Cancer: War Stories

War Stories is the first episode of the Cancer arc, and the tenth of Power Rangers: Neo Zeo.

Synopsis
Alpha 5 recalls his time during the war with the Alliance of Evil as the Rangers try to help an old friend.

Plot
"Casey, try to conserve your Zord's energy. You don't need to move around constantly," Alpha 5 said into a communicator.

"Oh yeah, sorry." Super ZeoZord II finished its barrel roll and hovered in space. The other three Super ZeoZords were nearby, III and IV sparring and V just waiting in silence.

In the Power Chamber, Alpha was monitoring all of them, and Tommy had joined him to watch the others try out their Zords for a second time—and to spend some time with Alpha. None of the Rangers had objected, and Violet had even asked him for tips on handling the Zords better afterwards.

"I'm bored. Any sign of the ship yet?" Casey asked hopefully.

"It's the Phantom Ranger's ship, if everything goes well we won't detect it until it's already landed," David replied.

Casey let out a squee of excitement. "I can't believe we get to meet the Phantom Ranger! Maybe we'll get to have a teamup battle!"

"Calm down, he's just doing a tech delivery," Violet said. "He's got the rest of the universe to worry about."

Super ZeoZord II drooped visibly. "Not even a little one?"

"Hopefully not," David put in. "We have enough to deal with as it is."

"Oh."

"How much longer will you be able to stay?" Alpha 5 asked Tommy.

"Just three more days. I'm working on a doctorate, that takes time."

The robot shook his head. "Ai-yi-yi, I still can't believe you've decided to be a doctor."

"I can't quite believe it either. Racing cars . . . I think the thrill of that was just because of the Turbo powers, weirdly enough. I'm not much of a study, but they talked me into it." He grinned. "At least I've got an edge in paleontology."

With a little laugh, Alpha 5 got back to work, but Tommy leaned over the console he was working at. "Since this might be the last time we talk for a while, there's something I want to know."

"There is?" Alpha asked innocently, not looking up.

"What happened to you on Eltar? Whenever anyone brings it up you avoid it." Tommy grew serious. "You can tell me, Alpha. I'm your friend, remember?"

Alpha met his gaze. He let out a little sigh. "You're right. It's just not a time I like to remember."

''"So, this is the little automaton who's been helping the mighty Zordon for so long?" King Mondo sneered, looking down his nose at Alpha 5. The other, smaller robot wasn't restrained in any way, but the cluster of Cogs and Quantrons ensured that he wouldn't try anything. "How primitive. I don't see that there's any real use for you."''

''"Yeah, turn him into scrap metal!" Prince Sprocket interjected.''

''"Now, now, dear, he may not be of obvious practical use, but this is still an opportunity for us," Queen Machina interrupted, fanning herself as she spoke. She glided over to Alpha 5, looking him over. He tried to look defiant, but she wheeled on him and he flinched with a yelp.''

"This robot helped several different Rangers on Earth. If we show everyone that he is in our control, it will remind them who the true rulers of the galaxy are."

''"I'd never help you!" Alpha 5 declared, with as much bravado as he could muster. "I'd rather be scrap metal."''

''"Who asked you?" Queen Machina gestured with her fans, and two of the foot soldiers caught Alpha 5 by the arms, holding him still. She walked over to a desk and pulled out what looked oddly like an ordinary CD. "Finster was thrilled to be asked to recreate one of his old programs. He was very proud of it."''

''Alpha 5 struggled, but Queen Machina walked around behind him. "It won't work thi—"''

''She inserted the disk into his back, and he stiffened, little electrical bolts crackling out of the slot. Queen Machina returned to her husband, and the foot soldiers released Alpha 5.''

''"Did it work?" Prince Sprocket asked.''

''"Who do you serve, robot?" King Mondo asked Alpha 5.''

"Me? I'll work for anyone who'll help put those Power Punks in their place!"

"Very good."

The alarm started to sound, startling Alpha 5. "What's going on?"

A new male voice came through the comms. "Power Rangers please come in, this is the Phantom Ranger."

Immediately David was speaking. "This is the Red Ranger, what is it?"

Alpha 5 was already working to activate the viewing screen, even if the Rangers wouldn't have time to see it. An image of a spaceship appeared, being pursued by what had to be Windjammer craft. They were shooting, and from the smoke and damaged hull, of it had already scored several hits.

"I can't evade them, they're jamming my cloaking device somehow, and these ships are too quick for my weapons to lock on."

"We're on our way," David said.

Alpha 5 and Tommy watched as the four Super ZeoZords flew to meet the Phantom Ranger's ship. The robot's nervousness was palpable. As they approached, some of the Windjammer ships broke off from the main group and flew towards them, opening fire. Most were lasers, but one blasted a continuous stream of fire, and another a volley of flashing, whirring metal. Drawing its sword, Super ZeoZord V lunged for the nearest ship, but it swerved, only taking a glancing blow to one wingtip. Out of its sides popped a pair of metallic tubes, and unnoticed by the Red Ranger, the same happened to a ship behind it.

"Red Ranger, look out!" Alpha 5 cried, but too late. Blue electricity leapt from one set of tubes to the other, catching Super ZeoZord V in the crackling beams. The sword fell from the Zord's fingers, and David cried out from the cockpit. The energy overload blew out the Zord's systems in bursts of smoke and fire.

"David!" Tommy was already on his feet, reaching for a morpher that wasn't there out of habit.

''Alpha 5 saw the flashes of electricity as he pattered around the corner. The interrogation room's door slid open as he approached, and he saw two monsters, one manning the wall controls, the other bending over a sparking table. The snapping thrum was loud, but not enough that the monster had to do more than raise his voice to be heard.''

''"Turn up the current!" He bent low over whoever was strapped to the table, so close that the energy arcing across it nearly caught him. "Just one scream, or a whimper, then this can stop."''

''There was no response. The other monster turned the dial further. Alpha 5 came up right behind this creature.''

''"Having a little extra fun, boys?" He asked.''

''The monster jumped and looked around guiltily, turning off the dial. His fellow looked up and stepped away from the table. Their victim looked like a human teenage boy, and if not for the open panel on his chest, showing circuitry, wires and blinking lights, someone familiar with the Power Rangers would have guessed he was TJ. As the electrical current stopped, he relaxed against the table, breathing hard.''

"Hey, this guy destroyed our brother during the war! We're just getting a little payback!"

"If I had a heart it would bleed for you, but the Machine Empire has plans for him," Alpha 5 said, "so if you do anything to him Orbus and Klank will probably do it to you."

''Grumbling, the two monsters left. The robot walked over to the TJ duplicate, who rolled his head around to look at Alpha.''

"I heard you were on the Gaolstation. Are you all right?"

''Alpha 5 paused, staring blankly at him. "They must have fried your thought processors. Why do you care about me? Oh, right, I forgot; you were one of those Ranger ripoffs they made to stop the invasion here. That turned out really well, don't you think?"''

''He yanked a handful of cables out of the sockets in the captive robot's chest, but as he did, one of the circuitry panels slid open, revealing a small metal tube. It fired a beam of white energy at Alpha 5. It enveloped him, and he let out a yell of surprise. The control disc in his back split with an audible crackling pop, and he fell against the table.''

"Alpha?"

''The little robot groaned. "My head . . . what . . ." He sprang upright, clutching his head in horror. "What have I been doing?"''

"Easy, calm down, it wasn't your fault."

"I'm getting you out of here," Alpha 5 said, starting to work on the restraints, but the robotic TJ stopped him.

"If you do we'll both be caught and that'll be the end. You'll do a lot more good just pretending to go along with the Alliance for now."

''"Pretend? You mean act evil? Let them hurt you and the others?" Alpha 5 wrung his hands. "I-I couldn't! Not by myself. I wouldn't know what to do."''

"Just keep doing what you did before, but if you can, help out everyone here. Sooner or later we'll get some real help and then you won't have to hide anymore."

"But I . . ."

''The duplicate TJ pushed himself up, fixing Alpha with an intent look. "Alpha, 5 we need you to do this. You may not be able to help any of the Rangers directly, but you can keep the United Alliance of Evil from doing any more harm to the people trapped here. I know you can, and if Zordon were here he'd say the same."''

''Alpha 5 faltered. When he spoke again, it was in a very small voice. "But what can I do? I'm not a leader or a hero."''

''"Help. That's all." The robotic TJ looked around suddenly, and lay back on the table. "Someone's coming, you need to go."''

"Hang on, I'm coming!" Super ZeoZord IV charged towards the pair of ships, already whirling both of its axes. Another ship came up on its flank, but a sweeping blow to the side sent that one careening out of control. Hurled through the air, the blue axe embedded itself in the engine of one of the two ships. It sputtered and died, and its half of the electrical field died. Super ZeoZord V drifted free, still sparking, and the other ship fled.

"Red Ranger?" Alpha 5 called.

"M'all right." He sounded breathless, and he'd nearly fallen out of his seat, but the Red Ranger was still morphed. The communicators buzzed with static, and his next words were lost.

"Can you fly?" Super ZeoZord IV came up on its flank, catching the drifting Zord.

". . . systems dead . . ."

"I'll bring you back to Earth."

"No!" The sharp protest cut through the white noise.

"You can't fight, you're a liability," Violet protested.

"Ai-yi-yi," Alpha 5 said, looking from the console to the screen and back. "If they just give his systems a little time!"

"Tell them, not me," Tommy retorted. "They're the ones who need help."

Alpha 5 looked sharply at him, but Tommy just gestured to the comms impatiently. Snapping out of it, the robot activated them and leaned in.

"Violet, move David's Zord out of the line of fire so its systems can recharge."

"You're sure?"

Alpha hesitated, but then spoke in as firm a voice as he could muster. "Very sure."

"All right." Taking the other Super ZeoZord by the arm, Violet's drew it away from the fight.

Meanwhile, several of the other Windjammer ships had fired out grappling hooks, and caught the Phantom Ranger's ship as it tried to flee. Their occupants were already shimmying down the ropes and cutting into the hull. The other Windjammers flanked the boarders, providing cover fire as the remaining two Super ZeoZords moved in to stop them.

"They're inside," the Phantom Ranger reported. In a muffled yell, as if turning away from the comms, he added "Sabrina! Take this and head to the upper decks, see if you can hold them off at the turbolift!"

Alpha 5 was warming to his work. "Rangers, you need to stop the monsters from getting in. Be careful that you don't hit the Phantom Ranger's ship."

"You got it!" Casey had already sent Super ZeoZord II into the swarm and was kicking, punching and clubbing at the ships buzzing around her. Lidian, more methodical, came around from behind to attack the flank. Zooming forward to join them, Super ZeoZord IV caught one of the Windjammer ships by the wing and hauled it in to smash its hatch in with an axe.

The Phantom Ranger's spaceship lurched forward, stretching the grappling ropes taut. Some of the Windjammer ships broke away from the main group and flew around to intercept it, opening fire, but Super ZeoZord IV followed and kept them occupied.

"We've lost hull integrity," the Phantom Ranger reported. "I can vent the air out of the ship, but our own oxygen supplies are low."

"We'll try to get these buzzards off your back," Violet said, crushing a Windjammer ship's nose with her fist.

''"Systems failing," the computer's voice intoned, as a rumble shook Gaolstation. Alpha 5, running to the main consoles, stumbled and fell into a heap of dust. Minutes before, a massive energy wave had passed through the station and over the planet below, turning every single member of the Alliance of Evil into a heap of dust. Unfortunately, that meant nobody was there to make sure the station continued to run.''

"Computer, seal all exterior hatches and bring up the life support again," Alpha 5 ordered, finally reaching the main console.

"Processing . . . . hatch on Deck 7 unresponsive. Sealing deck."

''"No, don't! Everyone in there will suffocate!" Alpha 5 protested. "Get me a visual."''

''"Processing." The screen turned black, and then showed an image of one of the halls. A large piece of metal was jamming the hatch open.''

"Oh, is that all? Open the hatch," Alpha 5 said, relieved.

The computer complied, but even with the door open, the debris didn't move.

"Atmospheric levels down to 70%."

"I know, I know, I'm going!"

''Alpha ran as fast as he could for the door. The elevator felt agonizingly slow, but when it finally opened on Deck 7, he was nearly dragged out. The fleeing atmosphere dragged everything with it. Stumbling forward, Alpha 5 grasped one end of the debris, set his shoulder against it and pushed as hard as he could.''

"Atmosphere at 60%."

''Slowly, slowly, the metal began to move. It ground against the doorframe, trembling as the vacuum pulled at it. Alpha 5 turned and put his whole back into it, planting both hands against the wall to push.''

"Atmosphere at 50%."

''It jolted free so suddenly that it nearly took Alpha 5 with it. He scrabbled at and caught the side of the hatch at the last second, and the metal fell away into empty space.''

''"Computer, shut the hatch!" He screamed, dragging himself back inside hand-over-hand.''

''The door began to swing shut, and soon it met his feet, pushing him into the room the rest of the way. As the vacuum was cut off, Alpha fell to the floor with a clatter, and lay there for a minute. The hatch sealed with a hissing noise.''

"Pressure restored. Atmosphere normalizing."

Alpha let out a huge groan of relief.

"Hey, one of you guys gimme a blade, I want to cut these cables!" Casey yelled, as Super ZeoZord II grabbed one of the ships which had hooked the Phantom Ranger's ship.

"Catch!" Super ZeoZord III threw one of its hatchets, and leaning out, Casey's Zord caught it.

One swing separated the cable from its ship, and a few more blows did the rest. However, a set of guns popped out of the ship in her Zord's hand, and opened fire at point-blank range. Energy pulses tore into the Super ZeoZord's hull, and it fell back.

"Casey!" Both the Green and Blue Rangers yelled at once.

The rest of the Windjammers swarmed like sharks around the damaged Zord, but as they did, a red sword sliced into the nearest. As Alpha had predicted, Super ZeoZord V had recharged, and now it went to work with a vengeance. The other two Zords were already on their way, but Violet just dragged Casey out of the line of fire; David was more than making up for his lost time. His Zord slashed and smashed the Windjammers and took their blasts with the ships he destroyed as a shield.

Either the Windjammers realized they were fighting a losing battle, or their superiors did. They turned tail and fled as one. David started to pursue them, but Alpha 5 interrupted.

"Red Ranger! Stay on course, make sure the Phantom Ranger's ship gets to Earth safely!"

". . . acknowledged." He sounded breathless. "Coming."

The four Zords gathered around the Phantom Ranger's ship as it started towards Earth again. Alpha 5 waited for a long minute, to be sure no more attacks were coming, and then let out a huge sigh of relief, slumping against the console with head in hands.

"Mentoring not as easy as it looks?" Tommy asked.

"Ai-yi-yi."

oZo

"Ready to teleport?" The Phantom Ranger asked. He stood in his newly-landed ship, the Super ZeoZords touching down around him.

"Just about," Alpha 5 said through the comms. "And teleporting now!"

The new equipment, all fresh from Eltar, vanished from his cargo bay in flashes. Footsteps carried from the door, and the Phantom Ranger saw the four Zeo Rangers coming. He lowered his communicator and gave them a nod of acknowledgment.

"Thank you for your help, Rangers."

"It was our pleasure," Violet replied. Beside her, Casey was nearly bouncing up and down in excitement. Her sister gave her a loving smack upside the head and a quiet "get ahold of yourself."

"The hull damage doesn't look serious," a new female voice put in, and an Asian woman entered the room. She wore plain, Earth-looking clothes, but carried a rifle of obviously alien make. At the sight of the Rangers she paused.

"Who's this?" Lidian asked, looking from the Phantom to the woman and back.

"A passenger who requested transportation to Earth. She proved to be very useful during the battle just now."

The woman set the rifle down and grinned at the team. "Glad to help."

"You look familiar," Lidian said thoughtfully. "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

A shifty-eyed, nervous look passed over the woman's face, and she opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Alpha 5. His voice was higher than usual with incredulity.

"SCORPINA?!"

Allies

 * Alpha 5
 * T3J
 * Phantom Ranger

Villains

 * The Royal House of Gadgetry
 * Windjammers