Life on Mirinoi
Revelations
By Robert Gutheim

One day Sue was enjoying a nice quiet day at the beach with her family. She looked up to see her mother and Aunt Wang Chung both of whom looked to be about fourteen or fifteen playing in the sand. Her Step grandmother Connie was laying on a blanket talking with Ali and Laurie Nabinger. Laurie’s two kids fifteen year old Amy and ten year old Leah were off to one side looking for an excuse to throw sand over the other three adults.

"Let’s face it It’s nice to get a chance to just relax. If only I could have gotten Karone, Mike, Andros, and Zhane to join us," Sue said.

"Andros, Zhane, and Karone have a lot of catching up to do. Mike couldn’t get away though he tried and Ronak I think is still trying to get ahold of his friends on Alpha Centauri," her mother pointed out.

"I know but we don’t get a lot of opportunities to just take it easy. If only Grandpa was back from his visit to the Future," Sue said. If one was to look at Sue they would guess she was around twenty maybe twenty one which would make a person wonder how the younger girl could be her mother except Sue was battling evil fifteen years before her birth after following her grandfather through time so she could recover from injuries given to her by her old enemy Mechinack after he had captured her. The main reason she had stayed was to try to prevent Lord Wieskoph from taking over Mirinoi. Lord Wieskoph was a villain she had fought against briefly on Capsilon IX before retiring from her original stint as the Red Demona Ranger and taking up the College Life. Those days the Former Red Demona Ranger was one of the most powerful rangers around the Ultima Ranger.

"I’m sure he will be back soon. Powermatic is currently trying to find a way to get ahold of him without using the old make note of a message for delivery in the future," Stephanie said.

"If only he had taken his tricorder then we could have just sent a time delay e-mail to him," Sue said.

"I know. It’s almost as if dad doesn’t want us to contact him," Stephanie said.

"One thing is for sure I wouldn’t want to be the little Samoto girl about now," Sue said thinking back to what she thought of as being her biggest failure as a ranger.

"Sue, you have to stop beating yourself up. The Dark Lord did everything he could to prevent a rescue attempt. For one thing by positioning himself so far away he prevents me from Flitting since I can’t flit that far without having somewhere along the way to come out of flit for even a fraction of a second to rest before the next leg of my journey," Stephanie said.

"I know but it’s my job to make sure that kind of thing doesn’t happen. What makes it worse is the kidnapping was during the time my powers were affected by my Demona Ranger Powers. If I had been at Full strength she wouldn’t be where she is," Sue said.

"Sue, we don’t know where she is. Mike showed the case file to Andros and Zhane. They are going to see if they can find some sort of clue. Andros also is going to speak with Mr. Samoto after all Andros knows what Mr. Samoto is going through. After all Karone was a prisoner of Dark Specter for a long time. Maybe they will find Octon and get that little girl back," Stephanie said.

"We don’t know that though. Christ we can’t even get ahold of a simple ranger base on another planet," Sue said.

"IT’s being worked on though. For all we know communications at the Ranger Base there might be down. My dad told me once how the original rangers on Earth the ones under Zordon occassionally did have communications difficulties with each other with Zordon. It wasn’t always easy," Stephanie said.

Connie right then started to feel lightheaded.

"Oh the sun is really getting to me," Connie complained.

Sue grabbed her radio.

"This is Collington, we have a possible Heat Stroke Victim at the beach. Send Emergency Medical Personnel," Sue called over her radio.

"Stand By Collington," a voice heard.

"Sue, what’s wrong?" the voice of Sue’s boss Mike Corbett came over the radio.

"It’s Connie, she is feeling lightheaded. Mike, I’m worried," Sue said. "Should I wait for the Ambulance or have her teleported to Ultima Force HQ?"

"You have Transportation on hand?" Mike wondered.

"Just my Bike, everyone else took Public Transit," Sue replied.

"Paramedics are on the way now. Try to keep her cool in the meantime," Mike said.

"I’ll try," Sue said. "Amy, you and Leah see if you can get me a couple sand buckets of water from the surf. Be Careful don’t get swept in."

The two girls then headed off. They returned three minutes later with the first load of water. Sue then took a cloth from her bag and placed it on Connie’s forehead.

"Sue, any idea what is wrong with her?" Laurie asked.

"None Laurie. Right now is one moment I really wish we had a way to contact my grandfather. He needs to know she isn’t well. I called it in as a possible heat stroke as a precaution. I don’t think it is heat stroke but there is no way of knowing," Sue said.

A doctor and paramedic ran up to them three minutes later.

"TJ, Fred, how’s it going for you?" Laurie wondered.

"It could be better," T.J. said. "Her vitals are inconsistent with Heat Stroke. What it is I’m not sure."

"WE better transport her," Fred said. "Sue, you want to ride in with us?"

"No I don’t, what I will do is provide you with an escort," Sue said grabbing her helmet and beach bag.

Fred and T.J. lead them to the Ambulance Sue’s Motorcycle was a few slots down in the parking lot. Sue put her helmet on and had her bike in position and turned the siren on. Ten minutes later they arrived at the Hospital. Connie was quickly wheeled into a examining room. The others arrived ten minutes after that along with a tall Bald headed man.

"Sue, Connie will be fine," the bald headed man said.

"I know she will, Powermatic," Sue said.

Everyone sat down and waited half an hour later Dr. Fred Billings walked out.

"Connie is doing fine right now," he explained.

"Why was she feeling lightheaded at the beach today?" Stephanie wondered.

"Her nutrient level in her blood was off. She was eating a healthy amount of food but some of it was getting diverted from her body," Fred said.

"How was it leaving her body when she used the head?" Sue wondered.

"It wasn’t leaving her body as waste. Maybe I should have worded my statement a little better. The nutrients were getting diverted from the systems that need them into a particular system. Specifically into her reproductive system," Fred said.

"You trying to say my step mother is pregnant," Stephanie said.

"She is six weeks along," Fred said. "She said that for sure it was her husband’s baby."

"How can that be?" Stephanie wondered. "If he was unable to have a baby with his first wife my mother how can Connie have gotten pregnant?"

"There are a couple explanations. One is Jessica’s powers were centered on her own reproductive area. She was unable to produce offspring period. Two ordinarily two Powereons are unable to produce offspring together. This way it prevents a child from inheriting two much Powereon energy. A Powereon can normally though produce offspring with non Powereons. The offspring develop and grow normally. Sometimes the offspring of such a birth naturally develop something from the parent who had Powereon abilities. Not always though," Powermatic explained.

"Powermatic did you just say that a child can inherit Powereon abilities from his or her parent?" Sue asked. "Like fifteen years from now when I’m born I could end up inheriting some small aspect of my mother’s powers from her?" Sue asked for clarification.

"Yes it is certainly possible. In fact Sue I know for a fact that you did or in fact will inherit a small amount of your mother’s powers," Powermatic said. "I based this information on stuff I picked up about you during our encounters back before you became the Ultima Ranger."

Sue went silent for a little bit as she digested what the Demona Watcher had told her.

"Powermatic, when will we know if Connie’s baby inherited any of Robert’s powers?" Ali wondered.

"Unfortunately Ali we haven’t figured out the earliest point at which faint Demona signatures can be detected in fetal tissue," Powermatic explained.

Sue then excused herself to use the bathroom Once she was inside though she teleported to Ultima Force HQ.

"Sue, is something bugging you?" Ronak asked.

"Where to start. How are you coming on your attempts?" Sue asked.

"So far nothing. I can’t raise the Centaurian Ranger Base, I know of several freighters that run within the system and I can’t even raise one of them. It’s almost as if the Alpha Centauri System has disappeared off the Galactic Map," Ronak said. "I’ve had no trouble raising Earth, Kerova, Aquitar, Edenoi, Eltare, I even raised a ship on the far side of Rangero."

"Did you try to raise Rangero Itself?" Sue asked.

"No why?" Ronak wondered.

"The Council, they would know if a ranger team had been destroyed. One under Council jurisdiction that is," Sue said.

"The Centaurian Rangers were under control of the Council for a little while but that was before I joined the Rangers," Ronak said.

"Still it’s worth a shot," Sue said. "The hard part will be finding a way to raise a guy on another planet thirty five years in the future when you aren’t sure what planet he is even on."

"You have lost me Sue," Ronak said.

"My Grandfather, I have a message for him only he hasn’t returned from his trip and I want to get the message to him," Sue said. "My step grandmother Connie is expecting a baby."

"That’s always a happy moment," Ronak said. "Could you picture yourself having a baby someday."

"Yeah someday. Preferably after I can finally give up Rangering," Sue said. "Ronak, how long were you a prisoner of Lord Wieskoph?"

"A long time probably four five years," Ronak responded.

"It could explain why we can’t contact your friends," Sue said. "Maybe your team has disbanded and abandoned the base of they could have been defeated and the system taken over."

"God Sue I hope you are wrong," Ronak said. "I had a girlfriend on our team. WE were discussing marriage and eventually having kids when I was captured."

"Well maybe your Girlfriend escaped somehow," Sue said.

"Until we contact somebody we will have no idea if she or anybody escaped," Ronak said.

"I left behind a boyfriend when I left my home. We were teammates back in our rangering days. I was the red ranger and he was the green ranger," Sue said. "Of course I retired before he did. I retired shortly after Lord Wieskoph started attacking Capsilon IX and Sean retired shortly after our friend Sasha died in battle. She was unmorphed because of civilians being around. My replacement was with her. Sasha’s replacement at first had a bit of a chip on her shoulder. She hated Space Colonies, She hated the fact she was assigned without having a choice to the planet and I think she even hated the fact she was a replacement ranger. She slowly grew to be a real player at least as of when I left," Sue said.

"Do you think you and Sean would have gotten married someday?" Ronak wondered.

"Probably," Sue said.

Right then a call came over the Radio.

"Ultimaforce HQ this is Rayna come in," a female sounding voice said.

"Rayna, this is Sue Collington at Ultimaforce HQ you are coming in loud and clear."

"Ultimaforce. Our sensors have picked up residue of a Centaurian Shuttle traveling in your vicinity. Do you know where that shuttle is?"

"Under what Authority are you making this inquiry?" Sue asked. "My authority is as Leader of the Ultimaforce and as Special Assistant to the Chief of Colonial Security on the Planet Mirinoi."

"I am aboard a ship of the Centaurian Defense Force. We are looking for a ranger lost in battle four and a half years ago," Rayna responded.

"Rayna, my love, I am safe now. I was rescued from Lord Wieskoph’s clutches two weeks ago by a member of the Ultimaforce," Ronak said.

"Ronak, is it really you?" Rayna asked.

"Yes it is my love," Ronak said. "I’ve been trying to contact the old base only I’ve been unsuccessful."

"I know Ronak, Quintio and I picked up your attempts at contacting base. The planetoid upon which the base was located was destroyed a year ago. Quintio and I were the only rangers to escape," Rayna said.

Sue went into the Living Quarters for a second.

"Ultimatron, clear the Centaurian Ship for landing in your bay," Sue ordered the base computer.

"All set Sue," Ultimatron said.

Ten minutes later Sue and Ronak stood by to greet the visitors. A Tall Reddish Blond haired girl wearing a Yellow and White Flightsuit walked out followed by a Medium height dark haired male in a Green and White Flightsuit exited the ship. Behind both of them was a young girl of around three with Blond curly hair and wearing a red and yellow dress.

"Rayna, it’s been a long time," Ronak said.

"Too long Ronak," the older girl said.

"Mommy, who are your friends?" the younger girl wondered.

"Well the male is someone very important to you sweetie and I don’t know the female at all," Rayna said.

"Rayna, Quintio, Welcome to Mirinoi and the Headquarters of the Ultimaforce. I’m Sue Collington the Ultima Ranger. My Colleagues have not been called in yet."

"Rayna, I thought you said you and Quintio were the only ones to escape the base blowing up?" Ronak queried since he was confused at the sight of the child.

"I said Quintio and I were the only Rangers to escape. Foina isn’t a ranger," Rayna said.

"What happened after I left did you and Quintio get all chummy and take up where we left off when I was captured. Chummy enough to make a child together?" Ronak asked before running off Toward the Living Quarters.

"Man Ronak is way off. I wasn’t the goofball that got Rayna pregnant. In fact Rayna was already pregnant when Ronak was captured She just didn’t know it until after the fact," Quintio said.

"Maybe I should go talk to him," Rayna said.

"Be careful Ray," Quintio said.

"I will Quintio," Rayna said as she went to follow Ronak. She eventually found her former teammate in his room a Centaurian Dagger in his hand.

"Ronak, suicide isn’t the answer," Rayna said.

"Ray, think about it we used to talk about having a child to love someday and then I end up captured and you immediately go after one of our teammates," Ronak said.

"Ronak, seeing Foina was obviously a big shock but understand this Quintio is not her father. He couldn’t impregnate a mannequin if he gave it life first," Rayna told him.

"How do I know he didn’t father her?" Ronak screamed.

"Because I was pregnant when you were captured," Rayna said. "Ronak, Foina needs you, I need you, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sue Collington needs you."

"Well I did sign on with the Ultimaforce after her teammate Karone rescued me," Ronak said. "It was just until I got ahold of the other rangers on our team."

"Ronak, you, Quintio, and I are all that’s left of the team. We are rangers without a home," Rayna said.

"If Quintio isn’t Foina’s father who did get you pregnant?" Ronak asked.

"You did my love," Rayna said. "Just as we always talked about it."

"Yeah but after we got married," Ronak said.

"I had Upsilon 4 fake a computer record to show we had gotten married a month before I got pregnant so that Foina wouldn’t appear to be illegitimate," Rayna said.

"At some point once we return home we will have to fix that," Ronak said.

"Ronak, don’t forget our homes were on the same Planetoid as the base. We don’t have a home to go home to," Rayna said.

"Ray, Ron, Sue wanted me to tell you that we can always stay here as part of the Ultimaforce," Quintio said as he walked in.

"Yet we know nothing about Mirinoi, how do we know that the natives of this world will accept us?" Rayna wondered.

"It was more primitive but Mirinoi had a Native Population before the Colonists from Earth showed up aboard a Space Colony known as Terra Venture. They were accepted without question by the natives," Ronak said. "Everything is more streamlined now especially since the Colony also had a large number of emancipated slaves aboard when it arrived on Mirinoi."

"Where would we actually live?" Rayna wondered.

"Well according to Sue she can find us places in one of the villages or a city or we can live here with Sue and another girl named Karone," Quintio said.

When they walked out fifteen minutes later Sue was talking to Karone and Mike.

"We decided to accept your offer and if possible we’d like a couple apartments in the city," Rayna said as she scooped her daughter up.