Power Rangers: Star Patrol - A Fan Adaptation of ToQger

Power Rangers: Star Patrol

 A Fan Adaptation of ToQger

     Trains. This is the concept of the newest super sentai series, Ressha Sentai ToQger, and one that many seem to think will be difficult to translate. Of course, a big part of this line of thought is also likely due to the more comedic nature of ToQger, along with an unconventional finishing move and that trains aren't entirely relevant in US culture. Of course, this doesn't mean adapting it into a season of Power Rangers will be difficult, it just means creativity is needed. What follows is a general overview of a concept I've devised to use with the ToQger footage.

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The Threat:

 

     Located upon a cloud of dark energy, resting in interstellar space, lies the Fortress of Night. The Fortress of Night serves as mobile base of operations for the Chaos Syndicate, an evil organization bent on domination of the galaxy. The organization has a triad-leadership structure;

Kommander Chaos

Mademoiselle Shadow

Lord Nightmare

     The Triad of the Syndicate seek nothing more than total dominance of the entire galaxy, and then intend to move on to the next. To do this the Chaos Syndicate must seek out the Cosmic Engine, a device capable of producing near limitless energy. The location of the Engine is unknown to the Syndicate, thus they've moved their fortress into its current location, specially selected for its strategic position. The Fortress of Night came to rest atop a nexus point of tunnels through Dark Space, a shadow realm underlying the veil of reality, allowing for near instantaneous travel across the galaxy.

     Utilizing the network of tunnels through Dark Space, the Chaos Syndicate sends out their Shadow Fleet, an armada of trains designed to function in nearly any environment, generating their own rail lines as they move. The purpose of the Shadow Fleet is to not only seek out the location of the Cosmic Engine, but to collect terror energy from the inhabitants of the planets they are raiding. The energy collected from the terrorized citizenry is what fuels the Syndicate's war efforts.

     Each train in the Shadow Fleet is piloted by a general created by one of the three Syndicate leaders, and has a full compliment of Nightmare Men. Under normal conditions each train is tasked with searching and raiding a different star system in the galaxy to achieve the Syndicate's goals.

The Rangers:

     Enter the Star Patrol Power Rangers, an elite law enforcement agency powered by the Cosmic Engine itself. The Star Patrol Rangers existed before the Chaos Syndicate became a known quantity, they simply turned their focus directly against the Syndicate once they became major players. Operating out of a space station orbiting KO-35, the Star Patrol Rangers utilize the power of the Cosmic Engine to not only fight evil on KO-35, but also to activate wormholes in space to defend the galaxy itself.

     Utilizing the Star Line zords, the Star Patrol Rangers travel the galaxy via wormholes powered by the Cosmic Engine itself. Like the Shadow Fleet, the Star Line zords generate their own tracks and are capable of operating in just about any environment.

     When the generals of the Chaos Syndicate grow, the Star Patrol Rangers can combine their zords to create the Star Liner Megazord.

     Another ability in the Star Patrol's repertoire is the ability to transfer their powers among one another. Each power has certain capabilities, and these capabilities can be utilized differently by each Ranger, allowing for more versatility in the fight against evil.

The Cosmic Engine:

 

     While the Rangers are aware of the source of their powers, the knowledge of the existence of the Cosmic Engine and that it powers the Rangers is kept secret. The secretive nature of the Cosmic Engine's existence was decided upon soon after its creation on Eltar, when the planet fell to the United Alliance of Evil. It had been created in secret shortly before the fall of Eltar, in a hidden lab deep underground, by a coalition of scientists from across the galaxy. A sentient quantum engine, the Cosmic Engine was originally designed as a source of free, nearly unlimited energy for the galaxy. However, after it barely escaped detection when evil conquered Eltar, it was decided that the Engine could not become known to the population at large.

     Meanwhile, the Cosmic Engine itself had other plans. Being connected to the Morphing Grid, it knew all about the Power Rangers, past and future, and drafted its own designs for a Ranger team. It took time for the Engine to not only design the new Ranger Powers, which it would power itself, but to also program and create the Star Patrol Ranger morphing devices and weapons. Once the gear was ready to go, around the time of the events in Power Rangers Jungle Fury, the Engine presented its plans to its creators. They agreed, seeking out a team to grant the powers to.

     Finding those who would be Rangers (one from Earth, one from Mirinoi, one from KO-35, one from Eltar, and one from Edenoi) and training them in their powers took some time, up to about the time of Power Rangers Samurai. Creating their base of operations around KO-35 and building their zords took even longer (finished around the start of Power Rangers Dino Charge), this is why they were not able to help defend the Earth against the Warstar Armada. Once fully outfitted, the Star Patrol Rangers began fighting evil across the galaxy. The Cosmic Engine would also serve as the mentor of the Star Patrol, creating a hardlight hologram avatar to interact with the Rangers, drawing upon the wisdom and intelligence of its creators and the entirety of the Morphing Grid to lead.

Notes:

   *The Chaos Syndicate was founded by Kommander Chaos, the Shadow Fleet (inspired by the effectiveness of the Star Line zords) was created by Mademoiselle Shadow, and the Nightmare Men were created by Lord Nightmare

*How the Chaos Syndicate learned of the Cosmic Engine in the first place would be revealed as the series progressed

*Zord-less but not powerless, the Star Patrol Rangers did fight the Warstar aliens when they attacked KO-35. The invaders were defeated

*The series would take place across multiple worlds, not just the ones mentioned in the above entry 

*The Ranger's combined-weapon blast would just be a bullet/energy blast, no transformation

*The Cosmic Engine information could be given in a simple five minute or less prologue

*The Cosmic Engine, being both sentient and the power source for the zords could, if need be, take control of them, allowing them to function with no Ranger inside of them

*The use of previously mentioned Ranger worlds, the Warstar aliens, and referencing the events of "Power Rangers in Space" would be a nice way to tie it into the franchise's history and be nice Easter eggs for older fans, but aren't necessary to the story

*As always, the names presented can be changed, it is the concept conveyed that is the purpose of the entry