From: tabrock@postoffice.ptd.net (The Lone Warrior)
Subject: Op: Phoenix - Aftermath
Date: 1996/07/17
Message-ID: <4sjtvg$8sk_001@pal.ptd.net>
organization: Base One
newsgroups: alt.barney.dinosaur.die.die.die



Op: Phoenix: Aftermath

	Arsenal struggled through the paperwork he'd neglected during the 
X'Hirjq Invasion, reading the reports from his Joint Chiefs and other 
high-ranking Jihaddi.
	"We were being tested?!" he groaned, as he read the report from Lord 
Owsen.  "I don't friggin' believe this."
	"Something wrong, Commander?" a private asked, looking up from his 
filing cabinet.
	"Nothing a little mooshack and some common sense wouldn't cure," 
Arsenal muttered.  "Those Lizards were simply testing us, to see if we were 
fit to survive.  Someone should tell them that *everyone* has a right to live, 
regardless of their tests. The strong must *protect* the weak, not prey on 
them."
	"I think the entire Jihad feels that way," the private stated, closing 
the file drawer.  "But these Lizards have a different mind-set than we do."
	"That they do," Arsenal muttered.  "At least they left." <Now, all we 
have to do is rebuild.  And hope B'Harne doesn't attack again while we're 
rebuilding.>

	Down in the Base One cafeteria, the Shadow Ranger sat apart from the 
rest of the Blood Jihad personnel there at the time.  Not because they shunned 
her - for she'd proven herself in thier eyes several times during the intense 
fighting of the past few months - but because she needed the space to think.
	<Things have changed too rapidly,> she thought, munching on a 
sandwich.  <A few months ago, I was a Power Ranger, an enemy of the Jihad.  
Now, I'm accepted as a Jihaddi, and not even the Jihad of my own timeline.  
I'm not even sure my home timeline even exists anymore.  But I need to find 
out just where I stand.  And the only way I can do that is to revisit my old 
home.  I need to return to Angel Grove.>

	Arsenal strode into the room where the Joint Chiefs meeting was being 
held.
	"I've talked to each of you individually," he stated, taking a seat at 
the head of the table, "so I know the specifics.  Just give me the dirt."
	"We're about to start full-time production on the new Badlands combat 
mecha," UpLink stated, his signal being broadcast from the newly rebuilt Luna 
Base.  "With all the fighting out here, I'm surprised they never fired at us."
	"They didn't see our extraterrestrial bases as being important," 
Admiral Davis commented.  "Spacedock is still in one piece.  The Space Fleet's 
in bad shape, though.  We lost too many ships out there."
	"The Army and Air Force are down to 15% of what we were before the 
invasion," General Joe Petronis stated.  "We lost too many men and women to 
the Lizards."
	"Same with the Navy," Admiral Dragon stated.  "We were lucky, since 
the _Yamato_ and _Cabot-Daedalo_ were practically unhurt.  The other carriers 
suffered heavy damamge, and are in drydock right now.  The smaller ships were 
simply cannon fodder, tho.  We lost nearly every ship that was either a 
cruiser, destroyer, or frigate."
	"Ouch," was UpLink's response.
	"How fast can we rebuild?" Arsenal asked.
	"With SpaceDock, Luna Base, and the Philly Shipyard working 'round the 
clock, we should be up to full speed within a month or two," UpLink stated.  
"At least equipment-wise."
	"Personnel is another story," Petronis countered.  "It'll take us a 
few more months to get back to full strength.  We're pulling in more new 
recruits now than ever, but it's just a matter of training them."
	"We'll simply have to work around the manpower shortage," Arsenal 
stated.  "Oh, and by the way, you all did good during the Invasion. Meeting 
adjourned."

	With the manpower shortage, Arsenal soon found himself down in the  
repair bay, working on a damaged Conquistador, alongside three other 
technicians.
	"This girl sure took a lot of damage," he muttered, fixing the knee 
joint in the one leg.  "Hand me up a number three Richardson screwdriver, 
would ya?!" he called down to a tech.
	"Here you go, sir."  He caught the screwdriver, and started work.
	"Arsenal!"
	He looked down.  Kimberly stood there at the base of the 
Conquistador's foot, looking up at him, trying to shield her eyes from the 
glare of his work light.
	"What brings you down here?" he called down.
	"I need to speak with you."
	Arsenal detached himself from the harness keeping him	suspended near 
the knee of the SPG, and dropped onto the safety matt below him.
	"What's up?" he asked, leading her away from the repair bay.
	"I need to leave for a few days," she explained.  "I'm returning to 
Angel Grove."
	"I think I understand," Arsenal stated.  "Good luck."
	"Thanks." Kim leaned forward, and gave Arsenal a quick kiss, then 
disappeared in a beam of grey light.

To be continued in "Shadow Ranger: Return to Angel Grove"

Arsenal the Lone Warrior
sig being reconstructed... again