Disclaimer: Power Rangers is owned by Saban. Xxarin Jalbn, the ninja, and the old mentor are copyright by me, B.L. Schroeder. If you want to use any of them, please ask! Just e-mail me and tell which character you'd like to use and how you're going to use them.

This is kind of a way I can get more used to the characters. It's to let you know where I stand with the characters and what they're going to be like in the future. If you didn't read the first two, please read them, so that you can understand this story. And I'd really like to thank Akiko for taking the time to look over my story. You're great, Akiko!

If you would like to get in touch with me with your thoughts about my stories, please e-mail me at brianscare@aol.com. I'd love to hear what everybody thinks. Thanks a bunch.

Intergalactic War
Calm Before the Storm
by: B.L. Schroeder

A month had passed since the rangers boarded the Astro Megaship. Because the Megaship had warp drive, whereas the Varox did not, it was much quicker to get back to Earth, and they would be there in another month or so. Andros and Billy were playing Andros's form of chess, which he called "war". In this game, there were pawns, knights, rooks, and an entire royal family, queen, king, prince, and princess. The whole royal family could make any move, just like the queen in Earth's chess. One piece from the family from each side guarded one of the four platforms.

"Very interesting," Billy said, studying his options. He could easily take Andros's rook with his knight, but his rook would then be taken by Andros's queen. Billy decided to make the move.

"Platform One, mine," Andros said. He smiled and made a move on the lowest level. He used a rook to take Billy's princess. He swiped all of Billy's pieces from the platform.

"Oh, man," Billy sighed. "I didn't even look at Platform One."

"Hey, you can always win it back," Andros encouraged.

Billy continued the game, but decided to talk about something else. "So, where exactly are the people from KO-35 from? I mean, it is a space colony."

"I'm not sure. We'd been there for so long that all the original communication had been out of use for a long time. The only people who really knew were the elders, and they were killed in the battle with Dark Specter," Andros said. He made another move.

"Where exactly did all the people go?"

"Well, I'm not sure. We left to fend off a coming attack, and when we came back, they had all left. Whether they left together or not, we're not sure," Andros said as Billy made another move. He brought a knight to Andros's king on the top level.

"Finally. Platform Four, mine!" Billy said.

Andros put his head in his hand. "Beginner's luck."

"Hey, Andros?" Zhane's voice was heard from the doorway. Andros looked up.

"Yeah?" Andros asked, a little worried.

"Can I see you for a second?" Zhane asked.

Andros pressed the lock-down button on the base of the game. He walked to the door. Billy stayed and studied his options.

"What is it, Zhane?" Andros asked.

"What are we going to do when we get to Earth?" Zhane asked, keeping his voice down.

"We're going to explain to them what happened."

"What, we're going to say 'Oh yeah, Earth was in a major battle and it's now a major dump land'?"

"It's not--," Andros cut himself off as he realized his volume. "It's not a 'dump land'. Listen, we''ll explain what happened when the time comes. Okay?"

"But--"

Andros covered Zhane's mouth. "Zhane, please."

Zhane made a face, turned, and walked down the hallway.

"So, where were we?" Andros asked, walking back to Billy, who quickly resituated himself.

"Right...here!" Billy cried as he moved one of his rooks to Andros's king. "Platform Three, mine!"

"Oh...hey! Wasn't it my move? And wasn't it on lock-down?" Andros asked. Billy smiled devilishly.

"I can't remember."

* * *
"Kim, that was...wonderful," Tommy said. He sighed.

"Thanks. I try my best," Kim said, taking the plates off of the table.

"Who knew you could cook?" Tommy asked. Kim through her napkin at him.

"Shut up!" Kim cried. "It's better than the rubber food the synthetron makes. I'm surprised they even have a kitchen here. It was hard to make chicken cassarole from scratch."

"Scratch? I thought the synthetron made the ingredients."

"So what? I still cooked it. You've got to give me some credit." Kim dropped one of the plates. It broke into tiny fragments on the floor.

"Oh, man. Let me get that," Tommy said, getting up.

"No it's okay," Kim said, bending down to pick up the pieces after laying the other plates on the floor.

"No, I'll get it."

"It's okay."

They scrambled for their own share of the broken plate. Crossing paths, their hands seemed to magically lock. They looked up at each other, staring into each other's eyes. Kim quickly broke the trance, unlocking their hands. "Um, I'll get it," Kim said, scrambling to gather up all the broken pieces. Tommy turned away, and quickly stood up.

"Um, okay. I'm gonna, uh, go check out the ship," he said. He stood there for a second. Then he walked out of the room.

"Stupid," Tommy whispered to himself.

Kim watched as he left the room. Her eyes began to tear up. She quickly wiped them and finished cleaning up the mess.

* * *
On a far away planet, within the ruins of an age old city, a young man trained vigorously. He was dressed in a tight-fitting white gi, his face hidden by a hood which came to about eye-level, and another which covered his nose and mouth. In the middle of his chest, a coin shimmered in the bright glow of the sun overhead. Embedded into it was the figure of a bull. The coin was not golden like the Power Coins, but was, what seemed to be, diamond. The ninjetti did a double back flip, and then, in mid-air while turning his third backflip, kicked out both feet. He began to bring his feet back in to land, but was to late and landed on the ground with a loud, audible thump.

"I'll never make it through the vortex," the ninjetti said as he slammed his fist into the ground. Suddenly, the translucent image of an old man appeared before the ninjetti. He wore a long, brown robe. He was bald, but what was left of his hair was long and grey, as were his whiskers. He appeared to be what Earthlings would called Asian, as his complexion and his facial features resembled that of an Asian man. He carried a long, curved, wooden staff. At the top, it curved into a perfect circle, ending in a red sphere which seemed to glow with power. The ninjetti quickly stood. He put his hands together as if to pray, and bowed to honor the presence of the man.

"You are correct, young ninjetti. You shall never enter the vortex without mastering the powers within yourself."

"Yes, Master."

"Trust yourself. You must concentrate, learn about your own self. Only then will you enter the vortex."

"Yes, Master."

"Resume your training," the old man said. He slowly faded away.

The young ninjetti began to train once more. He tried the move he had faultered again, this time landing it. The young ninjetti smiled at his accomplishment underneath his gi.

Suddenly, the voice of the old man sounded. "Ah, you've grown proud. Proudness is not a trait of a ninjetti. Remember," a monstrous creature appeared before the ninjetti, "there shall always be something more to achieve."

The ninjetti's eyes grew wide with fear as the creature stared him down........

* * *
Zack and Jason stood back to back, taking a defensive stance. They stood in a wooded area, foot soldiers surrounding them. Jason and Zack slightly turned their heads and nodded to each other, silently understanding what the other was thinking. They locked forearms, and then quickly jumped up, switched sides, and then, while twirling in mid-air, cork-screw kicked the foot soldiers, knocking out half the small army. The former teammates smiled in accomplishment.

"Stop simulation!" Trini cried from the SimuDeck's control room. The wooded surrounding evaporated along with the foot soldiers. Zack and Jason caught their breaths, their brows dripping with sweat. Although their bodies ached with pain, they were glad they could still take down the bad guys as well as they could during their ranger days.

"Allright, boys," Trini said as she entered the simulation area, "step aside." She cracked her knuckles. "Let a woman handle this."

"Oh, so now you're a 'woman' now, huh?" Zack cracked. Trini playfully hit Zack in the arm.

"Okay, Trini. C'mon, Zack," Jason said. The two walked into the control room. Jason came over the intercom. "So, what's the location?"

"The Amazon. Oh, and up the amount of Craterites to forty," Trini replied.

"Allright," Zack replied. Zack and Jason pressed some buttons. An Amazon-like scenery appeared around Trini. Forty Craterites appeared, though they were frozen in place. "Ready?"

"Begin simulation!" Trini cried, taking a defensive stance. The Craterites jumped to action. Trini battled vigoriously and stategicly. She knocked down two Craterites with one, swift roundhouse kick. The second she landed it, she recovered quickly and picked up a Craterite, flinging it into three other Craterites.

"Damn! Look's like Trini has some issues!" Zack exclaimed.

Trini jumped into one of the large trees nearby, disappearing under the enormous branches. The Craterites searched for her, but they could not find her. Suddenly, her legs whipped out and took out five soldiers. The others backed away from the tree. Trini jumped into the open.

Andros entered the control room. "So, how's it going?"

"Good. This SimuDeck is great for training. Man, we sure could've used this back on Earth," Zack replied.

"Yeah. Check out Trini." Jason pointed to the Amazon enviroment, where Trini had already taken out six more Craterites. Andros stared in amazement.

"Whoa. She is a great fighter," Andros complimented. Trini continued her training as the three guys watched from the control room.

* * *
"C'mon, man! Is that all you've got?" Adam mocked as he slammed the ball to the other side of the room.

"Yep! It sure is!" Rocky cried, as the ball flew past him.

"Round Four, Adam," Deca announced. The two best friends were in the game room. The game they played was sort of a high-tech tennis. They passed a ball back and forth with paddles, each person wearing hovershoes. They wore protective gear in case the ball hit them. You could also describe it as a 3-D pong. Nontheless, the guys were addicted.

"I'm winnin', buddy boy!" Adam cried.

"Not for long," Rocky stated. A ball flew up from out of the ground in front of him. Rocky pulled his paddle back as the ball stayed frozen in front of him.

"Swing batta, batta, batta! Swing!" Adam mocked.

"Shut up!" Rocky cried. He slammed his paddle into the ball, hurling it across the room. Adam rushed to get the ball, having to strain his arm. The ball bounced back to Rocky. The ball went lower than Rocky, so Rocky spun upside-down and nailed the ball, sending it back to Adam. He quickly spun up. It was a little out of reach for Adam, and Adam tried to run to it. But, his feet slipped out of the large hovershoes. He fell to the ground. But, one good thing did come of it; his feet knocked the ball back to Rocky.

"Man, I wish I had a video camera," Rocky stated, staring at the embarrassed Adam.

"There are four thousand cameras throughout the Megaship," Deca announced.

"Good. The next Fox special: Goofs - Caught on Tape! Ha, ha!" Rocky laughed. In his laughter, the ball soared past him and hit the wall.

"Round Five, Adam. Adam has won the game," Deca announced.

"What?!" Rocky cried.

Adam began to laugh. "That's what you get, buddy. Don't ever, EVER..." Adam walked over to Rocky and pulled on his hovershoes. The shoes slipped off and Rocky fell to the ground. "EVER laugh at me!"

"Why I outta...!" Rocky cried. He wrestled Adam to the ground. Tanya, Aisha, and Kat walked into the game room.

"What in the world are they doing?" Kat asked.

"'Male bonding.' Adam! Rocky!" Tanya cried. Both of the boys immediately froze and stared wide-eyed at Tanya.

"Yes, ma'am?" both of the boys asked in unison.

"Stop it. Now."

"Yes, ma'am!" the boy said in unison, separating immediately. Kat and Tanya walked out of the room.

"Man, you have some kind of power over them," Aisha commented.

"No. I just sound like their moms when they're angry," Tanya replied. The girls laughed.

* * *
Deep in space, far away from the Megaship, an object which seemed to be an asteroid floated through space. Deep within its core, a technologically advanced center of command was fully at work. Screens of all sizes circled the room, each monitoring a different area of the universe. In the center of the room, a man sat in a large hoverchair, observing the thousands of monitors. The man's hair was silver, but he seemed to be young. A reddish scar streaked across the left side of his face. He wore a long, black robe, a sash containing thousands of different weapons dropping from his left shoulder to hid right hip. His face was stern, and he obviously lacked any expression of emotions.

Suddenly, a feminine voice disturbed the silence of the room. "There is a message from Divatox. Would you like me to display it, Xxarin?"

Xxarin sighed. "Display," he ordered in a rough voice.

An image of Divatox appeared on the largest screen in the room. "Xxarin Jalbn, intergalactic bounty hunter! It is a pleasure--"

"Get on with it, Divatox."

"Okay. You know how the Earth Rangers were captured by the Varox five years ago, right?"

"Yeah, and?"

"They've escaped. I was wondering if you could capture those Power Pukes for me before anyone else does."

"Payment, Divatox."

"Oh, yes. How does...fifty thousand reubxi sound?"

"Up it to seventy and I'll serve them to you frilled and grilled on a silver platter."

"No! Don't kill them. I want to torture them...slowly. Just capture them. So?"

"Fifty five thousand reubxi."

"Done."

"You've got yourself a bounty hunter."

"Good. They're most likely headed for Earth. See you later, Xxarin."

"Goodbye." Divatox's image disappeared from the screen.

"And I was hoping for a vacation. Oh, well. Fifty five thousand reubxi will more than make up for that. Sran, set a course for Earth."

"Couse set. Will arrive in one thousand, two hundred, and twenty-eight Earth hours."

* * *
"I need a book!" Cassie cried as she jumped on her bed, face down. She quickly flipped over onto her back. "Uhh!" she cried, and sat up. She fluffed her pillow roughly and then layed back down on it, face down.

"Are...uh, you okay?" Justin asked. He sat on his bed, playing a realistic video game from Zhane's own collection. T.J. laid on the bunk above him.

"No! I'm bored!" Cassie cried, flipping back over onto her back.

"That time of the month, again, eh?" T.J. asked in a whisper, loud enough that only Justin could here it. Justin snickered.

"What?" Cassie asked.

"Hehe--Noth--hehe--ing," Justin tried to say inbetween laughs.

"Uhh!" Cassie grunted as she flipped back over.

"Beep-Beep_Bum. Over," the electronic voice from the video game chanted.

"My turn," T.J. said, swiping the small, hand-held video game from Justin's hands.

"Hey!" Justin cried.

"Hey, what? It's my turn," T.J. told Justin.

"No. We each get two rounds. I only had one," Justin retorted.

"No. You got two--," T.J. began.

"You DO realize that you're having this arguement, don't you?" Cassie's muffled voice came from the pillow.

Justin puffed and slammed his head down on his pillow. T.J. happily played his game.

"Hey, guys! Waddaya think?" Ashley asked, walking in with an outfit like Andros', only it has yellow where Andros' was red.

Cassie looked up. "Nice. But, why would anyone want to where spandex? Well, besides if you're saving the world." Justin broke out laughing again.

The three teens rang up in unison. "Shut up!"

"What? Man! I seriously wish someone my age was here." Justin turned over on his side toward the wall.

* * *
Zhane entered the bridge to check on the ship's readings. Suddenly, a message appeared on the screen, reading "Incoming message."

"D.E.C.A., open message," Zhane ordered.

Suddenly, an image of a battered Phantom Ranger appeared on the screen.

"I don't have much time. Rangers, Nithron has risen from his grave on Eltar. He has already gathered minions and taken over Zordon's and my own home planet, Eltar. He is planning to invade the rest of the universe within a short time. Please....four of you must travel to the planet Otrion and receive the power of Ninjetti from my friends. It is the only way..." The image disappeared. Zhane stood, terrified by what the Phantom Ranger had said...

To be continued...

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