Yeah, but it's very hard to do a story about preparation in the sense
you suggest. "Well, let's go check out the White Star."

"Well...sure is a fast ship, all right...so, what're the Rangers doing?
Keeping an eye on stuff? Good..good...so, what's for dinner?"

Each individual episode must be *about* something, must have a story
that can stand on its own, separate from the arc, while adding to it. For
what it's worth, "Voices of Authority," which was originally slated to run in
the first 4, *is* a preparation kind of story...it gets into how they should
be gearing up for what's coming, the accumulation of allies and resources,
all that. Had it run as planned as #4, this would be answered. But the
sheer volume of CGI required, which was pretty hideous, put it into the #5
slot, which we thought would still be in the first block of episodes. Then
we found that #4 was the cutoff point.

All I can tell you is that what you're asking for is *there*, plain as
can be, right in the very next batch of episodes. (Also, do bear in mind
that the "shadow war" referenced in the show operates as more than just
discussing the shadows themselves, but what's going on back home as well.)


jms