Power Rangers Chronic Storm 1: The Axis of Power

Chapter 9: Confrontation

Not even a sliver of light peered through the compromised engine room of Axis' ship. Jason felt around his body, confirming that his Ranger suit and helmet remained attached. But his heads up display systems had been compromised, leaving him engulfed by cold, silent darkness. He tried to re-initiate communication systems, but they wouldn't function either. His powerful suit was nothing more than tightly-fitting clothes at the moment. He felt around the room, trying to find the exhaust slit he entered from, all the while wondering if his mother saw nothing but darkness too.

Then, the engine room doors slid open. A flash of light stung Jason's eyes, but he managed to quickly hide behind the engine itself while two of Axis' henchmen entered the room.

Jason thought about his next move as his heart pounded in his chest. He carefully peered around the engine to observe the pair of Triforians. Both towered over Jason; tall and dressed in thin white and teal uniforms. But neither looked as imposing as the regular brand of Triforian warrior, nor were they clad in much armor.

"Alright, we're here." The slightly taller of the two henchmen took a quick look at the engine.

"Let's be quick about this so as to not upset The General," replied the slightly shorter henchman.

Jason held his breath to avoid making a sound. While the Triforians made repairs to the engine, he noticed his Morpher systems coming back online. He carefully poked his head around the engine once more. Maybe I could sneak around, try and jump them. But what if they have their blasters pre-loaded? Damn... Wait, I'm still morphed, and I can actually draw my blaster this time. I can do this.

The engines came back online. The gentle whir of its internal cooling unit steadily returned as the effects of the EMP wore off.

Jason took a deep breath and smirked behind the dark cover of his visor. I've got this. He revealed himself to the henchmen.

"Hey!" The larger of the two henchmen noticed Jason. "We've got an intruder!"

Jason threw both his hands up. "W-Who? Me? I was just... looking for the Tech Help Center. You see, my Morpher's been pretty buggy lately and I was hoping to get it fixed."

The Triforian pair stared at each other confused and then back at Jason.

"Nice try, Ranger," replied the slightly shorter henchman. "But we got rid of that section of the ship last month."

"Wait, we did?" asked the taller one.

The shorter one sighed. "It was in the meeting minutes, man. I keep telling you to take notes because you always, always forget."

"Wait a minute..." The larger henchman scratched his head. "Why would a Power Ranger come to our ship for tech help anyways?"

"Hmm..." The shorter one rubbed his chin. "Aha! I get the feeling that we're being played!"

Jason waved his hands at the pair. "So, here's the thing about that..." He quickly got out his blaster and shot down both henchmen before they drew their own weapons.

"Whew, mother was right about these guys. Not a lot of muscle where it matters most." Jason's hands still trembled from the rush. He took a hard look at his Morpher and nodded. "Morpher, it's time to be real heroes."

Jason kept his blaster pointed directly ahead of him as he ran out of the engine room and entered the crimson tinted hallways of the ship.

Meanwhile, Taylor and Kendrix watched over Ethan's shoulder as he tried to get Jason's communications back online. Multiple attempts to re-establish connections proved unsuccessful until a faint, static-laced blimp came in and out of focus.