Everything's Super at the Galaxy's Edge

Synopsis: The star warriors and their droid companions return, whereupon they invite the Rangers and their robot companions to a very special planet. This planet is of course modeled after Galaxy's Edge, an upcoming themed "land at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

Chapter 1--Surprised by Old Friends

It was a late fall evening and a very oddly warm Indian summer was coming to an end.  Fortunately, for the close-knit group of friends, they were able to map the stars and watch the peak of the Orionids.   The moon was glorious, illuminating the night sky.   Halloween had come and gone but the buddies were still telling spooky ghost stories around the fire, relishing some s'mores before snuggling under their sleeping bags.    That night, they slept like babies, savoring dreams of the holidays to come and what they would be doing together.    There were a lot of festivals they’d attend, 5ks, hot air ballooning and the like.    That’s why autumn was their favorite time of the year.  

When the sun rose in the east, a very familiar spaceship appeared in the sky.   Luckily this was in a remote area in the woods, so only the Rangers, the bots and their friends witnessed it or the government would’ve been called to exploit, assess it and dismantle everything they could, salvaging the tech.    

‘It’s our friends once again.’, Adam said, getting a bit excited.   He was eager to see what sort of adventure the droids had cooked up for each of them.

‘I bet they got here by hyperspeed….Man, the thrill of that beats any amusement park.  Guess we got a bit spoiled by defying the laws of physics.’, Skull said, laughing a bit.

‘I’m surprised you even know anything about quantum physics, Skull.’, Bulk said, teasing him.   The punks of course, were much smarter than their actions or looks allowed.   In fact, Skull was pretty well-versed in basic quantum mechanics but the algorithms were challenging for them both.   They were wise enough to know how it functioned and that’s all that was important.   

‘We’re here !’, Kim exclaimed as they made their quick stop to somewhere they had never been before.  It was a completely droid-run planet with AI services.   

‘So many robots !’, Billy said, excitedly, just like a kid let loose in a candy store.   They had their own lives, jobs and even spas.   They lived autonomously without serving a human master.   It was a place to literally recharge, get upgraded, make trades and most importantly, a paradise for all droids of all kinds.   It was also sort of a safe haven as well.    It was so remote that there weren’t many other attractions near by.   The planet, Techtopia, was nothing short of astronomical.    There was no lack of activity and there were plenty of things to hold one’s interest.   

‘There are even shops for other races of aliens here, even us humans !’, Aisha said.  Then she brightened,

‘Intergalactic mall crawl !’, she and Aisha said as they rushed off to all the shops Techtopia contained.    There were dojos, fitness centers, virtual reality arenas and so much more the young adults only hoped that by the end of the day there was a spa built for humans, too.   

Chapter 2--A Bit of Pampering

Adam and Zack had sneaked away to try to see who was better at playing ping pong.   Of course, it was Zack.   Albeit Zack hadn’t played ping pong since high school he was still impressively skilled.

‘Man, I can’t even compete.  Let’s try something a little more even for us both, like billiards.’  Adam offered.  

‘You’re on.   Prepare to be beaten !’, Zack boasted.   

Billy, of course, geeked out over all the tech Techtopia featured.   He had to know how the droids worked and just exactly what had caused them to evolve to be able to work independently.    Bulk and Skull were out sampling exotic foods, avoiding deadly intergalactic food poisoning.    Alpha and his friends were welcomed back to the spa where they had spent a victory massage.   They were greeted by familiar faces who were tickled pink to see them again.   At least they had kept their word, as true blue friends often do.  

The spa, oddly enough, wasn’t busy today so the droids could pay special attention to areas of concern in their friend’s bodys.   Alpha had a little lower lumbar pain that even Billy couldn’t seem to work out, due to overworking himself recently.   Delta 5 had told him to be a bit more gentle with himself, but the diligent robot stayed up into the ungodly hours of the morning just to make certain HQ was decorated properly for Thanksgiving, which strangely enough, was just around the pike.   

‘You could’ve finished those decorations later, Alpha.’, she said, tenderly.  

‘Others had been helping me but they were busy.  I didn’t want to impose on them.’, Alpha said.

‘You shouldn’t do that.   You’re going to wear down.  Be more careful, ok ?’, she said, holding his hand from the side of the massage table, stroking it tenderly with her thumb and forefinger.    Pleasantly, Alpha 5 felt himself drifting away into a dream-state.   He was certain that Technopolis was, indeed, as advertised, a slice of pure heaven.  

Chapter 3--Spa Treatment

‘Shall we head in ?’, Alpha inquired, leading the way.   Somni was overjoyed to see her old friends, looking as shiny and youthful as ever.   It must’ve been the atmosphere, she mused.  It certainly rubbed off on everyone within the vicinity.   

Peaceful, meditative music poured out of the PA.   There were statues spouting healing water out of their mouths in the visage of Technotopia’s Saints.   Their main Saint was Automata, who had been the founder and Maker of the planet itself.   She was a trailblazer and a pioneer.   She and her husband populated the planet and made it a haven for robots of all talents, backgrounds and origins.   Technotopia didn’t discriminate.    Humans would visit every so often, especially for a bit of R&R.

All the aches and pains that the bots and their human companions had were massaged away.   None of them had ever felt such bliss before.   There were games to play to unwind, a meditation room and a very sophisticated sleeping room.  

‘Sleeping room ?   I’ve never heard of such a thing.’, Adam said, with a raised eyebrow.

‘Oh yes !  This helps us recharge.  Especially for those of us who might have issues falling asleep or receiving what’s known as Delta sleep.   We know that you have been working incredibly hard with the holidays coming up.’, one of the droids said.   They certainly were well researched when it came to odd Terrestrial practices.   

‘Could you tell us more about the unusual practice of murdering turkeys for consumption ?’, one of the droids inquired.  It was a very peculiar question but the Rangers were more than happy filling in any blanks that were bizarre to the droids.   

Chapter 4--Recharging

It was a luxurious, laid back day in the recuperating area.   The robots and the humans had tremendous daydreams about what the holidays would bring.   It was crazy to think just how quickly time flew on Earth compared with time on Techtopia.   When it came to the subject of dreams, Somni, Pasitea, Morpheus and ASIMO were humbled to field any that came their way, seeing they were experts.    

Tommy looked at his watch and realized that it was almost time for dinner.   

‘We’d better return before others become worried about us.’, Jason said, concerned.   The others, inasmuch as they were far too comfortable to pull themselves back to upright position, did so anyway and thanked the spa droids for their hospitality.  

‘Keep the tip.’, Alpha said, having earned plenty of credits for this cushy spa day.   He would have more than enough for later if they should ever require it.   

Chapter 5--Pamphlets

‘It’s sort of our custom here, but have these pamphlets.   We want others to know of our services.   Oh, rate us if you will.’, another droid said.   It was the same perky, curvaceous femdroid that had welcomed them into the facility.    There were other fixtures mainly for AI and all kinds of androids, cyborgs, bioroids and robots.    

‘We’ll definitely spread the gospel of this place around.’, Aisha said, with a broad smile upon her youthful, pretty face.    The droids were elated, especially in knowing their planet was going to be given such lofty praise.   

At long last, the friends and their robots were sent back the way they came and were left back at the campsite as if nothing happened.   No time had really passed on Earth, strangely enough.

‘Fascinating.   I will have to study that phenomenon later.   Still makes absolutely zero sense.’, Billy stated, completely stricken with wonder.   

‘That’s what life's all about, going new places, seeing new things, realizing that there are so many elements that remain enigmatic.’, Zack grinned.    

Back at Pee-Wee’s Pad…

'I already miss Techtopia. Such a fun planet, huh Conky ?', Pee-wee asked his trusted robot pal. 'And that one droid in the cantina sounded very familiar. Almost like... me.', Conky retorted.   

‘Maybe that was your doppleganger in space.’, Pee Wee theorized.   There was a thought going back into metaphysics that everyone had a twin, even in so called ‘other dimensions’.    Pee Wee, Conky, SICO and all the playhouse dwellers knew, the multiverse was certainly not a theory.   

‘Should be battenin’ down the hatches for the night, argh !’, a wee peg-legged pirate with an eyepatch and teensy parrot that squawked reminded.  

‘I’ll tell a story.’, SICO said, clearing her throat.  

‘YES !   SICO’s yarns help me unwind.’, Cherrie chimed in.    

Everywhere else…

The lavender scent was lulling everyone into a deep sleep.   Thanks to the gift packets that everyone received before the starship warped home, no one would ever have any troubles with sleep.   Billy especially had been experiencing erratic sleep with the nutty schedule he had been keeping but now with the light lavender scent wafting under his pillow from the neverending potpourri bag he’d been given that was now a thing of the past.   

Epilogue

It had been an adjustment returning to somewhat ‘normalcy’ back on Earth after an interstellar trip such as that one.   It was exactly what the friends had needed to get into the swing of truly autumnal weather.    Kim pulled her scarf around her to ward off the chill.  She shared a candy apple and cotton candy with Tommy.   

‘I’ve had way too many festive treats.   Feel like I’m gonna throw up.’, Bulk whined.  

‘Come on, since when else do we get to treat ourselves like this ?’, Skull responded, giving him a hefty pat on the back.    The whole lot of them had ridden festive rides for their Angel Grove Fall Fest and played a few carnival games before listening to a concert and heading home.  

‘Quite the red letter day.   I’ve never seen Jason win so many plushies.  Wonder who he’s going to give them to.’, Adam said, wriggling his eyebrows.    Surely he wasn’t going to keep them all to himself, they mused.    Thus passed another red letter outing for the friends and their robot pals dispersed back to their homes, quickly under their downy covers to dream of what madcap adventures or world saving they would be doing next.    Whatever it was, it was bound to be interstellar as it often turned out to be.

The End