Chapter 1
Silence surrounding him. Darkness loomed in.
Without his eyesight, he relied on all his other senses. He listened closely
for noises and used his sense of smell to pick up any change in the scent of
the air. Every now and then he would feel a flicker of power, but before he
could use it, it would be gone.
The small, blond-haired, nine-year-old boy
tensed every muscle, waiting for the attack that he knew was coming. He focused
his energies on his surrounding, testing all of his senses in anticipation.
Beads of sweat slowly ran down his face, but he took no notice to them.
Instead, he concentrated on the surrounding air.
A sudden movement to the left of him! He
lunged forward, his lightsaber connecting with the solidness of another lightsaber.
The opposing lightsaber pressed firm against his. The boy faked to his right
and brought the lightsaber into a forward thrust. The person stumbled back, and
the boy took advantage of the opportunity and slashed at him again. A moan
escaped the lips of the person as they leapt at the boy. The boy once again
felt the shifting of the air and stepped to the side. As he felt the person ran
past him, he kicked them in the small of their back. For a split second, he
loosened his guard the smallest of bits. That was all his
enemy needed to knock him to the ground. As the boy hit the ground, his
lightsaber went flying. The boy sighed, laying his head on the ground, allowing
the coolness of the ground to dig into his sense.
"That's enough for today, Anakin,"
called a gruff voice from behind him. Anakin Skywalker sighed once again as he
slowly sat up, removing the blindfold as he did. One glance at his master told
Anakin all that he needed to know about his
performance. "That's enough."
"What did I do wrong, Master?" he
asked, his voice unusually controlled. Obi-Wan Kenobi looked down at his
apprentice, feeling the boy's own disappointment. He slowly sat down on the
ground, motioning for Anakin to do the same. Silence filled the air for a few
seconds, as Obi-Wan put together his thoughts.
"You allowed yourself to become
distracted. You can never do that during a battle. Your enemy will not
be as forgiving to your mistakes as I am."
Anakin's eyes fell to the ground. "I'm
sorry Master. I won't let it happen again."
Silence once again fell between them, with
Obi-Wan eyeing his apprentice thoughtfully. The boy does learn quickly,
I'll give him that. And he is a natural with his lightsaber. But what worries
me is the fear that he is constantly battling against. Maybe Yoda was right.
Maybe Qui-Gon shouldn't have pushed it.
Before he could voice his concerns to the
boy, the screeching of the alarms destroyed the stillness of the room. Anakin
and Obi-Wan glanced at each other only briefly before taking off for the control
center of the palace. As the ran in, Anakin felt his
heart skip a beat as his eyes fell on the Queen of Naboo. Even with her
decorative gown and traditional face paint, he could see the eyes of Padme
staring at him.
Stop it, Anakin. She isn't Padme. She's
the Queen of Naboo! She doesn't have time to talk you, Anakin reprimanded himself. But no matter how hard he
tried, he could not keep his eyes off of her.
"What is going on?" Queen Amidala asked, her voice considerably calm for the situation they
were experiencing. The commanding general turned to her, his voice urgent.
"Someone is attacking the village. From
the few accounts that we have, the troopers attacking them came in great
numbers, yet there doesn't seem to be a leader around." the general explained.
"What are these troopers called?"
"We don't know." answered the
General. "They were never called by name, so we couldn't get any
information on them."
Obi-Wan turned to Queen Amidala. "I'm
going down there, to see if I can find out what's going on." he told her.
As he ran out of the room, Anakin followed him. Obi-Wan turned around and
looked at him.
"You stay here, Anakin." he
commanded. As Anakin opened his mouth in protest, Obi-Wan calmly explained.
"You are too early in your training to fight. If you go now, there is a
good chance you will be killed. Do you understand?"
Anakin nodded his head. "I
understand." Obi-Wan nodded and ran out of the room, getting to the place
that was being attacked as fast as he could. As soon as Obi-Wan disappeared
from site, Anakin turned to the viewing screen, watching in frustration as
people ran, screaming, away from the white troopers. Anakin sneaked a look at
Amidala. Her face was, as usual, blank of any emotions. But for a split second,
Anakin saw pain and fear in her eyes.
I cannot let my people suffer again. They
do not deserve this! Amidala thought
angrily as she looked at the screen. After the recent seize of the Trade
Federation, she believed that her people deserved peace and contentment. Her
wish was now shattered by the attacking troopers. But who is attacking?
Suddenly, a flash of movement caught the
corner of her eye. She turned towards the movement, wrenching her eyes away
from the unbearable scene. As she did, she met Anakin's gaze. As they two locked
eyes, she managed a small smile. That boy is destined for great things,
though he has a hard road to travel. I hope that there's a chance his future
includes this planet. We could use a defender of his caliber. And one of his heart.
*****
Obi-Wan crept through the one of the many
back alleys throughout the city, listening carefully as the shooting grew
closer. Even in this alley, he could see the destruction that had been done in
such a short amount of time. Every so often he heard a scream, indicating that
one of the troopers blasters had met its target.
Suddenly, he felt a tremor in the Force. Sharply turning to his left, he was
able to block the blaster beam that a trooper had shot at him. The beam
reflected the blast, just grazing the arm of a trooper. Obi-Wan cursed silently
to himself at his miss.
"Destroy him," one of the troopers
ordered in a monotone voice. Stormtroopers swarmed in from all angles, lasers
shooting all around him. His training kicked in even before he could think, for
he found himself dodging and reflecting the beams. He made short work of the
stormtroopers, the first four being taken out by their own beams. He leapt over
the remaining two and, with a quick sweep of his lightsaber, took both of the
troopers out. He searched vainly for the leader, but found the trooper had
taken off.
He slowly stepped out of the alley, the Force
flowing swiftly through his veins. He looked swiftly to his right and saw about
two dozen troopers rushing at him. As he prepared for their attack, they
suddenly veered off course. Obi-Wan followed their movement with his eyes and
saw a young female, maybe around eighteen or nineteen, running as fast as she
could while the troopers chased her. Every so often she would look back, fear
and panic twisting her features as the troopers gained ground. All of a sudden,
one of the troopers pulled out a blaster, and in one quick shot to her leg,
brought her down.
"Aaaagh!" she screamed as she fell
to the ground, hard. Obi-Wan ran over to her, hoping to reach her in time to
help. But as the trooper that had shot her down reached her, she kicked him in
the chest with her good leg, knocking the blaster away. She lunged for the
blaster, reaching it just before the trooper did. With incredible aim, she shot
at the troopers, taking out a few of them. But there were still too many. Just
as the blaster was knocked out of her hand, Obi-Wan leapt into action, taking
down a few troopers with quick slashes of his lightsaber. The trooper froze and
pulled out their blasters. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and, concentrating heavily
on the Force, reflected each of the shots they shot at him. As the blaster
shots began to lessen, he opened his eyes. Troopers littered the ground. As
Obi-Wan continued to deflect shots, a small army made up of the people of the
city and Gungans, the water dwelling creatures, rushed at the remaining
troopers. Within minutes, the troopers were all taken down. Obi-Wan looked at
the leader of the army, Captain Panaka.
"Is this all of them?" Obi-Wan asked.
The Captain looked around, taking in account the troopers lying on the ground,
some dead and others damaged, and of the hurt civilians.
"We believe that's the last of
them." Panaka said. He looked behind Obi-Wan and motioned to the girl
lying on the ground. "Who is she?"
Obi-Wan shrugged. "I don't know. I
haven't asked her yet. Why don't you look around to see if there are any more
of these things hiding." The Captain nodded and
with a quick order, he and his army took off to look for more. Obi-Wan turned
to the girl. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I think so." she said. Her
brown hair went a little past her shoulders. She was wearing a light pink
t-shirt and blue jeans. As she looked up at him, her doe brown eyes shining
with gratitude, Obi-Wan felt a chill make his way down his spine. There was
something about her...
"Need some help?" he asked, putting
the feeling in the back of his mind. When she nodded, he kneeled down and stuck
his hand out. As soon as her hand touched his, a feeling like electricity ran through
his body, causing him to tense up. But as soon as it came, it left. Obi-Wan
helped her stand up and she leaned against him in support. The two of them made
their way down the street and into the palace. She looked around nervously,
uncomfortable about her surroundings. He smiled at her to reassure her.
"It's okay. You'll be able to get help here."
After a sort while, the two of them walked
into the main hall of the palace. There, gathered around the throne, where many
of the high ranking people of the city. They walked in unnoticed, and Obi-Wan
heard Captain Panaka finishing his review.
"....after searching the entire city, we
haven't found anyone else. We think that they might be connected with the girl
they were chasing."
Amidala turned her full eyesight on him, a
flicker of interest glittering in her eye. "What girl?"
"This girl."
The suddenness of the new voice caused
everyone in the throne room to jump. Only Obi-Wan and Anakin did not. Obi-Wan
looked over in approval of his apprentice, for Anakin was the only one who had
noticed the two's entrance into the room. Captain Panaka beckoned the girl
forward, gesturing towards a seat across from the throne. Obi-Wan supported the
girl as she struggled over to the seat. To all the others, she looked like the
picture of confidence. Only Obi-Wan could feel the slight fear that rolled off
her skin. As Obi-Wan helped her into the chair, Panaka walked up to her.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?
Why were those things chasing you?" he demanded. She looked slight taken
aback by the string of questions, but she shook it off. She looked around,
seeing expectant and suspicious faces surrounding her.
"It would be easier if I told you my
story from the beginning. I will answer your questions, but you should probably
hear the background information first."
All eyes turned to Amidala, waiting for her
response. She nodded her head and slowly sat down in her throne. The rest of
the inhabitants quickly followed suit as the girl began her story.
"I am from the planet of earth, the
third planet from the sun in the Milky Way Galaxy. Five years ago, I was just a
normal girl. I had good time and bad times, but over-all life was good. Then
she came."
"The evil being known
as Kanara. She appeared suddenly,
taking everyone by surprise. Because of her, life as we knew it was destroyed.
She single-handedly destroyed our only means of planetary defense, the Power
Rangers. For years they had protected the world from evil beings that had tried
to take over. But they couldn't stop her. She had caught them too much by
surprise, and she knew too much of their skills. She killed them. All of them. From that moment on, life was over on the
planet. She destroyed everything in her path including..." a sob escaped
her lips as images from her past came back to her, "including everyone
that I cared about."
"But she couldn't kill me. I ran from
her and hid out in a vast system of tunnels, built under the ground. Then, one
day, she found the tunnels and captured many people, including me. She brought
us to her palace, with the intent to turn us into the troopers that you fought
today. Stormtroopers, she called them. And she did. She managed to control and enslave many people who had once been good, decent human
beings."
"But I escaped her. I stole one of the
many space shuttles she had built and started away from the earth. But she
chased me. I ended up crash landing on this planet, and you know what happened
after that."
"But why was she trying to build up an
army?" Queen Amidala asked her, her suspicions not completely at rest.
The girl shrugged, her petite shoulders
trembling slightly as she did. "I don't know."
Amidala shared a glance with Captain Panaka,
their glance unreadable to everybody but each other. Captain Panaka nodded slightly
at the queen. Amidala turned her attention away from Captain Panaka, but did
look back at the girl. Instead, she turned to her handmaidens.
"Show her to a room. Make her
comfortable until tomorrow, and tend to her wound." The handmaidens nodded
and after carefully helping the girl up, they helped her walk out of the room.
Suddenly, Amidala seemed to have another thought. She loudly called out,
"Wait. What is your name?"
"Anne. You can call me Anne."
*****
In a barren desert on the planet of Earth the
wind started to kick up, causing dust to swirl through the plains. Though the
planet seemed to be deserted, it was not. The people of the planet were merely
in hiding, living in fear of the evil that controlled them. But once in awhile
it was necessary to come to the surface of the planet. Only a few would come
up, though. But the few that were on the surface when the wind started look
around in shock and in fear.
Ever since the planet had been taken over,
there had not been any wind. In fact, there had not been much of anything. The
rains had stopped, the wind had slowed, and even the sun seemed to shine less.
The entire planet of earth had turned mostly into a desert. But the wind was
back.
As the people watched in amazement, a bright
light shone above a spot in the land. As the light became brighter it made
itself into the form of two beings. The light became so bright that the people
had to shield their eyes away from the site. The light slowly disappeared and
left two people in its wake. Both of them had blond hair and blue eyes, but the
girl's hair was put up in a ponytail. Both fell to the ground as the light
disappeared. In less than an instance, the people of the planet had the two
beings surrounded.
"Who are you?" a man asked gruffly
as he stared down at the two. The girl, Kat, winced under the glare of the sun.
Though the sun was not very bright, it gave off more light than she was used
to. She tried to stand up, but her legs gave out on her and she fell back to
the ground.
"My name is Katherine Hillard and this
is Zhane." she answered nervously, looking up at the man. He glared at
them for a minute, then turned to the others that were
standing behind him. Leaning close to them, they began to whisper back and
forth. Kat and Zhane looked at each other nervously before turning back to the
people that had come up to them. Suddenly, the man turned back towards them.
"Stand up," he ordered. The two of
them stood up on shaky legs. The people that surrounded them stepped forward
and roughly grabbed them, pulling Kat and Zhane's arms behind them. They winced
in pain and in fear as they tried to adjust their arms. It was of no use,
though, as the people had them in firm grips. The man who had spoken to them
glared at them once more.
"Take them to the temple."
The people nodded their heads and quickly
pulled Kat and Zhane towards an entrance to the tunnels. The man looked around
and then lowered himself to the ground. He slowly wiped away the dust that had
been moved by the gusts of wind. He uncovered a small sewer-like covering. He
pulled the cover off and went in, the rest of the people quickly following.
They slowly descended down a long ladder,
watching their step carefully. Kat and Zhane were allowed to go down by
themselves, but they were carefully watched. The at long last reached the
bottom. The two prisoners were immediately grabbed again and put in the same
positions they had been in previously. As he struggled to position his arms
comfortably, Zhane looked at the man that seemed to be in charge.
"Where are you taking us?"
"To the temple." Zhane and Kat shared a look of confusion as they were
led down a long hallway. Kat looked around in amazement as she looked around
the tunnels. Doors lined the passage. Kat was able to briefly catch a glimpse
of the inside. She saw tables and chairs in some, couches in others.
Probably living quarters, she mused as she caught glimpses of kitchens inside
the rooms. She was so busy observing things around her,
she did not notice where she was being led. The men leading them walked up to
one of the rooms, and typing in a code, opened the door. Kat gasped as she
walked in, her face beginning to pale.
"The Power Chamber," she whispered
in awe as she looked around, seeing the familiar sites. "But this was
destroyed!" The man that had talked to them earlier looked at her sharply
as he heard her. A red blush covered her face as she averted his eyes.
"It was. But we rebuilt it." he explained curtly. Kat and Zhane were led
through the room, to a row of tube-like objects.
Reminds me of Dimitria's tube, except
smaller! Kat thought, awe still
filling her. But how do they know these things? They were never in the
chambers!
One of the tubes in front of Kat opened and
she found herself being thrown into the tube. She started to panic as the tube
closed up, leaving her no means of escape. She pressed her palms against the
side of the tube, desperately hoping for a way out. She found none. She looked
around wildly and found that Zhane was in the tube next to her. She could tell
he was in the same state as she was, for he too was pushing against the wall of
the tube.
Kat looked to the man that had been leading
them. He paid no attention to them, for his mind was completely on the task at
hand. He was leaning over one of the many control panels, his hands moving
quickly as he typed things in.
A bright light suddenly filled the tubes and
both Kat and Zhane felt like fire was consuming them. Kat gasped in pain as the
light slowly flowed over her, first her head, then her shoulders. With ever
inch that the light moved, Kat felt her strength beginning to drain out of her.
As the light reached her midsection, Kat felt herself begin to lose
consciousness. Even though the room had begun to spin, she still managed to catch
a glimpse of someone new walking in. As she began to black out, one thought
crossed her mind.
Justin?
Meanwhile, Zhane gritted his teeth as he
tried to bear the pain that flowed through him. He closed his eyes, trying to
concentrate on anything other then the pain. But as the light passed his
thighs, he began to feel the room spinning around. He opened his eyes to see
stars clouding his vision. As he fell to the ground, a flash of blonde caught
his eyes. His last conscious thought was one of disbelief.
Karone?
"They're clean." the man working at
the panels said, turning the machine off. In an instant the lights disappeared.
The man turned towards the two people standing behind them. "Take them to
a room."
The two nodded and quickly walked over to the
tubes. They opened the tubes and, picking Zhane and Kat up, walked out of the
room. The man turned around and found himself face to face with two people who
had walked in during the process.
"Where did they come from, doctor?"
One of the newcomers asked.
The doctor shrugged. "I don't know
commander. We didn't ask them. We wanted to run the test before we tried
anything else. The only thing that we could tell was that it has something to
do with the scroll that were holding."
The commander nodded, looking over the scroll
that the doctor now held before him. Though the doctor was fairly new to the
system, he knew what he had to do. He picked the scroll up and unraveled it.
The page he saw was alien and unfamiliar, so he placed it back in the doctor's
hands.
"I'll take it to the lab to have it
analyzed." the doctor said. The commander nodded and with that the doctor
left the room. The other newcomer looked up at the commander.
"Will they be okay Justin?" she
asked. Justin Stewart stared at the now-empty tubes in front of him, nodding
slowly.
"They'll be fine. All the neutralizer
did was search for any mark of evil in them. Since nothing was found, they were
taken to a recovery room." he explained. "You know that, Karone. You
helped design them."
"I know, I was
just......"
"Worried?" Justin suggested. When
Karone did not answer, he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Zhane will be fine, Karone." he
said softly. "I promise." She nodded sadly as she looked away.
"I now he'll be fine physically, but I
don't know if the his internal wounds will ever
heal."
*****
As the room came into focus, Zhane squinted
at the bright light above him. He sat up slowly, moaning in pain. His entire
body seemed to scream out in agony, even parts that he was not even sure he
had. She gently shook his head, trying to clear out his thoughts yet at the
same time trying not to cause even more of a headache. He looked around the
room in confusion, trying to make sense of where he was. He slowly rubbed his
fingers on his temples, trying to think of what had happened to him. The
last thing I remember is a fiery sensation and then the flash of blonde...
"Karone!" he shouted jumping to his
feet, his aches and pains forgotten. "I saw Karone!"
He jumped out of the bed he was in,
determined to find out exactly what was going on. As his eyes focused in on his
surroundings, he noticed that his outfit had been changed. Instead of the torn
and stained jeans and shirt he had been wearing, he was wearing an outfit that
was familiar to him. As he stared down at his clothes, he was transported back
five years, to the days when he would wear that outfit all the time. The only
difference was that instead of the suit being black, it was gray. And instead of
the shirt being gray, it was black.
"It looks kind of like my old
uniform," he whispered in awe.
"That's because it's a copy of your
outfit."
Zhane spun around in shock as he heard the
soft voice. There he found himself face to face with a person he had not seen
in years. A person who he thought was dead. Karone.
Yes, she did look different, for her blonde hair now flowed halfway down her
back, instead of the chin length he had last seen. And though five years had
passed, she actually looked considerably younger. Maybe it was because she no
longer looked haunted by her evil past. Or maybe she had grown up during the
long five years. Whatever it was, it had changed her. She was calmer, more
mature.
Zhane tore his gaze away from her eyes and
looked down at her clothes in shock. It was the same style as his uniform. The
only major difference was that instead of a black shirt he wore, hers was
purple instead.
As the shock slowly began to wear off, he
realized he was staring. Now all he felt was surprise, confusion, and joy. He
had found someone who was a great part of his past. He had found a person who
he had, at one time, had deep feelings for. He had a person who was connected
to his best friend, Andros.
"Karone!" he shouted again as he
flew towards her. As soon as he reached her he embraced her in a hug that had
so much emotion that it startled both of them. The stood there for a moment,
holding each other, remembering their past. After a few minutes, they pulled
apart. Zhane looked at her, smiling sheepishly as he did.
"Sorry."
"You don't have to be." she
whispered, smiling at him. Though years had passed, she knew that it was still
Zhane. He did look older, for his face was slightly lined at places and his
hair was longer. His eyes also showed age, for there was a deep pool of despair
hiding in them. But it was Zhane, and that all that mattered to her.
Suddenly, his whole demeanor changed as she
stared at him. He stood more stiffly than he had moments before and a
questioning look entered his eyes. Karone felt her heart begin to sink as she
realized what had happened.
"Karone....did anyone else make
it?"
That was the question she had been fearing. Ever since she had seen him in the temple, she
had known he would ask that question. She opened her mouth as if she was going
to answer, but no words came out. She closed her mouth, instead looking into
his eyes. He knew at once the answer to that question.
Remorse filled him as he felt his grief
beginning to grow. It overwhelmed him, for it felt like he was losing his
friends yet again. He slowly sank down into the chair besides him, his eyes
staring into empty space. Karone knelt down besides him, putting an arm around
his shoulder as she did. He turned to her, his eyes glassed over by the tears
that were threatening to fall. Karone felt strangely disturbed for she could
not even tell what he was thinking.
"What happened to them? Did they receive
a proper burial? And how did you live?" His string of questioning seemed
to unnerve Karone for she was silent for a few moments. She at last sighed. She
stood up, pulling him up as she did.
"C'mon," was all she said as she lead him out the door and down one of the long tunnels. He
paid
no attention to their destination, instead taking the
sites and sounds around him. They passed door after door, each one with a
different label on them. Before he could ask Karone what the labels meant, his
attention was diverted by the outfits the people wore. Everyone wore an outfit
exactly like his and Karone's, except that the shirts were in a variety of
colors.
"Karone, why does everyone wear these
uniforms?"
"It's a bit of a dress code. Wearing
outfits that are very much alike take away from the class system that used to
exist on this planet. It kind of makes everyone equal in the way. The only rank that we have by profession. Different
professions wear different color shirts. Doctors and nurses usually wear either
white or green. Technicians and mechanics wear gold and yellow. Military
personnel wear either black or pink. Anyone wearing blue, black, or purple are
considered to be the top personnel.
Zhane nodded at the explanation, smiling as
he looked at her purple shirt.
"So I guess that would make you pretty
high in the rankings, huh?" he teased. She smiled at him and nodded.
"Yeah, I guess I am."
Zhane looked down at his own black shirt, a
wave of sadness filling him. He absently pulled at his shirt as he turned to
look at Karone. "Top personnel wear black, huh? I don't think I deserve
that."
"Because you're a former power
rangers." she explained simply. "The people of earth treat the power
rangers as heroes, since the saved the world from harm for so long. They
respect they have for all of the rangers, including you and Kat, is absolutely
incredible."
Zhane shook his head in disbelief as he heard
her explanation. "Why do they treat the power rangers as heroes? We failed
them. We allowed Kanara to take over Earth. We were defeated!" Karone
stopped suddenly, pulling Zhane's arm so the two were out of the way.
"They know you were defeated. But they
don't care. If it wasn't for you guys, thousands of people would have died the
first time the planet was attacked. Since the rangers were able to hold off the
enemy for so long, this system of tunnels were was able to be built. They are
incredibly thankful for that, even if you were defeated."
Her short speech caused the beginnings of a
smile to cross Zhane's face as he realized that the people of Earth were an
incredible race. A thoughtful silence fell between them as they continued on
their way. They soon reached the end of the tunnel, walking up to a highly
guarded room. Even though only two guards stood in front of it, Zhane could see
lasers, and force fields blocking the entrance to the room. He looked at the
security in shock, wondering what could be so highly guarded.
Karone walked up to one of the guards,
pulling out an identification card as she did. The guard took the card,
carefully scrutinizing it. He examined it for a few minutes constantly looking
from Karone back to the guard. After what seemed like a lifetime, he gave the
card back to Karone. With a jerk of the head to the other guard, both of them
moved out of the way.
Karone walked up to the door and put her hand
on a small pad next to the door. The pad read her hand quickly. In less than an
instant, the lasers and force fields disappeared from the hallway, leaving the
entranceway empty. The two quickly made their way through the hall, hurrying
down to the other side. As soon as they were to the next door, Karone put her
hand on another pad. This time, the door behind them closed and the laser and
force fields rose up again. The door in front of them opened and they slowly
walked in.
"Wow," Zhane whispered as he looked
around. The room was lit only by a small light that shone directly above the
entranceway. It cast the room in an eerie glow. Zhane slowly looked around, taking in the account the thirteen tubes that came
out from the walls. He took a step away from the doorway, squinting as he tried
to get a better look at the tubes. What he saw made him pull back, tears
welling in his eyes.
"What is this place, Karone?"
Karone walked over to him and looked at the
tubes. "It's called the crypt. It's a memorial to those that gave their
lives to protect the planet. Once the great battle was over and Kanara left,
the people of Earth quickly went to the battlefields and carried the rangers
away. Some of them were still alive, but others were dead. I was the only one
that they could actually revive."
Zhane took in this information as he slowly
started to circle the room. He started with the first tube and moved onward. He
slowly circled, repeating the names he read on the plaques.
Billy Cranston. Trini Kwan. Zachary
Taylor. Jason Scott Lee. Rocky DeSantos. Aisha
Campbell. Adam Park. Tanya
Sloan. Tears slowly began to flow down his fast as he came to the
next tubes. These names and faces were very familiar to him. TJ Johnson.
Cassie Chan. Carlos Santora. Ashley Hammond.
He stopped at the next tube, placing a
shaking hand on the plaque.
"Tommy Oliver, Katherine Hillard, Zhane
of KO-35," he whispered. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he did
not notice Karone's approach until she laid a hand on his shoulder. He jumped
as he felt the gentle pressure on his shoulder, turning to look at her as he
composed himself.
"Since they couldn't find any of your
bodies, the separated the tubes. They were hoping that maybe, just maybe, you
guys had lived." she explained softly.
Zhane nodded soundlessly as he walked past
two empty tubes, knowing almost immediately what they were for. One glance at
Karone, who averted his eyes, assured his suspicions. Those tubes are for
her and Justin, the only other ranger who wasn't present at that battle.
He moved to the last tube, staring at it in
shock. Kimberly Harte.
"Kim?" he whispered, looking at
Karone in shock. Karone nodded, staring at the tube as well.
"When they put this memorial up, they
didn't know what to do about her. After all, she had defended the planet for
years. They ended up deciding to put her away from the rest of the rangers, to
a corner by herself. Even though she is put here, not many people visit
it."
Zhane nodded, his thoughts overwhelmed by all
of the information he had received. He glanced around the room once more before
turning back to Karone.
"So you're the only one on that battle
field that lived." he said quietly. To his surprise, Karone shook her
head.
"No." she said. As he opened his
mouth as say something, she cut him off. "Some of the others are still
alive. But they were badly injured. The people of earth put them in these
tubes, status tubes, they called them. The tubes were technology used by
Zordon, as a place to put rangers that were close to death. But because of
Justin Stewert, the power rangers were put into them. He built these all by
hand, then donated them to the tunnels when the battle
against Kanara started. Since then, the rangers have been in here."
"So you put the rangers, living and
dead, in these status tubes." he asked. When Karone nodded, he asked
another question. "But how do you know which ones are still alive?"
Karone pulled him over to a small control
panel, near the back of the room. He looked at the panel and noticed that out
of thirteen panels, only four of them were lit up.
"The ones that are lit up are the ones that are alive." Zhane looked
up at her, hope rising up.
"So that means
"We're not sure. When they were first
brought in, eight of them still had faint signs of life. By the time we got
them in here, six were still alive. Over the years, since we can't find a way
to heal them, we've lost two of them. The ones that still have signs of life
are Aisha Campbell, Jason Scott, Ashley Hammond, and Andros."
*****
As Kat opened her eyes, she realized at once
that she was sleeping in a strange bed. She sat up quickly, only to groan in
pain. She slowly forced herself to stand up, looking around her surroundings as
she did. Across from the plain bed she was slowly getting out of, a small table
was set up covered in food. Her mouth watered as she looked at the food, but
she could not bring herself to eat it. After all her years of being with Kanara
made her wary of anything that was offered to her. As she debated whether or
not to eat it, the door to her room opened and she looked at it to alarm. The
alarm quickly turned to shock as she saw who was standing there.
"Tommy? Justin?" she whispered as
she stared at them. A laugh of happiness burst from her and she ran over and
enveloped the two in a giant hug, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I
never thought I would see you again!"
The two hugged her back, both of them
fighting back tears that threatened to fall. She hugged them, knowing that they
were real, and not a mirage. Her hunger was momentarily forgotten as she hugged
two people who she cared deeply for. But as the seconds began
to pass, her stomach growled loudly. She let go of Tommy Oliver and
Justin Stewart and blushed as they laughed gently at her expense.
"I think we should get something to
eat," Tommy Oliver suggested as he smiled at Kat. Kat smiled back as she
nodded, leading them to the table. She slowly sat down, still looking at the
food warily.
"Go ahead and eat it Kat. It's not like
it's going to bite or anything," Justin said, smiling at her. She laughed
lightly at her own foolishness and helped herself to a plateful of food. Years
ago, she never would have dared to take that much food. After all, she did have
to watch her weight because of dance. But now she did not care. It had been
years since she had last had a good meal and she was not going to let the chance
pass her up. Justin and Tommy watched in shock as she finished off the whole
plate of food in a matter of minutes. As she reached for some more, Tommy
looked at her in surprise.
"Woah! I don't think I've ever seen you eat that much,
Kat." he remarked as she put her plate down. "If you eat that much,
you might ruin your figure!" Kat stuck her tongue out at him as she began
to eat what was on her plate, the tensions that had been between the three of
them completely dissolving. It seemed as if they had never been away from each
other.
"Yeah, the only person I know who could
eat that much was Rocky!"
As soon as the words were out, Justin
immediately regretted it. Any mention of the past caused him pain, even though
he was not even at the battle to witness the slaughter. Kat stopped eating and
looked down, tears filling her eyes once again. Tommy looked away, trying to
keep all the emotions that he felt off his face. "Oh man. I'm sorry guys,
I shouldn't have.."
"It's okay Justin," Kat whispered
softly. "You don't mean to. It was a mistake." Justin nodded, even
though her words didn't help that much.
After all she's been through,
she deserves some time to relax. And you have to go and bring up something that
happened years ago that affected all of us so much.....Idiot. Justin thought as he tried to avoid eye contact.
Silence filled the room as the three of them sat there, not wanting to say
anything. Finally, Kat could not take it anymore.
"So...how long have you guys been
working down here?" she asked, trying to move to a different subject.
"And why does everything look like it come from the Power Chamber?"
Justin immediately perked up.
"Because most of it is!" he
exclaimed. As Kat looked at him, she thought she saw pieces of the twelve year
old boy she had last seen, not the seventeen year old that sat before her.
"When the rangers blasted off for space, I started going to where the
Power Chamber had been, trying to find a way to help. One day, I found a small
disk that had been buried underneath mountains of destruction. I immediately
put it home and put it in my computer, eager to find out what it was."
"I was amazed at what I saw. The disk
showed me the entire layouts of the
We got as many people as we could down in the
tunnels. And since then, we've been trying to find ways to improve on what we
have." Justin explained. Kat looked at him in shock, her blue eyes shining
with respect.
"That's incredible, Justin." she
said. "I never realized that you were so into all of that!"
"Neither did I,
until I saw it for myself. Man, was I impressed!" Tommy exclaimed. Kat
turned her attention to Tommy.
"So what have you been doing?"
"Actually, I haven't been doing much of
anything. I just got here a couple of days ago, and not long afterwards, you
got here." he said. Kat looked at him in confusion.
"What do you mean you were only here for
a couple of days? Where were the rest of the time?"
she asked. Tommy sighed.
"When Kanara sent the cloud of evil on
me that was suppose to kill me, something else happened. Instead of killing me,
the cloud turned me into a falcon. I remember realizing something was wrong
when I appeared in the tunnels. I couldn't communicate with anyone, since I was
a falcon and all. That's when I found Justin. He was helping some of the
scientists work on a new invention to create food out of no where, so people
could live. For five years I was trapped in the body of a falcon until a couple
of days ago, I suddenly changed back. I don't know why I did, but all I
remember is hearing the words 'I conjure thee to withdrawal"
*****
In a small but ornate room galaxies away from
Earth, sat an eighteen-year-old girl. She listened carefully to the noises in
the hall, checking to see if anyone was coming, looking for her.
Or, as I should say,
looking for "Anne."
She laughed to herself as she closed her
eyes. She drew herself into deep concentration, her hands cupped gently as she
did. In a flash of purple light, a small transmitter appeared in her hands. She
opened her eyes, smiling with delight as she saw the small machine. She once
again tested her senses, checking to see if anyone was coming. She found
nothing. She clicked the transmitter on. In a flash of light, a three
dimensional hologram appeared of a black hooded figure.
"Have you punctured their defenses
yet?" the figure asked, his deep voice filled with evil. "Anne"
smirked as she looked at the figure.
"Yes, and it was easier than you said.
The Jedi hasn't figured me out yet. He's too young to do any real harm."
she said boldly. The figure chuckled at her boasts, shaking his head slowly.
"He suspects already. You must watch him
at all times. He is very strong, though he is young."
"Anne" rolled her eyes at the
figure, shrugging his warnings off.
"Whatever. Anyway, Darth Blidis-"
"Sideous. Darth Sideous." he
interrupted, seemingly glaring at her from under his hood. Anyone else in the
universe would tremble at the sight of him. His darkness surrounded a person,
even if they were not anywhere near him. But he had no affect on the girl. And
that fact bothered him greatly. "Anne" paid no attention to his
obvious annoyance.
"I don't care how strong he supposably
is. I will get rid of him." She leaned closer to the transmitter, her
voice softer. "I promise you, Obi-Wan will not stand in my way."
Darth Sideous nodded his head slowly as he
looked at her. For a second, "Anne" saw his eyes gleaming out beneath
his hood. Eyes so filled with evil that it would frighten anyone. Anyone other
than her, that is. She stared back at him, her doe brown eyes changing into a
light violet. "I will get rid of him."
"Good. I don't care how you get rid of
him, Kanara, just do it quietly. Gain their trust, as
I have. Then, together, we shall crush the Jedi and we shall rule the
universe!"
Kanara smirked, her eyes flashing violet.
Already, she was preparing herself to break their alliance, trying to think of
ways to get rid of the Sith Lord. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds
coming from the hall. The footsteps that she heard began to come closer and
closer to her door.
"I have to do. Someone is coming. And
don't worry. I'll bring the Jedi and his little apprentice to you as soon as
possible." With that, she closed the transmitter. In a flash of purple, it
disappeared from her hand. She sat down on her bed and closed her eyes. When
she opened them again, they were back to the doe brown color they had been
before.
"Anne? Are you awake? The Princess wants
to see you." the voice asked. Kanara smiled as she recognized the voice.
It's the little Jedi apprentice, Anakin.
That's the one that Darth Sideous wants me to bring to him. she thought. "Yeah, I'm awake. I'll be right
there!"
*****
In the ornate throne room of the Queen of
Naboo, five people sat around a small, circular table. Queen Amidala looked
over at Captain Panaka, the head of her planetary defense. Ever since the Trade
Federation had tried to take over the planet, both the Queen and Captain had
started the building of many spacecrafts, complete with weapons to defend itself, in case the planet was gone after again. But the
planetary defense wasn't the main topic of the meeting. It was about something
much smaller.
"How do we know that the girl is telling
the truth?" Panaka demanded as he looked over at Obi-Wan and Amidala. The
two looked at each other, unspoken discomfort between the two.
"We don't." Obi-Wan said.
"There is something blocking her thoughts and feeling from the Force. I'm
not sure whether the girl is telling the truth or not. But I do have some sort
of feeling about the girl. I'm just not sure what it means."
"We don't care about feelings, we
need to know whether we can trust her or not. We barely know anything about
her!" Panaka said. "We can't trust her!"
A high-ranking commander sitting directly
next to Panaka nodded in agreement. "I agree. After all, we just finished
a thorough scan of the entire area and have not found one trace of her so
called ship."
"We aren't here to discuss whether or
not we are going to trust her," Amidala cut in, glaring at both Panaka and
Obi-Wan. "We have to decide what to do with her. She arrived here at a
very bad time, since not only is Anakin training, but there is a new Chancellor
in the Senate. The girl is not our highest priority right now, but we must do
something with her."
Obi-Wan nodded in agreement with the queen.
"Queen Amidala is right. Even though the girl is a mystery and very
suspicious, she is not what we need to concentrate on now. But we need to get
her off this planet, in case Kanara decides to send down more troops to get the
girl." he sighed as he looked at the other. "I will take her with me
to the Jedi Council, where they will decided what to
do with her."
"Yes, we need to get her off of the
planet." Panaka said. He then added sarcastically, "Take her with
you, and let the other Jedi's examine her. They will be able to tell where she
is from."
Obi-Wan looked Panaka in the eye. "Do
not doubt the Jedi's abilities. Especially not the Jedi Masters. They will know
where she came from. But until we find that out, be careful here. Many people
are ready to attack Naboo, to try and do what the Trade Federation could not.
Be careful." Amidala nodded as she looked over at the rest of the table.
"Then it's settled. The girl will go
with Obi-Wan." As everyone nodded, Amidala turned to the guards at the
door. "Let the girl in." The guards nodded and opened the door.
Anakin came in first, followed closely by Anne. Anakin looked over at Obi-Wan,
awaiting instructions.
"Anne," Queen Amidala called. Anne
walked over to the queen and bowed before her. As she stood up, she looked at
Amidala. "We have decided that for the time being, for your safety along
with ours, you shall be traveling with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.
They will take you to Coruscant where you shall be examined by the Jedi
Masters." For a split second, as Anakin looked at Anne, he thought he saw
a look of hatred and panic in her eyes. But it was gone so quickly, that Anakin
thought he had been seeing things.
"I will go where you wish." Anne
declared quietly, as she looked at the ground. Turning to Obi-Wan, a small
smile crossed her face. "I will be honored to travel with a Jedi
Knight." Amidala nodded and with a wave of her hand, Obi-Wan walked over
to her.
"The ship will be ready shortly. If
there is something that you want to bring, put it quickly on the ship."
Obi-Wan nodded. He turned to Anakin.
"Anakin, go collect your training
materials and take them on the ship." he ordered. Anakin nodded and
hurried out of the throne room. Obi-Wan then turned to Anne, smiling at her.
"And if you come with me, I will show you where you will be staying on the
ship."
Anne smiled up at him. "Thank you. You
don't have to go to all this trouble for me." As the two of them walked
out of the room, Panaka frowned at Anne's retreating form. He looked down at
the ground and frowned.
"I still don't like it," he
muttered to no one in particular. "I still don't like it." While
Panaka was thinking to himself, Amidala turned to her second in command.
"I am going to my room. I don't want
anyone to disturb me, unless it is an emergency." she said. The commander
nodded as Amidala turned towards the door and made her way out of the room.
Once out, she hurried to her room and, in record time, changed out of her
formal uniform and into an outfit of one of her handmaids. She made her way to
the ship that would carry Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Anne to Coruscant. No one gave
her a second glance, because she looked as if she was a handmaiden of the
Queen. As she neared the ship, she saw who she was looking for.
"Anakin," she called out, running
over to him. Anakin turned towards her, a look of surprise on his face. He put
down the training material that he was carrying and looked up at Amidala.
"I have to talk to you."
He looked at her in confusion. "Why do
you have to talk to me? Why would you talk to me? You're the queen!" he
said, still hurt that she hadn't told him. Amidala silently
herself for not telling Anakin the truth.
But I couldn't tell him! What if Qui-Gon
had been wrong about him? Then what would have I done. As Anakin looked up at her, Amidala realized she was
staring at him "I was wanted..." To tell you that I want you to
stay here. To train here and then to stay here, "to wish you luck on
your journey back to Coruscant." Coward.
Anakin visibly deflated as he looked down.
"Oh. Thanks." I shouldn't have been expecting anything. She's the
queen of an entire planet, for goodness sake! Where would she find time for an
ex-slave like me? "And I hope that you are able to fend off anyone
that tries to attack the planet."
"Thank you Anakin. I hope so too."
she agreed, smiling at him. Why can't I tell him! What if he never comes
back, and I don't get to what I want to. But what if I never get to tell him
that I...I care for him!
I care for him? How can that be? I am the
queen of an entire planet. I don't have time for anyone, even those that I
truly care about. But how can I care for him? "You should probably hurry up, Anakin. The ship
is almost ready to take off." Anakin nodded.
"I know. Everything is almost on."
he said. Even though I wish I wasn't going. If it wasn't for that girl, we
would stay here and I could continue my training on a planet I'm familiar with!
But we have to leave. Leave another place that I am comfortable in. Well, if I
want to be a Jedi, I'd better get used to it. "I have to go now. I
have to finish putting things on the ship. Obi-Wan says
that we have to leave as soon as possible."
Amidala nodded in agreement. "Obi-Wan is right. It is dangerous for the girl to say here. Good
luck Anakin." With that, she turned around and walked out of the room. As
she got back to her room, she could barely hold in the tears that had
threatened to fall. It doesn't matter if I do cry. The face paint will
cover everything up. With that thought, Amidala laid
down on her bed and, covering her face in her pillow, began to cry.