trans_9 | Meat n' Greet

"From the Ohm and whoever else attacks us. We've been turned against each other by outside forces, attacked by zombies, threatened by Lord Zedd...if you can imagine it, it's probably happened to us at some point. This is a much bigger war than what we're used to. What did they tell you about it so far?"

That would be a good starting point.

"Wait, Lord Zedd is here?" Zombies? Whoa this is all a little much for one day. Kimberly took in a deep breath and tucked her hair behind her ears. "People keep saying welcome aboard and that our world.. is gone" She looked up to Billy looking for any sign of a different answer.

You're alive. He had said. Maybe that meant it was true. That all these people weren't crazy and everyone she loved on earth was gone. At that thought Kimberly grew weak at the knees.

"Unfortunately. The only reason he's not harassing us right now is that he was sent away on a mission for a brief while. Because of the ship's rules, nothing done on our worlds can be used as justification for punishment, so he goes free unless he definitely attacks us in the present."

Kimberly would hear the edge in Billy's voice---the one that said he understood why those rules were in place, but wondering why he still went free when Zedd so obviously boasted about his evil intentions to the entire crew. It was only a matter of time.

As far as the world destruction? "It's true. All our memories of Earth's destruction were initially erased because they were considered too traumatic, but I've had mine restored. Many thousands of Ohm descended at once with no warning, all across the globe. We had no time to prepare, and---they were overwhelming us. We were about to die when the ship descended to save us and place us in stasis."

Billy laid his hand on Kim's arm and bowed his head, knowing there was no easy way to get that across.

"Oh" this was a bad dream. It had to be some sort of nightmare put in head by Lord Zedd. That's it. This wasn't real.

"Oh" it was the only thing her brain seemed to let pass her lips. Questions were racing through her head but not all of them were finished. It was like her brain couldn't function.

"Um, Billy." Okay, this was getting scary it was like she was seeing this from an outsiders point of view. "This is real?" is what came out instead of the million and one other questions she wanted answered.

"Affirmative," Billy whispered, voice as painfully sad as it ever got. "I'm so sorry, Kimberly. The Ohm are out there, and they're destroying thousands of planets. We've fought off one of their attempts on a different planet, but we only survived as long as we did because we were prepared that time."

All the deaths he'd seen that day and ever since still shone brightly in his mind. "Jase, Trini, Zack, Tommy, and the others should still be alive in stasis---as well as our families. That's what we were told, but I didn't quite believe it until now."

"How long have you been.. here?" Awake seemed to be the more accurate wording. That would mean that Kimberly had been asleep also and she didn't even want to start thinking about how long she'd been in that thing. "I mean, you sound like you've walking around for a while." She wanted to change the subject of the world that they knew being destroyed.

"I can't tell you precisely. Time fluctuates so seemingly randomly where we are---in the Bleed between dimensions---that not even the best time-tracking device can function properly. Counting the days, though, I feel as though it's been over a year. This is about the twentieth time I've greeted new crew members like this since my own popping. Most of the time I saw no one familiar, last time I saw Zedd, and...now you're here. Have I mentioned that I'm glad it's you and not Rita?"

Although Kim could do a scary impression of the witch, he remembered.

"Speaking of Rita. I've got a headache." Kimberly moaned as she brought her hand to her head. This is why too much to handle for one person. No track of time, Ohms, and Zedd? The end of the world that she couldn't remember.

At least she knew that Billy would be able to help her settle in. He seemed to know a bit about this place and Kimberly could rely on him. "Oh my gosh" she said remembering something that should have came to her sooner.

"My morpher.. I don't think it was with my stuff."

"I know nothing feels all right at the moment, Kimberly," Billy told her gently. "But we can still fight this. When it's all over, we've heard from multiple sources that we'll get our worlds back."

That was the hope that kept him going on. He squeezed Kimberly's wrist---yeah, it would be okay. They would make it.

"That won't be a problem, though," he answered, lifting the morpher off his belt for her to see. "Morphers are kept in the armory. All we need to do is go down there and obtain yours. Stacy used to confiscate them, but I'm finally allowed to carry mine full time."

Ah---yes, the Ranger issue. He had some rule-breaking to explain, and fast. "That actually brings me to another problem that's happened here. Well...the secret identity rule was broken. Everyone knows I'm a Ranger, and once they hear you know me they'll likely deduce that you're one as well."

"Then there's no other choice, is there?" Kimberly would have to join in the fight to get their back. Not that she wouldn't fight along side Billy. As long as they were together they were still rangers and they hadn't failed yet.

"So the morphers sti-..." did he just say their secret was blown? "What? How?" The morphers still worked so that was a relief but their cover wasn't a cover anymore. People knew they were rangers?

"We'll get 'em, Kimberly." Billy promised. Their rapport would really help...

...well, if she didn't start hating him for his mess-up. "I got caught on my first day. The ship's full of heroes who kept secret identities at home just like us, and I ran into one whose intellect far surpassed what any human was capable of. He saw by my lack of fear that I had to have some kind of power."

Billy shook his head. "Then I found out that the ship's captain has access to detailed files on all of our lives, including any secrets. Combine that with all the people with person-tracking powers around here, all the hidden cameras, and all those who can instantly identify a person by sight? It's nigh-impossible to keep an identity secret around here. I know I should've tried harder to throw them off, but then...everyone knowing what to expect from me in battle helped them trust me. I'm not sure Zordon would ever forgive me for it, though."

Kimberly place her hand on Billy's shoulders and put a little smile on her face. Somehow knowing that they could save their planet made her feel better, even enough to comfort her friend. "I'm sure Zordon would understand. I mean you said yourself. This place is full of heroes and.. Zedd. So it's different then high school, right?" She would hope so anyhow.

And if Zordon could keep a grudge against Billy for something like that, then she would have to give him a good talking to. "So, we're the only rangers on board, huh?" it hard to think that Trni, Jason, Tommy, and Zack were possibly sleeping in those pods of goop.

Even if Tommy had awakened up who's to say he would have enough power to help out?

Billy couldn't help but smile back. It was going to be okay. "Right. I think the Power would've failed by now if I was really in trouble."

He would have to be satisfied with that for now. He straightened, thinking of all the new friends he'd recruited. "Not exactly. I'm the only other Ranger you know, but there are others. Dustin's away on the mission Zedd's on right now, but he's from our world several years in the future. Then we have the Dimension Rangers. They're a team I recruited and outfitted myself."

How? Well, he was about to get to that.

"A team you recruited and outfitted yourself?" Billy wore overalls when they first became rangers. She had to see what the ranger outfits looked like.

"How did you make rangers?" Kim was sure that the suits weren't like their own and if they were she wanted to know how he did it. Even if she wouldn't exactly know what he was talking about.

No, not that kind of outfitted! His Rangers looked just fine, and he'd definitely had a fashion sense upgrade since then.

"It wasn't entirely my work. The level of the ship below us is an enormous city, and the Command Center is on the west end---as is Zedd's palace. Stacy salvaged important buildings from our worlds. Zordon's not there, and I haven't been able to find Alpha, but some of Zordon's old prototypes were waiting for me in the lower levels."

He pulled out his omnicom, pressing a few buttons to display the blueprint of his team's morphers---the bracers she might see on a few people wandering by. "Apparently Zordon always had preliminary versions of new Ranger powers in his plans. The cores that connect to the Morphin Grid were already there and programmed, but I had to construct the rest of it myself. There was enough power to build five, and I distributed them to people I could trust."

As far as how our powers worked? "Their powers are largely similar to ours, but they have elemental control powers that we don't. They were already in the power cores when I found them, and I haven't been able to reverse-engineer it."

That was probably too much science for a minute, really.

Kimberly nodded and went along with what Billy was saying. She had to run through again in her mind but she finally translated from Billy to English. "The command center's here but Zordon's gone?" Did that mean he was lost in the time wrap-thing?

"That's not good, right?" It couldn't be as bad she was thinking. If they were able to morph and if Billy was able to activate new rangers then Zordon couldn't be lost forever.

"I mean like he's not in danger or anything but with him gone does that mean we're limited?" Kimberly just wanted to make sure she had everything covered before they went on to the next subject.

"We still have access to the zords. Actually, the major reason I recruited a team was that I wanted to have access to a Megazord formation but couldn't pilot it myself. They've temporarily borrowed some of ours, but there are enough to go around."

They'd have to work out where Kate was going to go now that Kim needed her zord back, but Billy was sure it wold be okay.

"The major limitation is that we can't teleport anymore. Getting teleportation to work in the Bleed between dimensions is significantly more risky and difficult than on Earth, and I haven't yet figured it out. Communications are available, though."

With that, he produced two objects: a simple-looking ring and a miniature computer-ish device. "The computer is an omnicom. It has data files on the ship and gives you access to a network we can post to. The ring is a communication ring. It functions like our communicators but can broadcast thoughts as well as spoken words."

Speaking of communicators, he caught himself looking longingly at Kimberly's. His own hadn't showed up when he searched through his belongings, but he sure did miss it.

"So, the zords are fully functional here? Awesome." Kimberly said clapping her hands together. Things are bad here but there was some good to it and that is what Kimberly was going to focus on. Because only looking at the bad was only going to drive her insane.

She listened to Billy and smiled at the mention of the omnicomm. "Oh an omnicoom. Hoshi and Jimmy, you know the guy in the kilt, mentioned it to me" Kimberly went in for a closer look. "It's a lot small then I thought it would be"

Her eyes caught Billy's staring at her communicator and gave him a little confused look. "What's wrong, Billy?"

"Well...they're sort of extra-functional. I've equipped all of them to have flight capabilities, not just yours. We were drafted into a battle in space a while ago."

Billy would wait until the meeting to sort out the who-gets-what-Zord issue. He smiled lightly, pointing out a feature or two. "His name's Jamie, Kim. Some people call him Jimmy, but he really hates that nickname. He's one of my best new friends. He's actually a lot like Jason."

Speaking of Jason and the past...he glanced back down at the communicator. "I've just realized how much I've missed our communicators. Mine wasn't present when I popped, but I might be able to find it again. I could actually hook yours into the comm ring network if you'd prefer to wear it instead of the ring."

Kimberly looked down at her communicator and then the ring. "You think you could do that?" She said holding her wrist up. It was silly but she couldn't see herself not wearing it. "I mean it wouldn't be too much trouble?"

As for the zords and the command center, she'll have to wait to see all that. There was still so much Kimberly needed to know. Who all were these new rangers? How many of them are there? What did their costumes look like?

"Of course not. And if I have to rebuild mine from scratch, I will. I'd actually like to see if I can improve the design at all. They're a small part of our identities overall, but I've really missed them."

Billy would be happy too, honest. His eyes lit up the same way they always did when a new project presented itself. "What else do you want to know? Where to eat, where to sleep, what to do?"

Again this was all a little too much for her at the moment. Waking up on a ship that held thousands of survivors most of them not awake to find Billy who had been awake for quite sometime. Now she had to adjust to a whole new life. "I guess I should know all the basics right?" There was something in Kimberly that just wanted to see the command center. It was a familiar place for her even if Zordon and Alpha weren't there.

She wanted to be somewhere she knew.

"I can do that," Billy nodded easily enough. It sure would be a long story, but he would try his best to focus on the important details. "Your omnicom has a file outlining the basic history of the current crew---what's changed, the conflicts we've been in. The mess hall and crew quarters where you'll eat and sleep are up here. You'll find most of the businesses, especially ones where you can find clothing, in the city below----where the command center is. It's almost eerie in its silence, but it's one of the securest locations for a conversation we have. No one can enter without being connected to the Power or being accompanied by someone who is. Do you want to collect your morpher and talk there?"

There were things he wanted to say about his personal story too, things he wasn't quite as comfortable revealing in public.

Kimberly let out a sigh and patted Billy's arm. He somehow knew the one place she would want to go. Shopping was a definite yes, later, since that had always calmed her nerves back home. "Sounds like a plan to me" she said with a smile and an almost jump of joy.

There were things that Kimberly wanted to ask of Billy as well. How much did he remember of the Ohms and before that what he remembered from home.

Billy was glad that he'd hit the mark. He offered her another hug before proceeding. "I have some official engineering department business I need to address before I'm allowed to leave, but I'll meet you at the exit as soon as I'm done, all right?"

He pointed over the crowd to the exit that would lead back to the Hub she'd risen up in. Just one change in direction would lead them back to the City.

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