A/N – Welcome to the first story in the Project Hexagon series, the follow up to the Chronicles of Power series. This will be slightly different than the previous series in that it will focus more on the effects Project Hexagon has on the Ranger Family. I will also focus on events that have been affected by my changes to the series canon, like this length will be much shorter as well.
This takes place after "To The Tenth Power" and the Space Rangers team up with the Galaxy Rangers. With Karone as the Silver Space Ranger, I needed to come up with an alternative story line. This story will only make sense if you've read The Chronicle of Power series, specifically The Final Frontier, so I will recommend reading that first.
Chapter 1 – Only The Good Die Young
November 8 1999 - Karovia
Far away from Earth was the newly christened Reiko System. With six Earth-like worlds orbiting a central star, it was slowly becoming a central hub for trade and transportation in this corner of the galaxy. Several of the planets were occupied by refugees from worlds that Dark Specter has destroyed. The fourth planet from the star was Karovia, home of the Karovian people.
The Karovian people had suffered greatly following the destruction of KO-35 just over three years ago. They were persecuted by Dark Specter and forced to hide in some of the most remote parts of the galaxy. They had nearly been completely wiped out during an attack on their temporary home but they were saved by the Space Rangers. Dark Specter had placed three of his personal Reapers in the High Council and if it wasn't for the actions of the rangers, they would've been eliminated.
The fall out of this incident had seen the removal from office of the incumbent President and the establishment of a new council. It wasn't long after this that the rangers defeated Dark Specter and removed the need for the Karovian's to hide. All of the warlord's generals had been destroyed at the same time, bringing peace to the majority of the galaxy. It didn't take the Karovian's long to find a new home planet and construction had begun within two weeks of Dark Specter's death.
As a show of appreciation to the Space Rangers, they were offered a home and ambassadorial roles on Karovia. The High Council hadn't expected them to accept the offer, two thirds of the team were from Earth and it seemed quite likely that the red and silver rangers would remain behind with the rest of the team. It came as a huge shock when Andros contacted them to accept the offer; that was just over a year ago.
Around a ten million people had been on KO-35 prior to the attack, now they were down to just under a million. Not all of them had died in the invasion, some had been off world and the rest had found their own shelter somewhere in the galaxy. Apart from people, they had also lost a sense of their own personal identity. The rangers from Earth had brought some of their own customs with them and these had been widely picked up. There was still some factions that wished for a return to the old ways and as a compromise, they were given their own land away from the major cities.
The Space Rangers had adapted quickly to their new surroundings and had been instrumental in establishing new infrastructure. Zhane had slotted back into his role in the military and for his services during the war, he had been promoted to General. Ashley Hammond and Charlotte Stewart had joined forces to create a new school of engineering. The Karovian people were renowned throughout the galaxy as ship builders and the co-headmistresses had ensured that this tradition would continue.
The Yellow Space and Blue Turbo rangers were decent engineers but they weren't experts in starship construction. Fortunately several engineers from the old KO-35 had survived and they became the new teachers at the school. Their first project was a new Astro Megaship for the rangers. A couple of months after the final battle, Andros had donated the Megaship to Angel Grove to be used as a museum. All entrances fee would go towards the reconstruction of the city. The Megaship Mark Two had been finished in record time and became fully operational a month ago.
Carlos Vallerte and TJ Johnson had taken a different route from the girls. The Black and Blue Space Rangers brought with them their love of soccer and baseball. It didn't take long for these two sports to take off amongst the young men and women of Karovia. With more teams springing up every day, some believed that it wouldn't be too long before professional leagues were established. It would also be quite likely the duo from Earth would be the first Presidents of their respective leagues.
Even though the population of Karovia was very close knit, crime soon started to creep back into society. Initially the military had acted as peacekeepers but a more long term solution was needed. Six months ago the Karovian Police Department had been founded and one of its new recruits was Cassie Chan, the Pink Space Ranger. Cassie had inherited her Aunt's natural skills of deduction and was tipped to move up the ranks quickly. She had also been the one to name the star system in honour of her deceased mother.
Andros had the busiest role of anyone, chief ambassador of Karovia. As the leader of the team that had defeated Dark Specter, everyone wanted a piece of his time. He was also tipped as a potential President in the future. For the naturally publicity shy Andros, the attention he was now receiving occasionally felt overwhelming. He could still count on the support of Ashley and their relationship was still going strong. All of the couples were still together and they lived in one apartment block in the center of the capital.
The rangers tried to keep up with the news from Earth but they still hadn't communicated directly with most of the previous rangers. Trini called periodically and Adam was in regular contact with Carlos. Aimi and Xander spoke with Cassie but these calls were beginning to taper off as the pressures of running a multi-national corporation was taking up most of their free time. They had gotten married seven months ago and the Space Rangers had returned to Earth as promised. None of their predecessors had been invited, probably for the best after their last meeting had ended in a brawl.
From the information that Adam was feeding Carlos, the rangers had learned that Hexagon had been slow to get off the ground. With no real threats, there was no need for Power Rangers. They had learned that a new team had emerged on Terra Venture, the Galaxy Rangers. The Hexagon leadership were a little miffed as they couldn't do much to influence them and their first potential set of new recruits had slipped through their fingers. The Space Rangers decided to keep an eye on Terra Venture, just in case their assistance was needed.
Months drifted past with no hint that the Galaxy Rangers were in trouble until a week ago when DECA picked up a distress signal from Terra Venture. The rangers wasted no time in jumping in the new Astro Megaship and running to the assistance of the new rangers. Unfortunately one of their crew was missing from the mission.
At a nearby medical center, a blonde haired woman stepped out into the street. She was dressed in a pair of black leather pants, knee high boots and a silvery, white t-shirt. Her left wrist and forearm was wrapped tightly in a bandage. She was greeted by a woman in a white pair of jeans, blue top and a light blue leather jacket. Her shoulder length brown hair was held back by a black hair band, "Hey Karone, I see the cast has come off", Charlotte greeted.
"Not a moment too soon", Karone groaned and twisted her left wrist, "that thing was unbelievably itchy".
"Well maybe that'll teach you for not wearing wrist guards", the Blue Turbo ranger smiled. Karone folded her arms across her chest but didn't respond. She had endured relentless training with Ecliptor for years, went through endless battles and even crashed her zord without suffering a serious injury. Then the first time she had worn a pair of in-line skates, she had stumbled and broken her wrist, forcing her to wear a cast for the last four weeks. Even advanced ranger healing couldn't mend broken bones without some assistance. The teasing from her brother and Zhane had been merciless.
"Any word from the others?" Karone asked, steering the conversation away from her own misfortunate.
Charlotte shook her head, "Nothing, whatever is happening on Terra Venture must be serious". The pair walked down the street and jumped into the waiting Storm Blaster. As they pulled away, the radio in the jeep signalled that they had an incoming message, "Charlotte here", the Blue Turbo Ranger answered.
"Hey Charlie", Andros' voice replied but something was wrong, there was a hint of despair in his voice, "we're on our way back".
"That's great", she replied but paused for a moment, "isn't it".
There was silence over the radio before Andros replied, "It was the Psycho Rangers", the women in Storm Blaster gasped, "somehow Trakeena and Deviot found a way to bring them back to life but we've destroyed them again".
Storm Blaster had stopped at a set of traffic lights, given the two women a chance to glance at each other. "Andros it's Karone here", the silver ranger began, "what aren't you tell us?" She had gotten to know her twin well enough over the last year to know when he was hiding something.
"Hey Karone, has your cast come off?" Andros asked.
"Don't try and change the subject brother", Karone said impatiently, "did something happen, has someone been seriously hurt".
Once again there was silence over the radio, "Andros, has someone died?" Charlotte asked with a quiet voice.
"We're all fine", Andros replied quickly, "but we lost Kendrix Morgan, the pink Galaxy Ranger. She sacrificed her life to destroy Psycho Pink". An uncomfortable silence hung in the air, they all knew that being a ranger was dangerous but they hadn't thought for a second that one of their own would be killed. Karone lent back in her chair and looked up at the roof, tuning out the rest of the conversation between Charlotte and her brother.
A few hours later
It was after dark on Karovia but someone was furiously working away at an airfield on the edge of the city. In a hangar stood a silver jet and someone was loading supplies into the craft. The pilot of the craft struggled to lift one of the boxes and it crashed to the ground with a thud. "Damn it", Karone hissed and shook her left wrist to try and numb the pain.
It had been a difficult few hours for the silver ranger and a lot of old emotions had bubbled to the surface. She had remained silent all the way back to her apartment and once inside, she immediately broke down in a flood of tears. She was transported back to the dark days immediately after discovering her true identity, those days spent hiding on the Dark Fortress and eventually in the ruins of her home planet.
She wasn't sure when she begun lying about her feelings, probably when she got fed up of people asking her if she was alright. Eventually she had begun to believe her own lies and false wall of confidence had built up around her. Despite this Karone reminded herself that she was a Power Ranger for a reason and she needed to do something. Dragging herself up of the floor, she began packing a bag for a trip to Terra Venture as quickly as possible.
She had to pull in some favours to get the Mega Winger stocked up quickly. She had realised fairly quickly that being a national hero had some perks and the ground crew at the nearby airfield were more than willing to help.
Unfortunately news of the impending arrival of the silver ranger had attracted some attention. As Karone was preparing to try and move the crate again, she saw someone that she really didn't want to see, "Karone please don't do this", Zhane pleaded with his girlfriend, "you're arm hasn't fully healed yet".
"The cast is off, that's good enough for me", she hissed in response and began to push the crate with her foot. "I have to do this Zhane, it's my fault that Kendrix died", she added. Karone could already feel her resolve beginning to buckle, Zhane was probably the only person who could talk her out of this.
Zhane sighed, "I thought you'd gotten past this Karone".
"So did I", Karone groaned in pain as she lifted the crate onto the loading ramp of the Mega Winger, "but now someone's dead thanks to those things that I designed".
"That Astronema designed", Zhane tried to correct her.
"I am Astronema", she shouted back, "she's not my evil twin, she was me and no matter how hard I try, I'll never be free of her". Karone kicked the box in frustration, "We might talk about Astronema in the third person but it's me, it always has been".
'So that's what this is all about', Zhane thought to himself. He remembered having a similar conversation with Karone after she had destroyed her clone. He had believed that the end of Dark Specter would remove the guilt that she carried around with her but the temporary resurrection of the Psycho Rangers had undone most of her hard work. "Alright but at least let me help you load the Winger", Zhane finally said. Deep down Zhane knew that he had to let her do this, perhaps it would finally allow her to bury her evil persona for good.
Karone ran her hands through her blonde hair, "I'm sorry Zhane, I didn't mean to snap at you but this something I need to do". She paused and took a seat on the crate, mostly in relief that Zhane had submitted to her request, "I need to help the Galaxy Rangers in any way I can".
Zhane nodded and pulled Karone into a hug, he could feel his shirt getting damp as a few tears rolled down the silver ranger's face. "Your brother is going to kill me for letting you go off alone".
"I'm a big girl now", Karone sniffed and wiped her eyes, "I'll handle Andros so don't worry about him". Zhane nodded and finished loading the crate onto the Mega Winger. The couple stood on the loading door and gave each other one final kiss before Zhane stepped back. The loading door closed and the Mega Winger began to roll slowly out of the hanger. Zhane continued to look on as the jet sped down the runway and up into the night sky, bound for Terra Venture. Zhane could only hope that this mission could give Karone the closure she finally needed.