Earth, 2991. Six months had passed since Carter's arrival. In that time, both he and Diane grew increasingly anxious about the promised threat. Neither Triforia, nor the Resistance, made any noise during all of their preparations, and they had yet to hear much from the Queen's multitude of intel sources.

While Diane and Carter walked into the Ranger Academy one day, Diane gave off a slight chuckle while occupied inside her thoughts.

"A rare laugh. Should I be worried?" asked Carter.

"An idea occurred to me just now. This team of Rangers we're constructing requires a proper title. My son was... acting out a scene he was watching, I suppose. Something related to the Rangers giving some oddly clad witch with a high-pitched voice a headache. In any case, it gave me an idea: Chronic Storm."

Carter turned to her with a raised brow. "Chronic Storm? Heh, no disrespect ma'am, but it sounds more like a really bad disease than a team of Rangers."

Diane smirked. "Exactly. We shall give our opponents headaches, or what have you. We will make them ill at the mere mention of our name. And most crucially, we will let them know that who we are and what we're doing will not go away until every enemy's time is up."

Carter slowly nodded with an understanding smile. "That explains the chest clocks. It's clever. I think I can get behind that. I don't know if it'll sell with the team though."

Just then, an alert blared throughout the Academy halls for the first time. Diane and Carter immediately rushed to the top floor, a floor that held a Central Command Center from which to monitor volatile activity, both domestic and abroad.

Professor Knox awaited them at the center of the room as he nervously ran his fingers through his curly white hair. "My Queen! We have a confirmed attack on KO-35."

Diane's eyes sharpened into a glare. "Who dares attack a unified nation?"

"It's the Triforians, just as you had feared."

She gritted her teeth. "A tad later than we expected."

"Times have changed," Carter replied. "And the result will too. We can handle it, ma'am."

Diane nodded. "Assemble the Chronic Storm Rangers. Then, wipe them out."

Carter slowly turned to face her. "Wipe them out...?"

"An attack on a unified nation brings with it the immediate dismissal of diplomacy. Wipe them out. End of discussion."

Carter hesitated to speak.

"Did I make myself clear?"

Carter nodded. "We'll take care of it, ma'am."

Carter raced out of the room and pushed a button on his Morpher, activating communications with his four best students. All four soon heeded the call and stood at attention in front of the five dark green and silver assault spacecraft's lining the Academy's Hangar Bay 2. He issued them their new uniforms and Morphers, officially minting Chronic Storm's first ever team of Power Rangers.

Gavin and Rio were your typical pair of big and tall meets smaller but still capable. They became the Yellow and Green Rangers respectively. The pair became good friends over the course of their time at the Academy. They often pushed each other in the classroom and in the sparring ring. Neither could contain their excitement over having been chosen, let alone chosen together.

The Pink Ranger, a brunette named Rydel, was a favorite student of Carter's. Both disciplined and likable, she proved time and time again to be ideally suited to Ranger work.

The Blue Ranger, Keanu, didn't say much. He was dark-haired and sported the focused eyes of a combat veteran, although no one but him knew where such experience came from. It made him the most talented fighter in the Academy. He could even be called more skillful than Carter himself. Despite his stoic appearance, a bit of relief and excitement found a way to just barely sneak through once Carter handed him the Blue Morpher.

The team then boarded their new assault vessels and blasted off towards KO-35, making the jump to hyperspeed once they cleared Earth's atmosphere.

Carter remembered their names, their faces, but couldn't recall their words. As he continued to recant the tale, his face conveyed a twinge of doubt. He couldn't say for sure if the faces he remembered were from team 1, possibly team 3, maybe even team 6...? His recollection grew foggier by the minute.

...

Only thirty minutes passed before Carter and his team dropped out of hyperspeed. The Triforian ships wasted no time, firing upon them the second they entered the scene. Every single enemy craft had been built with a thick coat of pure black chromium to better blend into the backdrop of space without compromising durability. Tracking them down the more traditional way would prove an implausible tactic. Shooting them down would prove even more daunting.

"Everyone, ready weapons," Carter ordered. "We disable their engines, protect the KO-35 pilots, and force a retreat. Understood?"

"Understood!" replied the others.

But within seconds, Rio's ship ignited, lighting up the void of space with a white explosion before Triforian vessels coasted through the wreckage like a wave on the shore.

"RIO!!!" cried out Gavin.

"NO!!!" Carter cried. "Evasive maneuvers! Now!"

The four remaining ships ducked under incoming laser fire as a quartet of Triforian ships faced them head-on. But they kept on taking hits and their shields became progressively compromised.

Inside a further away Triforian fighter, a younger Axis lead another squadron of four who fastly approached the Rangers. As he observed them, their design caught his attention. "Those look like Earth-based vessels, just as predicted. Fighters 3 and 4, peel off left and flank the Earth squadron. Fighter 2, cover them. General Pyreus desires no survivors, so aim to kill."

The two fighters peeled off to deal with the Chronic Storm team with Fighter 2 supporting from the back. The Rangers kept taking on heavy fire, but their shields managed to outlast the first barrage. Carter and Keanu quickly rotated their ships around and blasted the pair of Triforian fighters right out of existence.

"Two down," stated Carter.

"And only countless more to go," added Keanu.

Axis noticed his fighters exploding, but remained composed. In fact, he couldn't help but smirk a bit at the newfound challenge of this unknown adversary. "Interesting. So, the Queen did have something worth concealing this whole time. I'm going after them. Fighter 2, drop back and cover me."

The remaining fighter followed Axis' craft towards the Rangers and immediately started firing upon them.

"Taking on heavy fire!" Carter's controls started to jam up as red alert sirens vibrated his eardrums. Out of the corner of his eye, in the middle of the madness, he could see Rydel straying off from the others and heading towards the largest Triforian vessel. "Rydel! Stay in formation!"

"Lieutenant Axis," Fighter 2 communicated. "That stray fighter is approaching General Pyreus' ship."

Axis observed the ship and considered his options. General Pyreus should be able to handle the matter... His words filled him with doubts as his mind flashed back to Pyreus' cryptic message. But Axis' shook away the thought. "Let it go... We have our orders. Formation LR18. Let us end this."

Axis' and Fighter 2 spread out wide and launched a pair of torpedoes upon the damaged Chronic Storm vessels on either side of Carter. With compromised shields, their ships proved no match against the overwhelming firepower. Both Keanu and Gavin quickly fell victim to the onslaught as their ships vanished. Their comms cut off while the terrified, anguish-filled screams left a final memory.

"All too easy," said Axis.

"NO!" Carter then realized his ship began moving backward before turning away from the battlefield completely. He grabbed at his controls, violently shaking them to no response. They had somehow been overridden. "What's going on...? No! Stop! We have to keep fighting!"

Diane's voice sounded through the ship's communications, "That's not up to you to decide. We've lost this one."

"We haven't lost yet!"

"We lost the second your ships left hyperspeed. We'll discuss the matter in full when you return." Diane's communications cut out.

Carter could only stare helplessly into the void of space while KO-35 sent ship after ship to face off against the invading forces, only to have each and every one mercilessly gunned down by the might of Triforia.

"Don't worry, Carter," Rydel communicated. "I'll make sure there's hell to pay for this." She fired at the overwhelmingly large lead Triforian ship. But could not lay even a speck of damage upon its hull.

A bright blue laser started charging up mere meters away from her cockpit. The light practically blinded her as her heart rate shoot up. She closed her eyes while a single tear fell down her cheek followed by a subtle shaking of the head. And then, her ship perished into nothingness as the blue laser enveloped her. No outcry or anguish could be heard, just a silent splattering of light before all of it faded away into emptiness.

"Lieutenant Axis," Fighter 2 communicated. "One of the ships retreated. But the vessel that went after Pyreus has been decimated."

Axis sighed in relief. "Good, very good. Regroup with F squadron. Sweep around and deal with the remaining KO-35 pilots. Then, let us celebrate our latest victory. Soon, all shall be made aware of the Resistance."

Carter watched over the slowly diminishing lights speckled upon the backdrop of the cosmos as his ship piloted itself back to Earth. His hands still shook from the ordeal. His heart pounded and his body felt heavy while his mind raced to make sense of it all. He tried to piece together where he failed, what he could have done, if he could have saved them, but nothing came together in his mind. He wondered if he would ever see home again.

...

The second Carter's ship touched down on Earth, he stormed into Diane's meeting room. Diane noticed him and motioned him to sit down while she carefully observed footage and data readouts of Chronic Storm's first mission.

"Excellent work, Carter."

Carter immediately rose back up and looked at her in amazement. "Excellent work? What are you... We lost everyone!"

Diane sighed before rising out of her own chair. "We lost a few pilots. We have an entire Academy of those. But none of this works without you leading them. In any case, we gathered valuable information regarding the attack patterns of their ships. To his credit, General Pyreus has made notable adjustments during his quiet years. He caught us off guard this time, but I won't let it happen again."

Carter slowly shook his head. "You wanna tell that to the families of the four brave Rangers that died today? You wanna tell them that we just lost a few pilots?"

Diane glared back at him. "That fight is over. Bury it. Leave it behind. Now is the time to prepare for the next one. Triforia will become emboldened by their victory here. Assemble a new team and get them up to speed. We'll need them ready for the next Triforian offensive as soon as possible. Professor Knox should already have four new Morphers on stand by."

Carter stood there, silent, confused, and frustrated, but let the feelings go. He started to turn around and walk out of the room, but then stopped and faced Diane again. "Did you know...? Did you know you were sending them to their deaths?"

"Of course I didn't know. But this is war. There's nothing more we can do for the dead. Focus on protecting what's still alive and we might just win. That is all."

Carter left Diane's office, still dazed as his most recent memories seeped into his mind. But snapping him back into the present was Jason, sitting near the door, clearly trying to listen in on the meeting. The hopeful look on his face told Carter that he didn't hear much.

That hopeful face turned to Carter. "Did you win!?"

Carter opened his mouth, but stopped short of his first thought. "Not yet, Jason... But we will... The Power Rangers always do."

Jason smiled widely. "Can I come next time? I can fly a ship you know. Professor Knox taught me. I'm tough too. I stand up to bullies at school all the time. One of them got a few shots in, but I held strong. And the very next day, he never showed up to class again. Heh, I must have scared him off. Mother never wants to teach me how to fight, but I can learn pretty fast."

Carter allowed a smile to sneak past his overwhelming emotions. "Heh... So you really want to be a Ranger?"

"Yes! More than anything! I never thought I could, but now that the Ranger Academy exists, I can finally do it... If mother ever lets me, that is."

Carter slowly nodded. "Why?"

"Why...? No one's ever asked me before. Well, to be honest, I'm not super into this whole royalty thing. It's cool and all, but... I always feel so far away from all these people I'm supposed to be making decisions for someday." Jason started to peer out one of the floor's windows. The waning sunlight in the west splashed upon his face and gleamed off his glasses. "I just kind of want to be out there, making a real difference. I want to make people feel as safe as I always do, not just tell them what to do. Then, even if a giant earthquake hits us and buildings start shaking all wild-like, when I show up, everyone can still smile and say, 'Everything's gonna be alright now' y'know...? But, maybe that's just wishful thinking."

Carter found himself entranced by Jason's tale. All the while, his mind pulled him into a moment from his childhood. A moment that saw him rescued after being trapped inside a burning building. Carter thought back to that moment so many times since that day. It was then, even as a young boy, that he could clearly picture what he wanted his future to be. "Jason... Thank you."

Jason turned to Carter. "You're welcome... Wait, I'm lost."

"This world needs more wishful thinking, not less. And giving others hope? Priceless. You'll make a great Ranger someday. Maybe I'll even let you fly the Astro3 when it's finished being built."

Jason's eyes lit up. "Really!? Carter th-that's... I... I don't know what to say!"

Carter patted Jason on the back. "Someday. But for now, stick close to the ground, where it's safe."

Jason started to pout.

Carter began walking away; his once-fractured mind now partly sharpened. He recalled the reason why he kept standing up and agreeing to every life-threatening mission put before him.

For five long years, Carter put together team after team. For five long years, team after team fell at his feet, whether the mission proved successful or not. For five long years, Knox needed to order new parts for replacement Morphers. And for five long years, names and faces faded away, turning into nothing but bodies and numbers inside color-coded suits.

...

Back in the present day, the rest of the team took in the totality of Carter's tale. They could all feel his devastation, his loss, despite his attempts to mask it behind his poised, emotionally balanced story delivery.

"And that's the sum of it," Carter stated. "I wanted to go back home, to my time, to my team, but I couldn't. Diane kept finding ways to convince me that these Rangers weren't ready yet and that I was the only one who could lead them. Just as I started thinking my work here was done, there was something else waiting for me. Some days, it felt like hours, minutes in between missions... It took such a toll on so many of them. So many good Rangers and better people lost forever, because I couldn't do enough to save them."

Carter started getting visibly emotional. "Aliens, wars, time travel... I'm just a firefighter."

After a few moments of contemplative silence, Jason stood up. "I couldn't understand the gravity behind your words before. But I understand now."

Carter looked at him and faintly smiled. "So, no more solo missions, then?"

"Only if you order it."

"But then who's Taylor gonna yell at?" asked Ethan.

Taylor quickly glared at Ethan before looking back towards Carter. "We'll be your last team, Carter. And after that, I think you'll have earned yourself some vacation time."

Carter chuckled a bit. "Captain Mitchell always tells me the same thing, but I never get around to using my time unless he gives the whole team the day off."

"Same here," Kendrix added. "Commander Stanton has to force me away from my workstation. But some days, I'll still sneak in for a few hours."

"Really?" asked a confused Ethan. "Am I the only one here that actually likes vacation?"

"I've only been on one, sooo..." replied Jason.

"We'll think about all that later," Carter said. "Right now, we have a mission to see through."

"And some intel to collect," Jason replied. "No need to turn every mission into an all-out brawl, right? I may not like it, but I believe in us. We can figure this out and put a stop to Axl before he can hurt anyone ever again."

Carter nodded and patted Jason on the back. "I don't know Taylor, looks like he's growing up to me."

Taylor half smiled. "We'll see."

"And Carter," Jason started. "Thank you... for believing in me, even at times when I didn't fully believe in myself. It's kind of nice, knowing I'm not the only one who's scared of what's out there, y'know?"

Carter nodded. "I kept the truth of what being a Ranger really is from you for all this time. For that, I'm sorry. I just wanted to see you live out your dream, just like what Captain Mitchell did for me. Maybe I could have gotten a veteran Green Ranger. Maybe I should have. But I wanted it to be you."

Jason stood there with a few tears clinging to his cheeks. He brushed them aside and nodded rapidly. "Carter... I'll never be able to repay you for your faith in me, but, I'll try! I swear I'll try even harder now! Thank you, Carter."

"You're welcome, Jason."

"Even harder?" Taylor asked. "That means it's time to ramp up your training."

Jason quickly nodded. "I'm ready."

"Good." Taylor got up from her seat. "Maybe I won't have to pull my punches this time."

"Wait, those punches really hurt last time. Those were pulled!?"

Taylor walked out towards the training deck with Jason quickly following.

Kendrix looked over to Ethan. "I was always curious how you created that tracking algorithm, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. So I thought it'd be a lot trickier, but future tech is so intuitive." Ethan and Kendrix continued to talk while Ethan explained the finer nuances of his program.

Kendrix excitably nodded and smiled hearing about all the intricacies while Taylor and Jason continued to push each other in the training room. This time around, Jason wasn't falling nearly as fast, or as often, even faced with the peril of unpulled punches. And though she'd never admit to it, Taylor might have been allowing herself to have the slightest bit of fun.

Jason could feel a tightness in his throat, as if the air was thinning around him. His vision started to blur, but he kept pushing it down and fighting on, matching Taylor blow for blow. I just need to fight through it. And then, I'll be a real hero!

He threw a powerful shot at Taylor's shoulder that hit her clean. Taylor brushed off the hit and nodded approvingly. "You're getting there, kid."

Jason let out a smirk and got back into his fighting stance. There would be no sacrifices