Ryuranger
11-17-2003, 04:47 PM
“The body’s reaction of panic and anxiety can’t tell the difference between falling off a 200-foot cliff
and a trigonometry test.”
-- Dr. Sue Boothby, 2005
“The Truth of Phobias”
---Ultimate Power Rangers
---Season 05
---Digital Task Force Astro Rangers
---Chapter Three: Hacker
Astronema walked between rows of computers lined with flashing blue lights and holographic data projections as Eclipter stayed two steps behind her to her right. The planet Halcaron was known for its extensive database and surveillance systems.
Astronema had learned that the Astro Rangers were on their way to the planet, so she beat them there to set up a trap.
She stepped up to a raised circular platform where a group of Quantrons was holding down one of Halcaron’s archivists. His skin was pale blue and he had a wrinkle running down the center of the face and along the back of his bald head. It looked to Astronema like his skin was folded. His four eyes were solid black.
“Please, please I beg of you,” the scientist said. His name was Bracidese. “Our planet is neutral. Our archives are for anyone. We meant no disobedience to Sauron. We don’t wish to oppose him. Please don’t harm me.”
“Quit your whining,” Astronema said. “You are a traitor to your people. The Rangers contacted you two intervals ago. You planned to allow their filth here to aid them in their quest of domination. For this, you must be punished.”
The man shook his head and bowed. “No please I beg you.”
Astronema grinned. “I’ll spare your life on one condition.”
“Anything anything.”
“You will help me lure in the Rangers so I can crush them,” she said.
“But, but…I can’t.”
She looked to the Quantrons. “Kill him.”
He shouted “No! alright I will!”
Astronema smiled. “I knew you’d see things my way.”
***
Chris opened the locker in his quarters and pulled out the gray jumpsuit that would fit over his black t-shirt. He slowly pulled the sleeves on and zipped the jacket up halfway to his chest.
He sighed to himself as he looked in the mirror of his locker. Behind him, he could see lines of stars zoom by as the ship blasted through hyper space.
“I still can’t believe this,” he said quietly to himself as he took a deep breath. “Be calm be calm be calm be calm be calm…”
He adjusted his collar and took another deep breath. “You’re fine.” Chris had learned shortly after their first take off in the shuttle that he had a large fear of space and alien worlds. He hadn’t told any of the others about his fear and tried his best to hide it.
Luckily, time spent on the simudeck and in the galley did alleviate his anxiety, but they were only temporary solutions.
Chris took his third deep breath and left his quarters. He started walking towards the turbolift as Justin came up behind him.
“Hey, hold up!” Justin said with a smile as he caught up with his friend and slapped him on the back. “Ready for another day at the job?”
Chris forced a smile. “Yep.”
“Good deal,” Justin said as they entered the turbolift. The doors closed.
***
Chris and Justin entered the bridge and moved towards their posts as Tommy spoke.
“We’re almost to Halcaron,” Tommy said as they took their seats.
“We saved you a seat,” Ashley said to Chris as he sat down.
Chris forced another smile. “Morning.”
The ship stabbed back into real-space and entered a high orbit around the planet, which was covered with swirls of brown and green.
“Kat, get a hold of the surface,” Tommy said.
“Right,” Kat said as she opened a channel. “I have them on the viewer.”
Tommy was slightly taken aback by the appearance of the four-eyed Halcaron native on the view screen. This Halcaronian was green faced, so Tommy knew it wasn’t his contact.
“This is the Blue Voyager,” Tommy said. Justin had developed the alias for the Megaship for them to use as a cover when dealing with other planets or stations. A holographic image was superimposed around the ship, a disguise developed quickly and efficiently by Ashley’s patching through certain systems of the simudeck to the hull plating systems.
The green faced Halcaronian would also not see six uniformed human teenagers, but a crew of Eltarian cargo haulers.
“Bracidese is expecting us,” Tommy added.
The green alien’s face was quickly replaced by the image of Bracidese.
“Blue Voyager, you are clear to dock at station 7 on the planet’s dark side,” Bracidese said. Their connection was ended by Bracidese quickly afterwards.
“Are they always that brief?” Justin asked.
Cy shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Oh,” Justin said.
The Megaship maneuvered its way into its space port on the dark side of the moon.
“We’ll go down on our Cyber Sliders,” Tommy said. “I don’t want to risk putting too much distance between the ship and the shuttle for too long.”
Although Cy had assured Tommy they were well out of the area known as the Wastelands, Tommy was still being extra cautious.
“Let’s go say hi,” Tommy said as the teens started filing out.
“Hey Tommy,” Chris said. “Ummm…do you need me really? I mean, one of us should stay on the ship with Cy. Keep him company. Help him guard the ship.”
“It would be best if the five of us stuck together,” Tommy said.
“I can always slide down there if you run into trouble, but…ya know…what about the ship?” Chris said.
Tommy sighed. He was being waited on and he didn’t want to risk angering the planet’s inhabitants. “Alright.”
“Thanks,” Chris said as Tommy turned and walked off. He did not seem happy…
Chris didn’t expect his friends to run into any trouble, so he didn’t feel entirely guilty. I just can’t. I can’t surf through space…and into a planet’s atmosphere? He didn’t know how the other four would be able to handle it.
***
The four teens walked with Bracidese through the central corridor.
“Now what is it exactly you’re looking for again?” the Halcaronian asked.
Tommy refrained from rolling his eyes. He’d told their host three times upon landing what they needed.
“Information on Sauron’s past, his current movements, and possible places he’s hiding Zordon,” Tommy said.
“What about Astronema?” Kat asked.
“Her too,” Tommy said.
Bracidese nodded as he hobbled along. “Yes, yes.”
“Actually,” Ashley cut in, “didn’t you say you’d have a disk of information compiled for us when we got here?”
The Halcaronian made a clicking sound Ashley assumed was the equivalent of an ‘Um.’
“There were a few…setbacks,” Bracidese said.
“Is everything ok?” Tommy asked.
“Oh yes yes,” Bracidese said much too quickly. “This way.”
The teens followed Bracidese into a side chamber. Rows of data disks lined the walls and a cluster of computer terminals sat in the middle of the floor.
Here is where you’ll find what you need,” the Halcaronian said as he lingered in the entry way and motioned the rangers inside.
The teens took only a few steps inside before Bracidese ducked outside and the door slammed shut.
“Hey!” Tommy shouted as he banged on the door. The computer cluster in the center of the room sent out an electric pulse that sucked the four teens inside the computer mainframe.
They found themselves surrounded by darkness with dull glowing shapes marking the sky above them and ankle-deep fog on the ground.
“Where are we?” Kat asked.
“I’d say some kind of digital pocket dimension,” Ashley said.
“I can’t believe that little creep did this to us,” Justin said.
Tommy tried to contact Cy and Chris, but his communicator wouldn’t work. “Our digitizers aren’t working.”
They heard a booming laughter behind them as they turned to see a transparent image of a large monster’s head. The creature resembled a chameleon.
“What the…” Justin said, just as the creature opened its mouth and a torrent of flame poured out.
***
The docking clamps around the Astro Megaship tightened and threatened to crush the hull as their holo-cloak dropped.
“Alert,” DECA reported. “Hull breach immanent.”
“What’s going on?” Chris asked.
Cy shook his head. “It’s a trap. The docking port is trying to crush the ship.”
Chris tried to contact the others, but he was answered only by static. “I can’t reach Tommy and the others.”
Chris was nearly rocked from his seat as the docking clamps tightened again. “Can we blast our way out of here?”
Cy shook his head. “No. The laser turrets were crushed before the hull plating was polarized.”
Chris closed his eyes as the deck rocked again. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening…
“Chris…Chris!” Cy shouted as he walked down to the Earther’s station and shook him by the elbows until he snapped his eyes open. “Did you hear me?”
The ship shook again and a station in the back exploded.
“We’re going to form the megazord,” Cy said.
“What? How?” Chris asked.
“Come on,” Cy said as he dragged Chris away.
***
and a trigonometry test.”
-- Dr. Sue Boothby, 2005
“The Truth of Phobias”
---Ultimate Power Rangers
---Season 05
---Digital Task Force Astro Rangers
---Chapter Three: Hacker
Astronema walked between rows of computers lined with flashing blue lights and holographic data projections as Eclipter stayed two steps behind her to her right. The planet Halcaron was known for its extensive database and surveillance systems.
Astronema had learned that the Astro Rangers were on their way to the planet, so she beat them there to set up a trap.
She stepped up to a raised circular platform where a group of Quantrons was holding down one of Halcaron’s archivists. His skin was pale blue and he had a wrinkle running down the center of the face and along the back of his bald head. It looked to Astronema like his skin was folded. His four eyes were solid black.
“Please, please I beg of you,” the scientist said. His name was Bracidese. “Our planet is neutral. Our archives are for anyone. We meant no disobedience to Sauron. We don’t wish to oppose him. Please don’t harm me.”
“Quit your whining,” Astronema said. “You are a traitor to your people. The Rangers contacted you two intervals ago. You planned to allow their filth here to aid them in their quest of domination. For this, you must be punished.”
The man shook his head and bowed. “No please I beg you.”
Astronema grinned. “I’ll spare your life on one condition.”
“Anything anything.”
“You will help me lure in the Rangers so I can crush them,” she said.
“But, but…I can’t.”
She looked to the Quantrons. “Kill him.”
He shouted “No! alright I will!”
Astronema smiled. “I knew you’d see things my way.”
***
Chris opened the locker in his quarters and pulled out the gray jumpsuit that would fit over his black t-shirt. He slowly pulled the sleeves on and zipped the jacket up halfway to his chest.
He sighed to himself as he looked in the mirror of his locker. Behind him, he could see lines of stars zoom by as the ship blasted through hyper space.
“I still can’t believe this,” he said quietly to himself as he took a deep breath. “Be calm be calm be calm be calm be calm…”
He adjusted his collar and took another deep breath. “You’re fine.” Chris had learned shortly after their first take off in the shuttle that he had a large fear of space and alien worlds. He hadn’t told any of the others about his fear and tried his best to hide it.
Luckily, time spent on the simudeck and in the galley did alleviate his anxiety, but they were only temporary solutions.
Chris took his third deep breath and left his quarters. He started walking towards the turbolift as Justin came up behind him.
“Hey, hold up!” Justin said with a smile as he caught up with his friend and slapped him on the back. “Ready for another day at the job?”
Chris forced a smile. “Yep.”
“Good deal,” Justin said as they entered the turbolift. The doors closed.
***
Chris and Justin entered the bridge and moved towards their posts as Tommy spoke.
“We’re almost to Halcaron,” Tommy said as they took their seats.
“We saved you a seat,” Ashley said to Chris as he sat down.
Chris forced another smile. “Morning.”
The ship stabbed back into real-space and entered a high orbit around the planet, which was covered with swirls of brown and green.
“Kat, get a hold of the surface,” Tommy said.
“Right,” Kat said as she opened a channel. “I have them on the viewer.”
Tommy was slightly taken aback by the appearance of the four-eyed Halcaron native on the view screen. This Halcaronian was green faced, so Tommy knew it wasn’t his contact.
“This is the Blue Voyager,” Tommy said. Justin had developed the alias for the Megaship for them to use as a cover when dealing with other planets or stations. A holographic image was superimposed around the ship, a disguise developed quickly and efficiently by Ashley’s patching through certain systems of the simudeck to the hull plating systems.
The green faced Halcaronian would also not see six uniformed human teenagers, but a crew of Eltarian cargo haulers.
“Bracidese is expecting us,” Tommy added.
The green alien’s face was quickly replaced by the image of Bracidese.
“Blue Voyager, you are clear to dock at station 7 on the planet’s dark side,” Bracidese said. Their connection was ended by Bracidese quickly afterwards.
“Are they always that brief?” Justin asked.
Cy shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Oh,” Justin said.
The Megaship maneuvered its way into its space port on the dark side of the moon.
“We’ll go down on our Cyber Sliders,” Tommy said. “I don’t want to risk putting too much distance between the ship and the shuttle for too long.”
Although Cy had assured Tommy they were well out of the area known as the Wastelands, Tommy was still being extra cautious.
“Let’s go say hi,” Tommy said as the teens started filing out.
“Hey Tommy,” Chris said. “Ummm…do you need me really? I mean, one of us should stay on the ship with Cy. Keep him company. Help him guard the ship.”
“It would be best if the five of us stuck together,” Tommy said.
“I can always slide down there if you run into trouble, but…ya know…what about the ship?” Chris said.
Tommy sighed. He was being waited on and he didn’t want to risk angering the planet’s inhabitants. “Alright.”
“Thanks,” Chris said as Tommy turned and walked off. He did not seem happy…
Chris didn’t expect his friends to run into any trouble, so he didn’t feel entirely guilty. I just can’t. I can’t surf through space…and into a planet’s atmosphere? He didn’t know how the other four would be able to handle it.
***
The four teens walked with Bracidese through the central corridor.
“Now what is it exactly you’re looking for again?” the Halcaronian asked.
Tommy refrained from rolling his eyes. He’d told their host three times upon landing what they needed.
“Information on Sauron’s past, his current movements, and possible places he’s hiding Zordon,” Tommy said.
“What about Astronema?” Kat asked.
“Her too,” Tommy said.
Bracidese nodded as he hobbled along. “Yes, yes.”
“Actually,” Ashley cut in, “didn’t you say you’d have a disk of information compiled for us when we got here?”
The Halcaronian made a clicking sound Ashley assumed was the equivalent of an ‘Um.’
“There were a few…setbacks,” Bracidese said.
“Is everything ok?” Tommy asked.
“Oh yes yes,” Bracidese said much too quickly. “This way.”
The teens followed Bracidese into a side chamber. Rows of data disks lined the walls and a cluster of computer terminals sat in the middle of the floor.
Here is where you’ll find what you need,” the Halcaronian said as he lingered in the entry way and motioned the rangers inside.
The teens took only a few steps inside before Bracidese ducked outside and the door slammed shut.
“Hey!” Tommy shouted as he banged on the door. The computer cluster in the center of the room sent out an electric pulse that sucked the four teens inside the computer mainframe.
They found themselves surrounded by darkness with dull glowing shapes marking the sky above them and ankle-deep fog on the ground.
“Where are we?” Kat asked.
“I’d say some kind of digital pocket dimension,” Ashley said.
“I can’t believe that little creep did this to us,” Justin said.
Tommy tried to contact Cy and Chris, but his communicator wouldn’t work. “Our digitizers aren’t working.”
They heard a booming laughter behind them as they turned to see a transparent image of a large monster’s head. The creature resembled a chameleon.
“What the…” Justin said, just as the creature opened its mouth and a torrent of flame poured out.
***
The docking clamps around the Astro Megaship tightened and threatened to crush the hull as their holo-cloak dropped.
“Alert,” DECA reported. “Hull breach immanent.”
“What’s going on?” Chris asked.
Cy shook his head. “It’s a trap. The docking port is trying to crush the ship.”
Chris tried to contact the others, but he was answered only by static. “I can’t reach Tommy and the others.”
Chris was nearly rocked from his seat as the docking clamps tightened again. “Can we blast our way out of here?”
Cy shook his head. “No. The laser turrets were crushed before the hull plating was polarized.”
Chris closed his eyes as the deck rocked again. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening…
“Chris…Chris!” Cy shouted as he walked down to the Earther’s station and shook him by the elbows until he snapped his eyes open. “Did you hear me?”
The ship shook again and a station in the back exploded.
“We’re going to form the megazord,” Cy said.
“What? How?” Chris asked.
“Come on,” Cy said as he dragged Chris away.
***