Legal: I do not own Power Rangers, or the associated names, places, events, characters etc. Anything not covered by these rights should be considered purely the creation of the author.

Rating: T – there may be some adult material, including violence and language.

The Warrior Dome ship continued on its journey, making a quick cut through an asteroid belt, shunting aside hunks of ice and rock larger than continents without so much as slowing it down. It was an excellent metaphor for the juggernaut Cosmo Royale had built up with his vision, genius and complete lack of empathy or humanity.

Galaxy Warriors was the most popular show in the universe by a significant margin. In the ratings, it wasn't even close! It regularly defeated anything else in its time slot by a good five hundred points easily! Cosmo had even managed to blackmail sponsors or politicians that wouldn't bend to his will by threatening to air free shows during their time slots, something that would devastate and bankrupt them with ease. None of that concerned Brody though; the only thing that concerned him was getting off this God-forsaken ship.

Officially, his job title was 'intern', it was something of a way that Cosmo liked to dress things up. He had thousands of 'interns' all working on the ship, but a far more accurate title for them would be slaves! For all the Kudabot labourers on the ship, and for every one paid employee, Cosmo would procure at least a thousand workers from every system they visited that would be made to perform menial tasks he considered too unimportant or too complex even for the Kudabots. Some came on board willingly, believing that by working hard and showing Cosmo what they could do that they would one day become paid employees and even executives, but the majority were either sold or traded by their home systems and some were outright kidnapped. Brody was one of the latter.

Deep within the bowels of the ship, he worked on a practice dummy, practicing his moves. He had been taken from his home when he was only seven years old.

He could still remember vividly the day Galvanax, the current reigning and defending champion of Galaxy Warriors came to his planet, seeking the Ninja Nexus Prism. His father, a great and powerful ninja, had fought bravely to defend the Nexus Prism, but ultimately had fallen in that battle. It was the last time Brody had seen his father, his brother Aiden, or even his planet.

He had been a slave on the ship for ten long years, but while other slaves quickly fell to depression, usually succumbing to illness, accidents, the sadistic whims of the contestants in Cosmo's cosmic blood-sports or simply couldn't face their meagre existence anymore and took their own lives within only a couple of years, Brody had managed to channel his anger, his desire to avenge his father into a will stronger than any alloy. For ten years, any time he had spare time he had worked on perfecting the skills his father had taught him, all in the hopes that one day, he would finally be free of the ship.

He had been a scrawny kid when he came here, but over the years, between hard labour and his training, he had forged his body into a strong and powerful weapon, all in hiding while mastering stealth and misdirection to ensure that none of his captors would ever learn of his skills. While they knew all too well that the slaves who hadn't lost hope of escape or promotion all desired to be free, they were always on the lookout for those who might just have the means to attempt an escape. That was why Brody's training had always been in secret.

His father, Dane Romero, had a reputation as one of the greatest ninjas on Earth, and although Brody knew that realistically he had only trained him for a couple of years, Brody had managed to make up for it. He had gone out of his way to explore the ship, regularly going into restricted areas and challenging himself with the security on the ship. Despite the punishments on the occasions he was caught, it was worth it all to improve the skills he knew would one day get him off the ship.

"Brody, it's time to stop." He heard Redbot say. The robot had been standing guard at the door, looking out for any sign of someone that didn't know of Brody's training. He didn't want anyone to find out just how far he had progressed in his training, the last thing he wanted was for anyone to know how close he was to being able to execute his ultimate plan. The first rule of ninjitsu was misdirection. The ancient ninja relied as much on misinformation and rumour as they did on any weapon. Enemies that believed they were weak, they would underestimate them and be easily led into traps, while enemies that believed all the rumours and hearsay of 'magic' and supernatural abilities they possessed would fear the ninja and be off-guard. Right now, he was certain the only reason he hadn't been terminated was because none of them believed he was a danger to them. They believed him to be just another slave that harboured futile hopes of escape, and for now...that suited Brody down to the ground!

"Just a minute..."

"Brody, someone's coming!" Redbot warned him again.

"Just a few more..."

"Brody, it's time to go!" Mick agreed, morphing from the practice dummy back into himself. Unfortunately he did so just as Brody was throwing a kick and caught a hard kick right in the ribs. "OW!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" Brody said apologetically. Mick was the Head Mechanic on the Warrior Dome, a slave from the Lion Galaxy. He had been on the ship longer than Brody had, and while he was still a slave, refusing to buy into the mentality and sadistic nature of the business, he had earned a few privileges as a result of his mechanical skill. He was also a shape-shifter. Mick's people were able to take on other forms, and in a limited capacity the chemical properties of whatever they changed into. Occasionally it came in handy, such as being able to change his hands into ceramic when he wanted to handle anything hot, or change into a padded training dummy whenever Brody wanted to practice. Brody didn't like the fact he had hurt Mick, who was his oldest friend on the ship, but he furrowed his brows as he looked to him. "Mick, why did you change? You know it only hurts when..."

"Well maybe I was done literally let you kick my butt all day!" Mick said, rubbing his ribs. "Or maybe...I remembered that we're actually meant to be at the stage right...oh...too late!"

"RAT BAIT!" Ripcon called out angrily, searching the ship. Ripcon was a sinister and sadistic warrior, a long-time favourite on the Warrior Dome. He had been in many notable contests, but he really wanted more of a role in the production of the show. He was wise enough to know that a career competing in a sport where losing literally meant death was not one with a future he wanted to pursue. He shared his duties between his select few bouts and helping Cosmo to control his talent and his workers backstage. He shoved Redbot out of the way, coming into the room as he found Brody. "Where the hell have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"

"I've been right here, helping Mick." Brody told him. Brody loathed Ripcon, he always had. Not only had Ripcon been instrumental in his father's destruction, distracting his father at a crucial moment in his battle with Galvanax, he had been the one to drag Brody onto the ship on the day he was kidnapped. While Brody only really cared about escaping the ship, he had often dreamed of one day being the one to destroy Ripcon.

"Helping him do what?" Ripcon asked him, looking around. The room was empty, and there was really no reason for them to be there. Mick started to stammer, trying to think of an excuse, but Brody just stared down Ripcon, who just smirked.

"I know what this is...you were trying out some of that ninja stuff again weren't you?" He asked. Ripcon had caught Brody a couple of times, practicing his 'ninja tricks' as he put it. However, so far Ripcon treated it as more of a joke than anything else. He constantly taunted Brody about how his father had been no match for them and sought to belittle Brody's efforts to emulate him, to break his spirit and get him to abandon his hopes of escape.

"Ninja? No...no..."

"What if I was?" Brody asked him. "What would you do about it?"

"Go ahead, why don't you show me one of your tricks." Ripcon taunted him. He held out a keycard and showed it to Brody. "This card opens every security door on the ship. If you can take it, I'll give you a twenty four hour head start to leave the ship! I won't so much as move from this spot!"

"Brody, we have work to do." Mick warned him, seeing the danger in this game. He knew that Ripcon was just taunting Brody, trying to show his dominance, but he worried that Brody would do something ill-advised. As disciplined as Brody was, especially when it came to his dad, he could be a little hot-headed.

"OK!" Brody told him, turning his back. "Put it in one of your pockets. I won't even look to see which pocket you put it in."

Ripcon put the security card in his pocket and stood with his arms outstretched.

"Go ahead Ratbait, take it!" Ripcon told him. Brody turned around and thrust his hand into Ripcon's jacket. The alien grabbed his hand, putting him into a painful wrist lock, before back-fisting him across the face. Brody hit the ground, spitting up some blood on his shirt.

"Nice try Ratbait." Ripcon told him. "You're both needed on the stage level. They just dragged what's left of the last loser out of there and there are some entrails with your name on them! Just be glad they're not yours!"

He laughed as he left, at which Mick helped Brody up. He just sighed and shook his head.

"I tried to warn you, that wasn't going to end well." Mick told him. "You don't really think he'd have let you walk out of here with his pass key do you? Come on, it's show time."

As Mick left, Brody wiped the blood from his face.

"Of course he wasn't going to let me walk out of here with his keycard." Brody commented with a smile, unfolding a piece of paper. "But the security over-ride codes for the escape pods...I don't think he'll miss this for a while!"

Down on Earth, in the city of Summer Cove, a young woman was sitting at her breakfast table getting ready for her first day at a new school. There was nothing unusual about this, kids got ready for school every day of the week. There wasn't even anything unusual about the fact Sarah had transferred. Families moved home all the time, but Sarah was far from a typical girl. She just laughed as an explosion came from her tablet.

"Are you watching that stupid sci fi show again?" Her mother asked her. "What is it again?"

"Galaxy Warriors!" Sarah mumbled through some cereal. "Hey, it might be silly, but the production values and the special effects are great! It's honestly so terrible it's awesome!"

"Well, would you mind at least turning it off for now?" Her mom asked her. "I'm sure it'll still be on the air when you get home."

Sarah shrugged and turned off her tablet. She had discovered the show while she was in Amber Beach. Unbeknownst to her parents, she had stumbled upon the identities of the Power Rangers in that city, and had helped them in the lab while they were active. To her parents, as far as they knew, she just had a part-time job in a museum gift shop.

Sarah had a natural aptitude for technology, but more than that she had an unquenchable adventurous streak and a will to help those in need. Even if she never got to actually become a Ranger, she had loved being a part of it. Her mother had been injured in one of the Ranger's battles, and she had seen any help she could give them, however minor as the least she could do to pay them back for the fact her mother was still around. She had found the show by accident while looking for signals from space when they were trying to find the Silver Ranger, and become somewhat hooked on it. It seemed even aliens liked cheesy sci-fi shows which appeared to be kind of a glorified version of wrestling as far as she could see.

As she shut off her tablet, her phone buzzed, signalling she had a message. She smiled as she read it. Dr Morgan, her old boss, and the former Purple Ranger was just sending her a message of support on her first day in her new school.

"More messages?" Her mother asked. Sarah just nodded. "It's sweet your friends in Amber Beach are keeping in touch."

"They all just want to be sure I'm having a good time." Sarah answered. Just then, her dad came into the living room in a suit, singing. "Well, someone's in a good mood!"

"And why wouldn't I be? I have a beautiful home in a beautiful town and I have two beautiful ladies in my life!" He said cheerfully, kissing his wife, and then Sarah on the cheek as he went to the toaster to make himself a bagel and turn on the coffee machine. "Not to mention I have a fantastic new job!"

"Dad, you're an auditor!" Sarah chuckled, slurping down some cheerios. "You are literally the ONLY person I know that could actually be singing about the prospect of staring at sheets of numbers all day."

"Are you trying to say your dad's a dork?" Mr Thompson asked her. Mrs Thompson just nodded her head.

"Al, I married you and even I have to admit, you're a complete dork." Mrs Thompson agreed with her daughter.

"You know what; this day is so amazing even my two favourite ladies ganging up on me can't ruin it." Al answered as his bagel popped up out of the toaster. He started to spread some cream cheese. "Now, I know I promised I'd give you a lift to school, but it turns out my company car doesn't come until next week..."

"Hey, that's fine by me!" Sarah told him, gesturing to her hoverboard.

"Well, you should probably be heading out soon." Al told her. "You want to be there nice and early for registration."

"Dad, things like that are done online now. I just need to pick up my schedule." Sarah laughed at his expense, finishing her cereal and putting the bowl in the dishwasher. "But I did want to get in early, see what the other kids are like."

"Have a good time dear." Her mother called after her. "Try not to get into any trouble!"

"In this town?" Sarah scoffed as she headed out the door. "I doubt I could get into trouble if I tried!"

Meanwhile, up on the Warrior Dome, Brody and Mick had finished cleaning up and were preparing for the next show. While Galaxy Warriors was a weekly television show, they ran contests on the ship on virtually a daily basis. They needed to give themselves time for editing and ensure they had a backlog of footage in case their shows ever ran short. The unfortunate nature of the fact the matches were real was that no one could ever predict how long they would be meaning it was possible matches would over-run, which wasn't TOO much of a problem since Cosmo pretty much dictated the network schedule, but sometimes matches were brutally short. It also meant that those that paid a premium to attend shows live in the warrior dome got something for their money, getting to see matches and events that weren't on the show.

Brody and Mick were standing just off the stage as Cosmo arrived, talking on his cell phone.

"Well it's not MY fault the Lion Galaxy needs a new ruler, King Leonis knew what he was getting into when he signed the waivers, now if they don't like it they can sue but we all know how that will end!" Cosmo said as he hung up and twirled his top hat onto his head. "How's the crowd looking Odious?"

"They're just itching for the latest show." She told him. "We're running a little behind, but a few volleys from the t-shirt cannon and they were happy."

"I'll bet they were, Galvanax's merchandise has been selling like it's running out!" Cosmo stated.

"Because it is." Mick commented. "You control the production and you've deliberately set production low so to drive the prices up for collectors."

"Oh details, details!" Cosmo said as he sprayed a throat spray into his mouth, before marching onto the stage triumphantly. The crowd erupted as they saw him.

"Greetings fight fans! Who do you love?" He called out, cupping his hand behind his ear awaiting their response.

"COSMO!" They called out.

"I can't hear you, who do you love?" He called out again.

"COSMO!" They called out again. He smiled at the greeting.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, welcome to the most barbaric, brutal, and successful show in all of creation...GALAXY WARRIORS!"

The crowd cheered in delight as the lights came up and the music started. A couple of Kudabots wheeled the Ninja Nexus Prism onto the stage. It was a huge, glowing crystal that housed the Ninja Power Stars, talismans of immense power that were sealed away, only able to be accessed by those that the Prism deemed worthy. The last time person who had been able to reach inside was Brody's father. It galled him to see that power now being held as a prize in this show, and longed to ensure that just like his father; he would someday secure that power from anyone that would seek to use it for evil purposes.

"The mightiest, nastiest, and smelliest monsters in the universe will all compete for an opportunity to take one of the Ninja Power Stars from the prism, and who knows; perhaps one will even earn the right to challenge the supreme warrior, our reigning and defending champion, GALVANAX!" He announced, whipping up the crowd for the contest. He gestured to the edge of the stage. "Firstly, from the Extan system, we have Langor! He will go one on one with Korvaka, the champion of the Ninninjer Galaxy!"

He gestured to the two contestants as they stared at each other.

"Now, we've found a battle ground, a quaint little place called...EARTH!" Cosmo stated, which piqued Mick's attention.

"We're...we're heading to Earth?" Mick asked. "As in...your home planet Earth?"

"Why do you think I've been training so hard lately?" Brody asked him. "Once the show's over, we're getting out of here."

"How did you even know where we were?" Mick asked him.

"The new intern told me. He hacked into the navigation system." Brody told him. "He said he'll cut surveillance for a few minutes once the show's over, that means once the battle's over and we're told to take the Prism back into storage, we only have a short window to get the hell out of here."

"Brody, the new intern...are you sure you can trust him?" Mick asked. Brody just looked to Mick and shrugged. "I mean...he did come onto this ship by choice. He can't be THAT smart!"

"I know this is the first time we've been in this galaxy in ten years. We might not get another opportunity." Brody answered as Cosmo hit the command, sending both combatants to Earth. "So right now, we don't have a choice."