A/N: Here's the promised filler piece, bridging the gap until the new season starts. Hope you all enjoy it.

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

Rating: T – May be some mild adult themes and language.

A flotilla of ships moved slowly through space, ominously heading towards their target, a little, unassuming planet.

They started to circle it, slowing down to manoeuvring speed a little over the planet's outer atmosphere. They started to glide around the planet's gravitational pull like vultures, slowly circling a lost animal, staggering through the desert just looking for a place to finally give up its life.

On the bridge of the flagship, the presiding officer inspected the viewing screen, observing the planet below.

"All our ships are in position." One of the droids at the controls declared. "What do we do now sir?"

"We wait." He responded. "Until we get our orders."

It was a cold, slightly overcast morning in Harwood County as befitted the time of year. A young man made his way through the streets. The streets were largely deserted now, the Holiday season now over, and people getting back to work after the New Year. He was a young man, and he was doing his best to make sure that he wasn't seen as he headed to a news stand. He was around six feet in height, with an athletic build, concealed beneath a leather jacket, with a black hoodie top underneath. He had the hood pulled up, and walked with his head a little bowed, like he didn't want to be seen.

"What'll it be?" The man at the counter said. The stranger picked up a local paper, and put the exact change, mostly in dimes and pennies into his hand. It took the vendor a little while to verify that he had given the correct amount, and he turned into the back, putting the money into the register while muttering something under his breath about being paid in such a way.

The front page of the paper was dedicated to some kind of dealing going through City Hall. It had been almost two whole months since the final battle had been fought, and the city for the most part was in the process of rebuilding. The roads and rail links were back up; meaning support from neighbouring cities had allowed the rebuilding of all the homes and offices that were lost to be rebuilt much more quickly. There was, as usual, an advert in the bottom corner of the page advertising cash rewards for pictures of the Megaforce Rangers, and any information about them.

The Rangers had fled the city, disappearing shortly after the battle, just as the first of the newspapers published their identities, forcing them to flee before the paparazzi could hound them day and night for any kind of story. This was the part that stung the most. For a couple of weeks, almost a full month, the papers had constantly tailed the families and friends of the Rangers, hoping someone would speak about them. When they finally realised that the Rangers were gone, and that their loved ones either weren't talking, or genuinely didn't know anything, they stopped dedicating the whole front page to any rumour or ridiculous tale that some stranger with little credibility had made up on the fly, they started to veer back into real news. They were still hopeful though, and still advertised.

The kid turned the newspaper over to the sports pages, folding it in half to read the bottom of the page, the High School soccer listings. Jake sighed as he saw the listings, showing Harwood High to be dead bottom of the league. It was just another thing that had suffered because of the Rangers' identities being revealed and their sudden departure. As soon as other schools found out Harwood had two Rangers on the team, accusations that they must have been using their powers to gain an unfair advantage and calling for them to be disqualified from the league. Of course, neither Jordan nor Jake had used their powers on the pitch, but that didn't stop the stories, and no one was willing to believe otherwise when it came to toppling one of the league powerhouses. In the end, the only way Harwood was allowed to continue in the league and not be kicked out was to be stripped of all the points they had earned. This, combined with losing their leading midfielder and striker had a disastrous effect from which they had never recovered.

"Damn it." Jake muttered, seeing this result. He hated their new lives. They couldn't dare to return home, he hadn't even been able to go home to make amends with his parents for the blazing row they'd had in the middle of the street when he told them why he had to leave and would likely never return. He hadn't seen or heard from Allison, the girlfriend he had only just started dating since before the battle. Now, he only dared come into the city under heavy disguise. He had started long before they realised there were certain things the island just couldn't provide, just in the hopes of catching little glimpses of those they left behind, to satisfy himself that they were able to carry on without them. It was painful, but necessary for him, like rubbing alcohol on an open wound.

He headed into an alley, tossing the paper into a trash can, before looking around to make sure he wasn't being watched. He checked behind a dumpster, the one marked "Ernie's Brainfreeze", and found a package left there for him. Ernie had caught him on one of his little excursions into the city, and had since agreed to help where he could, leaving them money, and care packages of clothes and food they couldn't get on the island every couple of weeks.

He picked up the package and started to head somewhere he could teleport back to the island, when he saw some people gathered around an electrical appliance shop. He was about to just head on past when he heard some murmuring among the people watching. He didn't catch everything, but one phrase seemed to crop up over and over again...space ships.

He pushed his way to the front of the crowd to see. The thought of any more space ships was a terrifying thought for anyone in Harwood, but particularly so for him and the Rangers. They all remembered Vrak and The Messenger giving ominous warnings about a force called "The Armada." They knew that something was coming, a new enemy they were spending every day waiting for on the island. He saw some blurry images, following which the view moved to something else. It was a room with the Presidential Seal in the background. After a moment, and some music playing, he came into the room, President Elect Zack Taylor.

He stood, cradling the edges of his podium with his hands, his nine fingers gripping it in a soft embrace, like he was comforting a child. In truth, he was, he was trying to calm a nation of children, those he had been sworn to protect and guide.

"My fellow Americans, I, like all of you, have heard a great many things about the images captured from the International Space Station." He began. "I must, however, ask at this time for caution and restraint. It is all too easy to allow panic to guide us in these uncertain times."

He looked out over the crowd before him.

"I have cancelled my family's vacation, and I have recalled all my Chiefs of Staff to the White House to advise me in these times." He continued as he took a deep breath. "While we have had bad experiences with visitors from another world in the recent past, I must remind you that not all those who come to our lands have sought conflict. Until we know more about the intentions of these visitors, I must ask that you all allow us the time and the chance to find out what they are here for, and see if there is a way for us to pass each other in peace. I thank you."

As he left the stage, Jake just turned and headed back towards his safe teleport point, his morpher bleeping. He pulled it out.

"Jake..."

"I heard Troy." Jake assured him. "I'm coming."

Back at the White House, Zack politely declined questions as he made his way out of the room. Jason, the head of the Secret Service division assigned to his security, ushered him into the Oval Office.

"Call me when the Chiefs of Staff arrive." Zack told his secretary. "I don't want to take any other calls until they arrive, do you understand?"

"Of course Mr President." She answered as he closed the door, turning to Jason.

"You know no one's going to be calm for long." Jason told him.

"I know." Zack sighed. "But if you think things are looking bad now, try adding 300 million panicking citizens nearly half of whom are armed into the mix."

"It's time." They heard a voice from the corner say. They both turned to see the Phantom Ranger shimmering into view, deactivating his cloaking device.

"I was wondering when you'd show up Phantom Ranger." Zack commented.

"I go by Gosei now." He informed them. "It's The Armada, they should be here within the next 24 hours."

"Then we have to get the signal out." Zack answered. "Jason, call around..."

"I'm afraid that this time it won't be enough." Gosei answered him.

"Are you kidding?" Jason asked him, producing his morpher. "There are dozens of us who still have powers. We'll all be willing to..."

"Believe me, this is not the scenario I was hoping for." Gosei told them. "I have a plan in mind, one that will give the Earth the power it needs to defend itself, but that can only happen if you all do as I say...EXACTLY as I say."

"Anything for the Earth." Jason informed him. "So what do you want us to do?"

Back on the Island, Jake arrived, finding the others assembling in the main chamber. They had cleaned up somewhat, and Noah had repaired as much of the computer equipment as he could. Tensou, before he was destroyed, had taught Noah a lot about technology that was beyond what he would have been able to accomplish in Harwood, but it was no substitute for having Gosei or Tensou around. Tensou was destroyed, and Gosei hadn't returned since the Command Centre had been attacked. They gathered around the computers.

"This looks like it guys." Noah told them. "I just pulled this up from Hubble."

He showed them images of the ships coming towards Earth. There were a lot of them. How many wasn't clear, any time it looked like they'd seen the end of the fleet, more of them came into view.

"That...that's a lot of ships!" Gia commented. Jake pulled off the leather jacket, handing it to Troy as he put the care package aside.

"I'm guessing that fancy one with the gold horse things is the flagship." Noah stated. They all just looked at him. "What? It's bigger and fancier than the others."

"You can't argue with that logic." Emma answered with a shrug.

"So how long until they get here?" Troy asked. Noah just looked a little uneasy.

"At their current speed...about 24 hours." He informed them.

"God I miss the Zords." Jake grumbled. "President Taylor was advocating sitting on our butts and waiting for them to make the first move."

"He's got a job to do; you can't judge him for that." Troy reminded him. "In the meantime, we've got a job to do as well. Noah, have the scans keep track on those ships, especially that fancy one with the horses. I want to know when they come down and where."

"Already on it." Noah assured him.

"Until then, let's get some training done." Troy told them. "By the looks of that fleet, they're not coming for a pleasure cruise."

The following day, on one of The Armada ships, a creature made his way through the corridors, heading for the bridge. He was a tall, slender creature, with dark blue flesh. It wore a blue and white great coat that moved seemingly with a mind of its own as he walked. He had strong, angular features that were accentuated by dark, red eyes, and long, white hair and a goatee. As he got so the Bridge, he saw one of the viewing screens was blanked out, but he heard a familiar voice.

"Commodore! I do not appreciate being kept waiting!" The voice on the other end snapped. "And why can I not see you?"

"I am afraid one of the many signals bouncing around the satellites here is making video communication problematic." He informed his superior. "Their crude communications play havoc with our systems, but at least I can hear you."

"I have heard no word from our Envoy." The superior stated. "Our scans find no trace of him."

"I am afraid I have found the same." He informed his superior. "I did a look through some of their news archives...it appears he failed to destroy those 'Power Rangers' that he spoke of."

"Someone managed to destroy my messenger?" He asked. The Commodore just nodded.

"It certainly appears that way." He told him matter-of-factly. "Don't worry; I'm sure we will be able to exact appropriate reparations for this insult."

"That is a secondary concern." The other voice stated. "I will keep the flagship in orbit for now. I am entrusting the invasion to you."

"I will take great honour in this position." He told him, bowing reverently. "The ships are already in position. I will begin planet fall within the next couple of hours."

Back at the Island, Emma and Troy were woken up by the alarm sounding, hurriedly getting some clothes on as they rushed out to the control room. They saw Noah observing the screen.

"They've broken the atmosphere." Noah told them. "The flagship seems to be holding its distance though."

"What about the others?" Jake asked.

"They're coming down fast." Noah told them. "They have a good tactical formation. It's only a matter of time before..."

Just before he said it, lasers started raining down from the ships. Troy shook his head.

"God I hate it when you're right." Troy stated. "OK, we haven't heard anything from Gosei or any of the others, so we have to presume we're on our own. There aren't enough of us to deal with a planet wide invasion...let's concentrate on this ship coming down."

"The one heading for the White House?" Jake asked.

"Look, the flagship's hovering over that location!" Troy told him. "We have to presume that whatever they're sending to Washington is important."

"Go Go Megaforce!" They called out together as they disappeared in a flash of light.

The Rangers arrived to find the place in turmoil. There were troops on site, ready to guard the President, but they were woefully outmatched, and were quickly overpowered. The Commodore walked through the battle, a sabre at his side, but made no move to draw it. It was like he thought the idea of combat was totally beneath him, and left the dirty work to his army, black robots with silver heads and rifles that brought down all the resistance before them with brutal efficiency. He satisfied himself that the resistance was crushed, and stood before the presidential home with a satisfied smile on his face.

"You!" He called out, seeing some news crews that had been herded into a corner by his robots. "How soon can you get those cameras up and running?"

"It...It'll take a few minutes..."

"Good, we need to get a message out." The Commodore informed them. He then looked to one of the other robots. "Get the one they call 'the President'. We need him to make a little declaration to the people."

"That's not going to happen!" Troy called out as the Rangers got there in Ultra Mode. The Commodore turned to see them, and smiled.

"Well, I guess you're these 'Power Rangers' I keep hearing so much about." He stated. He pointed to the Red Ranger. "Troy isn't it?"

"You know us?" Troy asked him. He just smiled.

"I like to make sure I know as much as I can about my enemies." He informed them. "I'll give you this one chance to lay down your weapons and surrender with your lives."

"Are you really so scared of five teenagers?" Troy asked him. He just shrugged.

"I kind of like the look of this planet." He informed them. "I'd rather leave as much of it intact as possible. There's no point in capturing a ship you've already scuttled."

"Well, we don't really do the whole surrender thing." Jake told him.

"Well, don't say I didn't offer." The Commodore replied. "Let me introduce you to my X-bots. I think you'll find they are a little tougher than those Loogies you were used to fighting."

As the X-bots fell upon the Rangers, The Commodore just smiled. He pulled out a communicator as he drew his sabre.

"They're here." He informed his superior. "Now's the time."

On the edges of the galaxy, the ships circling the distant planet finally received their order and opened fire with an immense barrage of weapons. They slammed into the surface of the planet of Eltar, shattering the tectonic plates of the once-proud planet. As the final salvo fell, the planet exploded, scattering into billions of pieces.