Raid on the Archive part 1

Posted on Sat Apr 22nd, 2023 @ 2:30pm by Valdana 'Dan' Raadax & Spencer Gustaffson & Keon Seong & Markus & Malcolm Hendrix & Jamie Bullock

3,505 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: The Invasion
Location: Archive 47
Timeline: 2130 Hours, November 17th 2050

Malcolm, Dani and Jamie were teleported into the large, open space, a series of crates dotted around them, stacked from the floor to the ceiling what must have been a couple of hundred feet above them. Malcolm pulled a small, handheld scanner from the belt he wore, pressing a control on it and looking at the read out.

"We're not going to have long to find some kind of extra defence to use against the Imperium." He noted, moving towards a crate and beginning to enter a code on the attached keypad "We just used an unauthorised teleporter to get in here, and, well, Archive 47 is to the Alliance what Area 51 was to the United States back in the day.

The crates lid slid off, Malcolm reaching inside and retrieving a blue and silver blaster with a gold rectangle on the side, what looked like a silver blade on the top. He quickly looked down the weapon, before shaking his head.

"Power cells depleted. Probably the same with all of them." He said with a sigh as he tossed the blaster back into the crate "Astro blasters were always a long shot. Next one."

"Well, course they are fifty years old," Dan commented looking at the Astro blaster longingly. If only they worked, it would be a privilege and honour to beat the bad guys with them.

He moved towards another crate, beginning to enter the code into the keypad, the lid sliding off. He pulled out a red and black rifle with a series of four vertically stacked gold barrels and a silver handle on top, the silver letters 'SPD' visible on the side of the weapon. He checked the gun over.

"Better." He noted, tossing it to Dani before pulling out another one and beginning to check it over before tossing it to Jamie "It's called a Delta Enforcer. Previously used by the SPD B-Squad Power Rangers in their SWAT mode. Packs more of a punch than lab tests have shown the solar morpher putting out, and I've got to go with my lab results."

Dani had been looking through other archives to see if there was anything helpful. "I have seen these in the archives me and... me and someone went to the ranger museum on Phasdos to look around and to be tourists whilst we researched." She glanced at Jamie and sighed. It was going to be a lot of change to not see Alex standing there in black. She shook her head and pulled the rifle to her and started to look it over. "Simple enough."

Jamie primed the rifle, unperturbed by the relics that surrounded them. "If you say so." He glanced around. "Did you say something about a spaceship? That our way out of here?"

"We'll get to that, don't you worry." Malcolm said, moving to another crate, pulling out what looked like a large, black assault rifle with red trim, looking down the sights and checking the charge "SPD Enforcer. Used by the A-Squad, this was less accurate than the Delta Enforcer, but benefitted from a full auto mode. Now, stay sharp, we need to avoid having to use these if we can help it. There are power dampeners in here. They don't want someone breaking in and using the Astro Morphers or Delta Morphers to escape."

Another shimmer of teleporter energy dissipated, and in it's place were the two rangers that hustled from Angel Grove. Not that Keon would call himself a ranger just yet, but the appeal of even laying eyes on Archive 47 was enough for him to worry a tad less about the idea of more fighting, even if momentarily.

They'd called Kyarah in from the Australia base the moment there was any kind of movement in space. He had the old deer horn style knives, which he'd started to practice with before the attack. Thanks to having time to practice, Spencer had gotten pretty decent with them in practice. They weren't as strong as most of the Ranger weapons, but no one would fault him for having a pair of razor-sharp blades with him.

The idea that there was an energy pulse at Archive 47 scared him - was it the Kaldore? Or, perhaps, had the others returned? All three of them had stepped on the transporter at base. "Stay close, please. I've heard rumors about what's in that place. Alright. On your guard. Three, two, one, energizing.. now!"

When they appeared, Spencer looked around silently, blinking. There'd been a weird feeling in that transport, like it had taken too long - maybe they'd been intercepted? This place certainly looked like a government archive though. Still, the fact remained that Kyarah, their Silver Ranger, had disappeared. He looked around, and whispered harshly. She was a scout by nature and good at sneaking off when she felt a need - and even better at not telling anyone. In a sense, that made them all specialists; and each of them was accustomed to working alone, which meant deciding on a leader was tough. "Silver! Kyarah!? Where are you? I said we need to stay close."

He didn't dare use the communications built into their Solar Blasters, but with blades in hand, he gestured for Keon to follow him. If Kyarah was here, she'd make herself known when needed. If not... he didn't want to think about that. He'd heard bad stories about what could happen to people who were transported, and there had been that weird sense of a tugging. If she needed rescuing, he owed it to her; she'd saved his life, after all. "Stay close, blaster up. Be ready for anything."

Soon enough, Spencer had gotten to a place to see where the others were - he gestured for Keon to join him in the hiding spot. They were going through old Ranger equipment. It looked like they were holding SPD Alpha blasters; whether these were idiots who thought they were trying to help the Resistance, or Kaldore agents, it didn't matter. As far as he was concerned, they needed to be stopped before they stole the Ranger equipment. The question remained as to just how he would do that. With a missing team member weighing on his mind and a newbie he wasn't willing to put at risk, Spencer saw his options as being extremely limited.

Dan kept her back to the newcomers, it was not hard to hear them moving and whispering they thought they were being quiet but not at all. Dan turned and raised the rifle in her hand. "Come out!" She demanded.

When the woman called him out, Spencer decided to emerge. He was off toward her side, his knives at the ready, capable of catching her wrist and disabling her if there was a problem. You could never be too sure in a situation like this who was on whose side. His voice was exceedingly calm - a dangerous tone that made it obvious he was accustomed to violence. "I should warn you right now, I'm a Power Ranger and I'm with the Resistance. Lower your gun, before I get twitchy."

"Blue ranger?" Dan questioned not quite lowering the rifle just yet as she looked the figure over. You could never be quite sure right there and then who was on who's side. "Is he yours?" She demanded from Malcolm glancing back to the man who had patched her up.

"He is." Malcolm noted "Not so sure about that one..."

"Ah, I have-" Keon did not seem keen to give his name out to just anyone. Everyone here seemed to be fighters. Him? Not so much. And just because they had multi-colored orbs might not have meant they could all be trusted.

Instead of speaking, Keon held up his orb. That seemed to at least be his ticket to not being shot.

"And another blue... Cyan?" Dan demanded finally lowering the rifle as she got the confirmation she needed that there were now four rangers together.

"Well, this certainly evens up the odds." Malcolm noted "I've got one more thing to help with that though. Follow me."

He led them through the large chamber before reaching a black and gold mass. It almost resembled a flying saucer, were it not for the cockpit section at the front and the red tail fins. It had large plasma thrusters attached to the pontoons on the bottom, with further thrusters at the back.

"Allow me to present the Astro Megaship Mark 3." Malcolm said "Built at the shipyards of KO-35 in 2020, she was originally going to serve as both the transport and megazord for SPD. However, the higher ups decided to make some changes to that plan, and mothballed her. That said, she has some improvements on the earlier models. Enhanced shielding and engines, as well as a cloaking device for stealthier engagements. On top of that, the ion turrets she's fitted with have a yield approximately 150% more powerful than those of the original Astro Megaship. This is our way of evening the odds."

"I don't know what any of that means. But if you can fly it, and we can get out of here before more of those Kaldore goons show up? I'm down," Jamie nodded approvingly.

"Melody could most likely fly this..." Dan said distracted by the way that Spencer kept looking at her and Jamie. She could see that the last week had drained him and made him slightly more suspicious. She could not blame him.

Spencer blinked, looking at the Megaship. That would certainly be a game-changer if it was on their side. A mobile base facility with powerful weapons, which could possibly help them to find Damien and the others. Still, he didn't quite trust it; there was too much 'convenient' about it. Something in his gut told him one of these people was the Orange ranger, the one who'd saved Kilena's life; he'd only mentioned that to Keon once. But their mysterious appearance, coupled with the sudden disappearance of Kyarah, worried him.

"Yeah, big ship, ooh ahh, that's all well and good. When we came here, there were three of us. We're two now. I don't know who, or what, the hell you are, and one of my people is missing." He kept the knives ready, looking at the new Rangers, expecting that if something did break out between them, Keon could take one of them and he'd take the other two. "So let's start at the beginning, before we go anywhere with you. Why should I believe that you're not working with that fake Red bastard and leading us into a trap? If the Kaldore are coming, so be it - at least if it's upfront, I don't have to be worried about being stabbed in the back. You give me no such confidence."

Dan had been about to open her mouth when another voice spoke up and she raised an eyebrow.

"Stand down, cadet. That is a direct order. Unless, of course, you've forgotten the fact that I'm the GPF's senior science officer on this planet?" Malcolm spoke up "Right now, we don't have time to be debating this. I'm sorry about your friend but by walking in the front door, you will have tripped a distress beacon which will doubtless have been picked up by the Imperium."

Spencer glared at the man - he didn't know, and didn't much care, who he was. "Right now, the thing I remember most is that one of my team is suddenly missing, and you've appeared out of nowhere. I'm a Power Ranger - that makes me a criminal. So I'll lean into that. My priority is making sure my team is safe - and meeting up with the ones who aren't on Earth. You have this ship and you're Rangers, fine - I'm the one who's been helping lead any semblance of a resistance force; not you. You weren't there when you were needed. Help me find Silver, and then we find the others."

Before Malcolm could utter a rebuttal, the flood lights on the room cut out. After a moment, red emergency lighting came on.

"Main power offline." Came the voice of a male computer system "Morphin grid jammers disabled. Lockdown protocols engaged."

"Couldn't let those pesky jammers ruin my fun now, could I?" Came a modulated voice as the other red ranger stepped into view from behind a crate "I'm feeling generous, so I'll let the civilian go, if you all lower your weapons. If not... I'm going to have some fun."

"Oh no... another red ranger," Dan said sarcastically as she did not put the rifle down. She glanced at Malcolm and smiled calmly trying to reassure him that even de morphed she was a force to be reckoned with. She had faced off against this particular red ranger before and was not phased. "Where is your witch?" She challenged.

"I'm not the keeper of my Father's pet." The Phoenix Ranger spat "You want her, you can go look for her. It's of little consequence, I can just come for your crystal later."

"What crystal?" Dan said innocently. She had not revealed she was a ranger.

Spencer looked at the Phoenix Ranger, and he did something slightly surprising. He lowered the knives to the odd-shaped sheaths they fit into - which gave him a chance to take hold of the Solar Crystal and slot it in, morphing without ceremony. He glanced back toward Keon. "Get into the ship, now! I'll cover you!" With a look toward the Phoenix Ranger, he smirked behind his helmet. "Time for round two, then. Gonna hide behind your shield again?"

"Gonna just stand there while I kick your ass again?" The Phoenix Ranger taunted back, pulling his sword from its sheath in his shield "Defend yourself!"

Dan refused to move. "Go with them, Malcolm... I am not leaving him by himself." She said gently pointing both her companions towards the cyan ranger. She did not wait to see if everyone was gone before she stepped up towards the blue ranger. "You do not get to fight him alone blue ranger unlike you I have beaten him and I owe him for what he did to several people," Dan said knowing neither knew who she really was yet.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Keon muttered under his breath as he hopped toward the ship. He was also not about to wait for the other rangers to follow, not if there was one who was maybe not as trustworthy as the others. Hopefully there would be time to think about all this and ask a million questions later.

"You're not the only one who owes him..." Jamie grunted, moving alongside Valdana. He offered her the briefest of glances. Maybe she'd understand, but the rage burning inside him wasn't about to let him walk away from the man who had killed his brother right in front of him. Snapping the morpher on his wrist, a part of him wanted their nemesis to know that he bore the same crystal that had belonged to Alex.

The Phoenix Ranger charged in, slamming his shield into Dan before taking broad yet precise slashes at Spencer. They weren't designed to inflict damage, but instead to push him onto the back foot, keep him guessing what the next strike would be, where it would be aimed, in order to tire his enemy. It was a game to him.

Spencer's rage and worry about Kyarah being missing was enough to keep him from losing control, which was only reinforced by the need to protect Keon. He'd gotten more accustomed to the morphing power, which helped keep him focused. He recognized a set of taunting strikes which aimed to tire him out and push him back. But there was an advantage of being a Power Ranger - he hadn't yet reached the point where he was tired. It could certainly happen, but not yet. The Solar Claw in his hand was effective both as a short punch-dagger and as a swordbreaker like a sai or other pronged weapon. He pushed forward rather than being driven back, aiming to catch the blade of the Phoenix Ranger's sword and trap it between the prongs of his claw. The goal was to give the Blue Ranger, and the other Earth Rangers, more freedom to attack. The blasters on their wrists, or whatever other weapons they bore, would be more than adequate, if he could keep that sword controlled. Unlike his opponent, Spencer was fighting seriously; and for once while morphed, there was a sense of control and strategy to his movements.

He'd barely had time to acknowledge the comment from the woman with the gun. It definitely seemed like she also had a bone to pick with the Phoenix Ranger. If she could morph, she hadn't yet, but she was holding a rifle. He had a sense of where she was, and kept a line clear. He kept up the fight, trying to stymie the evil Ranger's attacks, so that she could blast him.

Not wanting to be ignored at all, Jamie counter-charged, Solar Saber in hand. It was a reckless, emotionally-driven attack, but in the moment all he could see in his mind's eye was his younger brother's anguished face as the evil warrior had taken his life.

"Fight me!" Jamie barked. "Fight me!"

The new ranger charged in, looking very much as Spencer had on the day the others had fled the Earth. But the Black Ranger could be a good distraction while the Blue Ranger held his enemy's sword back with the claw, using techniques borrowed from tai chi, ba guan, and other arts that used swordbreakers. Still, he saw in his helmet, that the built-in communicator could access the Black Ranger's comms and open a direct channel. So Spencer spoke, not letting the Phoenix Ranger know. "Black! Breathe! Focus! Don't let the Power overtake you! That's how he beat me last time, he's been using this longer than any of us. I'll keep the sword under control as best I can. You have to get that damned shield away from him - then, I dunno, cut him or shoot him a bunch with that woman's help. We've already lost one good Ranger today - keep your head on and don't you dare make it two!"

The warning came too late, as the Phoenix Ranger caught Jamie by the horns, using his momentum to hurl him in the direction of Dan. He suddenly stopped, pressing two fingers to his ear.

"What do you mean fall back?" He hissed "But I'm crushing them!"

Dan leapt over the ranger that was tossed towards her and glanced back to check he was still moving on confirming that he was she picked up the rifle that had been lost when Jamie had been tossed at her previously. You did not need to be morphed at that moment as she could see that he was not paying attention properly. "Hey... asshole," Dan said pulling the rifle and watching in satisfaction as the ranger was distracted it him several times and tossed him back. "Run back to your witch." She said simply staring down at him.

Spencer looked at the unmorphed woman, trying to figure out if she was for real here. First she'd offered to support him, and now she was openly mocking the single biggest threat to the Earth. Well, at least he could admire her chutzpah. He took a half-step back and leapt, aiming for a spot behind the Phoenix Ranger. "You don't get to walk away this time. The only crushing happening here, is what I'm gonna do to you."

"Funny you should say that..." The Phoenix Ranger growled, tapping two fingers to his ear "You can deploy the weapon."

There was a low rumbling outside. Like the sound of something large stomping across the landscape. In the confusion, the Phoenix Ranger vanished in a flash of red and purple energy. As he did, there was the sound of heavy impacts outside. Then, the comm line started going off the hook.

"Is that some kind of lizard?!"
"It's tearing down the monorail!"

"Everyone into the Megaship!" Malcolm yelled, "Unless you'd all like to be crushed?"

"No need to tell me," Dan said running over to Jamie and pulling him to his feet. "Come on." She ordered wrapping his arm around her to support him after two hits against the wall he had to be hurting.

"Oh good," Keon stated as he backed up toward the ship. After a string of Korean swears, he turned to make haste toward the aforementioned vehicle. "I can add giant monsters to my cryptid quota for the month."

Scowling at the way things had gone down, and that the Phoenix Ranger had escaped, Jamie accepted Dan's help up and followed the others. "This isn't over," he growled.

“Never is.” Dan replied. But they would survive right another hour.

 

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