The Terran Ranger Saga Volume 3 by Heather Ray (first ebook reader TXT) 📖

Katherine Hillard sat in the back seat of a taxi cab, looking out the window with a type of serenity. Of course, now was no time to be at peace, not with news of three world famous astronauts gone without a trace, and their ship destroyed. And Katherine, a close friend of one of the missing astronauts, as well as the astronomer who found the remains of the space craft, should by no means be happy now. But Katherine couldn't help it. That was the affect of Angel Grove California. Years after she moved to Australia, Angel Grove is still a sleepy, quiet, and peaceful town. She was always happy here, with her family, and even more importantly with her friends. She watched the houses go by in her window, and as the taxi passed by the Angel Grove Gym and Juice Bar, she felt a craving for one of Ernie's great strawberry shakes.

Of course, Ernie didn't work there anymore. He sold the Juice Bar ages ago. But the Juice Bar still made Kat feel nostalgic. It still made her long for the good ole days. Good ole days that are forever gone...

"We're here, Miss," said the taxi driver, bringing the car to a stop in front of a comfortable white house with red brick trim. Katherine blinked and searched her purse for some money. Then, she grabbed her purse and her briefcase, and stepped out of the car. She slowly ascended the steps, and rang the doorbell. A tall woman with ashy blonde hair and twinkling eyes, not to mention a rather large stomach, opened the door.

"Kat!" she shrieked, wrapping her arms around the visitor. "It's been forever! I haven't seen you since...my wedding! That was over two years ago!"

"How are you feeling, Emily?" asked Katherine. "How far along are you?"

"About seven months. I feel fantastic, though. I mean, of course everyone around here is morbid about what happened to Will, but I'm fine in a physical sense. Come on in, girl! Everyone's here!"

"Everyone?"

she asked, stepping into the house. She walked into the living room, were a rather large group of people were sitting on couches, chatting quietly and snacking on crackers, cheese, and soda. Kat smiled as she scanned the group of long time friends. She was visibly surprised when she saw Trini Kwan, the original Yellow Power Ranger, sitting on the couch beside Kimberly Monroe.

"Trini?" said Kat. "When did you get here?"

"About an hour ago," said Trini, drying her eyes with a tissue. "When I found out Will's ship was destroyed, I called Kim, since we've always been close. I spoke to Trevor, and he said she flew into Angel Grove to visit Jason. So, I took the next flight over from Houston. I...I just couldn't handle this...alone."

"And Rocky's here too, huh?"

"You bet," he said, "I was with Adam when he got that phone call. I had to come also."

"Can I get anyone anything?" asked Emily, peeking into the living room.

"No thanks, Em," said Jason. "Um, could you leave us alone for a few minutes? We have some... matters to discuss."

"Well, alright, Jason," she said, closing the living room door behind her. Jason then stood up, and faced all his friends.

"Well, as you can see, the gang's all here. Since Kat flew in from Sydney, it obviously took her the longest amount of time to get here. About fifteen hours ago, Will's ship, the Endeavor, was destroyed by the Moon. Kat, since you're the astronaut who discovered the debris, you should probably take the floor."

"Right," she said, opening her briefcase. She pulled out a laptop, and placed it on the coffee table.

"I've saved the photos we got from the Hubble Space Telescope onto this laptop, so I could show you what we've found. Here is the picture of the Moon, with the ship's debris."

She turned on the computer, and all the former rangers stared at the dark picture.

"This next picture is the interesting one. A colleague of mine said he was picking up traces of some kind of EM waves, but they weren't part of the spectrum we know. They break the laws of physics in their nature. But, as you can see from this photo, this EM energy is visible to the human eye."

The photo showed the dark castle on the Moon, glowing with a surreal energy. Trini gasped when she saw the light.

"You said the light was physically impossible, right?"

"Right."

"Well, Billy scanned that type of energy ages ago, back when we first became Power Rangers. He first picked it up in his lab in his garage, and he studied it further in the Command Center, kinda like a hobby of his. Its the energy signature of a very powerful spell. One of Rita's or Zedd's spells."

"So, Zedd and Rita are back!" said Zack, leaping to his feet. "C'mon gang! We've got work to do. Only the Terran Rangers can stop those creeps, and that means we've gotta get to the CAC, and get the Zeo Crystal!"

"Easy, Zack," said Tom, "if that energy signature really heralded the return of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, then they've been back for over fifteen hours! They surely know we don't have the Zeo Crystal, and they've probably prepared for our mission to get it back."

"Do you think maybe they didn't kill Will?" asked Trini hopefully. "Maybe they kidnapped him! Maybe he's still alive! It doesn't make sense that they'd just kill him."

"He may not be dead, Trini," said Kimberly, hugging her friend. "But, the only way to make sure is to go up to the Moon, and find out. We need the Zeo Crystal, so we can activate the Terra Zords."

"But, how do we get it back?" asked Adam. "We don't have our teleporters!"

"We'll have to walk," said Rocky. "And that means we'll have to be prepared for anything."

"You're right, Rocko," said Jason, walking to his closet and pulling out a large cardboard box, "and we have just the equipment to do so. Y'see, I was never fully convinced Zedd and Rita were gone for good, so about seven years ago, I managed to convince Will to make a set of weapons to keep with us, in case we ever have to fight evil without our Terra powers. He made these."

Jason opened up the box, and each ranger looked in. Inside were seven silver belts, seven silver shields designed to rest on the shoulders, and seven pairs of metallic armbands. "Everything here is made of a very durable nickel-silver alloy, tempered with technology from Eltar, Zordon's homeworld. These shields are designed to rest on your shoulders, and they protect the chest, shoulders, and neck. These armbands were made to resist heavy corrosives, like the venom of a Viper Putty. The belts each have a special function. Three of them contain powerful laser blasters. Two others have anti-gravity rays, and the other two each have two detonators attached to them. They all have detachable communicators, so we can keep in touch."

"Great equipment," said Zack. "But no armor?"

"That was my department," said Kimberly, carrying a suitcase. "Since I'm a fashion designer, I was entrusted with the job of creating uniforms for us. They would have to be durable, but also flexible, like our Power Rangers outfits. So, I designed seven color-coded uniforms out of an experimental polymer, that is designed to withstand both extreme heat and cold, as well as the brunt of kinetic attacks, like kicks and punches. They're not as tough as our Ranger uniforms, but they'll have to do."

She opened up the suitcase, and lifted the top uniform to show her friends. It was a dark red, full body uniform, with the image of a flame etched on the top left part of the chest area, in golden thread. A golden line traveled down the length of the uniform, starting at the base of the flame image, all the way down the left leg. She handed the uniform to Tom.

"I designed one for each of the Terran Rangers, and they're designed to fit like a glove. Each one is a little different in style. I also have one for...Will."

Kimberly pulled out a full length navy blue uniform, with the image of a triangle on the chest. She then put it to the side, and pulled out the other uniforms. Katherine, Jason, Adam, and Zack all took their uniforms, and then each reached into the cardboard box to grab a belt, shield, and armbands. Kimberly also lined up six pairs of boots of varying lengths. In a few minutes, everyone had taken their turn in the bathroom, changing into uniform.

Katherine's uniform was a long-sleeved turquoise bodysuit, with a short skirt. A golden image of waves was etched on the left side, and her boots were silver, and reached her knees.

Jason's uniform was a black sleeveless bodysuit, with a golden globe on his chest. His boots also were silver, and reached his knees.

Tom wore his full body red suit, and his boots reached his calves.

Zack's white suit was long sleeved, but the legs were short, much like his running shorts. He had a star over his chest to symbolize light, and his boots were just over his ankles.

Adam's green uniform was short-sleeved, as well as short legged. His boots reached his knees, and an image of a golden cyclone decorated his chest.

Kimberly's uniform was a lemon yellow long sleeved leotard, much like she wore in her gymnastics competitions. Her boots reached about mid-thigh.

All six Terran Rangers stood in a row, in the living room.

"What about us?" asked Rocky. "What should we do?"

"You two stay here," said Jason. "Could you please keep an eye on Emily for me? We'll keep you informed."

"No way, Jase," said Rocky standing up, "I've been sitting on the sidelines long enough. I'm going with you."

"Well," said Kim, examining Rocky's form with her eyes. "He is about the same height and size as Will. He may be able to fit in the navy blue costume. But, I don't have a suit for Trini --"

"That's alright," said Trini with a small smile, "I've long given up fighting, and I don't think I'm in the best emotional state either, given the circumstances. I'll stay here, but contact me the second you find something."

"You got it," said Kimberly, handing her best friend her own communicator. "It'll ring in the same tone as our wrist communicators did. As soon as we reach the CAC, we'll give you a ring."

While the other rangers were talking to Trini, Rocky had dressed in his form-fitting navy blue uniform. Even though blue wasn't his color, it seemed to suit him. The uniform fit him almost as well as it would've fit Will. Once all seven men and women were ready, they snuck out the front door, and piled into Jason's minivan.

"To the Batcave!" declared Rocky, buckling his seatbelt. His attempt at humor only received cold looks from the others.

"Sorry," he said meekly. "Just trying to lighten the mood a bit."

After a short road trip, the seven costumed heroes were atop the familiar mountain where the long gone Command Center once stood. They looked around the area, maneuvering around the debris still remaining from the horrible explosion that ended their lives as Power Rangers, and started their lives as Terran Rangers.

"Wow," said Rocky, looking under