The Terran Rangers/Final Fantasy VII by Heather Ray (summer beach reads txt) 📕

with a hopeful smile.

"It should be. Its the energy that runs the planet, like electricity here. It's called Mako energy, and it's abundant on Midgar."

Adam frowned. "Guys, this sounds like the biggest longshot I've ever heard."

"Unfortunately, it's our best chance, given how little time we have."

"Then its settled!" said Zack, determination in his eyes, "I'll fly out to Midgar, and get some of this Mako energy. Hopefully, we can expose Aisha to it, and the Space Virus will die!"

"You?" Alexis said, glancing at Zack, "I think I should go. At least that way, the Terra team will be intact. If they want to make the Megazord or something, they'll need the Cheetah."

"But the Cheetah is by far the fastest of the ships, and we don't exactly have time on our side," Zack argued. "Besides, there's no way I'm not going on this trip."

"Well, taking a zord isn't the most efficient way of getting to such a distant destination," Billy said. "It would take nearly a day at your fastest speed. Instead, we should hyper-jet."

"What's that?" Kat inquired.

"Its a super-fast type of jetting," Rocky explained. "That's how Alpha sent me, Adam, Aisha, Kim, Tommy, and Billy to Phaedos to retrieve the Ninjetti power."

"Phaedos is about 205 light years away from Earth," Billy added, "and we arrived in a matter of hours. Midgar is only about twenty-seven light years away. It shouldn't take more than about half an hour to reach the planet."

"Well, fine," Zack said, "I'll leave the Cheetah here then. But I'm still going on this mission."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Billy said, shaking his head. "Hyper-jetting is a very delicate form of teleportation. Considering how quickly the passengers will be traveling, along with the extensive distance they will be covering, it is extremely difficult to plot a course that will reach the attempted destination accurately. Unfortunately, the power of a Zeo shard is enough to throw off the computer's calculations for best course. The risks are vastly increased that a Terran Ranger will completely miss Midgar, materializing somewhere in space, or even in a completely different solar system."

"Then, what do we do?" Kat asked.

"The only possibility I can come up with is that a team of non-rangers go. They won't have any internal energy sources that could hinder the transport."

Zack glanced coldly at Billy. "There's no way I'm not going on this mission. Why don't I just leave the Zeo shard here? I still will have some abilities, just like Kimberly did when she went to the moon with Nate Grey and Annie. For some reason, X-Rangers can use their special powers without the Zeo shard -- just to a a limited degree. Still, it's better than nothing."

"But what if the Terran Rangers are needed, if Rita and Zedd decide to strike?" Jason asked. "After all, they did send Contagion to infect us. They're probably expecting us all to be on our death-beds, giving them a free shot at Earth."

"Then won't they be surprised to see a team of fully-functioning rangers, ready to kick their butts right back to the moon?" Zack pointed out.

Tommy looked at Zack for a moment. In Zack's eyes, he saw the fury and determination that he always saw in his own, whenever he felt Kimberly was in danger. The look was perfectly reflected in Zack's dark eyes. Tommy knew that, no matter what he said or did, Zack wasn't about to let someone else go on this mission without him. It was a waste of time trying to reason with him.

"Fine," Tommy said, nodding his head, "Zack can go. At least that way, the team going to Midgar won't be at a complete disadvantage. But you're not going alone, Zack. Who'll go with him?"

At that, Billy stepped forward, "I will. I need to go, because I'm the only one here who is in the least familiar with Mako energy. We're going to an alien world practically blindfolded. And also, Rocky, Tanya, and Adam have all been assisting me in the CAC for a long time. They are more than capable of handling things until our return."

"But wait!" Alexis protested. "You said that the Zeo power is what interferes with the teleport. My Power Coin doesn't emit that kind of energy, so I should be okay. Besides, you guys'll need all the help you can get!"

"Not with that fever you're running, Lex," Rocky pointed out. "You're feeling the affects of the virus more than the Terra team. We don't know how serious it'll get. You're staying here."

Alexis frowned, but nodded. "Okay, fine. I guess I see the logic in that."

Rocky grinned. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you," he joked. Alexis playfully punched him in the shoulder.

"I'll bet you will!"

"We should get going," Zack said, slightly annoyed by the couple's playful antics in a time of crisis, "Aisha doesn't have a lot of time."

"Let me program the teleporter for interplanetary hyper-jet mode, and lock on to Midgar," Billy said, activating the teleporter and setting coordinates. "It'll take a little while for the computer to calculate the best path for the jetting to take."

"In the meantime, did you figure out exactly where you need to go?" Kim asked. "You don't have enough time to search an entire planet!"

"Not completely, but we do have a clue. Rather recently, the computers have detected a vast amount of magical energy focused at one point on the Midgar globe, being the southern continent. We are going to aim our teleporter for as close to that point as possible. Hopefully, this is the Mako energy we are searching for."

Kat, Tommy, Alexis, and Jason watched as Billy busily programmed the computer to chart the journey. Rocky had taken the opportunity to search the storage closets for any devices that would prove useful on his friends' adventure. Adam and Tanya remained at Aisha's bedside, studying the computer readout of Aisha's condition. Kimberly was about to join Rocky in the storage room, when she saw Zack standing a few yards from the med-unit. She sighed deeply when she saw his eyes were glassy, as he stared at Aisha's frozen face mutely.

"Are you okay?" she asked, standing beside the pensive Silver Ranger.

"She...she's not moving," he responded quietly.

"We had to put her in cryo-stasis, to slow the spread of the virus," Tanya explained, turning to them, "I don't think it'll stop her fever from increasing completely, but it should give us a couple hours more time."

"Do you know how long she has left?"

Adam looked up from the readouts, and looked at his friends sadly. "I just checked the computer's analysis. At the rate Aisha was going, before we put her in stasis, she would have been dead in less than five hours. The fever has been significantly hindered, but its still increasing. The computer estimates she has about twelve hours before there's permanent brain damage done. There's no chance she'll survive at all past fourteen hours."

Zack shook his head. "And taking into account the hour deducted for two-way travel, we have no more than eleven hours to search a whole alien planet, and find some way to transport this alien energy."

"You always said you liked it when the odds are against you," Kim said, squeezing Zack's hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, Zack. Aisha's a dear friend to all of us. And if there's one thing about this group, it's that we don't let friends down."

"Okay," Billy announced from across the CAC, stepping away from the teleporter, "it's programmed and ready to go. Zack, did you separate from the crystal?"

"Not yet," he said quietly, closing his eyes. He held his arms out to his side, and gently pushed out his chest, and pushed back his head. In response to his efforts, the small white crystal, gleaming with glittery silver energy, passed through Zack's chest, and floated in front of him. As soon as he touched the crystal with his hands, it grew to its larger size. Zack walked to the med-unit, and placed the crystal beside the green shard. He then glanced at Aisha one more time.

"Don't worry, Campbell," he whispered, "you're gonna be just fine."

Zack then turned around, and stood beside Billy. "I'm ready when you are."

Billy nodded, and looked up from the console. "Could someone activate the teleporter? The transport range is optimal when those being transported are 6.4 feet away from the relay, to limit rebound interference."

"I'll pretend I understand what you're referring to," Rocky said with a grin, hurrying to the relay. He smiled at his friends, and held out two small pouches with shoulder straps. "I figured you'd need some equipment on your field trip."

Billy and Zack smiled, and took the pouches. "It's appreciated, Man," Zack said.

Rocky gave them a thumbs up, and looked back at the relay.

"Hold the fort 'til we get back," Zack called to the other rangers.

"You got it," Jason said, waving.

"Good luck, guys!" Rocky called, activating the teleportation sequence.

Kim, Tommy, Jason, Rocky, Tanya, Kat, Alexis, and Adam watched as Zack and Billy were slowly enveloped in bright energy. Finally, they were transformed into bright columns of pure white light. Once their friends had vanished, the eight teens regrouped.

"So, what do we do now?" Katherine asked.

"We'd better stay here, and keep an eye on Aisha," Adam said. "And, I'd like to run a couple more scans on Alexis, just to be safe."

"Honestly, Adam, I'm fine," Alexis protested.

Rocky shook his head. "Lex, we don't know how serious this virus is. The Terran Rangers should be okay, but you might be significantly affected. A couple scans won't hurt."

Alexis sighed, but obeyed, and sat on the cot beside Aisha. Adam turned away from the former Green Terran Ranger, and ran a small device over Alexis' forehead.
Chapter Eight

Goldar stepped away from the balcony of the imposing Moon Palace, and casually made himself comfortable in Lord Zedd's throne -- rather, the throne that was placed in the position Lord Zedd's throne used to be, before it mysteriously disappeared during Solar's short stay. Apparently, Rito, Baboo, and Squatt didn't seem to care that Goldar had taken such a bold move. However, Finster, by far the intellectual superior in this band of rogues, frowned slightly. He understood that by claiming the throne, Goldar was assuming the position of leader -- which he had no right to. And Finster also understood that Rito, the only one of royal blood in the band, didn't seem to notice Goldar's assumption of power.

Goldar, for his part, wore a smug expression on his feral face. His plan was to demonstrate his leadership capabilities to his allies, so he would be accepted as Zedd's