind, the eight men started in the direction of the Machine Empire's moon base. Breathing in the oxygen from the tampered atmosphere, and listening to the moon rocks crunching under their boots…
Reaching up to press a button on his headcover, General Venjix checked his chronolizer.
In precisely seventy minutes and counting, the time would come.
His optical revisers watched as the Cogs hurried along to make the final adjustment to Serpentera. The Zord, after being cleaned up, had been fitted with a Machine Empire insignia between its blazing red eyes. The logo had also been freshly painted on Serpentera's port and starboard sides. Venjix wanted assurance that the universe would know it was he and the resurrected Machine Empire behind the invasion of Earth, not some pathetic Lord Zedd follower, or perhaps Zedd's son.
The robot checked its memory banks. Did Lord Zedd even have a son?
That was another thing that singed his circuits. The living were sad and pathetic enough already, but the idea that they would all eventually reproduce, and make even more disgusting vermin was simply repulsive! Venjix loathed children, so small, so annoying, so foolhardy. He at one point had considered enslaving Earth's children, as he would the adults. But alas, they would all be too weak and naïve to do him any good.
He'd just have to kill them all.
Venjix heard a set of footsteps coming up from behind him. "General Venjix," Gerrok said. "Installation of the Neo-Plutonium reactor to Serpentera is complete. Only a few minor adjustments, and the Zord will be yours to command."
The evil general pounded a metallic fist into his palm. "Excellent." He growled. "No planet shall dare oppose the Machine Empire now, lest they feel the wrath of Serpentera!"
At the sound of silence, Venjix turned to his fellow General. "Have you nothing to say Gerrok?"
The green robot bowed its pincher peaked head. "General, if I may voice a concern…?"
The evil General nodded affirmatively.
"Sir, I trust you've given consideration to the possibility of the Power Rangers interfering in your path of destruction?"
Venjix's gears grinded, as he turned away from Gerrok. Power Rangers, they were everything he had been built to oppose. They were defenders of the living, and the opposition to evil. It had been their kind that had taken King Mondo from his rightful place at the throne of the Machine Empire. They were a smudge in his perfectly painted vision of reality. Even a casual mentioning of them tended to send Venjix into an unrelenting rage.
But the robotic General held in the anger boiling in his emotion chip. "Indeed, Earth has always been a planet defended by righteous individuals."
Venjix clenched his fists. "Righteous, but foolish."
"Even Earth's precious Power Rangers cannot save them now. Serpentera's new Neo Plutonium Reactor gives it a supremacy that no band of ambitious fools could ever hope to defeat."
The evil General turned to look at Gerrok. "The abolishment of man is inevitable Gerrok. In a matter of hours, Earth as the humans know it will be a memory…"