[971222]
                                                                      [Preview]
As Australis delves into the culinary arts, he's forced to witness the perverse
appetite of Cyborg Cannibal,  the man eating cybernetic creature with jaws like
a steel trap. All in the Nazitan's most aggressive attempt to defeat the Galaxy
Task Force: Astroranger in episode 5, "Insatiable Appetite" -- tonight.


Artist Bros. Enterprises presents . . .


                        GALAXY TASK FORCE ASTRO RANGER
                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Starring...

         Sheratan Kasei, a.k.a., Dave Marcello.  MarsAstro!

         Australis Mokusei, a.k.a., Will Richards.  JupiterAstro!

         Nashiran Dosei, a.k.a., Tom Nevison.  SaturnAstro!

         Messuta Suisei, a.k.a., Ron Michaeli.  MercuryAstro!

         Lotia Kinsei, a.k.a., Amy Leven.  VenusAstro!

  and... Commander Leto, a.k.a., Dr. Aaron Hanson.

  Featuring...

         Detective Frank Mahoney and Detective Kathy Sanchez.




  ACT I:

     While driving his Toyota van towards Vermont Avenue on 3rd Street, William
took Amy to the grocery stores there so she could do her shopping.  They were
having a conversation to make time go by faster since afternoons were the
second worse time to go shopping.  Amy sighed, "Sheratan would probably have my
head if he knew what I was doing--Nashiran too."
  "Relax, Amy; studying humans is probably what is going to make our job here
more interesting than blowing up whatever latest creature those aliens throw at
us," Will replied.  "Dave is young and impatient while Tom is a little older
and hardened.  It would take a lot for either of them to see the point in what
we do."
  Amy nodded.  "Maybe, but I've uncovered some pretty nasty things about this
culture; I don't know about the ones in other countries or even other parts of
this state but this would justify Tom and Dave's feelings about Earth."
  "Your boss, Richard Hancock, right?" Will asked.  Amy nodded.
  "I'm glad you didn't over-react his advances, Amy; we don't need to get mixed
up in a high profile court case about an entertainment business while we're
trying to save the world."
  Amy chuckled. "Yeah but I wonder if the system would even care now that these
aliens have been attacking.  The economy has only just recovered since it's now
been over four weeks since the invasion."
  "I found out about a saying here on Earth:  Don't judge a book by it's cover.
Trust me, Amy, there is a strong fear in this community," Will replied.  "It's
just that when people get scared, they get deceptive."
  Amy looked at Will and grinned while nodding.  "I've noticed.  Anyway, I got
a call that Dr. Hanson from Griffith Observatory was visited by two LAPD
detectives."
  "Sgt. Mahoney and Sanchez."
  "Yeah," she replied while nodding slowly, "them--what was that all about?"
  Will glanced at Amy and then at the road again.  "Well, they basically were
telling him that they knew he knew more than he was saying when they really
didn't.  Aaron maintained he didn't know anymore than he knew.  Claimed he was
contacted by the FBI to keep his mouth shut."
  Amy chuckled.  "They bought that?"
  "Well, yeah since the Uton government had operatives pose as authentic FBI
men to confront Frank last week when everyone was out there where that UFO was.
Anyway, when Sanchez checks up on the FBI, they're going to end up being sent a
form letter our operatives put together to trick the LAPD into thinking that
it's being investigated."
  "Boy, our people think of everything," Amy said.  As they came upon a red
traffic light, Will slowed to a stop while thinking.
  "Well, I'm not looking forward to this," Amy complained, "shopping I mean."
  Will looked at her and asked, "Oh?  Why's that?"
  Amy sighed.  "I'm trying to appease our non-human tastes in food while trying
to keep us eating somewhat healthily without spending wads of cash to do it."
  "What about coupons and those sales these stores keep having?"
  Amy sputtered. "Yeah, maybe on canned ham or something equally gross.  No way
you're going to see a discount for anything that doesn't have artificial or
inorganic ingredients in it.  Oh and you can forget about sweets without sugar
in it being less than four dollars a box."
  "Four dollars?"
  Amy nodded.  "Yep; box of cereal--six bucks or even a decent candy bar is at
least two dollars.  I could get the same thing for less than half as much if it
were by some name brand."
  "Well that's weird; you'd think that if they have to go through an extra
process to make the food _inorganic_, that it'd cost more," Will replied.  "You
sure..."
  "Positive.  It's almost like a conspiracy to get an unnecessary amount of
people into surgery," Amy replied.  "And I've been reading about the gross
stuff they do here too...  When this horrible diet takes its toll twenty to
thirty years into the future, they get these people to open you up and take out
bits and pieces of your insides that've become cancerous.  And, they're even
forced to perform these antiquated techniques on the heart."
  "A live human heart??  No way, Amy!" Will replied.  "You can't be serious."
  Amy shook her head.  "I know what I saw and it's disgusting.  And the worst
part is, the surgery and the drugs you've gotta take (that have side-effects)
are actually really expensive."
  "An industrial cash cow," Will said as he made a left turn into the parking
lot.
  Amy blinked.  "Excuse me?"
  "A cash cow; instead of milking it for milk, you get money instead," Will
replied.  "Another colloquial expression human's use. Anyway, we're here, Amy."
  She unbuckled her seat belt and smiled.  "Thanks for the lift.  I'll call you
on your cell phone when I need a ride back to our place."
  "Sure thing, Amy," Will replied.  "Good luck."


                                   Episode 5:
                             "Insatiable Appetite"                            

     The gray planet Pluto was covered with ice because of its distant orbit
from the sun but beneath the surface, a giant bunker housed the Nazitan
outpost.  Within one of the stone-walled chambers, Pleadia clicked through a
series of blueprints featuring his collection of remote-controlled cyborgs.
Tortan walked into his laboratory and Pleadia stopped reading to greet him.
  "What brings you, Tortan?"
  The tall samurai-armored humanoid answered, "Adol the Great is strongly
displeased and warns of punishment if you fail again."
  "It was _not_ my fault," Pleadia protested, "even Adol himself had not
anticipated the arrival of that giant robot!"
  Tortan nodded while pacing around Pleadia's oval chamber. "I am aware of this
and thus I have decided to offer a tactical recommendation."
  ``This oughta be good,'' Pleadia thought to himself.  "I take it you have
familiarized yourself with this situation to be an authority on the matter."
  "Being an experienced warrior with having fought many battles on countless
worlds; my tactical evaluation of this situation has led me to the conclusion
that we need a different type of cyborg. One that can eliminate the Astroranger
task force quickly."
  Pleadia returned to his workstation and clicked back a few pages to a
previous holographic image of a cyborg's blueprint.  "That's a tall order,
Tortan.  We've so far sent two cyborgs after the Astrorangers without much luck
in defeating them."
  "Regurgitor's defeat was unexpected and Cyborg VacMan was never intended to
do battle since the Armatons were sent to handle that part," Tortan replied.
"Build a cyborg that simply takes away the Astrorangers without anyway for them
to return."
  "Without knowing anything about them, that's still going to be difficult, but
I may have an answer," Pleadia replied. He enlarged the blueprints for a cyborg
that had a lion-like body.  "Cyborg Cannibal can eat anything and reduce
whatever it is into pulp to be burned as energy so it continues to become more
powerful as it eats."
  "Basic but simple," Tortan replied.  "Armatons will return to that city on
Earth to draw out the Astroranger battle team once Cannibal is ready."
  Pleadia nodded affirmatively.  "I will notify Adol when I've sent it down."

   The following morning--it was a breezy day in the Hollywood Hills and white,
puffy clouds in the clear blue sky hovered over a two-story house in Los Feliz.
In the kitchen, Will stood in front of a counter with an apron on as Amy walked
inside from the backdoor. In blue jeans and a body suit, the pink-clad girl was
on her way to the other backdoor in the kitchen to enter the garage when she
saw Will preparing something unusual looking. She stopped and went back to look
at what he was making.  "Hey, what's with this?"  Amy stuck her finger in
something that looked like mashed potatoes, thinking that's what it was going
to taste like that when sucking on her finger.
  "Woah!!" Will reacted as Amy grabbed a towel, "I didn't know you liked raw
wheat germ!"
  "Ptooey!"  Amy'd spit out what she'd tasted into the towel.  "That's because
I don't; what the hell is this, Will?  It tastes like death!"
  "It's a recipe that I got while using Ron's computer in my room on the
internet," William answered.  "It's a special surprise I'm cooking up for
breakfast!  Don't worry, it'll turn out all right once I put it all together."
  Amy looked nervous.  "Oh, uh, Will?  I, I don't think..."  Suddenly the oven
timer chimed and Will turned around.
  "Ahhh, the whole wheat buns are ready!" Will replied.  "Homemade and baked
just now.  Say, Amy, why don't you set the places on the breakfast nook in the
dining room and I'll bring the food."
  "Uh, okay," Amy hesitantly replied while leaving.  Will cut open the piping
hot bread and crammed all sorts of egg-like stuff inside.
  In a black robe, Tom walked into the dining room from out of the living room
to see Amy setting plates and yawned.  "Mmm, 'morning, Amy."
  "G'morning, Tom," Amy answered.
  Tom squinted from confusion.  "Hmmm, who's cooking?  I know you usually do it
but I hear someone in the kitchen."
  "Oh, Will decided to prepare breakfast this morning," Amy answered.  "Better
use a clothes pin on your nose if you want to eat it without seeing it
afterwards."
  "Huh?" Tom moaned, "what?  Why?"
  Will walked in holding a large serving plater with steaming pocket sandwiches
on it saying, "Hey guys, I hope you like this; I made it myself!"  Amy watched
as he sat down the platter of food and put one or two on everybody's plate.
  "Amy, could you get everyone a glass of orange juice?" Will asked.  Amy
nodded and walked away as quickly as she could without appearing conspicuous.
  "Mmm, hot food on a cold morning," Dave said while he walked towards the
breakfast nook.  "What is it anyway?"
  "You'll see; I made it myself," Will answered.  "Amy was talking to me about
how expensive good food is so I decided to use some inexpensive ingredients to
make a great meal that's good for you too."
  Ron emerged from the stair case and took his seat.  "Hey, cool; breakfast
sandwiches."  Amy walked in with a tray holding five 8 oz. glasses of orange
juice and sat it on the table as well.
  "This is pretty nice," Tom said, "thanks, Will."  Will bowed his head before
taking his seat next to Amy.  Dave picked up his sandwich and looked tempted to
take a big bite and did so.  His mouth was filled with something that caused
him to stop immediately.  Tom took a bite and started chewing but then his
mouth hung open.
  "Good, huh?" Will told them.  Ron's mouth was still full and was jerking from
the flavor making his stomach churn.
  Dave's mouth was still full.  "It's a little..."
  "Uhm..." Tom said with his eyes darting from side to side.
  After swallowing, Ron interrupted, "hot.  Yeah."
  "(That's a new word for it)," Amy mumbled.
  Tom's eyes bulged when he swallowed what it was that he ate and then grabbed
his glass of orange juice. Everyone watched as Tom began to gulp down the glass
so quickly that he had almost finished it in one drinking.
  Amy leaned over to Will and said, "Try for less cayenne pepper next time."

     On Sunset Boulevard before Fairfax traveling westbound was a Los Angeles
Public Library.  Inside, a librarian looked at a computer screen after scanning
a book that a girl gave to her.  The elderly woman closed the book and put it
on a rack beside herself.  "I'm sorry, but, this book is over due.  You have to
pay sixty cents."
  "I know it was over due," she replied, "I couldn't get the book here because
the national guard had us on a round-the-clock curfew so I couldn't go
outside."
  "I know," the librarian dubiously sympathized, "but rules are rules and..."
The silence of the library was broken by the sound of glass shattering.  People
at desks looked up from their books from the sound and saw an entire book shelf
fall over showing the androids in black, rubber skin with metallic skeletons.
As the Armaton Soldiers used their sword-tipped rifles to shoot blue-green bits
of light at visitors, everyone scattered towards the emergency exit.  Someone
ran by the exit, pulling on the fire alarm since there was no time to dial
9-1-1.
  Outside, people ran out of the large brown doors of the library, down the
steps while sparks exploded from the shots fired by the Armatons.

     Palm tree's swayed in the wind that'd kicked up that morning in Los Feliz,
a suburb of the Hollywood Hills.  In the two-story house, the Terranians in the
dining room sat waiting for Ron to get off his cellular telephone.
  "Okay, Aaron--we're on our way," Ron replied before pushing the talk button
to hang up.  "Dave, it's time to go; those black soldiers we fought before
hit a library around here."
  "But wait a minute, we haven't even finished breakfast yet," Will replied.
  "Will," Tom said to him, "it was finished before it made it to the table."
  Dave stood up from the table.  "Besides, this is way more important than
this..."  Dave interrupted himself looking at Amy, hinting at him to go easy on
Will.
  "This what, Dave?" Will asked.
  "Uh, lovely," Dave shuddered while saying, "meal."
  "Let's go everybody," Ron said.  Everyone had risen from their seats and left
for the kitchen's backdoor into the garage.

   Inside of the library, the Armatons rammed their bladed rifles into computer
terminals, causing sparks to explode out of the machines.  A monitor fell over
and crashed into the floor which started to spray sparks from damage to its
display.  The entire library quickly became a fiery mess of overturned shelves
upon books that littered the floor.
     Leaping into the blue sky outside was the red Astroranger who somersaulted
out of sight followed by the black Astroranger who jumped into the air in the
opposite direction.  The two of them were followed by the green, white and pink
Astrorangers, flipping overhead in the same style.
  Flames that triggered the sprinkler system extinguished the fire.  Steam had
then risen from the computers and books before the Astrorangers had entered
building.
  VenusAstro slowly looked back and forth.  "What in the world happened?"
  "They were probably trying to take more people for some reason," JupiterAstro
told her, "that seems to be their primary interest."  Armatons stopped tearing
up posters on the walls and jumped off of desks to approach the Astrorangers.
  SaturnAstro pointed ahead and said, "Those soldiers' primary interest seems
to be us, right now!"
  "Moleculatom Weapons!" MarsAstro commanded while winding his arms over
himself before attaching his hands to the white holster mounted on his silver
belt.  When he drew the weapon, the red Astroranger held it before himself as
he shouted, "Open fire!"  The Astrorangers held out the weapons as each had
fired yellow rays that were quickly replaced by an electric blue beam of
electricity.  The bright blue, almost white beams had sparks blast out of
soldier after soldier.
  Standing in front of the large windows they'd broken on their way into the
library, the remaining Armatons had somersaulted backwards out of the window
frames.  SaturnAstro put away his weapon and asked.  "Where do they think
they're going??"
  "Let's find out," MarsAstro answered, "after them!"  JupiterAstro was the
first to run ahead before the others followed him.
     In the lawn that surrounded the public library outside, the Armatons ran
into position and re-grouped before the Astrorangers arrived.
  "Give your best shot everybody!" MarsAstro said.  The five of them brought up
their fists before pointing them out in a V-formation shouting, "Galaxy Task
Force..."  The team struck individual poses representing their planetary
insignias before they shouted, "Astroranger!"
     Beginning their attack, two Armatons rammed their rifle-swords straight
ahead.
     The pink Astroranger jumped up and kicked both weapons with her
Venus-V split-kick.
  One of the two soldiers turned around and high roundhouse-kicked at
VenusAstro before she ducked.
  She wanted to kick back but the first Armaton was trying to punch her
so the pink Astroranger grabbed its fist and flipped it over onto its back.
  VenusAstro spun around and her open-hand chopped into the other
Armaton's abs before chopping its shoulder with her left hand.
     With the sun above him, the green Astroranger stomped on a
Armaton's foot to stop a kick before slapping its rifle down and
side-kicking another in the gut.
  Two Armatons got together and one behind it somersaulted onto their
shoulders and leaped off their shoulders into the air.  In the sky, the
soldier rapidly fired shots from its rifle and the sparks exploding
near JupiterAstro caused him to roll clear.
  When he stood up, the green Astroranger shouted, "Jupiter Great Red
Spot Kick!" and leaped skyward.  In midair, JupiterAstro's corkscrew
kick sent him coasting out of sight and kicking the soldier out of midair.
  Right then and there, that Armaton crashed into the other Armatons,
making them all fall.
     Running through the yard, the white Astroranger had been chased by
a trio of Armaton soldiers before he jumped into the air.
  In the sky, MercuryAstro's body twisted over past the sun's rays before
bouncing off the brick wall of the library by his two white boots.
  He leaped up in midair shouting, "Comet Kick!" as the black sole of
MercuryAstro's boot came up, forming his flying side kick.
     The chest of a black soldier had been kicked by his white boot
which launched the Armaton backwards into the sky.
  Its black body flew into a tree and smashed apart as broken mechanical
parts fell to the grass still smoking.
     MercuryAstro looked to his side to see the remaining two Armatons
running after him.  "Apparently these dudes aren't paying attention."  From the
soldier's point of view, the white Astroranger stood ready for them.
  "Hermes Winged Ankles!" MercuryAstro said as he jumped up.  "Foot-Punches!"
In midair, the white Astroranger repeatedly kicked in the Armatons' chests
from each foot.  And, after the last two kicks, the two soldiers were
eventually knocked out of sight.
  In the sky, the black soldiers' limbs were winding wildly while they sailed
backwards through the air.
  The red Astroranger held up his Moleculatom Weapon and looked at SaturnAstro.
"Nash!"
  The black Astroranger nodded affirmatively at MarsAstro.  "Ready!"  They both
fired bright electric-blue beams of raw power into the air.  In midair, the
falling Armatons were hit by the rays of electricity before exploding into
fireworks in the sky.
  Smoking junk rained on the grass as the Astroranger gathered together.
  "That was way too easy," JupiterAstro said.
  MercuryAstro looked at him sharply.  "What?!  The easier the better."
  "No, Messuta," MarsAstro replied.  "That didn't seem like their main attack."
  "It wasn't!!" VenusAstro shouted.  "Look!"  On the roof of the library stood
an ugly humanoid mutant with animal pieces spliced into its body for added on
strength.  Cyborg Cannibal's massive head was surrounded by a black, furry main
with a big jaw below its bulging eyes that could turn in all directions
independently of one another.  Cannibal was armed with a giant war knife and
pitch fork and shifted his arms into place for attack before jumping off the
roof of the library.


 ACT II:

    In the grassy yard behind the public library, the five Astrorangers watched
Cyborg Cannibal approach while it made horrible gurgling sounds from a mouth
that couldn't stop drooling.  MarsAstro looked to his comrades on both sides
before commanding, "Moleculatom Weapons!" They drew their weapons as ordered as
he shouted, "Dagger Mode!"  Turning the weapon upside down, the red Astroranger
put his fist on the base of the device and slowly pulled his fist away in a
straight line forming a white ray of light.  The light formed the silver blades
of their Moleculatom Daggers as the four of them held their weapons out.
  "Attack!" MarsAstro ordered and as they charged ahead, he joined the team.
     As the battle team approached in a single-file pattern, the red
Astroranger swung his dagger against Cyborg Cannibal.  Its knife
knocked away MarsAstro's blade, forcing him to run by.
  Cannibal saw JupiterAstro jump up and strike down but the green
Astroranger missed and the cyborg kicked in his shoulder causing him to
stumble away.
  VenusAstro shin-kicked Cyborg Cannibal's side but her foot had no
effect on it as its spinning kick knocked her across the helmet.
  MercuryAstro was trying to strike the cyborg but its pitch fork held
his fist in the air.  Cannibal turned the white Astroranger around and
forced him into tumbling over.
     Meanwhile, SaturnAstro turned around and roundhouse-kicked at
Cannibal's big furry head.
  After the cyborg ducked the black Astroranger's powerful kick,
Cannibal used its knife to cut past his abs causing a brilliant flash
of sparks to break out of his black uniform.
     As SaturnAstro twirled away into the lawn, the green and pink
Astrorangers returned and used their daggers to attack the beast.
  Cyborg Cannibal's pitch fork locked their blades in place and forced
them to run backwards as he pushed against them.
  Unexpectedly, Cannibal's knife came flying upwards, separating the
daggers and JupiterAstro was the first to get the cyborg's pitch fork
sparking off his green uniform before VenusAstro had its knife strike
her battle suit.  A white cloud of smoke was left after she was knocked
into the ground.
     MarsAstro returned with a high-spinning kick that Cannibal was
surprisingly intelligent enough to dodge since the red Astroranger was
attacking from behind.
  When Cyborg Cannibal came around to face him, MarsAstro ran out of
the way but MercuryAstro found himself blown down by a blast of sparks
when Cannibal's knife struck his white uniform.
  MarsAstro was ready for Cannibal before it turned around to attack him;
and, when it did, the red Astroranger's side-kick to the cyborg abs was
so powerful, Cannibal was lifted off his feet for a brief moment.
  The red Astroranger spun around and swung his dagger into Cyborg
Cannibal's face and it had no choice but to use its knife and fork to
block MarsAstro's blade.
  Cannibal was also ready and used his knife to carve up against his
Moleculatom Dagger.
  MarsAstro turned around and had suddenly found Cannibal's pitch fork
sparking off his red uniform, blowing the him out of sight.
  On the grass in front of the library's fence, the red Astroranger landed face
first on the lawn before rolling to a stop.  As the others joined him, the
MarsAstro got up on one knee to keep an eye on the cyborg.  "I'm fine!  Hold
your positions!"
  Cyborg Cannibal opened up its mouth before streams of noodles came flowing
out.  They entangled themselves around SaturnAstro's black uniform and pulled
him into the air.  "Hey!  WOAH!!"
  MercuryAstro stood up when MarsAstro did, reaching to the sky.  "Nash!!"
shouted MarsAstro as they watched the black Astroranger coast through the sky.
  As he fell, SaturnAstro saw Cyborg Cannibal await his arrival below and no
sooner than later, half of his body was already inside of Cannibal's enormous
mouth.
  "What the?!" MarsAstro exclaimed.
  MercuryAstro held his helmeted head in shock and pointed at the cyborg.  "It
ate Nashiran!!"
  MarsAstro stepped forth with his hand on his chest.  "Well, I plan on making
him cough him up!"  After the red Astroranger clenched his fist he ran after
Cyborg Cannibal.
  MercuryAstro watched him charge ahead.  "Wait a minute, Sheratan!!"  He too
ran after MarsAstro.
  Cyborg Cannibal's jaw opened again and once the sticky but strong strands had
leaped out of its mouth, both the white and red Astrorangers tried swinging
their arms to bat off the noodles.  Cannibal grabbed the stretchy bands and
jerked them skyward.
  Overhead, the two Astrorangers had swam through the sky while tied up.  In
the yard, their legs were being sucked inside of Cannibal's mouth as though
they were noodles themselves.
  VenusAstro looked at the green Astroranger and shivered.  "That's horrible!
We're the only ones left!  What are we gonna, do, Australis!?"
  JupiterAstro shook his head.  "I don't know but we can't let it get us."
Cyborg Cannibal wiped its chin began to briskly march towards the remaining
Astrorangers.
  "I can't believe it's still hungry!" VenusAstro said.
  JupiterAstro looked at the pink Astroranger to get her attention.  "When it
spits again, we split up."
  "That's all we can do," VenusAstro replied.  "You stay low and I'll go high."
Cannibal inhaled and spewed forth at least a dozen strands of noodles from its
steel-trap like jaw.
  "GO!" JupiterAstro shouted as he tumbled over; VenusAstro leaped into the air
and, in the sky; the pink Astroranger somersaulted overhead.  Using the side of
the library's brick wall, VenusAstro used her feet to bounce back.
  In the air, she soared through the sky with her hands ready to attack. "Now!"
  On the grass, Cyborg Cannibal took its fists away from its jaw and launched
more noodles.
  In midair--VenusAstro's white boots were entangled by the noodles as she fell
out of the sky.  "Oh no!"
  JupiterAstro turned around and was horrified by what he saw.  "Lotia!!"
  On the ground, VenusAstro was helplessly dragged through the ground while she
futilely used her arms and hands to slow herself down.  Cannibal continued
sucking her towards itself.  "Australis, help me!"
  JupiterAstro wasn't sure what to do as he watched the pink Astroranger's body
from the waist up sink inside of Cannibal's powerful jaw.
  "No!!" JupiterAstro shouted.
  Like a water slide, VenusAstro slipped down a tube of orangish color that
twisted and turned many times.
  JupiterAstro stood while pondering his strategy as Cyborg Cannibal took its
time about cornering the green Astroranger.  "I know what Lotia was trying to
do in that last manuever she tried.  Let's see if I can't do any better."  And,
as he looked into the cold, greedy eyes of Cannibal, he thought himself, ``I
don't have anything to loose.''
  Cyborg Cannibal popped its head back and opened its mouth wide open to allow
its retractable noodles to come flying out of its throat.
  JupiterAstro jumped into the air, over the noodles; in the sky, his body had
turned over and his feet bounced off the brick wall of the library.  Cannibal
spun around and saw the green Astroranger ascend into the blue sky shouting,
"Jupiter Great Red Spot Kick!"
  Cannibal stood back in a panic, desperately preparing itself for impact.  In
the sky, JupiterAstro had sailed through the air while twirling with his feet
together.
  The corkscrew kick had jammed his white boots into Cannibal's chest which
launched it skyward.
  The beast's body had tumbled out of the air and into the lawn. Meanwhile, the
green Astroranger back flipped onto his feet and assumed his Sagitarian battle
pose.
  He watched the dizzy cyborg try to stand up.  "I'll be back for you!"
JupiterAstro hopped away before running out of the backyard of the damaged
library.

    At the foot of Mount Hollywood in Griffith Park stood the three rotundas of
Griffith Observatory.  Aaron Hanson sat at his desk in front of the office
window when there was a rapid knocking on his door.  He looked up from his
schedule and asked, "Who is it?"
  "William, it's an emergency."
  Aaron hesitated for he'd seldom known him to have such high anxiety but
quickly pushed his chair back to rise.  After approaching the wooden door, he
unlocked it and opened it.  Aaron had to quickly step away when Will swiftly
moved inside and once he closed it, Aaron looked at him and asked, "What's
wrong, Will?"
  "The alien soldiers attacked a library and when me and the others went in to
stop them, a lion-like beast with a distorted face kicked our butts and..."
  "And?" Aaron urged.
  Will looked away and shrugged.  "The team...  It swallowed them whole."

     Through the intersection of La Cienega Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard, the
Cyborg Cannibal ran loose between cars that hit brakes, honked and crashed
into one another.  The wild beast was hunting down the scent of JupiterAstro
and wouldn't rest until it had him but it's stomach started growling.  Cannibal
looked in pain from needing more food.  Its crazed eyes looked from side to
side, still drooling in search of food.  Through its octal-vision, the hungry
monster could see a school bus offloading children at the corner just a block
away.  It roared happily before running between cars after them.
     Meanwhile--MarsAstro looked around with SaturnAstro standing beside him in
what was the inside of a bodily cavity within a mammal. "Well, Nash...  I don't
know where we are, yet; but, my best guess is that we're inside of the thing by
the fact that I can still hear it, kind of."
  The black Astroranger nodded when MercuryAstro joined them.  He looked at the
white Astroranger and asked, "Find a way out of here yet?"
  "This place is sealed up pretty tight.  The only way out of here is up or
down and the down way doesn't look pretty."
  "Okay, I'm tired of this," MarsAstro said to them while putting his hands on
their shoulders.  He put his right hand over his chest and said, "If this is
this thing's stomach, it's about to have one hell of an ulcer."
  "Hey, wait a second, Sheratan," SaturnAstro interrupted, "what's that sound."
  MarsAstro looked at him.  "What sound?"
  "aaaAAAHHH--OOUGH!" VenusAstro screamed when she fell out of the hole above
them that irised shut with muscles.  When she landed, there was a splattering
sound that caused MercuryAstro to flinch.
  "Aw damn it, what the?" VenusAstro said while standing up, "what is this!?!"
  SaturnAstro reached out to help her stand up. "I don't know, but, if it makes
you feel any better, we fell in it too."
  "Thanks, Nash, but it doesn't," the pink Astroranger replied when standing
up.  "Man, feels like we're on a waterbed.  Where are we you guys?"
  "I think we're in the cyborg's stomach," MercuryAstro answered, "but I can't
figure out how we all managed to fit in here, yet.  Where's Australis?"
  "I don't know," VenusAstro asked, "but hopefully he wont be joining us, or
we're all screwed."
  "Well, anyway," MarsAstro interrupted, "as I was saying, push your
Moleculatom Blasters to full power 'cause we're getting out of her, C-Section
style."  VenusAstro took the weapon out of her belt's holster and pushed a
button, causing the power level indicators to reach the red lights.
  "Ready, Sheratan," said SaturnAstro.
  MarsAstro nodded.  "Good; concentrate the beams on one location and cut in
the direction my ray goes in.  Ready?"  MercuryAstro nodded affirmatively.
  "Fire!" MarsAstro commanded; four yellow rays came out of their weapons
before blue, almost white beams of light traveled along the yellow rays which
produced a consistent stream of sparks.
    Near the parked school bus--Children were being escorted between the yellow
lines of the school crosswalk by the crossing guard when the kids saw Cyborg
Cannibal running after them with its razor sharp knife and pitch fork.  They
started to scream and run about chaotically.
  "Head for the alley!!  Heady for the alley!" the crossing guard shouted out.
The children weren't paying attention to her.  While she was trying to gain
their attention, Cannibal suddenly stopped and looked down at its abdomen.  It
started to roll its eyes and even began to perspire.  The cyborg wiped its
forehead and exhaled smoke.  Cannibal burped strongly and pounded its chest.
     Inside of its stomach, the four Astroranger were rocked off their feet and
onto their backs when the cyborg slammed a fist into its chest.  SaturnAstro
used his hands to get up again.  "Well, at least we got its attention."
  "Yeah, but look at where we were shooting!"  They looked at the red, fleshy
muscle tissue they were shooting.  "No sign of any burning at all."
  MarsAstro put his Moleculatom weapon inside of the white holster on his belt
and started to breath heavier.  "Well that blows.  Worst part is that it's
getting hotter in here."
  "We don't have a whole lot of air left in here either," SaturnAstro said.
"We're trapped in here."
  MercuryAstro nodded in agreement while breathing heavily as well.  "I finally
figured out what this smoking liquid is, as well."
  "The slime I fell in?" VenusAstro asked.
  "Yeah," MercuryAstro answered, "digestive acids."

     In deep space where the small, icy planet Pluto revolved the Earth's sun,
Tortan marched into the primary chamber of the Nazitan's outpost; a bunker
beneath the surface of the planet.  Under the dark, crystal dome roof, he
stopped to greet his leader, Adol the Great, sitting in the iron clad throne on
the steps that led to the dark hallway behind him.  "Tortan reporting as
requested, my liege."
  "Pay very close attention to my orders, Tortan for your responsibilities are
great this mission," Adol replied.  "Lead a troop of Armaton soldiers to the
city to abduct people for assimilation at our vast storage facilities here on
base."
  Tortan discontinued bowing his head. "Sire, the military will still present a
time consuming struggle that will eminently result in their failure."
  "Deal with them then," Adol replied.  "I shall energize you to titan stature,
however, your reputation of being a great warrior should prove itself to me in
your confrontation with these infantile Earth creatures."
  "I am perfectly capable of withstanding their forces; especially in
comparison to the attack of the Astrorangers."
  "You should be, Tortan.  This is why I've ordered Pleadia to keep our cyborg
on the hunt for the final Astroranger so that you needn't concern yourself with
them."  Tortan nodded respectfully in regard to his decision.
  "Go to the city we've attacked before, the populous is grand and we are most
familiar with the territory," Adol ordered.  "Dismissed."  Tortan bowed his
head again, turned about-face and walked out of the same cavern he'd entered.

     Inside of Cyborg Cannibal's stomach cavity, MercuryAstro was feeling the
muscles, attempting to determine a less dense portion of flesh. MarsAstro shook
his head and exhaled.  "It's getting really hot in here."
  "It's hard to breath too," VenusAstro gasped, "what's keeping Australis?"
  SaturnAstro shrugged.  "Maybe something going on outside is getting in his
way.  All I know is that I hope we can outlast this stomach acid."
  "Me too," MercuryAstro interjected, "I don't know what prolonged exposure can
do to our uniforms.  We should try and take shallow breaths so that our air
supply doesn't run out too quickly."
  VenusAstro started getting light headed and began to wobble around until
MarsAstro held her up.  "Hang in there, Lotia."
  "It's the heat," the pink Astroranger replied, "it's getting too hot."
  "Try not to think about it," MarsAstro replied.
  She shook her head.  "No, it's too hot," she said, reaching for her shoulder.
  "Lotia, don't!  You'll be eaten alive by the digestive fluid without your
battle suit," MercuryAstro said to her.
  MarsAstro looked at her wobbling helmet-covered head and held it steady.
"Stay with us..."
  "Hey, Sheratan, I think it got so hot in here from us using the Moleculatom
blasters," SaturnAstro suddenly thought.  "We should've tried the daggers."
  "(Now you tell me.)  Do anything you can, we've got to break out of here."

     At Griffith Observatory at the foot of Mount Hollywood, Will watched Aaron
walk towards the coat rack on his office door and grab his jacket. "I'll make a
quick run to the SpaceBase to try and find out what happened, William. Have you
determined if they're alive or not?"
  "They're still alive but who knows where they're at and what's happening to
them," Will replied.
  Aaron stopped and held him by the shoulders, "Don't talk like that.  It isn't
going to help you figure out how to save the others. Right now, what we have to
do is.."  Double-beeps from Aaron's alphanumeric pager interrupted him and when
he removed the small, black device from his belt, he read it.  "Red Alert from
the the SpaceBase."
  "It detected another alien entry to Earth?" Will asked.
  Aaron nodded.  "Yes.  These longitude and latitude coordinates suggest it
landed in MacArthur Park."
  "Turn on the T.V. and check to see if the news has any live coverage as to
what's going on," Will suggested.  Aaron nodded and walked away from the front
of his desk over to the TV/VCR combo on a rack beside the door. When he grabbed
the remote control, Aaron pushed the power button.
  On the screen, the television displayed a picture of coverage from a
helicopter camera over the lake with Tortan and Armaton Soldiers shooting at
military vehicles provided by the national guard.
  "The Nazitans were trying to get rid of us so that Tortan and his soldiers
could blow away the military!" Will realized.  "Aaron, I've got to go out there
and try and hold them back.  Their main objective seems to be abducting humans
for some reason."
  Aaron looked at him and said, "William, you're a very powerful warrior and I
believe in you but the others need your help."
  "I know," Will replied, "but nobody but me can stop Tortan."

                                                           TO BE CONTINUED    

In next week's episode of Galaxy Task Force Astroranger. . .

JupiterAstro returns to fight Titan-Tortan with CommandShuttle on his own while
the Astrorangers burn alive inside of the stomach of Cyborg Cannibal.  It all
depends on Australis in Episode #6, "Epic Destruction"

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and Ishimori Productions.                                               [TV-PG]
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