Power Rangers In Space/Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, Heather Ray [best novels ever TXT] 📗

this Saber of legend is just..."

She visibly struggles for the right word, so I offer one of my own. "Humbling?"

She glances at me again. "Yes, it is."

A silence falls between us again, and I feel the awkwardness rise. Determined to make some connection with my new teammate, I reflect upon the flood of emotion I felt the first time I held the Yellow Quasar Saber. "Our village elder used to entertain the children with tales of the Power Rangers. They were like gods in the stories, wielding the power of nature, defending the people with no thought of reward. When I was young, my friends and I would try to pull the Sabers from the stone almost daily. Each time I approached the sacred stone, I could feel that incredible power..."

I pause as I feel Karone's stare on me. "You're from Mirinoi then?"

"Yes."

She nods. "That explains it."

"Explains what?"

"What you're doing here."

I frown my confusion. "I don't understand."

"You're from Mirinoi, and therefore, you're not from Earth," she explains. "You didn't experience the Countdown. You don't know what I was."

I shake my head. "I know you were Astronema, the Princess of Evil. I know you were kidnapped as a child, and raised as a warrior for evil. I know you discovered your true past, and turned your back on your title and station. And I know Dark Specter took you prisoner, and forced you to serve him again."

Her eyes are wide with surprise as she stares at me. I offer my most encouraging smile as I approach her.

"I know the Countdown was a horrible experience for Earth...but you are not to blame."

She shakes her head, folding her arms tightly. "I know you're trying to help, but you just don't understand. It's so easy to say that it's not my fault. You weren't there when I commanded my armies to enslave the populations of three peace-loving planets, and wipe out anyone who tried to stop me. You don't know what it's like to so nearly lose your home... and to face the monster that caused such chaos...I'm not surprised the other Rangers want nothing to do with me."

I consider her argument, my mind drifting back to my last day on Mirinoi. She's wrong to assume I'm unfamiliar with wrenching loss; the sight of Furio killing my entire planet still plagues my nightmares. But I've already seen justice served...what would I have felt if Furio had tried to ally himself with us? Would I have been able to see passed his evil acts, and discern a genuinely repentant soul?

Probably not.

But that doesn't mean Karone is doomed to suffer the scorn of my friends for her entire stay with us. "You said Kendrix asked you to serve in her stead," I remind her. "That means she has forgiven you for the Countdown, and anything else Astronema has done. Kendrix is an Earthling, and she has the heart to forgive."

I approach her again, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "Trust me, Karone, the other Rangers will come around. This has been a difficult mission, and I'm sure it's the thought of replacing Kendrix that's bothering the others; it has nothing to do with you personally."

I wait for her to respond, expecting her to pull away from me. But instead, she smiles.

"Thank you, Maya. I'll keep that in mind."

I'm overjoyed to see her smile, to see that cool gaze grow warm.
Chapter Twenty-Four

-Karone-

An hour ago, I was completely convinced that I would serve my term as the Pink Ranger as if it were a sentence. I would put life and limb on the line, and get nothing in return.

I didn't think it was possible to receive the gift of friendship.

I remember the first day I was Karone again, when Andros brought me on board the Megaship. I walked these very halls, my heart in my throat despite my calm demeanor, as I waited for the Space Rangers to pounce on me, hurl me in the brig, and throw away the key.

They were reluctant at first, but they gave me the benefit of the doubt. Then, on Yotoba, I proved my intentions to them by saving them from Dark Specter's trap. When I returned to the Megaship, they welcomed me as their friend.

I could never describe how overcome I was that they reached out to me, despite the blood on my hands. And after the Countdown, I never thought anyone else could care for me if they knew what I was...what I had done.

Maya's welcome was inspiring, and her words rang with simple wisdom. Perhaps she's right...perhaps these Rangers could see past the grim reputation of Astronema. Perhaps I should give them the benefit of the doubt, and consider that perhaps they are still in mourning.

I decide to start with the one whose rejection shook me the most.

I come to a stop outside the sliding doors of the Simudeck.

Even through the thick metal doors, I can hear the sounds of battle. Sprays of laser fire, grunts of exertion, and thuds created by the collision of solid objects.

I slide the control panel open, and type in the emergency deactivation code Andros demonstrated back when we lived on the Megaship.

I smile as the light turns green, and the doors slide open, revealing a balmy jungle with gargantuan trees that block the sun. The creeping shadows and swaying leaves are perfectly still, on pause until I allow the program to resume.

The Blue Ranger stands in the clearing, just inches from a wolf beast suspended in mid-air. It had been leaping to attack him from the trees above.

"What do you want?"

The venom in his tone surprises me. I wasn't prepared for such intense, and obvious, animosity. But I won't back down now. I need to understand Kai Chen, if I can ever hope to fight by his side. "I'd like to talk to you."

His back is still facing me. "It's not a good time."

"Is it ever?" I challenge.

He's silent for a moment, until he delivers a sharp response. "No. It isn't."

I try a different approach. I appeal to his sense of duty. "Like it or not, we're teammates, Kai. Kendrix entrusted the Saber to my care, as well as the lives of her friends. I won't fail her by letting a little bad blood tear the team apart, and put Terra Venture and everyone on it in greater danger."

Something of what I said reaches the Blue Ranger, for he releases a deep breath that almost sounds like surrender. He turns in my direction, folding his arms contemptuously. "Computer, end program."

The steaming jungle and violent monsters vanish, leaving us alone in the surreal black and green tiles of the Simudeck.

"Talk."

Closing my eyes to force myself into focus, I refer to the speech I'd crafted during the numbing isolation I've experienced since I boarded the Megaship. "First, I want to assure you that this is temporary. Kendrix will come back. But in the meantime, someone must guard the Quasar Saber, and complete the Power Ranger team, so Terra Venture can continue her journey safely."

I can feel his stare on me, burning with wrath. "Spoken like a true hero," he spits mockingly, "Well guess what? I don't care what color you wear, or what color your hair is. You are still a cold-blooded murderer. You can hide it from the others, but not from me."

I can't respond. I stay silent, staring at the rigid Blue Ranger with new eyes. Before, I couldn't understand his need to stay clear of me, but now it makes sense. He was restraining himself. He didn't want me to know.

Now, I know. "You were there."

He knows exactly what I mean, and he doesn't pretend otherwise. "Yes."

His voice softens as both our thoughts are thrown back to that horrible day. The day of the Countdown.

"I was attending Angel Grove University," he relates. "The Quantrons just fell from the sky like swarms of locusts. Lasers rained from small ships, setting everything on fire. Nothing and no one was spared. Buildings, cars, trees, people...it didn't matter. I was in an astrophysics class when the explosions shook the building. We...were evacuated by campus police, but so many people didn't make it in time."

His fists clench furiously as he relives the anguish. "Three hundred-eleven people were killed when the building toppled. Professors, administrators, students just beginning their lives...all wiped out in the blink of an eye."

I stare in tongue-tied horror, watching the play of emotions on his face. Anger, bitterness, regret, sorrow...helplessness.

He had been helpless that day, unable to save the people around him.

"The area was decimated, so we were forced to clear the area while rescue workers did what they could. I wound up further downtown. I saw you there, standing on top of that office building, demanding the Rangers' lives."

His eyes narrow as he glares directly into my eyes. "I heard

you threaten to blow up the whole planet

. And you would have, too...if the Space Rangers didn't take you down!"

A sickly silence falls, and I have nothing to fill it. What can I say to a man that nearly died because of me? What can I offer a man who must be haunted by the faces of his lost friends?

He then shatters the quiet, as his anger replenishes itself, filling that empty void of suffering. He marches toward me, and gods help me, I can barely move. His costume vanishes in a bright blue flash, letting his bloodshot eyes burn a hole in my soul.

"I watched three hundred-eleven people die, Astronema." His voice is a soft growl as he hovers just inches from me. "That's only the people in one building. Millions

more died, because of you! Where's their justice

, Astronema?? Who will pay for the blood of all those innocent people??"

My throat is dry, and my knees are locked. "Kai, I'm --"

He releases a short, empty laugh. "You're what? 'Sorry'?

'Sorry'

won't bring a single person back!"

I feel the heat of his breath on my face as he screams. I see the manic glint in his eye as he tries to burn me alive with his glare. I feel his rage, boiling and furious, desperate for appeasement.

And I force myself to face the living embodiment of all my guilt. I've committed atrocities in my life, but I do not believe I am beyond redemption! "Neither will jail time, Kai, and neither will capital punishment. I wish I could do something...anything

to bring back the lives I took. But I can't. I can't!"

I step back from him, pulling my fingers through my