CHAPTER EIGHT

Walking through the halls of the Megaship, Tommy mentally reviewed what he planned to say to the group, who had assembled in the ready room. All but Andros, who T.J. had last seen on the bridge. He approached the entrance, still not used to doors sliding open automatically. This spaceship thing still took some getting used to.

Stepping inside, he was greeted by Andros' back, as he stood straight as an arrow, staring out into space through the viewport. Tommy opened his mouth to call his partner, but then frowned as he noticed something that hadn't been there before. Andros' right hand was now lined with a white bandages, through which a few small bloodstains were visible.

The Kerovan looked over his shoulder. He quickly shot his eyes up to meet the other mans.

"You alright?" Tommy asked, motioning to the bandage.

Andros nodded, though the veteran Ranger noticed that his eyes were bloodshot, and that his cheeks looked red. "Yes."

"Hey man, listen, if you need to-"

"Approaching targeted coordinates." D.E.C.A. announced, cutting Tommy off.

The moon's rocky surface now filled the viewport. It had been so long since Tommy had seen it up close. For a moment, he was taken aback by the sight.

"Are you ready?" Andros asked, his voice deeper, and gruffer than normal.

He switched back to reality. "Yeah, I was just coming to get you actually."

Andros nodded. "Good. Lets go then."

As the two men approached the ready room, Tommy tried not to glance down at the bandage, nor look at Andros directly, for fear of making him feel awkward. The irony caught him, as he hadn't even known what Andros looked like until the previous day. They had always communicated by phone, and when Andros had spoken to him in person, it was under the mask of the Red Ranger. Tommy never had a problem with that, but overtime, it had become clear that Andros possessed a much darker, elusive side to his personality, that one might miss among first look.

But Tommy didn't have a problem with that either. He of all people knew that the human spirit had its dark sides…

Inside the ready room, the Rangers were seated at a round table, with an open holo projector in the center. That was another unique feature that Tommy wasn't used to. Around the projector were three small black and green boxes, the contents of which, he knew not.

"Good news." Andros said, passing Alpha, who was hooking the projector into a power cell on the wall. "I've just contacted Leo Corbett on Mirinoi, and Aurico on Aquitar. Both were glad to help, and will be here as soon as they can."

"Leo is a good fighter." Carter replied. "He'll be a valuable asset in battle."

"And I've worked with Aurico." Said Tommy. "Despite not being human, he'll go to whatever lengths he can to assist us."

Alpha 7 turned to the veteran Ranger. "It's all ready Tommy." The android handed him a small remote.

Tommy nodded. "Lets get started then." He aimed the remote at the projector in the center of the table, and clicked it on. The device lit up, and a clip of various massive vessels surfacing over the moon's horizon projected above the table. Squadrons of small one man starfighters soared through space, as hundreds of ground troops assembled on the surface. Man sized mechanical soldiers were shown scurrying along, many holding large firearms, gear shaped shields, or long swords that glistened in the starlight.

Finally, an image of a rotund, blue and silver robot, wearing an oversized crown flashed above the projector.

Tommy pressed the pause button on the remote. "This, is the Machine Empire."

Eric raised his eyebrows. "They must have one hell of a mechanic."

"Several years ago," Tommy continued. "King Mondo brought his grand robotic Empire into our galaxy from the depths of space. Their intentions were clear: invade and conquer."

Andros stepped forward. "They despise all things that live and breathe, particularly humans. They see life as a plague in the flawless world of machines."

"They know only of hatred and destruction." Tommy said. "Luckily, myself, Jason, and the other Zeo Rangers succeeded in defeating them, driving them from their base on Earth's moon.

"But now, the last surviving members of the Empire, have assembled into a grand army, under the command of General Venjix. They've set up a base in the sea of tranquility on the moon, once again intending to invade and conquer Earth."

Tommy clicked the projector back on. Footage of the Cogs digging and scraping away at the surface of the moon blazed overhead. The screen zoomed in on a robot painted black and silver, with large black eyes, two antennae's sprouting from it's cranium, and a large red gem in the center of it's torso.

"I shot this footage just over twenty four hours ago." Andros said. "The black robot in the center of the screen is Venjix, the new leader of the Machine Empire. As opposed to King Mondo, who sought to destroy the humans, Venjix hopes to enslave mankind, and use them as his servants and soldiers."

"But why wait on the moon?" Wes asked. "Why not take the planet by surprise?"

Eric squinted at the projector. "And what are they digging up?"

"Serpentera."

All eyes turned to Jason. The original Red Ranger looked to Tommy, his eyes asking for confirmation.

Tommy nodded, answering his question. "Years ago, there lived an evil sorcerer by the name of Lord Zedd. He had once established a palace on Earth's moon, at which he kept all of his belongings, treasures, and weapons. Including his own personal Zord…"

The projector then changed. An image of a giant mechanical serpent flew across the screen. It's eyes glowed blood red, and it's two nostrils puffed smoke into its surroundings. The Zords body moved almost rhythmically, like a snake. Just before Tommy stopped the image, the beast let out a mighty roar."

"…Serpentera."

"The smoke is a bit much." Eric joked.

Andros glared at Eric. "Serpentera is no laughing matter. It is without a doubt one of the most dominant and destructive battle machines ever created. It's power equals that of roughly five or six MegaZords. It also has the ability to change it's form into a vertical battle mode.  When Serpentera stands, it's roughly twice as tall as most MegaZords.

Carter nodded. "The Lightspeed databanks have a small file on Serpentera, but it's so small that it's hardly even significant enough to look at."

"Some of the intergalactic historians I've met don't even like to talk about it." T.J. added. "Saying its name even makes them uncomfortable."

"But wait," Cole said. "If this Zord is so powerful, then why bury it on the moon to begin with? Why didn't Lord Zedd use it to attack Earth?"

"He did." Tommy replied. "But Serepentera has one incredible flaw.  When it was built, it was so incredibly advanced, and ahead of it's time, that it required a great deal of fuel to do simple things. The Zord would often burn out it's entire fuel supply on a simple space voyage, let alone the use of it's uncanny powers and weapons. Eventually, Zedd simply gave up on Serpentera, and had his servants bury it on the moon."

"But now," Andros continued. "The Machine Empire looks to be fitting the Zord with a Neo Plutonium reactor. Thus, Serpentera will now be able to operate for much longer periods of time. It will be much more powerful, and dangerous than ever before. This Zord poses more of a threat to the universe now than ever."

"So the Machine Empire has more than enough power to destroy Earth." Jason announced.

Cole's eyes were hard and serious. "We have to stop them there, on the moon. It could be our only chance."

"He's right." Carter agreed. "If that thing reaches the planet, the consequences could be disastrous."

Eric nodded, a smug look on his face. "Looks like we're the planet's only hope."

Tommy's stomach turned a bit. Though he'd known it from the beginning, Eric's words had brought back a feeling he hadn't experienced in years. That unique mix of fear and adrenaline that he'd carried inside him every time the power had surged through his body. Suddenly it was all up to you. Failure was not an option. It was all or nothing…

He almost smiled.

T.J. held his hands up. "Okay, this is all very enlightening.  But what you still haven't mentioned is how I'm somehow supposed to recharge my Red Turbo powers.  I mean, they were destroyed years ago!"

"That's right." Jason added. "I've been wondering that myself. How am I supposed to get my powers back? Especially after all this time?"

Tommy and Andros looked to Alpha 7. The android shuffled around the table to Jason's chair.

"Jason, Tommy, and T.J., in order for you to be of service to the Earth, your old powers will need to be resurrected.

"Jason, following the transfer of your Red Ranger powers to Rocky DeSantos, the Rangers underwent an evolution of sorts. With the aid of Ninjor, a wise Ninja warrior, the Power Rangers received new Ninja powers. With these new powers came a new set of Power coins to replace the original Dinosaur ones. With the original Power Coins of no use to the Rangers, Zordon hid them away in the depths of the Command Center, and later, the Power Chamber.

"But when Lord Zedd finally succeeded in destroying the six Ninja coins, the Morphing Grid, which gave the team the power to morph, and access their powers, was thrown entirely off balance, and nearly destroyed. As a result, it remained unstable for years, and use of the Dinosaur coins was deemed unsafe. According to data fed to me by Alpha 6 on Mirinoi, one Ranger attempted to access the grid over four years ago and was nearly killed in the process."

Jason frowned. "So you're saying it's not safe for me to access the Morphing Grid?"

Alpha shook his head. "Well, there may in fact be a way. When the grid was declared unstable, an Aquitian scientist named William Cranston has been attempting to piece the grid back together, and bring it back into balance."

Jason's jaw dropped at the sound of a familiar name. He looked to Tommy, who simply grinned.

"While the grid is still not entirely stable, and may never be again, it has been deemed safe enough for you to morph into the Red Ranger for one time only, using your original Dinosaur Power Coin."

"That's awesome!" Just then, Jason's expression changed from excited, to confused.   But I thought you said Zordon hid the coins in the Power Chamber? Wasn't it destroyed by Divatox?"

With that, Alpha reached to the center of the table, and picked up one of the three boxes. He held it out in front of Jason. ""Zordon treasured his Power Coins. He would never have let any harm come to them, or worse, let them fall into the wrong hands. Thus, when he was finally granted freedom from the time warp in which he was imprisoned, he took the coins with him to his home planet of Eltare. But when the planet later came under attack from Dark Specter, he sent the coins to a place where he knew they would be safe from the forces of evil."

"The planet K0-35."

Jason looked to Andros. "Zordon's power coins have remained on my home planet for years, hidden from those who would use them for impure causes."

Alpha lifted the lid. "Until now."

Jason stood up, and looked inside to see the six golden coins that had powered the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Each one bore the marking of a particular Dinosaur or beast, and glowed its respective color. They were all there: the White Tiger, Mastodon, Pterodactyl, Triceretops, Saber Toothed Tiger…

He reached in, and removed the final coin, the Tyrannosaurus coin, his coin.

For a moment, he simply looked down at it, memories from his teenage years flowing through him like water through a stream. He closed his fist around it.

"The power is on, boys."

Alpha then turned to Tommy. "Tommy, your Red Zeo Powers were abandoned when you took control of the Red Turbo Powers. The Zeo Powers, as you know, drew from the mighty Zeo Crystal, a crystal possessing powers of unparalleled strength!"

Tommy nodded. "But where is the Zeo Crystal now?"

"When Dimitria fled the Power Chamber upon it's destruction, she knew that if abandoned, the Zeo Crystal would most certainly fall into evil hands. Thus, she took the Crystal with her to Eltare, and would later use it to help defend her home planet against Dark Specter's forces." The android's domed head turned a bit. "But, when Specter's minions were destroyed, the Crystal was no longer needed, and it has remained on Eltare ever since,"

Andros looked to his partner. "I contacted Dimitria on Eltare, and she transported this to us." He gestured to the second box. "She told us it was all you would need."

Tommy picked up the box, and opened it. Inside was a small, star shaped stone, which Tommy recognized instantly as his piece of the Zeo Crystal, the one that had powered the Red Zeo Ranger. He squeezed it in his hand. The star shaped crystal instantly illuminated in red electricity. Tommy felt the energy shoot into his arms, and throughout his body.

He smiled. It was really happening…

Finally, the surge of electricity stopped, and the crystal stopped glowing in Tommy's hand. He looked down his body, bewildered. He had expected the crystal to start a chain reaction that would morph him into the Red Zeo Ranger. What had the crystal just done to him?

"Ummm," Eric said. "That was interesting."

Suddenly, Tommy remembered.

He held out his right wrist, and flicked it counter clock wise. Instantly, a small wrist morpher appeared on his wrist. He flicked his left wrist clockwise, and had the same result with the opposite wrist. He recognized his Zeonizers, wrist held devices that when used, would transform him into the fifth Zeo Ranger.

Tommy grinned. "Looks like I'm back."

T.J. crossed his arms. "Okay, this is all well and good." He said. "But if you guys can find a way to bring back the Turbo Powers, which are as gone as gone can be, you'll have my respect."

The androids head swiveled to meet the young man's. "Actually, it's not as complicated as it might seem.

"When Divatox destroyed the Power Chamber, the Red, Green, Yellow, and Pink Turbo powers perished. But somehow, the Blue Ranger's powers managed to survive. The morpher would eventually be discovered by Divatox's Piranhatrons as they rooted through the remains of the Chamber.

"Later, the captured Turbo vehicle Storm Blaster was able to obtain possession of the morpher, and return it to the original Blue Turbo Ranger on Earth."

T.J. nodded. "That explains how he was able to save me, Andros, and the rest of the Space Rangers that time we were captured."

Alpha nodded. "Storm Blaster then took the morpher, and travel to Eltare to give it to Dimitria.

"Dimitria, fearing that Eltare would one day need it's own team of Rangers, began to reconstruct the Turbo powers. To do so, she simply duplicated the Blue powers four times, and made all the necessary modifications. Being as the Turbo Rangers drew power from Eltare in the first place, Dimitria was able to resurrect the Turbo Powers within a matter of weeks."

T.J. shook his head in awe. "That's incredible!"

"However," Alpha said. "Once the forces of evil were eliminated, the Turbo Powers, like the Zeo Crystal, were left dormant."

Andros turned to T.J., speaking to him in a slightly lower tone than he'd used with the others. "Dimitria was also willing to give us the new Red Turbo morpher." He said.

Alpha reached for the third box on the table, and held it out to T.J. The young man lifted the lid, to see a small wrist device, with a slot etched in its side. To it's left was a key roughly four inches long, with a tip that matched the outline of the hole.

"You'll find these new powers to be identical to your old ones." Alpha said as T.J. strapped on his new Turbo morpher.

"Unreal…" he said, in awe.

The android set the box down. "However, Jason and T.J., you will both be at a disadvantage from the other Rangers, because neither of you have command of your original Zords, as they were destroyed respectively."

"I don't have a Zord to power either." Carter replied. "Our MegaZords were all destroyed in our final battle with Diabolico and Olympius."

"We'll manage." Jason said. "If it comes down to that, we'll just have to do the best we can."

Alpha turned to Tommy. "Tommy, as the Red Zeo Ranger, you will once again command the Red Battle Zord."

Tommy smiled at the robot. "You know, for a new android, you've really outdone yourself."

Alpha let out an emotionless mechanical chuckle. "It has been an honor sir."

Suddenly, D.E.C.A.'s voice came over the intercom. "Position in moon's orbit reached, awaiting further commands."

"Put all systems on stand by." Andros called. He then looked to the others. "We've arrived."

Carter straightened in his chair. "How are we supposed to make our approach?"

Andros nodded to Tommy, who pressed a red button on the projector's remote. The frozen image of Serpentera instantly changed, spreading out over the table into a three dimensional view of the moon's surface. On one side was the moon base, and a still Serpentera. To the other side was an area highlighted with a light red, which Andros motioned to. "We'll land the Megaship at this point here. That will give us a good amount of distance, so we can avoid ground troops as we land."

"I thought you said they could track us?" Cole asked.

He nodded. "They can. But when we start the approach, we'll be jamming their tracking signals. They'll know someone is coming, they just won't know who, or from where."

"What sort of ground troops are we looking at?" Wes asked.

"Cogs mostly." Andros replied. "When I was down there, I didn't see any tanks or walkers of any kind."

"So that's another advantage." Cole noted.

"Not nessicarily." Jason replied. "The Cogs easily out number us. When you look at the math here, you've got eight guys, or ten if those other two join us, against a small army. They could easily overpower us."

"Cogs may be formidable soldiers, but they don't have the mind power, or the fighting skills that we do." Tommy pointed out.  "The only thing they have going for them are numbers."

Andros stepped forward. "Does anyone have any other questions before we continue?"

The room was silent.

Tommy nodded. "Good. Everyone to the bridge then. We'll join you in a moment." The six men pushed themselves up from the table, and started for the bridge.

"Andros," Alpha 7 called gesturing toward Tommy and Andros. The robot pressed a small button on it's torso, ejecting a small compact disc from a slot just above it's waistline. "Your suspicions were correct about Project Crimson, it is possible."

Andros nodded, taking the disc from Alpha. "Good."

Tommy frowned. "Project Crimson? What's this about?"

"Hopefully nothing we need to concern ourselves with." Andros replied. "Just keep this disc with you from now until this mission is over. It's our backup plan."

Tommy nodded. "Always have a backup plan."

The two men then followed the others down the corridor to the bridge, as Alpha 7 watched them leave. "Good luck Rangers," the robot said to itself.