Chapters:

"Man, those quantrons were tough," TJ declared as they demorphed.

"You're just out of shape," Cassie teased, springing down the steps of the Megaship to the deck below their Glider tubes.

"Either way," Carlos interjected, "That was not what I had in mind for my morning workout."

Ashley stretched her arms above her head, then rotated her shoulders with an ease that made the stretch look unnecessary. "I'm with you, Carlos. Even morphed, I took some serious blows from those guys."

Already on his way out the door, Andros rolled his eyes. He couldn't help it. Something about Ashley Hammond made it impossible to take her seriously. No matter what she said she could contradict it at a moment's notice, and no matter how much she complained, she'd be in there swinging whenever they needed her.

"I'll be lucky if I'm not stiff as a board by lunchtime," TJ commented, and as Andros escaped into the hallway and headed for the Bridge, he heard Ashley's irritatingly cheery reply.

"Who wants a backrub?"

Andros shook his head. I don't think I even want to know, he thought, but his curiosity got the best of him. When he'd finished the routine Bridge chores, he wandered down past the Rangers' living quarters, looking for the others.

He found them in Carlos' room, aligned one behind the other in various sitting positions. Each faced the same direction, and they all had their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them--except for Ashley, who sat at the front of the line.

Some bizarre Earth tradition? he wondered, watching them knead each other's shoulders and backs. What's the point?

"Andros!" TJ exclaimed, finally noticing his silent presence in the doorway. "Come on in, man!"

"Yeah, Andros," Cassie agreed, "you look like you could use a backrub as much as any of us."

Before he could answer, Ashley twisted a little to look at him and gesture. "C'mere; you can sit in front of me."

He hesitated, not sure how to decline gracefully. "Come on," Ashley insisted. "It feels great, I promise."

Andros sighed. It looked like there was no getting out of it... and he was still curious as to the purpose of the exercise. He entered the room cautiously, and lowered himself to the floor in front of Ashley, back turned as the rest of them had done.

"I'm not as good as Carlos," she warned, the ever-present smile audible in her voice. "But I'll do my best."

He didn't know what she was talking about, but didn't want to embarrass himself by asking. Then her hands touched his shoulders, and Andros jumped.

"Hey, relax," Ashley said. "It's just a backrub."

"Haven't you had a backrub before?" Cassie asked from behind Carlos.

He just shook his head. He was too startled to attempt any other kind of reply.

"Well, we'll change that," Ashley told him, her tone decisive. She moved her hands over his shoulders, massaging muscles that only became more tense at her touch.

"Mmm," he heard Carlos murmur, "that feels good, Cassie; thanks."

"Anytime," she answered, and Andros wished he could turn around to see their faces.

Ashley sighed. "Andros, you're supposed to relax. Sheesh, you've got to be the tensest person I know."

"Sorry," he offered, not sure why that was a bad thing. Being tense meant you were alert, and being alert kept you alive.

"It's okay. Look, just forget whatever you're thinking about and concentrate on something soothing," Ashley instructed.

"Like rain," Cassie volunteered.

"Rain's not soothing," Carlos objected. "It's wet."

"It is too soothing," Cassie retorted, giving him a playful push.

"Try the stars," TJ spoke up. "That always works for me."

Andros tried to envision a starfield, but all he could concentrate on was the almost painful prodding of Ashley's fingers. He hunched his shoulders, wishing he hadn't come down here to investigate.

"It wouldn't hurt if you weren't so tense," Ashley accused, reading his body language.

He shrugged, pulling away. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea."

"Stay," Ashley commanded, and her voice was so firm that he aborted his attempt to stand and just crouched where he was on the floor, not looking at them.

"You guys switch if you want," Ashley said. "I plan to make Andros relax if it's the last thing I do."

Andros sighed, hearing the mock-threat in her voice. The others shifted positions on the floor, and then Ashley was there again, closer than before, and he let her pull him back down to the ground. She pushed his hair forward over his shoulders and placed her palms flat against his back. Rubbing small circles, the warmth of her hands began to seep into him, and almost against his will, he began to relax a little.

"Hey, TJ, did you study for that math test yet?" Carlos asked, and Andros started at the sudden noise in the once-quiet room.

Ashley blew out her breath in exasperation. "Don't you ever slow down?" she whispered, as TJ launched into one of his tirades against trigonometry.

"What do you mean?" Andros asked.

"I mean, relax. Stop thinking about the hundreds of terrible things that could happen, and focus on what is happening now."

He tried to do as she asked, losing himself in the feel of her hands on his back while TJ's words washed over them all. To his own amazement, he found himself yawning.

"Thank you," Ashley said with satisfaction. "You're probably as close to calm right now as I've ever seen you."

Cassie's offer of math help overrode Ashley's comment, but Andros still caught it. He said nothing, though, uncertain suddenly about the questions her innocent statement evoked. Is it only because of the backrub that I'm "calm"? he wondered. Or--is it the person who's giving it?

He didn't want to deal with the kind of responses that query could lead to, and he found himself drawing away from her ministrations once again. He flowed to his feet as quickly as he could and stepped back from the group. "Thank you," he said, eyes flicking between Ashley and the others. "It was... nice."

He left quickly, before they could question his departure, and retreated to his room. Once there, and safely alone again, Andros didn't even bother to turn on the lights. He simply collapsed on his bed and stared at the bottom of the bunk above him. What just happened? he wondered. He had run out of Carlos' room; run away from the other Rangers--away from her. Why?

He tried to tell himself that it was a silly ritual anyway, this Earther need to soothe each other after combat. And yet he remembered a time when he had felt that same urge... The thought rose, unbidden, to the surface of his thoughts, and he shook it away. It wasn't the backrub that made me leave.

He couldn't possibly have feelings for her. Could he? The one person on the ship that irritated him more than any other? He had only recently accepted that he could have friends again; the thought of anything more terrified him. He, who had once been strong enough to stand alone, now relied on others to fight with him. And Ashley...

His eye had been drawn to her from the beginning, but he told himself it was only because she wore the color his sister should have had. And her enthusiasm for everything, whether it was a simple game of pool or the vast wonders of outer space, disturbed him as much as her superficial resemblance to Kerone. That naivete of hers could yet get her killed.

Still... her ebullience drew him to her, almost against his will, and he had found himself at her side more often than not. Innocence was a trait Andros had lost a long time ago, and sometimes he found that... well, he missed it. Seeing that quality in her bothered his rational side, for he knew it would not serve her in their fight against evil--yet there was another part of him that hoped she would never lose it.

It had never been his goal to mingle with these new Rangers, least of all Ashley, but it had happened. It had never been his intention that they know of his past, or the private search he conducted alongside theirs, but it had happened. Somehow, they had become teammates, and finally friends. Would his dawning realization about Ashley prove to be just as inevitable?

No, he thought firmly. There's nothing to realize--I like her, even if I won't admit it to anyone else, but that's as far as it goes. She's... my friend. "Friend" was the right word, and he decided that some of his discomfort with its use stemmed from his long isolation on the Megaship. I'm not used to having people around me who are my friends, and Ashley's around me more than any of the others. That's probably why she makes me uncomfortable.

A gentle rap on his door startled him, and he turned his head instinctively toward the sound. "Come in," he called without thinking, still unused to having other people on the ship with him.

The door slid open to admit light, spilling across the floor and making him squint at the silhouette framed in the doorway. It didn't move at first, contemplating the darkness and what it might mean, while Andros cursed himself for not turning the lights up before responding to the knock.

"Andros?" Ashley's voice emanated from the silhouette, sounding worried. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he replied shortly, turning his head away from the door and staring at the upper bunk again.

Instead of going away, as he had hoped, she stepped into the room, her shadow lengthening across the floor until the door closed behind her. His eyes, which had been accustomed to the dark, were now useless after the flood of light from the corridor. Ashley had to be in much the same situation, but she didn't complain.

"It's just that you left so suddenly," she remarked cautiously. "We wondered if it was something we did that made you take off like that."

"You did?" he asked, feeling stupid for the question but not knowing how else to answer.

She hesitated for a moment, and he heard her scuff her foot against the floor. "Well... I wondered if it was something I did, actually."

He thought of his recent reflection, but dismissed it just as quickly, knowing he could never tell her any of it. "No," he managed to say. "It wasn't anything you did."

"Then why are you hiding in your room with no lights on?" Ashley persisted, and he heard her careful footsteps edging closer to his bunk.

"I'm not hiding." His voice sounded sullen even to him, but he made no apology. She shouldn't be here in the first place, he thought, conveniently forgetting that he had invited her in.

He could practically hear her roll her eyes. "You are hiding. What's wrong, Andros?"

He shivered in the darkness, despite the warmth of the room. The genuine concern in her voice unnerved him, though not as much as his reaction to it. He found himself frighteningly close to telling her the truth. "It's just... you were so nice," his voice lowered to a whisper. "I'm not used to it. I had to be alone for a while."

"Oh, Andros," Ashley murmured sympathetically. Kneeling beside his bunk, she put a hand on his arm. "We'll always be here for you, you know."

His vision, he realized suddenly, had adapted once more to the dim light, for he could see the caring look in her dark eyes. "Thanks," he managed, feeling silly with her leaning over him like that. He swung his legs over the edge of the bunk and sat up, avoiding her gaze.

They waited a moment in uncomfortable silence, then she did something she'd never done before: she reached out and gently touched his face. He started, but it had the desired effect--he looked at her, meeting her gaze with wide eyes. She seemed as though she'd been about to speak, but at his expression she stopped, biting her lip.

Andros didn't move, trapped in her gaze but not knowing what she was expecting. He sat, frozen, as Ashley leaned closer--and then, just for a moment, her lips touched his.

Drawing back, she whispered, "Have you ever kissed anyone before?"

He could only shake his head, too startled to speak.

"I'm surprised," she told him, smiling faintly. "If you ever want to do it again, let me know." She laid her hand alongside his face once more, then got to her feet and walked toward the door.

He wanted to call out to her, to stop her from leaving, but he didn't know what to say. So he watched the door slide open, wincing a little as light streamed in from the corridor. She hesitated for a moment, as she had on the way in, then she was gone, her footsteps fading as she walked away.

All he could remember after the door closed behind her was the warmth of that kiss.

Ashley paused outside Carlos' room, hearing the others within and not sure she could face them just yet. What did I just do?

Not only had she made a complete fool of herself, but she'd also been incredibly selfish. She'd wondered what it would be like to kiss Andros for quite a while now, but she'd never acted on it, knowing how uncomfortable their gestures of friendship had made him at first. Anything more, she'd figured, would scare him away for good.

Then, he finally talks to me, and I go and do a stupid thing like that... She sighed, more loudly than she'd intended.

"Hey, Ash?" Carlos called. "You out there?"

At that moment, she knew exactly how Andros felt when one or more of them came and dragged him away from his brooding to go do something fun. "Yeah," she answered, sighing again.

She stepped into the room, trying to put on a cheery face. Her three friends had abandoned their earlier positions and were now lounging about the room--all their attention now focused on her.

"Are you okay?" Cassie asked, her expression worried.

"Sure," Ashley answered, trying to shake off the gloomy fog that she felt had attached itself to her. "I'm fine."

"Where's Andros?" TJ wanted to know.

She looked away, shrugging. "I think he wants to be alone for a while."

She didn't see the knowing look Cassie shot in her direction, but she heard Carlos clear his throat. "Anyone want to go down to the Surf Spot for a while, see what's going on?"

Grateful as Ashley was for his intervention, she wasn't sure she felt like facing all those people. But it would be a nice distraction... "Sure," she agreed, glancing at Cassie, then TJ, who both nodded their agreement.

They teleported to a place directly behind the Surf Spot--an alley no one but cats frequented on a regular basis. It was deserted, but as soon as Cassie landed she knew she'd made a mistake. She glanced at her wrist, just to make sure.

It was as bare as it had been seconds ago when she'd first realized something was wrong. Cassie had looked down at her communicator out of habit, even though Carlos had asked DECA to teleport the four of them down. The absence of her wristpiece had startled her, but it had been too late to abort the transport.

During her momentary preoccupation, the others had gotten ahead of her, and Cassie sighed to herself. She'd never hear the end of this.

"Guys," she called, hurrying to catch up. TJ slowed and shot her an inquiring look. Even Carlos and Ashley stopped talking long enough to give her their full attention.

"You're not going to believe this," Cassie said, holding up her left wrist. "I left it--" she looked around as they emerged from the alley, and hastily edited the end of her sentence. "Behind," she finished awkwardly.

To her surprise, and immense gratification, no one laughed. "You'd better go back for it," TJ said, looking over his shoulder. "Here, take mine. We'll meet you inside in a few minutes."

He passed his communicator to her, and she nodded in understanding. Any of them could simply have called the Megaship and asked DECA to teleport her aboard--but it was early afternoon, and the youth of Angel Grove were swarming around the Surf Spot. Their alley would be safer, and much less conspicuous.

The others continued around to the front of the popular hangout, while Cassie darted back the way they'd come. Once out of sight of prying eyes, she activated the blue-banded communicator and disappeared in a sparkling shower of pink.

The Megaship was quiet, but not eerily so. Cassie was often up late, and she enjoyed the peace that blanketed the hallways when TJ's laughter fell silent and Ashley's cheery voice no longer echoed through the corridors. She loved her friends dearly, but sometimes all she wanted was to stare out at the stars in solitude and silence.

They're truly beautiful, she thought, glancing through a window as she passed by on her way to Carlos' room. I know why he spends so much time out here...

Cassie shook her head, trying not to dwell on thoughts of the ship she hoped to see at the Megaship's side someday soon. Not now, anyway, she thought, as Carlos' door slid open in front of her. There was plenty of time for dwelling at night.

Her communicator was on the floor where she'd left it, tossed aside because she'd always hated wearing watches while giving backrubs. They jabbed into her skin and distracted her from the person she was working on. Now, though, she was glad to have the familiar weight back on her wrist where it belonged.

Closing the clasp, she moved back toward the door, not feeling right about teleporting directly into or out of someone's room even when they weren't there. The corridor greeted her, much the same as it had been moments before: bright, clean... and abruptly less empty.

Does DECA tell him when we leave? Cassie wondered, amused. So he knows when he can haunt the hallways without having to worry about running into anyone?

At the sound of the door opening, Andros looked up from the electronic datapad in his hand. He stopped when he saw her standing there, and she saw surprise, then chagrin, flash across his face.

"Hey, Andros," Cassie greeted him, hoping to alleviate the tension she could sense emanating from him. "The others are down at the Surf Spot; want to join us?"

He hesitated, obviously torn. The pause went on, and still he didn't react in any way.

Now concerned, Cassie tilted her head and frowned at him. "Are you all right?"

For a long moment, he didn't answer. Then, suddenly, he looked straight at her, and she was surprised by the distress in his eyes. "Cassie, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure," she said, her curiosity growing. Andros had never asked permission to question her before.

His next question was even more of a surprise than the first: "If someone... kisses you, what does it mean?"

Cassie blinked. "Well, I guess it depends whether it's a family member or a friend."

"Not a family member," Andros responded emphatically.

"Well," Cassie continued, "on Earth, kissing is a sign of affection."

Andros just nodded. She hadn't expected to KO-35 to be different, but he had asked... Unfortunately, she wasn't sure how to word the rest of her reply. "If someone kissed me--someone who'd been my friend for a while--I guess I'd assume they were trying to tell me that they had feelings for me. Feelings stronger than friendship, I mean."

Andros had a faraway look in his eyes, but she couldn't blame him. She probably looked just as distant. She wouldn't mind if she had someone trying to tell her that... "Don't forget me, Cassie. I'll see you soon."

Andros' voice broke into her reverie, and she startled. "Thanks, Cassie," he said, looking at the datapad in his hand, but not, she suspected, truly seeing it.

"No problem," she murmured, watching him walk away. Her gaze returned to the window and lingered on the stars a moment. Before she could get lost in the search again, she touched her communicator and returned to the planet below.

The sun had retreated behind the clouds when she rematerialized, but the crowd at the Surf Spot had not diminished in the slightest. Weaving through students who looked less familiar every time she returned, Cassie saw TJ and Carlos sharing fries at a table in the corner. She made her way over to them, realizing briefly how isolated she and her friends were becoming from their "peers" on Earth.

Carlos waved when he saw her coming, and she smiled in return, but her attention was elsewhere. She slid TJ's communicator into his hand, but her eyes were searching the crowded establishment. "Thanks, TJ--where's Ashley?"

A telltale flash of yellow caught her eye, and she squinted across the room. "She went to the--" Carlos began, then cut off as he too, spotted Ashley. "There she is. Hey, Ash!"

Ashley waved back, but as she approached the table, Cassie didn't give her time to sit down. "Ashley, I need to talk to you," she said firmly, grabbing her friend's arm and dragging her farther into the corner. "Excuse us, guys."

TJ and Carlos exchanged glances, shrugged, and returned to their fries. She was conscious of their silence, though, and knew they would do their best to overhear the ensuing conversation.

"What's going on?" Ashley whispered, puzzled but just as aware of the boys' keen hearing.

Cassie put her hands on her hips. "Ashley... did you kiss Andros?"

"What?" Ashley exclaimed, then clapped a hand over her mouth when she saw Carlos look in their direction. Lowering her hand, she asked more quietly, "How did you know?"

"I just saw him on the Megaship." Out of habit, she looked around to make sure no one was close enough to over hear the word. "He looked kind of... confused."

"What did he say?" Ashley asked, nearly inaudibly. Before Cassie could answer, though, the brunette groaned. "I can't believe I did that! He'll probably never talk to me again--he'll just give me The Look."

"'The Look'?" Cassie repeated, diverted.

Ashley rolled her eyes. "You must have noticed it. Remember back when we first met him, and he wouldn't listen to any of us? No matter what suggestions we offered, he'd just give us this disgusted look and remind us we were planetary Rangers."

She sighed. "He respects us more now, I know. It's been months since he gave any of you guys The Look... but I still get it, any time he thinks I've said something particularly stupid."

Cassie didn't answer right away. Now that she thought back, Ashley was right--Cassie did remember the expression Andros had worn whenever he'd gotten impatient or frustrated with them. Which, in the beginning, had been pretty much every five minutes. That look had become less and less frequent as time went on, though. Lately Andros had been almost tolerant of his fellow Rangers' antics.

"I think you're exaggerating a little," she said, but Ashley shook her head vigorously.

"I'm not!" Making a face at her own protest, the other girl admitted, "I like him, Cassie, I really do, but I get the feeling he's just putting up with me."

"No one ever said Andros was good at expressing his feelings," Cassie muttered, indignant on her friend's behalf. "I bet he just doesn't know what to say to you."

"What did he say to you?" Ashley asked, seeming to brace herself.

Cassie looked around uncomfortably, knowing nothing she said would placate Ashley at this point. "He wanted to know... what kissing means, on Earth."

Ashley didn't react as violently as she'd expected. Instead, she just stood there, a bewildered expression on her face. Finally, she asked, "Why didn't he just ask me?"

"I don't think he wants to look ignorant in front of you," Cassie said, remembering Andros' silence when they invited him to join their backrub line. "Andros does respect you, whether you know it or not, and your opinion obviously matters to him--probably more than the rest of ours."

Ashley wrinkled her nose at that. "Are you saying you think he likes me?"

Cassie couldn't help but smile at the hopefulness in her voice. "Yeah," she said, nodding. "Yeah, I do."

Ashley returned the gesture with a brilliant smile of her own. Andros' opinion really does mean something to her, Cassie realized. "Tell him how you feel, Ashley," she urged. "Maybe he's just waiting for you to say something."

Ashley's eyes widened. "I can't do that!"

Cassie raised her eyebrows. "Ashley, you kissed him! What did you expect him to think?"

"I don't know!" Ashley wailed. Suddenly, she glared past Cassie's shoulder, and Cassie turned to see Carlos and TJ watching them with interest.

Lowering her voice, Ashley continued, "I didn't mean to do it--I was just going to check on him, to make sure he was all right. But then he told me he wasn't used to people being so nice to him, and he looked so sad..."

She trailed off, and Cassie almost laughed at the dreamy look on her face. "You look just like Andros did, when I told him kissing was a way of showing affection."

Ashley's focus returned to the here and now, and she was opening her mouth to speak when their communicators went off. Frowning, she and Cassie looked at each other, then over at the boys, who were straightening up and exchanging puzzled glances of their own.

The morning's quantron encounter was on everyone's mind, and they shared a single thought: So soon?

Without needing words, the four of them headed for the nearest exit. They'd need someplace quieter than this to answer the call from the Megaship. They were almost to the door when the quantrons came pouring through.

"Everybody back!" TJ yelled, disregarding his own command even as the other Rangers followed his example. They all knew his words weren't directed at them, but at the panicking teens crammed into the establishment with them.

Over the shouts of astonishment and the scraping of chairs, Adelle's voice boomed, "Out this way! Move it, everyone!"

Adelle's drivers, Suzy and David, started herding people in the direction of the second exit. The Rangers were busying holding off the quantrons, and Cassie was grateful for the level-headed Surf Spot staff. If they get everyone out, we'll be able to morph, she thought, ducking out of the way of one quantron and slamming an elbow strike into the chest of a second.

A flash of red in her peripheral vision alerted her to Andros' arrival. He stood in the doorway in full Ranger uniform, gesturing at the staff and stragglers to hurry. Then Carlos' black form blurred past her, obscuring her view and sending a nearby quantron sprawling on the floor.

Cassie fought on, barely pausing for breath until she registered Andros' presence in their midst. "Morph, guys!" The Red Ranger yelled, spinning his Spiral Sabre in a dizzying pattern that was somehow unslowed by its contact with multiple quantrons. "I'll keep them busy!"

Cassie wasn't sure even Andros could take on all of the quantrons in this confined area. Especially since he'd need to keep them away from the other Rangers, who'd be defenseless for the few seconds it would take them to morph. There wasn't much of a choice, though: take the chance, or lose the fight the way they were. The sooner she morphed, the sooner she would be back in the fight.

She ducked another swinging metal fist, backing toward the elevated level of the Surf Spot. Then Andros was there, harrying the quantrons away, and she found Carlos and TJ at her side. They exchanged glances, and at TJ's nod, the three of them extended their right hands and yelled, "Let's rocket!"

Three? Cassie thought suddenly, as the Pink astromorpher replaced the communicator on her wrist. Where's Ashley?

Her eyes searched the room while her hand found the catch on her morpher and flipped it open. There was Andros, his sabre locked with the spiked blade of a quantron--while another approached from behind, weapon raised.

Cassie opened her mouth to shout a warning, but a yellow streak knocked the second quantron to the ground before it could reach the Red Ranger. Ashley was still in the fight, unmorphed and watching Andros' back.

Cassie returned her attention to her morpher, punching in a sequence of numbers as familiar to her as her own name. She heard Andros shout at Ashley to get out of the fight. She missed Ashley's reply as the surge of Power rushed through her, augmenting her strength and increasing her energy.

The Blue, Black, and Pink Rangers rejoined the battle, and Cassie worked her way to Ashley's side. "Ashley, go!" she told her friend. "I'll cover you!"

Ashley didn't need to be told twice. Cassie stood in front of her, staying on the defensive now rather than going after anything silver that moved, and in a matter of seconds the Yellow Ranger was with her again. "Let's send these quantrons back where they belong!" Ashley shouted over the noise of the fighting.

Cassie grinned, giving her a thumbs-up before diving back into the fray.

It wasn't long before the five of them stood in the middle of an empty room, panting for breath. They looked around at each other. Then, without a word, Andros walked to the door that Adelle had been evacuating people through and looked out. "They're gone," he reported.

Carlos shrugged. "Can you blame them? Half the time, Astronema sends down some monster with the quantrons and it trashes the place. They probably didn't want to be caught in the crossfire."

Ashley nodded in agreement, and TJ sighed. "Let's get back to the ship."

Andros raised his left hand. "DECA," he told his morpher. "Five to teleport."

Back on the Megaship, the Rangers gathered on the Bridge while Andros played with the scanner controls. "Something's not right here," he muttered, pushing a few more keypads.

"Yeah," TJ agreed, "it's not like Astronema to send down quantrons without a plan."

"And twice in one day," Cassie added.

Andros didn't respond to either comment, and Carlos watched him poke at the console. He hadn't missed the fact that Ashley was also watching Andros, —or that Andros would sneak glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking. The whole situation would have been more amusing if the happiness of Carlos' best friend hadn't hinged on the outcome.

"I can't find indications of any kind of disturbance on Earth," Andros announced at last. "If Astronema sent a monster down, it's not showing up on the scanners."

"But the scanners have been searching for Zordon," Carlos pointed out, speaking for the first time since they'd returned. "They're set for maximum accuracy at interstellar distances, not the few hundred miles between us and the Earth's surface."

"They're still good enough to detect an attack," Andros told him.

"Not if it hasn't happened yet," Carlos said, an idea beginning to form. "What if Astronema's just distracting us while she gets something in position? If there's a monster down there that's not expending any energy, we wouldn't be able to pick it up."

He saw Cassie and TJ exchange glances. They didn't spend as much time on the scanners as he did. They probably didn't even know about that particular quirk of calibration.

"That's true," Andros admitted reluctantly.

"I can recalibrate the scanners," Carlos offered. "Not all of them, just a couple, so we'll know if there's anything down there."

Andros nodded. "All right--use the forward scanners. I want to use the main scanner array to backtrack Astronema's course over the last few days, see if there are any clues about what she's up to."

Carlos nodded back. The auxiliary scanner bank was set into hull, and he turned to work on it just as Cassie asked, "Is there anything we can do?"

There was silence for a moment. Maybe Andros gave her The Look, Carlos thought, amused.

Then Andros' voice said, "We'll let you know if we find anything."

After a minute, Carlos heard footsteps leaving the Bridge, but he was already too deeply involved in the scanning grid to look up. Separating the controls for the forward array from the main scanners was no problem. It was harder to make multiple arrays accept simultaneous programming than it was to isolate and program them independently. But it did take time.

Once he had the forward scanners responding, Carlos typed in the recalibration command. The target prompt appeared, and he entered the Megaship itself as ground zero, and the Surf Spot as the target distance.

"Is that Dark Spectre's ship?" he heard Ashley ask suddenly. He looked up from the console, and it was a toss-up whether her words or her continued presence surprised him more.

"Yes," Andros answered, staring at the screen. Carlos, too, recognized the distinctive form of Dark Spectre's vessel hanging ominously in front of them. He reminded himself that it was a recorded scanner image, thousands of light years away and probably several days old by now.

Carlos glanced back down at the computer readout in front of him. "The scanners are recalibrated," he told Ashley and Andros. "They're still not picking up anything strange, though."

"Well, that's a good thing, I guess," Ashley said, looking uncertain.

"But we still don't know what Astronema's planning," Andros muttered, obviously frustrated.

"What about that visual of Dark Spectre's ship?" Carlos asked.

Andros shook his head. "She was near his ship about two days ago--that's all we know." In a move that surprised Carlos, Andros slammed his fist down on the console. "There has to be something we're missing!"

Ashley put a tentative hand on Andros' shoulder. "We're doing our best, Andros. Whatever she's up to--"

Carlos was standing across the room, but even he saw Andros give her The Look. Ashley broke off, dropping her hand. She glanced quickly at Carlos, and he knew that expression: she was asking him to leave.

Curiosity warred with loyalty to his friend, and as always, loyalty won out. "I'm going to go tell Cassie and TJ what we found," he said, edging toward the door.

Ashley flashed him a grateful smile, and a corner of his mouth lifted in response. Silently wishing her luck, Carlos left in search of the others.

"Andros?" Ashley tugged gently on his shoulder, trying to get him to turn. He let her push him, but he refused to meet her eyes. "What's wrong?

"Nothing," he muttered, staring at the console.

"It's not Astronema," she said, studying his face. She didn't even bother to make the words a question--he didn't get this upset over Astronema's monsters, let alone a few quantrons.

"It is Astronema," he insisted. "She could be up to something dangerous..." He trailed off, probably realizing how weak that sounded, and his eyes flicked up to hers for just a moment before looking away again.

She sighed, certain now what the problem was. "Look, Andros, I'm sorry about... this morning."

He looked up, startled enough that he met her gaze without self-consciousness. "I didn't really... mean to kiss you. It just sort of... happened," she continued uncomfortably. His sudden regard made her stumble more than ever, but she was determined to clear the air between them.

"I know, I shouldn't have done it," Ashley said, wondering what he was thinking behind those hazel eyes. "I'm really, really sorry--"

"You... didn't mean it?" Andros asked slowly, his face still unreadable.

She sighed. "Well... I did, yeah. I like you, a lot, but you seem sort of... far away. You're not, you know... mad?"

He didn't say anything, and she sighed again. "See, I knew you were upset. I'm sorry, and I promise not to do it again--"

"Ashley," Andros said quietly. She spoke over him, knowing she was babbling but unable to stop. "Ashley, I'm not upset," he said, still speaking softly, almost as if he didn't want her to hear.

She paused for breath, and his words registered, warm and unexpected. "You're... not?"

He just shook his head.

"Well..." She didn't know what to say. He wasn't helping any, either--after a statement like that, didn't he owe her at least a little explanation?

They stared at each other for what seemed like forever. Then Andros lifted his hand, and she held her breath as he reached out and stroked her cheek. It was a move eerily reminiscent of the one she'd used earlier in the day.

She found herself leaning closer to him, and he was doing the same... She closed her eyes as their lips met for the second time that day. It was a gentle kiss, one that was over far too soon--but when she opened her eyes, he hadn't backed away. He was still standing close, and she smiled tentatively at him.

"Ashley..." Andros trailed off, as though he didn't know how to continue.

She held her breath, hoping she'd understood what he meant when he said he wasn't upset. "Yes?"

"Thanks--for defending me, down there."

She had the feeling that wasn't what he'd started to say, but she just shrugged a little, still staring into his eyes. "I couldn't let you get hurt." That was true, but it wasn't what she wanted to say, either. "Andros?"

He made a questioning sound, and she took a deep breath. "Thanks for kissing me."

He glanced down, but she saw the smile when he looked back at her a second later. "I should thank you," he said softly, and she couldn't stop the delighted smile that spread across her face.

Then the monster alert went off.

"Come on, Carlos," Cassie said, leaning across the table. "You can tell us."

TJ shook his head. "Man!" he exclaimed, mostly to himself. No one else seemed to be having trouble with it, but he was stuck at the beginning of this conversation. "I still can't believe it. Andros and Ashley?"

Carlos sighed. "There's nothing to tell," he informed Cassie. "Andros was upset about something, and Ashley was trying to cheer him up."

"And you left?" Cassie exclaimed.

TJ let them trade remarks, deeming it wiser not to interject any more incredulity into the conversation. Andros was just so... reserved. It was hard to picture him in any kind of relationship. And Ashley--I always thought she and Carlos would start going out. I guess they've grown apart some since we left Earth... but Andros?

Just then, the red emergency lighting flashed throughout the room and the sound of the alarm rang through the hallways. Carlos stopped midsentence and looked around, as if he could see the attack from where he sat.

Cassie's exasperated expression faded, to be replaced by one of irritation as she jumped to her feet. "Doesn't Astronema know when to quit?"

"DECA!" TJ was already out of his chair and halfway to the door. "What's happening?"

"Astronema has sent quantrons to Earth," the ship's onboard computer responded in an absurdly calm monotone.

TJ rolled his eyes. I'd guessed that much, he thought sarcastically, but said nothing. To get DECA mad at you meant that you'd find wilted spinach on your breakfast plate instead of pancakes.

The three of them raced into the Glider holding bay and found Andros and Ashley waiting impatiently for them. "Quantrons in the park," Andros informed them as TJ vaulted over the railing to land on the deck in front of his jump tube.

Up and down the line, the five of them exchanged glances before looking to Andros. He nodded. They thrust their right hands out before whirling to grasp the bars above their respective tubes.

Power surged through TJ, and blue light momentarily obscured his vision. Then the metal beneath him slid away as he landed, fully morphed, aboard his Galaxy Glider. Bending his knees, he leaned forward and launched into the tunnel of hyperspace through which the Gliders traveled.

Wide and uncluttered, the tunnel was nonetheless his least favorite part of gliding. He increased his speed and burst out into the sun and warmth at the other end. The wind screamed in his ears, drowning out the hum of the other Gliders behind him, even overpowering the noise of his own--all he could feel was the vibration through his boots.

The exhilarating ride was over too soon and he leapt off into the grass below. He didn't have to turn to know that his Glider was gone almost instantly, already swallowed up by hyperspace on its return voyage to the Megaship. The others dismounted as well, Andros executing a casual flip as he did so, and TJ glanced toward Ashley. Showing off? he wondered.

But Ashley's gaze was on the dozens of quantrons that had beaten them to the park. Anyone not at the Surf Spot had apparently come here, and the families situated throughout the formerly peaceful picnic area were slower to disperse than the teens at Adelle's restaurant.

Luckily, the arrival of the Power Rangers drew the quantrons' full attention, and the ensuing battle gave the civilians the time they needed to escape. TJ threw himself into the fight, knowing that he and his teammates were all that stood between Astronema's forces of evil and the inhabitants of his home planet. It occurred to him to wonder how different it must be for Andros, who wasn't in this to defend his home--more than any of the rest of them, the Red Ranger was fighting against Astronema, rather than for someone else.

A chokehold from one of the quantrons reminded TJ how dangerous it was to let his mind wander in combat. He stepped to the right and crouched lower to the ground, grabbing the metallic arm as he did so and dropping his shoulder to throw the offending quantron to the ground.

Another bowled into him from behind, and he went crashing through the remains of a festively decorated pavilion. He rolled to his feet, bringing his hands up to defend from the expected follow-up attack--but it didn't come. Carlos was there, twisting the quantron’s arm behind its back and giving it a kick hard enough to send it stumbling away.

"Thanks!" TJ called to him, and the Black Ranger nodded.

"Anytime--what's he doing here?"

TJ followed Carlos' nod, and, to his horror, saw a small boy crouched under one of the tables set up beneath the pavilion's canopy. "I'll take care of him," TJ promised, and Carlos nodded, throwing a roundhouse punch that knocked another quantron off its feet.

TJ turned his attention back to the child, grateful to Carlos for taking the heat off his back. "Are you all right?" he asked the boy, who nodded, wide-eyed.

TJ looked around, but right now the pavilion was surrounded. There was no escape route that didn't involve numerous encounters with quantrons, so TJ turned back to the boy and held out his hand. "Will you come with me?"

The boy nodded again and scrambled out from his hiding place. TJ took his hand and pulled him over to the base of the tree that shaded the large tent. Scooping the child up, he set him on the lowest branch of the tree--hopefully, just above the quantrons' eye level. "Stay here, all right?" TJ told him, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was sneaking up on them.

"Yes, sir!" the boy said quickly, speaking for the first time.

TJ glanced back at him in surprise, then smiled, though both reactions were hidden from the child by his helmet. "We'll keep you safe," he assured the boy, who nodded vigorously.

TJ rejoined the fight, careful not to stray too far from the kid's tree. Carlos was still nearby, and he was probably the reason that TJ had been able to get the boy to a place of relative safety without being attacked. Cassie soon worked her way over to them, and the three Rangers managed to keep a respectably large area around the tree clear.

Knocking one quantron into another, TJ didn't stop to watch them go down. Instead, he searched the park for Andros--Ashley would yell for help if she needed it, but Andros was too stubborn to admit when he was in trouble. He could have been knocked unconscious minutes ago, and TJ might not have even noticed.

A swirl of red confirmed that Andros was still on his feet, and the yellow that was Ashley wasn't far away. TJ saw the flash from her Star Slinger take down a quantron, and a sparkle of metal from the Andros whirlwind said that his Spiral Sabre had been drawn as well.

And no wonder, TJ thought, ducking a blow and catching the off-balance quantron with one of his own. There's twice as many quantrons around those two as we have over here... The quantron managed to evade his punch, but Cassie felled it with a chop to the neck, and he signaled to get her attention.

"Andros and Ashley are having trouble," he said, speaking loudly enough to be heard over the grating sound of moving metal joints and Ranger kiyahs.

Carlos wasn't so absorbed that he didn't hear TJ's comment, and, with a kick that sent another quantron to the ground, he turned in their direction. "Let's try to head our quantrons toward the others--the five of us should be able to take the ones that are left."

"Right," Cassie and TJ said, and they set the plan into motion. TJ didn't like leaving the boy undefended, but if they took the threat with them... They managed to rejoin Andros and Ashley, forming a line of defense that the quantrons couldn't breach.

"Thanks for the backup, guys," Ashley called, and TJ gave her a thumbs-up.

"No problem," Carlos answered. "Hey, Andros--duck!"

Without question, the Red Ranger dove out of the way as Carlos' astroblaster cut through the air overhead. Sparks flew among the quantrons' ranks, and they must have decided the odds in their favor had fallen to an unacceptable low. They retreated across the grass, and the twin sparkles of Astronema's teleportation system erased them from view.

"Sometimes, I can almost hear them yelling 'Run away!'" Ashley muttered to no one in particular.

"What?" TJ heard Cassie ask, as he headed back toward the tree where he'd left the little boy.

"Monty Python and the Holy Grail," Ashley explained. "When King Arthur yells 'Attack!' and then the catapult starts firing, and he changes his mind and shouts 'Run away!' instead?"

TJ had never seen Monty Python, but Cassie started laughing. "Ashley, I'm going to think of that every time we beat them."

TJ found the boy right where he'd left him, and he reached up to help the child down.

"Did you win?" the boy asked eagerly, and TJ looked up as the others quietly gathered around.

"Yeah, we did," he said at last, when no one else seemed inclined to answer. Except that we still don't know why the quantrons were attacking in the first place...

"Wow!" the boy exclaimed. "This was the best birthday party ever!"

"Is it your birthday?" TJ asked, smiling at his enthusiasm.

The boy nodded. "I'm eight years old today!"

"Happy birthday," Cassie offered, and Ashley echoed her a moment later.

The boy swelled with pride. "Thanks. Wait 'til I tell everyone I met the Power Rangers! Can I have your autographs?"

He didn't wait for an answer. Pulling out a pen and a slightly crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, the boy looked up at them hopefully. TJ didn't know how to refuse, but they couldn't exactly sign their names for him... He looked over at Cassie, but she just shrugged.

To his surprise, it was Andros that answered. "Sure you can," he told the boy, and the kid beamed. Andros took the proffered writing utensil and paper and bent over one of the few still-standing tables to scribble something.

Of course, TJ thought wryly, Andros doesn't have to worry about his name being recognized...

Then Andros passed the paper to him. It was a birthday card--the words 'Happy Birthday' had been inscribed over a fuzzy but recognizable picture of the Megaship. TJ smiled--and his smile widened when he saw how Andros had signed the card: Red Ranger.

Simple, obvious... why didn't I think of that? TJ wondered, accepting the pen. He wrote Best wishes, Blue Ranger, and passed the card to Ashley. They each signed, and the boy, whose name according to the card was Ryan, thanked all of them again.

"It was our pleasure," Carlos told him. "But you'd better get home now. Your mother must be very worried."

Ashley nodded. "I'll walk you home, if you like," she offered.

TJ hadn't thought Ryan could get any more excited. "Would you, really?"

"Sure," she said, and TJ grinned. Ryan would brag about this for weeks...

Andros, on the other hand, didn't look too thrilled. His stance was stiff and TJ could only imagine what his expression looked like. Ashley wasn't asking for his permission, though, and she took Ryan's hand with her usual cheer. TJ saw Ryan look over his shoulder and wave more than once as they made their way slowly out of the park.

"DECA, what time is it?"

Cassie looked up from her dinner to glance at Andros. That was the fifth time he'd asked since they sat down, and his food was practically untouched.

"It is exactly three minutes and thirty-two seconds since the last time you asked, Andros," DECA replied, and Cassie hid a smile. Everyone knew that the onboard computer was partial to Andros, but it sounded like even DECA was getting exasperated.

"Look, Andros," Carlos said, leaning across the table. "I'm sure Ashley's fine. Ryan's parents probably can't stop thanking her long enough for her to get away."

"I know, I know," Andros muttered, poking at his food.

Cassie exchanged glances with TJ, who was sitting right across from her. He just shook his head, a half-smile on his face.

Andros communicator beeped, and he pounced on it. "Ashley?"

"How'd you guess?" Ashley's voice replied. "Are the others with you?"

Andros looked around, as though he'd forgotten their presence in the short amount of time it had taken him to say her name. "Yeah, they're right here."

"Great. Look, I'm sorry everyone, but when I took Ryan home I realized how long it's been since I had dinner with my own parents. I'm at my house right now, and I'll be back later this evening--I just didn't want you guys to worry."

Someone snickered, but when Cassie looked up, she couldn't tell whether it had been TJ or Carlos. "Have a good time, Ashley," she offered.

"Thanks," Ashley's voice answered. "See you later."

The faint hiss of the carrier wave indicated that she'd cut off the communication from her end. Andros did the same, but Cassie saw disappointment flash across his face before he could hide it. She wondered if there was anything she could say to cheer him up, but Carlos spoke first.

"I haven't seen my parents in days," he said ruefully. "They're probably wondering if I'm still alive."

"My uncle, too," TJ admitted, a trace of guilt on his normally cheerful face. "I wonder how many times he's had to cover for me to my parents--I haven't called them since last week."

Cassie didn't say anything--she didn't have that particular problem, after all. She'd been staying with Ashley's family ever since the day she'd detoured into Angel Grove, and as far as her parents were concerned, she was still there. I call them once a week, she thought, somewhat bitterly. That seems to be all they want.

"Hey, Cass," TJ said, giving her a concerned look. "You okay?"

She shook her head once, trying to smile. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He gave her that I know you're lying look, and she really did smile. "Just thinking about my parents, I guess," she said. It was nice of him to care.

"Yeah, have you heard from them recently?" Carlos asked, probably trying to cheer her up.

She shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carlos and TJ exchange glances.

"You know, Cassie," TJ began, "if you want to go down to the Hammonds', I bet they'd love to see you for dinner."

Cassie pushed her plate away. "Thanks, TJ, but they probably want some family time." She stood up, putting her napkin and glass on her plate before picking them up. "I think I'll just go to bed... it's been a long day. G'nite, guys."

"Good night," TJ echoed, followed by Carlos, as she returned her dishes to the Synthetron.

She heard Andros belatedly add his own "good night" to theirs as she left, and she smiled to herself. Andros was worlds away right now. I'd love to know what Ashley said to him this afternoon on the Bridge, she mused.

Reaching her door, she paused to stare through the hallway window at the stars. And I'd really love to know what you're thinking right now, she thought to the single Ranger whom she knew was out there, searching as they did. I feel lonely, and I'm not even alone. How much worse must it be for you?

"I love you too, Mom." Ashley let her mother pull her into yet another hug before she stepped out into the night. "Good night!"

She smiled reassuringly at her family, now gathered inside the front door. She waved back at them as she headed down the steps, automatically checking for passersby before lifting her communicator. The house disappeared behind a shower of golden sparkles.

I love them, Ashley thought as the Megaship reformed around her, but they can be sort of--clingy. She sighed, and made her way down the hall toward her room. That's not very nice, but I'm too tired to care right now. I just want to go to bed.

Nonetheless, she hesitated outside Andros’ door. She had hoped to talk to him this evening, especially since their earlier conversation on the Bridge had been interrupted. But her family dinner had stretched into dessert, and then someone had put a movie in the VCR...

Ashley sighed. I knew I wouldn't be able to just go, eat, and leave. And I really don't spend enough time with them... But with the memory of Andros’' kiss still fresh in her mind, it had been hard to concentrate on anything else.

She wished she had the courage to knock on his door. I'd just like to see him--just for a few minutes...

Get real, Ashley, she scolded herself. It's late; he's probably already asleep.

Seconds after she'd resigned herself to practicality, the stillness of the hallway was shattered by the shriek of the automated alert system. DECA immediately turned it down to a volume more tolerable to sleep-fogged ears, but the damage had been done.

The door beside her burst open. Ashley didn't have time to react before Andros plowed into her, a wild look in his hazel eyes. "Ashley!" he yelped, reaching out to steady her. "I'm sorry; I didn't see you--DECA, what's going on?"

Three more doors opened farther down the now fully illuminated hallway. Ashley heard the others footsteps on the metal deck as DECA told them what everyone had already guessed: quantrons in Angel Grove.

She was conscious, as DECA spoke, of Andros' hand still resting lightly on her shoulder. No one else said anything, though, and he didn't seem to notice--until he turned to look at the others and caught her eye. He dropped his hand instantly and looked away, but his duties as a Ranger overcame any other sign of embarrassment.

"It's too dark to use the Gliders," Andros announced. He was still avoiding her gaze. "We'll teleport directly there."

Ashley looked around at the others, really seeing them for the first time since she'd returned. Carlos and TJ both wore their warm-up suits; they must have just returned to their rooms from the Simudeck when the alarm sounded. Cassie's hair was loose, and she had certainly been prepared for sleep--but her eyes were suspiciously unclouded, as though she hadn't quite made it to her bed yet.

Andros' call of "Let's Rocket!" broke into her speculation, and she extended her right arm as the others did. She entered the morphing sequence on the keypad that appeared on her wrist, blinking as gold light enveloped her. The strength poured into her, and she was suddenly more alert, more aware of everything in the hallway.

"Target coordinates confirmed," DECA's calm voice informed them. Ashley flipped her morpher open a second time, inputting DECA's linkup code. The coordinates were transferred, and she looked up in time to see everyone else finishing the same task.

They looked to Andros, who nodded. "Let's go!" Stretching both arms skyward, he crossed his wrists over his head and disappeared in a shimmer of scarlet. Seconds later, Ashley's vision was obscured by a curtain of gold that lifted to reveal moonlit sand and waves.

The sight took her breath away. It would have been far more beautiful, even romantic, had she been viewing it under different circumstances. As it was, the deserted shoreline filled her with a dread she hadn't expected. The last time they'd been summoned to an empty beach, it had been to fight invisible piranhatrons, and that was an experience she never, ever wanted to repeat.

Andros glanced her way, and she realized she'd shivered despite the warm night. She took a deep breath, trying to forget that particular memory and the panic she had felt at their inability to fight. She gave Andros a quick nod, answering his unspoken question: Are you all right?

"Where are they?" TJ demanded of no one in particular. His frustration gave Ashley something else to focus on, and she wondered briefly if he too was remembering that incident.

"It's like Astronema is challenging us," Carlos remarked, staring around the beach. "I mean, there's nothing here for the quantrons to ruin, no people for them to harass, and as soon as we arrive they go into hiding. What does she gain from this?"

Andros raised his right arm to speak into his communicator, not bothering to answer. "Alpha--are the quantrons still on the beach?"

Alpha's voice, despite being robotic, managed to convey more sleepiness than any of the Rangers'. "Yes, Andros; they're not very far from your present location." A sound that might have been a mechanical yawn came from the communicator.

Ashley grinned, knowing no one would be able to see it behind her helmet. Trust Alpha to-- Her thought broke off as she glanced along the shore. "Guys, the breakwater."

Carlos understood instantly. "It's the only place that would give them any cover."

"Let's go," TJ called, already moving up the beach toward the rock jetty. Ashley took off after him when the others did, trying to look in every direction at once. She hadn't completely shaken the feeling that an ambush could come from any direction, despite the fact they were surrounded by open space.

The group slowed as they reached the first scattering of rocks. Ashley peered nervously at every boulder they passed, but there were no quantrons to be seen. Winding among the salt-encrusted slabs, they reached the base of the great stone wall and paused. Andros, now in the lead, clambered a little way up to survey the area.

Right behind him, Carlos turned to look back the way they’d come. For a moment, there was complete silence--until the slightest squeak of metal made Ashley whirl. Simultaneously, TJ shouted a warning at Andros as quantrons poured out from hiding places that had been augmented by the darkness.

Ashley struck without thinking at the swarm of metallic forms cascading out of the crevices between the rocks. Nonetheless, the unexpectedness of their attack gave them an advantage, and a blow from one of their jagged-edged saws drove her to the ground. TJ sprawled across the sand beside her--his shout had alerted Andros, but also served to draw the quantrons'focus.

She heard a thump from her other side and she scrambled out of the way. The glitter of reflected starlight in a visor above an almost completely black uniform told her that Carlos had just landed next to her. A swift uppercut sent her attacker tumbling backwards to land heavily among the rocks, and a white-gloved hand grabbed hers and hauled her to her feet.

"Thanks," she gasped, only realizing as she attempted to speak that her breath had been knocked out of her.

"No problem," Carlos answered. He held a quantron's arm with both hands, twisting it at an unnatural angle. One kick sent it crashing into another, knocking it off the course it had set for Ashley.

She straightened, still struggling to breathe, and she saw TJ scramble out of the way of Carlos' domino effect. "Watch where you're throwing those things!" TJ yelled good-naturedly, rolling to his feet with Cassie watching his back.

Ashley was backed up against a waist-high boulder, recovering while Carlos kept the quantrons off of her. Engrossed as she had been in the scene before her, the hand on her shoulder startled her. She reacted instinctively, reaching back to take firm hold of the offending arm. She knew something was wrong even as she set her stance and hauled the attacker forward over her shoulder, but what exactly that was didn't register until she saw the blur of red in her peripheral vision.

"Andros!" she exclaimed, staring at him in shock.

"Cassie, behind you!" Carlos yelled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw TJ swing the Pink Ranger out of harm's way. She heard Cassie's kiyah as her foot connected solidly with a quantron's chest. But Ashley's attention remained focused on Andros.

"That's the last time I sneak up on you," Andros muttered, climbing to his feet.

Before she could come up with an apology, Carlos' fist streaked past to hit a quantron in the jaw. Seeing the metallic soldier stagger, Ashley dropped to the ground and swept its legs out from under it. She rolled away as it fell, and, springing to her feet once more, she found Andros at her side again.

"I'm really sorry," she managed to say, ducking a blow from another metal saw. As the weapon swung past, she grabbed it and twisted it downward. Not intelligent enough to let go of the blade, the quantron followed.

Andros let loose a spinning kick that drove a quantron into towering boulders of the breakwater, then turned back to her in the momentary lull that followed. "It's okay," he said, in answer to her apology. "Just--be careful, Ash."

She knew he couldn't see her smile, so she settled for a quick nod. "You too," Ashley said, touching his shoulder briefly before the battle engulfed them once more.

Very little of the whirlwind fight that followed stuck in her mind the way that simple caution from Andros did. He cares, she thought happily, diving out of the way of a quantron's inelegant but effective downswing. Coming to her feet as quickly as she'd gone down, she felt Carlos' arm link through hers in a move she knew well. She threw herself sideways, rolling across his back to land a two-footed kick to the quantron's chest.

Before long, the remaining quantrons were scrambling away from them across the rocks. Not for the first time, Ashley thought that Astronema's teleportation system couldn't be very accurate. Her quantrons had to put a certain amount of distance between themselves and their opponents before they could be teleported out.

"Run away," she heard Cassie murmur, and Ashley grinned.

Looking around, she counted heads, just to make sure. Cassie, of course, was staring after the quantrons. TJ stood near her, shaking his head in bemusement, while Carlos leaned against one of the boulders littering the sand at the base of the breakwater. And Andros--

Andros stood a little distance apart from the others, fists clenched at his sides. He seemed to be looking out across the ocean, but it was hard to tell through his visor. Ashley hesitated, glancing at the others once more, but the beach really was beautiful and no one seemed in any particular hurry to return to the Megaship.

Taking a deep breath, she crossed her wrists and flung them out to the side. "Power down," Ashley announced quietly, and her Ranger uniform disappeared in a flash of yellow.

She drew in another long breath, reveling in the smell of unfiltered ocean air. A breeze darted through the semi-darkness to ruffle her hair while the nearly full moon glimmered on the water. Ashley saw Carlos and TJ exchange glances, and then they too demorphed. Cassie followed their lead a moment later, but Andros remained frozen in position.

Folding her arms to keep off the chill that was all too noticeable through her lightweight clothing, Ashley moved forward to join him. "Andros?" she asked softly, not wanting to startle him. "What are you thinking about?"

His helmet turned toward her for an instant, and she wondered if he had just given her The Look. Good or bad, she wished she could see his expression. Ashley mentally willed him to demorph.

He didn't, but he did, at last, speak. "Astronema," Andros said in a low voice. "I've lost almost everything I cared about in my life--my home, my family, my sister..." He looked down at the sand. "I don't want her to take you away from me, too."

She wasn't sure if he meant her, specifically, or the Rangers in general. "It'll take more than a few quantrons to finish us off," Ashley assured him.

His head turned in her direction again, and it stayed facing her longer. Finally, the red uniform brightened, sparkling briefly before it faded out of existence altogether. It warmed her heart to see the expression of unguarded affection that lingered on his face before he looked away again.

"Andros..." Ashley put a hand on his arm. Before she could continue, though, TJ interrupted from behind them.

"Hey, guys? We're going to head back to the Megaship..." He trailed off, obviously at a loss for how to finish his sentence.

Cassie solved the problem. "Take your time," she added, mischief in her voice.

The three of them teleported out before Ashley think of a reply. She glanced at Andros, wondering if he was upset. I was so careful not to say anything to him before, and now he'll be embarrassed anyway...

She found Andros sneaking a glance at her even as she looked over at him. He quickly averted his gaze, and Ashley couldn't help smiling. He thinks I'm embarrassed!

As it had this morning, his uncertainty gave her confidence. After all, if they were both as shy as Andros, nothing would ever happen. And people called her many things, but "shy" usually wasn't at the top of the list.

"C'mon," Ashley suggested impulsively. "Let's go for a walk."

She linked her arm through his and gave a gentle tug. He followed willingly enough, falling into step beside her. Neither of them spoke for a while, but it didn't bother her. She didn't feel pressed to make conversation, or really to do anything except enjoy the moonlit beach and Andros' presence at her side.

She did start shivering, though, as the breeze picked up--her shorts and T-shirt were fine for a hazy August afternoon, but they didn't offer much protection against the cooler seashore air of night. She moved a little closer to Andros, who couldn't help but notice. "Are you cold?" he asked, concern evident in his voice. "We can go back to the ship."

"A little," Ashley admitted, looking up at him. His hazel eyes met hers, and she had to remind herself to keep breathing. "But I don't want to go back to the ship yet."

"Here," Andros said, shrugging out of the warm-up sweatshirt he'd been wearing all day. It seemed to be his way of compromising between the Megaship uniform and the rest of the Rangers' civilian clothes. "Put this on."

Ashley let him drape the sweatshirt over her shoulders. She had to admit, as she pushed her hands through the sleeves, that it was warm. She shivered again, feeling the residual heat from Andros' body in the fuzzy red fabric. "Thank you," she said, drawing the sweatshirt tight around her.

She looked up to find him gazing down at her, and for some reason, she blushed at his open regard. She wanted to speak, but she had no idea what to say. He looked away and the moment was lost.

She turned to keep walking, her feelings so confused that she wasn't sure whether she should feel disappointed or relieved. Am I reading this completely wrong? she wondered. Is he just trying to find a way to get me to leave him alone? Andros would be the master of the easy let-down.

He'd been a mystery to her since the beginning. Most people she could get a feel for just by meeting them: optimistic or not, clever or slow, whether they wanted a new friend or would rather be left alone. Andros had given off all of those signals at once, and she still didn't know how to interpret some of the things he said.

He shadowed her movement when she turned, close enough that their hands brushed. Ashley could almost feel the butterflies in her stomach as she reached out for his fingers, entwining them in her own. Andros didn't resist.

She kept her gaze straight ahead, but after a moment she smiled into the dimness.

"Ashley?" Andros' voice broke the silence a few minutes later. "Did I do something wrong?"

Ashley glanced at him in surprise. "No," she replied automatically. The bewildered expression on his face made her pause, and she reconsidered her mechanical reply. Had she sighed?

"I'm sorry," she offered, giving him an apologetic smile. "I guess I was just wondering..." She searched his expression, looking for a way to ask and not finding it.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked at last. Oh, very smooth, she chided herself. Very subtle.

Andros spoke before she could revise her question. "I was thinking what a beautiful world you have," he told her. "How free and alive it seems..." Andros hesitated, then added tentatively, "How it reminds me so much of you."

Ashley stared at him for a moment. Then her delight spilled over, uncontainable, and she threw her arms around him. "Thank you," she whispered. "I think that's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me."

And it was infinitely more special because she knew he wouldn't say something he didn't truly believe. "Thank you, Andros," she repeated, feeling his arms close slowly around her. Half of her wanted to dance around the beach, but the other more persuasive half wanted to stay here in Andros' embrace for the rest of the night.

Carlos couldn't sleep. He didn't like leaving two of his friends undefended so soon after yet another of Astronema's random hit and run attacks. Especially Andros, who had a demonstrated tendency to get into trouble when left on his own.

Ashley will take care of him, he reminded himself, but the thought didn't bring him any closer to the realm of dreams than he had been before.

"DECA?" he asked suddenly. I could be worrying for no reason... "Have Ashley and Andros come back to the Megaship yet?"

"Not yet, Carlos," DECA answered, the red light of her camera flashing as it became active.

He sighed and rolled out of bed, giving up on sleep for the moment. Grabbing his jacket, he wandered out into the hallway, reflecting wryly on how used to sleeping in his uniform he'd become. But, as tonight proved, one never knew when the next crisis would strike.

Carlos headed for the Glider holding bay, more to have a destination than because he had any real desire to go there. As he stepped into the room, though, he saw TJ sitting at the table, an electronic datapad on the table in front of him and a mug in his hand. The Blue Ranger looked up as Carlos walked in.

"Hey," Carlos greeted him, shooting an inquiring look at the datapad. "What are you doing?"

TJ shrugged. "Just busywork, really. Couldn't sleep."

"You and me both," Carlos agreed, idly poking at the Synthetron's control panel. The machine produced the requested mug of cocoa, and he joined TJ at the table.

Frowning at his mug, Carlos nudged a seat far enough back from the table that he could sit down comfortably. "Why does the Synthetron make steaming cocoa?" he asked rhetorically. "No one can drink it until it cools off anyway."

TJ grinned the way he always did right before he said something particularly ridiculous. In a conspiratorial stage-whisper, making a show of looking over his shoulder, he said, "It's all part of DECA's plan to evict us from the Megaship."

"What?" Cassie's amused voice exclaimed from the doorway.

Carlos looked up and waved. "Hey, Cassie. Don't tell me you can't sleep, either."

She shrugged, making no move to enter the room. Out of the corner of his eye, Carlos saw the glow of DECA's red light as her camera came on. No reply to TJ's comment was forthcoming.

"Do I smell hot chocolate?" Cassie asked suddenly, peering over at their mugs.

"Yeah--maybe the hottest hot chocolate you'll ever taste," TJ remarked, clinking his mug against Carlos'.

Cassie smiled. "Well, I guess I'll have to see for myself," she said, uncrossing her arms as she wandered toward the Synthetron. "Ashley and Andros still aren't back?" she asked over her shoulder.

Carlos shook his head, then thought better of his assumption. "DECA, are Ashley and Andros back on the Megaship yet?"

He was fully prepared to for a "Not yet" and probably some snippy remark about the amount of time that had elapsed since he lasted asked. Instead DECA replied, "Yes, Carlos. Andros and Ashley returned from Earth several minutes ago."

Cassie took a cautious sip of her cocoa as she joined them at the table. "Mine's not too hot," she remarked.

TJ shot her an incredulous look. "Favoritism," he complained, glaring at DECA.

"I am not programmed to show favoritism," DECA said calmly. Or maybe not calm, exactly... smug. That was it. DECA sounded smug.

It occurred to Carlos to wonder what TJ thought he was having for breakfast in the morning.

Cassie just smiled. "Thanks, DECA."

The red light on DECA's camera blinked once. "You're welcome, Cassie."

"Hey!" TJ exclaimed. "What happened to 'I'm not programmed to show favoritism'?"

"I am not programmed to show favoritism," DECA repeated, then continued after a noticeable pause, "to you, TJ."

"What?" TJ yelped.

Glancing at Cassie, something occurred to Carlos. "DECA, who programmed you?"

There was a brief pause. "That information is classified," DECA answered finally.

I bet it is, Carlos thought, an amused smile on his face. There was at least one Ranger out there who had plenty of reasons to make the onboard computer "favor" Cassie. Just how well do Andros and Phantom know each other, anyway?

"I knew it!" TJ pointed a finger at DECA’s camera. "You program yourself, don't you!"

Cassie shook her head, laughing at his triumphant indignation. "Drink your hot chocolate, TJ."

He stared at her. "Haven't you been listening?" he wanted to know. "You're the only one with cocoa that came out of the Synethron at a drinkable temperature."

"Ah." She seemed to consider that, her eyes still laughing at him while he waited for her reply. Caros blew on his own cocoa just to make the point.

Cassie's gaze flicked to him and her smile widened. "In that case," she said solemnly, "I guess I'd better enjoy it."

Andros stared at the bottom of the bunk above him, too restless to sleep and too tired not to. Everyone else is asleep, he thought. Why can't I be?

Of course he knew why. Ashley haunted his thoughts, and he was pretty sure she'd be in his dreams too... if he ever managed to sleep.

Logically, he knew that if Astronema kept up her frequent and seemingly random attacks, he would need all the sleep he could get. But logic hadn't kept him from walking down the beach with Ashley until they were both numb with cold. And it didn't keep his pulse from racing now when he remembered her smile.

There came a knock on his door, so soft he thought he had imagined it, until it repeated. Ashley? he wondered. Throwing off his lightweight blanket, Andros got up and padded over to the door.

Sure enough, there was Ashley, standing in the hall with his sweatshirt still wrapped around her shoulders. She'd brushed the tangles out of her hair, but her cheeks were still glowing from the brisk sea breeze. "Hi," she whispered, somewhat sheepishly.

Andros blinked, abruptly realizing he'd been staring at her. "Come in," he offered quietly, stepping away from the door.

She did, and the door closed behind her, shrouding the room in a darkness that seemed less pervasive, somehow, now that she was here. Tapping the control panel by the door brought the lights up to half-strength, and he turned his full attention back to Ashley.

"I, um..." She squirmed under his gaze. "I forgot to give you back your sweatshirt."

"You didn't have to bring it back tonight," Andros assured her, though he was secretly happy to see her again for whatever reason.

She shrugged, making no move to take off the sweatshirt. "I couldn't sleep." Then, nervously, Ashley glanced up at him. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

He shook his head, unable to keep from smiling any longer. "I couldn't sleep, either."

They stood there, staring at each other, for what seemed like several minutes. Finally, Ashley said awkwardly, "I should probably go..."

"Ashley--" A question that had been bothering him all afternoon suddenly became clear enough to voice--and it had the happy side effect of keeping Ashley for a few minutes longer. "What's Monty Python?"

She just looked at him for a minute, apparently considering the question. "DECA?" she asked at last. "You can receive video transmissions from the satellites in orbit around Earth, right?"

"Of course, Ashley," DECA replied, sounding almost offended.

"Can you scan the TV satellites for a specific reference? Say, 'Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail'?"

In answer, the computer monitor in Andros' room came to life and images began flashing across the screen. "Forty-two references to the phrase Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail were found," DECA reported.

Ashley stared intently at the monitor while Andros watched, bemused. "There," she exclaimed suddenly. "Go back a couple of frames, DECA."

The onboard computer system obliged wordlessly, slowing down and backtracking through the images. "Stop," Ashley said. "There--can you let us watch that one while it plays?"

"I can intercept radio transmissions over a distance of hundreds of light years," DECA informed her, a reproving note in her usually toneless voice. "There is no difficulty in displaying a transmission that originates only a few hundred kilometers away."

The sound came on suddenly, and Andros watched strange people in stranger armor run about an obviously fake landscape. "This is Monty Python?" he asked, confused as to its appeal.

Ashley nodded. "It's a spoof of the legend of King Arthur." She paused, looking away from the monitor toward him. "Have you heard of King Arthur?"

Andros shook his head. Ashley didn't say anything for a moment, just reached up to put her hands on her shoulders. "Well," she said, "I'm not sure I can explain it that well. Maybe if you watch the movie you can sort of follow along."

He glanced over at the screen, but saw little point in devoting attention to it when something far more worthwhile was standing right in front of him. Taking a deep breath, Andros asked shyly, "Will you stay? And explain it to me?"

Ashley flashed him a brilliant smile. "I'd love to." Rubbing her shoulders, she added, "But only if we sit down. I'm sore enough from fighting; I don't need to add aching feet on top of that."

He smiled back, wishing he dared offer her a backrub in return for the one she'd given him this morning. But he'd been bold enough for one evening; he wouldn't risk rejection now. Instead, he gestured toward his bunk, and she seated herself on the floor in front of it, back against the metal sideboard.

Andros joined her, sitting close enough to be companionable, but not quite close enough to touch. On the monitor, the group of strangely-clad people were standing at a bridge off which an alarming number of them were being thrown. He had no idea what was going on, but for once, it didn't bother him. All that mattered was that Ashley was there with him.

Was it really only this morning that she kissed me? he found himself wondering. This morning that I was thinking she couldn't be anything more than a friend?

He still shied away from the word "love" or even "crush," but he was willing to admit that he'd been denying feelings for Ashley for a long time. She was more than a friend--but what that meant, whether or not she returned those feelings, and what they would do about it if she did... That all seemed unimportant and somehow distant right now.

He glanced over at her profile, remembering what she'd said to him this morning. Just relax--stop thinking about the things that could happen, and concentrate on what is happening now.

Steeling himself, Andros drew in a breath and opened his mouth. It took several more tries before he found the courage and the words to ask, but finally he said, "You said you were sore--would you... would you like a backrub?"

Ashley turned to look at him, eyes sparkling in the dim lighting. He held his breath, but she smiled as soon as she caught his eye. "That would be heavenly, thanks!"

She scooted across the floor to sit in front of him, drawing one knee up to her chest as she did so. "Can you still see?" she asked over her shoulder. It took him a minute to realize she meant the monitor, where the movie was still playing.

"Yes," Andros told her, touching the spill of hair across her back with cautious fingers. He half-expected her to protest this invasion of privacy, even if she had agreed to it, but she said nothing.

He pushed her silky soft hair forward over her shoulders, mimicking her own actions when she had done this for him. He rubbed her back and shoulders gently, remembering the discomfort she had caused him at first. But Ashley was more relaxed now than he had been even after her ministrations, and clearly that made a difference.

Andros imitated the backrub she had given him to the best of his ability, and soon he heard her yawn. "You're a natural, Andros," she murmured sleepily. "I don't think I'll be awake much longer."

She should just go back to her room, the reasonable part of Andros' mind said. She can finally sleep and be well rested in the morning.

But something within him rebelled. He hadn't enjoyed another person's company this much for longer than he could remember, and he was reluctant to let it go. "You can lie down on my bunk, if you want to," Andros offered. "You can still watch the movie from there."

"I'll fall asleep," Ashley protested.

"You look like you're going to fall asleep anyway," he told her gently. "You could at least be comfortable."

She twisted around to look at him. Seeing that he was serious, she tilted her head and smiled irresistibly at him. "You're so sweet, Andros."

He felt his lips curve upward in response to her heart-melting expression, but he didn't know how to reply to that. Ashley didn't wait for an answer, though, just crawled onto his bunk and curled up. Sitting on the floor, Andros was at eye level with her, and he watched her surreptitiously until her eyes drifted shut.

Smiling to himself, he got up and turned off the monitor. "Thanks, DECA," he whispered, and her camera blinked once at him.

Andros pulled his blanket over Ashley, then climbed as quietly as he could into the top bunk. He couldn't resist looking down at her once more before DECA turned the lights down. He rolled over then, staring into darkness.

I'm not alone, he thought vaguely, as drowsiness overtook him and sleep waited just around the corner. It was a good feeling.

The sun shone out of a cloudless sky, and the smell of freshly cut grass filled the air. The wind caught the puffs of dust kicked up by his shoes as he stepped up to bat and hurried them away...

"Time to wake up, TJ." That monotone was not the announcer, and the sun brightened to completely obscure the baseball diamond.

TJ opened his eyes a crack, squinting into the lights that DECA insisted on turning on as soon as she woke them up. "Come on, DECA," TJ groaned. "We were up all night fighting quantrons; don't we get a break?"

"You have slept an hour later than usual," DECA told him, as though that was somehow adequate.

"I don't believe this," TJ muttered, making no move to get up. "'How I Spent My Summer Vacation' by TJ Carter: Every morning at seven I was woken up by a computer with an attitude--"

"It is eight o'clock," DECA corrected him. "Time to get up, TJ."

"I know!" he exclaimed. "Stop that; I'm up already!"

Suiting actions to words, he sat up, ducking to avoid the low upper bunk. His blanket was on the floor, as usual, and he grabbed it and tossed it over his shoulder onto the bunk.

"Please fold your blanket, TJ," DECA requested, and he looked up at the camera in surprise.

"What's with you today?" TJ inquired, a little surprised. "I'll fold it later, all right? Now go away; I want to change."

The camera light obediently blinked out, and TJ shook his head. That's a computer with too much time on its hands, he thought, pulling on a fresh blue shirt.

Some of his annoyance drained out of him as he did so. From indigo to aquamarine, stormy seas to the color of a clear sky, this new color of his made him smile. Truth be told, although he had led the Rangers into battle countless times as their leader, he preferred his more relaxed role as morale booster for the team.

Shrugging into his jacket, TJ began to whistle as he walked down the hallway to the Glider holding bay. Why the Synthetron is in the holding bay, I'll never know, he thought, grinning to himself. Maybe there used to be a tradition that space villains only attacked at mealtimes.

Cassie and Carlos were already there, and both called hello as he arrived. TJ waved as he headed for the Synthetron. He called up his usual breakfast of pancakes, opened the door, and had his plate in his hand before he noticed something was wrong.

"Very funny, DECA," TJ said, exasperated all over again.

Carlos and Cassie both looked up at his tone, and he turned so they could see what he was holding. Cassie smothered a laugh. Heaped on his plate was a pile of spinach, and it was none too fresh either, from the looks of it.

Ashley bounced into the room, looking exceptionally cheery for someone who had been up until midnight battling quantrons. "Hi, everyone!"

"Well, you're in a good mood," Cassie remarked, smiling at her friend.

"That's right," Ashley replied, grinning back but not offering any explanation. Catching sight of TJ's plate, she stopped mid-bounce.

"TJ, what are you eating?"

"Or not eating, as the case may be," Carlos put in.

"DECA, come on." TJ appealed to the nearest camera. "I have to eat. You wouldn't want my strength to give out in the middle of a fight, now, would you?"

"Yeah, someone else could get hurt," Cassie put in, and he shot her a withering look.

"Thanks for helping me out here, Cassie."

She grinned unrepentantly. "No problem."

"Mine's fine," Ashley commented, coming over to the table with a plate full of bacon and eggs. She took a deep breath. "Mmm... smells good."

TJ gave DECA's camera a reproving look, then returned to the Synthetron to try his luck a second time. Over his shoulder, he heard Cassie say, "But I thought you didn't like the Synthetron's bacon and eggs."

"I changed my mind," Ashley replied cheerfully. "They're not so bad, once you get used to them."

TJ punched a few buttons, and this time, to his intense relief, a plate of perfectly edible pancakes emerged. "Thank you," he said to DECA.

Carlos was looking around as TJ sat down. "Has anyone seen Andros this morning?"

"He's still sleeping," Ashley told them, around a mouthful of bacon.

TJ saw Carlos and Cassie exchange glances, but in his indignation he missed the significance of Ashley's comment. "He's still asleep?!" Casting yet another look at DECA's camera interface, TJ grumbled, "Sure, Andros gets to sleep late..."

"How do you know he's still sleeping?" Cassie interrupted, cutting TJ's monologue short.

TJ raised his eyebrows at that, looking first at Cassie, then at Ashley. Carlos, too, stopped eating to catch her reply. But no matter what one could infer from her assertion, Ashley was the epitome of composure as she looked up. Meeting Cassie's gaze, she shrugged. "Well, he's not here, is he?"

Cassie's suspicious look waned, though it didn't disappear altogether. "We'll let it go this time, Ash," she said, and the knowing expression she shot at Ashley was so ridiculous they both burst into giggles.

TJ just shook his head and picked up his fork. "Man, am I ready for some pancakes," he declared, not speaking to anyone in particular.

A whooping siren cut through the holding bay, and DECA's camera flashed at them. "Astronema has sent quantrons to the warehouse district of Angel Grove," the computer announced.

"Well, that's original," Cassie commented dryly.

I must have jinxed us with that speculation about eating in the holding bay, TJ thought, grabbing one of his pancakes and polishing off the entire thing in three bites.

Taking a second pancake with him up the stairs, TJ managed to swallow the first and start on the second before Andros ran in. The Red Ranger nodded to all of them, and TJ shoved the rest of the pancake into his mouth as Andros leaped up the stairs. Barely taking the time to turn his back to his jump tube, Andros shot a quick look to his right before extending his arm and whirling with the rest of them to board their Gliders.

Cassie leaned forward, accelerating out of the holding bay and into the vast expanse of hyperspace. *These tunnels could take you anywhere,* she thought, luxuriating in the feeling of speed and freedom. Infinity coalesced into her eventual destination, however, and the sky's blue horizon suddenly arched overhead as light returned to normal.

As the warehouse district wavered into view, she drew back in shock and her Glider came to an abrupt halt. Quantrons lined the streets, peering from behind dumpsters and loitering in front of buildings. The longer she looked, the more she saw--and clearly, these soldiers had been waiting for them. A far cry from last night's skirmish, this could not be intended as anything but an all-out assault.

*Are we going to be able to handle this?* Cassie wondered, leaping off her Glider as quantrons rushed toward them.

The first blows were easy to duck, but as the number of simultaneous attacks increased, Cassie had to start blocking and striking back. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw four Gliders streak into the safety of hyperspace. Before her conscious mind could formulate the question, a red blur plowed headlong through the sea of metallic forms, astroblaster firing repeatedly.

Andros had not abandoned his Glider yet, and was using the advantage of speed and lift that the transport gave him to take out their groundbound enemies. The rest of the Rangers, unfortunately, lacked the necessary experience to make their Gliders anything but a liability in battle.

Cassie fell into her own pattern of attack, defend, retreat and attack again. Before long, though, she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up on her own, and she started looking around for the others.

As though that had been a cue, TJ hurtled past, head low and shoulders braced against a quantrons chest. The quantron stumbled and went down, and TJ followed, somersaulting across its prone form and coming to his feet with surprising grace.

"Want a hand?" he yelled to her, already grappling with another quantron.

Cassie set her feet and drove her elbow into a quantron's throat. "Thanks," she answered, spinning out of the way of its fall. She hit TJ's adversary with blade kick to the back of the knee, and watched in satisfaction as it tumbled to the ground.

TJ leaped over the quantron to tangle with another of its fellows, nodding at her as he passed. "Thank you," he said, a grin evident in his voice.

She nodded back, and the two of them fought side by side for a time. Several minutes passed before Cassie had the chance to look up again. She scanned the tumult quickly, looking for flashes of color amid the swirling silver.

Ashley was the first to catch her eye; a streak of yellow dancing in a deadly whirlwind farther down the street. Closer to Cassie and TJ, Carlos was also holding his own against the hordes of soldiers--barely.

"Carlos could use some backup!" Even as she shouted to her partner, twin lines of light found their mark among the Black Ranger's attackers, and the red Galaxy Glider shot past overhead.

A front snap kick knocked a quantron away from her, and the whine of Andros' astroblaster cut through the noise of the fight once more. Glancing back down the street, she saw Carlos toss off a salute after the Glider as it hummed away to check on Ashley.

Whirling past her, TJ summoned his Astro Axe and took out two quantrons in one blow. "We're stronger together than alone," he called, and she nodded, fighting her way toward Carlos in TJ's wake.

Carlos didn't even slow down as they flanked him--he couldn't. None of them could. They were simply too outnumbered to do more than strike and withdraw and strike again, watching each other's backs and hoping somehow they could keep this up for as long as it took.

*Where are all of these quantrons coming from?* Cassie asked herself for the fifth time. Something occurred to her, but she couldn't stop to think long enough to figure out what it was.

Carlos threw a punch that somehow missed its target in the melee, and the overextension left him vulnerable. Cassie twisted the arm of another and threw it to the ground before it could reach the Black Ranger, and Carlos rebalanced within seconds.

"Where's Ashley?" Carlos asked over his shoulder, fending off a quantron by the simple expedient of stepping out of its way. The speed at which it had come for him was not easily redirected, and the being stumbled several feet past its intended target.

Busy with her attacker, Cassie didn't answer right away. Then the quantron Carlos had sidestepped decided to go after her as well, and she found herself being forced away from her friends.

*This is not good,* she thought, ducking a blow and returning one of her own. It didn't have the force she'd intended, though, since she'd thrown it as she was recovering from her dodge, and the quantron was unfazed.

Falling back again, Cassie found herself completely on the defensive. Forcing panic out of her reactions, she let her training take over and block out all other thought. She allowed one of the quantrons past her guard, then grabbed the fist that came at her face, spinning out of the way and pulling the arm with her.

The quantron stumbled a little as it followed, and she forced its arm down toward the ground. Suddenly off-balance, the quantron was unprepared for her to reverse her motion, and an almost casual push knocked it flat on its back.

The maneuver had had the happy side effect of forcing the second quantron to give her some breathing room. Now, though, it came at her full force, and she centered herself, ready to throw it if necessary.

It wasn't. TJ's Axe came out of nowhere, striking sparks across the metal armor and causing the quantron to swerve. Then, before either of them could follow up, a tremendous roar swallowed up the sounds of battle. Everyone in the street, quantron and human alike, looked up as a shadow momentarily blotted out the sun.

Cassie drew in a sharp breath. The outline of the object hovering some fifteen meters above them was familiar, despite the shining halo of the sun that obscured its edges. She knew, with sudden and heart-wrenching certainty, just who had come to their rescue.

The shadow opened fire on the street below, and she watched without surprise as quantrons staggered and fell beneath the hail of laser fire. Moving slowly, the shadow ceased its unnatural eclipse and allowed the sun to return to prominence in the sky. The ship, silhouetted now in stark clarity against the morning horizon, continued to fire with pinpoint accuracy as it proceeded down the street.

Nearby, TJ took advantage of the general confusion to dispatch the quantron that had been coming for Cassie. She shook her head once, coming out of her reverie with a start. *This isn't the time for daydreaming,* she reminded herself sternly, returning to the fight with a vengeance.

The tide of battle had been turned by the arrival of their mysterious friend, however, and a few more minutes found the quantrons in retreat. She held out a hand to TJ, and he clasped it for a second before offering his own to Carlos.

"Good job, you guys," Carlos said, touching first TJ's hand, then Cassie's.

"You too, man," TJ answered, and Cassie murmured her encouragement as well.

The hum of a Glider, higher-pitched than the thrum of the one-man fighter ship that still hovered overhead, carried along the now quiet street. Cassie looked up, as they all did, to see the red Glider angling toward them with two passengers.

Ashley jumped off first, and Andros followed, shooting a look at the Yellow Ranger as he did so. She looked back, but Cassie had no idea what passed between them in those few seconds.

They turned to the rest of the group as though nothing had happened, and Cassie couldn't help glancing up at the shadow lingering in the sky. She vaguely heard Andros asking if they were all right, but paid no attention as reassurances were passed around.

*Will you leave now?* she wondered, praying to anyone who was listening that he would not. *You promised,* she reminded the pilot silently. *"See you soon," you said. Please don't make that a lie...*

"Earth to Cassie," Ashley said loudly, and Cassie tried very hard not to jump. She failed.

"Are you okay?" Ashley asked, her smug tone of voice saying that she knew very well what had distracted her friend. Cassie nodded anyway, making a face that Ashley would never see behind her visor.

"Don't make faces at me," the Yellow Ranger reprimanded her, a smile in her voice, and Cassie rolled her eyes, exasperated and amused at the same time.

"Andros to Phantom," Andros announced, and Cassie turned toward the Red Ranger. She held her breath, wondering if it was only her imagination that made it seem as though the response was overlong in coming.

"This is Phantom," his voice came back at last. "I'm glad you are well, Rangers."

"That's debatable," Carlos spoke up.

TJ added, right on top of the Black Ranger's remark, "We'll get back to you on that one."

"Are you all right, Phantom?" Andros asked, doing his best to ignore the other two.

"I am... well enough," the enigma replied. The pause in his answer was obvious to everyone listening, but it was overshadowed by the words that followed. "I have information on Zordon."

The silence that reigned after that comment went unbroken for a good ten seconds. Finally, Carlos repeated, "Zordon?" as though he'd never heard the name before.

As if they'd been waiting for a signal and Carlos had just given it, everyone started talking again. Even in the mild chaos that followed, though, Cassie didn't miss the turn of the Red Ranger's head, or the tilt to his helmet as he glanced toward Carlos. *The Look?* she thought, remembering Ashley's earlier complaint.

Then Phantom's voice came over Andros' communicator again, and they quieted. "I don't know how much of our conversation Astronema can overhear," he said, rather pointedly. "And I do not wish to put it to the test..."

Andros took the hint. "We'll meet on the Megaship," he said to his communicator, though his eyes took in all of the Rangers as he spoke.

"I will come," Phantom acknowledged.

The connection terminated, and Andros lowered his arm. He was frowning slightly, and Cassie saw Carlos and Ashley exchange puzzled glances as well.

She couldn't blame them; Phantom had been absent from their lives for months now. There had been times when she had worried he had been too badly injured the last time they saw him to call for help--not that he ever did anyway. He was worse than Andros when it came to asking for assistance.

There had always been a part of her that believed she would know if he died, even if the more logical part of her brain refused to accept that. But when weeks passed, with no word from him, and the weeks stretched into months, she had doubted. She suspected they all had, after seeing him barely able to stand following the encounter on Hercuron.

He was here now, though, alive and apparently well... *So why haven't we heard from him until now?* Cassie thought. She well understood the bemusement of her fellow Rangers--though in her case, the slight was a little more personal.

*He's a Ranger,* she reminded herself firmly. *You, of all people, know what that means. Some things are just more important, that's all...*

True though it was, that rationalization had seldom helped her sleep, or cheered her when she found herself staring out at the stars, searching for some sign that she had not been forgotten. Nor did it now quell the pain that came with watching Phantom's ship accelerate away and out of sight, even when she knew it was only heading for orbit.

"Hey," Ashley said softly, putting a hand on her arm. "You okay?" This time, there was real concern in her voice, and Cassie tried to smile.

"Yeah," she said, grateful to her friend for bringing her back to the present. "I'll be all right, thanks."

"Good," TJ put in. "Cause no one's allowed to be depressed." He slung an arm around her shoulder and drew her into the group she didn't even recall stepping away from. "We won, remember? Let's go finish breakfast!"

Cassie couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. Her first friend in Angel Grove had always been able to cheer her up. "That's right," she said, lifting her chin.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Carlos asked, looking skyward and raising his communicator. "Galaxy Glider--hang ten!"

Summoning her Glider restored the rest of Cassie's perspective, and she actually felt a little silly for being so morose. After all, as TJ had pointed out, they had *won*, and against frightening odds. And if she was going to obsess over Phantom, she might just as well be happy that he had finally decided to rejoin them.

*He certainly has good timing,* she admitted to herself, stepping onto her Glider. *I just wish it didn't take a catastrophe to make him put in an appearance.*

The five of them left the street behind, rising into the clear morning air together. Through some unspoken agreement, they bypassed the tunnels of hyperspace that would have returned them almost instantly to the Megaship and opted for the more leisurely pace of realspace flight.

Cassie kept an eye on the warehouse district until details were impossible to make out, and then she shifted her focus to include all of Angel Grove. Everything looked so peaceful, and the hazy sunshine promised a perfect beach day for teens, children, and adults lucky enough to get away with playing hooky from work.

She thought she saw Andros looking down as well, and she knew that he had to be thinking along the same lines--beautiful as the scene was, it instilled in her a desire to protect these people from forces that would take this perfect day away from them. *It's a warrior's instinct,* she mused, *to defend that which is vulnerable. And we are all of us warriors...*

A little ahead of the rest, Ashley executed a victory roll, crouching low to stay with her Glider as she flipped end over end. She looked like nothing so much as an exuberant skydiver, and Cassie felt a grin spread across her face. *Some more than others, of course,* she thought wryly.

Carlos evidently took Ashley's maneuver as a challenge, for he caught up to and passed her seconds later--but he didn't just swerve around her and continue on. He came up behind her and climbed sharply, turning over as he did so to zip by overhead and upside down, waving as he passed.

The air was thinning and sound carried less and less, but Cassie heard Ashley's laugh over her communicator. "Showoff!" the Yellow Ranger accused.

"You started it," Carlos pointed out good-naturedly.

Cassie looked around for TJ, surprised he hadn't joined in their sport. Even as the thought entered her mind, she saw the Blue Ranger angle toward Ashley and lean into the diminishing wind. "Coming through!" he yelled to the pair, accelerating to the point where Cassie doubted he would be able to turn in time to keep from hitting someone.

She trusted her friend's judgement though, and said nothing. Just as it looked like TJ and Ashley would collide, the Blue Ranger leapt into the air, somersaulting over Ashley and landing solidly on his Glider just as it shot out from beneath her yellow one.

"Hey!" Ashley exclaimed indignantly. "Since when am I part of your obstacle course?"

TJ just laughed, and the Yellow Ranger took off in pursuit across the darkening sky. Cassie shook her head at their antics, glad to see her friends having a good time.

That thought made her glance over at Andros, who hadn't spoken since they left Earth. He was staring straight ahead, though whether at their fellow Rangers or at the first twinkling stars that had begun to shine through the upper atmosphere, she couldn't tell.

"Andros?" she asked.

His helmet turned in her direction. "Yes?"

She smiled, fondly exasperated at his literalness. "I was just wondering if you were all right."

Up ahead, she saw the Ashley pause and look back toward the lagging Pink and Red Rangers. She didn't interrupt, however, nor did she attempt to join them, and Cassie was impressed by her restraint.

The twilight around them deepened considerably before Andros answered. "I was just thinking," he replied at last, but something in the way he said it made her think that he was troubled.

Tapping her communicator, she cut off her link to the other three Rangers, so they wouldn't hear her side of the conversation. "Thinking?" she prompted gently. "Do you want to talk about it?"

He shrugged, but a moment later, he cut his communicator off from the rest as well, making their discussion private. "It's just--" He looked ahead, at where TJ, Carlos, and Ashley were still trying to outdo each other.

"I'm not like that!" Andros burst out suddenly. Then, as though the outburst startled him, he added more quietly, "I'm not like you guys."

Puzzled, Cassie followed his gaze, not understanding the connection. "No one's exactly the same as anyone else, Andros. Our differences are what make us unique--they're something that should make us proud, not ashamed."

"But you guys are so..." He hesitated for a second, searching for the word. "Loose. Optimistic. I don't know."

"Carefree?" Cassie suggested, still uncertain what he was getting at but trying to see the other Rangers from his point of view.

He nodded. "Exactly." Andros sighed, though she didn't think he intended for her to hear it. "Especially Ashley..."

With those last two words, comprehension dawned. *He's not talking about us so much as he is about her,* she realized. "And you think you're not?"

"I know I'm not," he answered, still watching the friendly competition of the other Rangers. So quietly he was almost whispering, Andros asked, "Why would she want to hang around with someone so completely the opposite of her?"

Cassie's heart went out to him. "You've never heard that opposites attract?"

"Or explode," he mumbled. It took her a moment to realize that he'd taken her literally again, taking the science of what she'd said rather than the traditional usage.

"Andros," Cassie began, as the Megaship appeared first as a bright star, then a rapidly growing splotch in the night sky, "Ashley lo--likes you just the way you are." Not sure how far her friends' feelings went, she edited her sentence just in time.

"But--" he objected, not seeming to notice her stammer.

"Look at it this way," she interrupted him. "Why are you attracted to someone so completely the opposite of yourself?"

"That's different," Andros protested, the Megaship looming large in the background.

"Is it?" Cassie replied, just before the Megaship's teleportation system snatched them off their Gliders.

The flash of pink faded to reveal the Glider holding bay, and Cassie found herself standing, demorphed, in front of her jump tube. She glanced around for the others, and found gathered once more at the table on the lower level.

"Hey, slowpokes!" Carlos waved at them, and Cassie grinned back.

"Hi, speed demons," she replied, climbing down to join them. She caught Ashley's eye and tilted her head at Andros, who had come down the other set of stairs.

A slight frown creased Ashley's forehead, and she followed Andros over to the Synthetron. "Are you all right?" Cassie heard her ask quietly.

*I think that makes the fifth time someone's asked that question this morning,* Cassie thought idly, considering her interrupted meal.

"Is this contagious?" Carlos asked, watching Andros and Ashley with barely concealed curiosity.

"What?" TJ inquired, digging into his pancakes with gusto.

"This brooding. First Cassie, now Andros--it's going around like a bad cold," Carlos observed, turning back to the table. Regarding TJ with amazement, he added, "And how can you eat those? They've been sitting here for almost an hour!"

"Can't even tell," TJ assured him. "Besides, you got to eat before we left--I'm hungry!"

"You're not the only one," Andros agreed, returning to the table with a full plate and glass.

Ashley was right behind him, and she regarded her abandoned food with much the same air as Cassie and Carlos. Lifting her own glass, she wrinkled her nose as she tasted her drink. "My juice is warm," she complained, as though it were the most exasperating thing that had happened all morning.

Without a word, Andros carefully extracted an ice cube from his own glass and dropped it into hers. Ashley beamed at him, and Cassie hid a smile of her own. *And that,* she thought at Andros, *is one of the reasons she would want to "hang around with you".*

DECA broke into the ensuing pause with the announcement Cassie had been waiting for: "Preparing for docking procedures."

"Thanks, DECA," Andros said. Breakfast apparently forgotten, he headed for the door.

Cassie followed, pausing only long enough to return her plate and unfinished meal to the Synthetron. Carlos and Ashley were right behind her, and TJ caught up to them in the corridor, two pancakes in hand, rolled crepe-style for easier eating with his fingers.

"Docking procedures initiated," DECA said, to no one in particular. And, seconds later, as they approached the drydock chamber at the end of Deck 6: "Phantom's ship has been secured."

The five of them entered the chamber as soon as the door unlocked--which was to say, as soon as the other side stopped being a vacuum--and were in time to witness the last stages of their ally's arrival.

Technically, Cassie had known that Phantom's ship couldn't truly "dock". It had never been designed to connect with another vessel, and as such, had no airlock. Thus, his ship would have to be completely engulfed by an atmosphere--the Megaship's, in this case--for him to be able to exit safely.

The knowledge of this phenomenon was one thing, however. Actually seeing his ship hovering within the cavernous bay at the back of the Megaship was something else entirely.

The ship set down slowly, almost gingerly lowering itself to the ground. Then there was another wait while the engines and various other equipment powered down. Finally, though, the canopy seals were popped from the inside and the hiss of hydraulics could be heard as the clearsteel covering lifted.

The pilot climbed out without fanfare or flourish. As soon as his boots touched the ground, he turned to regard them for a moment. Then he walked forward, stopping little more than a meter away, and inclined his head. "It is good to see you again, Rangers," he said.

Andros let out his breath, though whether in relief or annoyance or a combination of the two, it was impossible to say. "It's good to see you at all," he responded, a half-smile on his face. "When we didn't hear from you after Hercuron, we didn't know what to think."

"Yes," Phantom admitted, glancing at each of them in turn. His gaze lingered on Cassie, and he said, "I'm sorry for that."

Caught staring, Cassie found she couldn't look away. *He looks so tired,* she thought. *What has he being going through these last few months?*

"I will tell you what happened, if you wish to know," he continued, still looking at Cassie, "but first, I have news that you should hear."

"You said you had information on Zordon," Ashley interjected.

Phantom nodded. "I have." From somewhere on his person, he retrieved a small data disk. "This is a recording of a transmission Dark Spectre sent to Astronema. His message mentions both Zordon and the Astro Rangers."

He passed the disk to Andros, who glanced at it as though he could tell what it said just by looking. Then he gave Phantom a curious look, but when the mysterious Ranger said nothing more, he shrugged.

"We'll play it on the Bridge," Andros announced--logical, since drydock had no diskreaders. The sensitive electronics couldn't withstand the vacuum of space that invaded whenever the doors were opened.

As the others trooped out, Cassie waited a moment, looking over her shoulder. Phantom hadn't moved.

"Phantom?" She addressed him the only way she knew how, since he'd never told any of them his name, or even if he had another name.

"Cassie," he replied, and she cocked her head at him.

"Coming?" she asked at last, when he said nothing more.

He nodded once, and the two of them left the room in awkward silence. Joining the others on the Bridge, they found a staticky image already playing on the viewsceen. The picture quality improved as time went on, but from the very beginning, it was impossible to mistake Dark Spectre's gravelly voice and lavalike form.

"Astronema," he began, "this is Dark Spectre, lord of all that is evil and despicable--"

Cassie rolled her eyes. She just couldn't take someone who sounded like Cookie Monster on a cookieless day seriously. *Especially when he uses such awful intros,* she thought, exchanging glances with Carlos, who was also trying not to laugh.

"I located Dark Spectre's ship almost a week ago," Phantom told them, seemingly oblivious to their semi-contained mirth. "I intercepted this transmission 28 hours later, and managed to decode it."

"You found Dark Spectre's ship?" TJ repeated, speaking over the recording, which was still going on about the evil glory of Dark Spectre.

"Yes," Phantom said. "But Zordon is no longer aboard it. He was taken from Hercuron by Divatox, who had orders to guard Zordon until further notice."

"Divatox!" Carlos exclaimed.

Studying the screen, Andros motioned for them to be quiet. Dark Spectre had finally gotten around to what Cassie assumed was the point of his message: "You have kept the Rangers busy, Astronema. Now you must increase your efforts--Zordon will be moved soon, and I don't want any trouble."

The being swiveled his giant head, and continued, "If those Astro Rangers get so much as a hint about Zordon, I will hold you responsible. Do whatever you have to to keep them distracted--maybe you'll get lucky and destroy some of them." His tone said that he found that almost infinitely improbable, and Cassie could just imagine Astronema's fury when she received the message.

As Dark Spectre rambled on with some not-very-subtle threat about what would happen if Astronema failed, Phantom took up his narrative again. "Two days later, the Dark Fortress appeared alongside Dark Spectre's ship. I do not know what words Astronema and Dark Spectre exchanged, but she departed again within the hour.

"I continued to follow Dark Spectre's ship under cloak, in the hopes that I would gain some clue as to Zordon's whereabouts. I monitored the Dark Fortress's progress back to Earth, however, and noted that she detoured several times to outposts overrun with quantrons."

The screen went dark as the message came to its end, and Phantom continued. "I realized that she and Dark Spectre must have resolved their differences--if that was indeed why she came to speak with him in person--and that Astronema had to be collecting soldiers to send against the five of you."

There was a quiet moment as Phantom's words sank in. It was strange to hear how their own situation had come about from someone who had witnessed both cause and effect. *And equally strange,* Cassie mused, regarding the black-clad figure with some surprise, *to hear the story from one who has never spoken more than three or four sentences at a time to any of us.*

"I couldn't allow you to face such an army unprepared," Phantom said at last. "My intention was merely to warn you, but Astronema was thorough in her efforts to isolate you from the rest of the universe. Not only did she attack your homeworld--" Andros shifted uncomfortably at that, but Phantom continued without pause, "--in effect keeping you here on Earth, but she also jammed all incoming interstellar communication to this solar system."

A general stir shuffled through the room. Cassie looked at TJ, then Andros, who shrugged at them. "We've had no contact from anyone outside the system for days, but that's not unusual. There was no way to realize what she was doing unless we were expecting a message from someone."

"Which we weren't," Carlos murmured.

"Well, it's a good thing you couldn't just warn us," Ashley opined. "If you hadn't shown up this morning, I'm not sure we would have been able to win that fight in the warehouse district."

"Yeah, thanks, man," TJ added. "We could have been in serious trouble without you."

Though sobering, Cassie knew their words were true. She saw even Andros nod in reluctant agreement.

"So what are we going to do?" Carlos asked, ever practical. "We can't just stand around and let Dark Spectre get away with this. If Zordon's being moved, he'll be easier to trace."

"And Dark Spectre knows that," TJ reminded him. "There's probably an entire army surrounding Zordon."

"Maybe not," Andros put in. "Astronema was supposed to distract us, remember? Dark Spectre must think that we have some chance of stopping him, or he wouldn't have bothered to assign her to keep us busy."

"Wait," Ashley said. "This is what I don't get--why us? Why are we so important that Astronema's only mission keep us occupied? I mean, there are other Rangers out there, right?"

"Every League planet has its own Ranger team," Phantom confirmed.

"But what about the other space Rangers?" Ashley persisted. "We can't be the only ones."

Though she'd never devoted much thought to it, Cassie had always assumed that the Astro Rangers weren't alone. After all, one team to protect a universe? That didn't seem very logical, especially when they were filling in for the non-existent Earth team.

As the others considered Ashley's question, Cassie couldn't help but notice that Phantom and Andros were being particularly silent. With Phantom, of course, it was hard to tell whether he was deliberately holding back information or simply didn't have anything to contribute. Andros, on the other hand, was rather obviously avoiding everyone's gaze.

TJ noticed, too. "Andros?" he asked, looking around at the others for support.

Andros shot a look at Phantom. Neither of them said anything, though, and Cassie wondered what they could possibly be keeping from the former Rangers of Earth.

"Andros," Ashley repeated, and he sighed.

"There are no other space Rangers," Andros told them. "There never have been."

"What?" Carlos looked as surprised as Cassie felt. "One team can't defend an entire universe from people like Astronema."

"It was never intended to," Andros agreed. "The universe is too big a battle ground. Ranger teams have always protected their planet of origin, or, in some cases, joined with each other to protect multiple worlds. There was no need for a space team, because every populated planet on the side of good had their own Rangers."

"So... what are we doing here?" Ashley looked around, the expression on her face one of confusion.

*I'm glad I'm not the only one,* Cassie thought, feeling as though she'd missed something vitally important to the conversation. "If there's no space team, then who are we?" she asked, bemused.

Andros shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "Technically, I'm still a Kerovan Ranger. My sister and I were to be part of the team defending KO-35..." He swallowed. "But Kerone was kidnapped before we were old enough to accept the responsibility, and after the colony was deserted, I was the only one of the four of us who were left that didn't give up my claim to the Ranger powers."

It took a moment before Cassie caught on to the irony of the situation: despite all of Andros' remarks when they had first met about her and her friends being planetary Rangers--he had originally been the same.

"But what does that make us?" TJ wanted to know.

Andros looked questioningly at Phantom, who shook his head. "I have been somewhat... removed from the current League proceedings. All I can tell you is that before Eltare fell, you were listed as Earth Rangers."

"Until a little after that, we were Earth Rangers," TJ muttered.

"You're probably still considered Rangers of Earth," Andros told him. "I've been listed as a Kerovan Ranger since I first morphed, and KO-35's been deserted for years."

"Bureaucracy's the same everywhere," Carlos said with a grin.

"Why Kerovan?" Ashley asked suddenly. "Why aren't you a Ranger for KO-35?"

"There are two habitable planets in the Kerova system," Andros explained. "The other one was supposed to be colonized as well, and since there were so few of us, there was only going to be one team for the two planets."

*Plus, it would be really hard to say KO-35ian,* Cassie thought, smiling to herself. Ashley nodded at Andros' explanation, but from the look on her face, she was thinking the same thing.

"So that leaves us with the unlikely alliance of Kerovan and Earth Rangers," Carlos mused. "And friends," he added, glancing at Phantom. "But it still doesn't answer my question: what are we going to do?"

"Andros had a good point," TJ said, and the speed with which he answered made Cassie realize he'd been thinking about this throughout the discussion. "Dark Spectre must think we're a threat, or he wouldn't have gone to this much trouble to keep us out of the way."

"We can't go after Zordon and leave your planet unprotected," Andros objected.

"But you said that Astronema was only distracting us," Ashley put in, looking from Andros to Phantom, and back again. "If we go in search of Zordon, she'll follow."

"Only if she's certain she can't force you to come back again," Phantom pointed out quietly. "Would you not return if she sent quantrons into the middle of your homes?"

"We'd have to be able to out-bluff her..." TJ said, thinking aloud.

Carlos shook his head. "That's too dangerous. What we need is someone who can stay behind on Earth and deal with anything she can come up with. With Earth protected, Astronema will know there's no way to lure us back here."

Before anyone could ask the most obvious question, Alpha, who had been oddly unobtrusive throughout the recorded transmission and ensuing conversation, suddenly spoke up. "I'm certain the Aquitian Rangers would be happy to help. After all, their team has helped Earth before."

"Of course!" TJ exclaimed. "Aquitar is far enough away that Astronema won't expect us to get help from there--and it's too far for her to send anything to attack while their Rangers are gone."

"Alpha, contact Aquitar," Andros ordered, and the robot threw its hands up in the air in a very familiar gesture.

"Yes, Andros, right away! Oh, this is so exciting..."

Cassie couldn't help smiling at Alpha's enthusiasm, and when TJ caught her eye, he was grinning too. She swapped smiles with Ashley as well before glancing at Phantom.

*Do you smile?* she wondered, finding no expression in his stance. Looking harder, she saw again the faint hint of exhaustion in his posture, and it alarmed her to see him sway slightly and put a hand out to steady himself on a nearby control panel.

Her concern must have shown on her face, for he looked directly at her and shook his head, just once. She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, but they were busy watching the screen as Alpha established a video link with Aquitar. Returning her gaze to Phantom, she nodded her understanding--but she vowed that if he was hurt, he would get medical care no matter what he said.

A flash from the screen made her shift her attention in that direction, and Cassie saw a peculiar logo of stylized five-colored swirls. *The Aquitian Rangers' logo,* she guessed, assuming that whoever was on the other end was seeing the five-colored bar that adorned all the Astro Rangers' uniforms.

She cast one more worried glance at Phantom before the image dissolved to reveal the underwater world of Aquitar. He was standing on his own now, though she suspected it was through willpower alone, and he faced the screen as everyone else did.

Cassie looked back just in time to see a girl somewhat older than herself staring out of the screen at them. "I am Cetaci, White Ranger of Aquitar," she introduced herself, bowing in the tradition of her people. "May I be of assistance?"

"I am Andros, Red Astro Ranger." Andros returned both the introduction and the bow, and continued, "We are contacting you in the hope that you will be able to help us outwit the villain known as Astronema."

"Yes, we know of Astronema," Cetaci replied earnestly. "And the Astro Rangers are also well-known on this planet."

Cassie didn't know quite what to make of that--Cetaci seemed sincere enough, but her formality and lack of expression made it hard judge the meaning of what she was saying. Still, Andros--whose ease at adopting the Aquitian way of phrasing things amazed her--appeared to take the comment at face value.

He went on, "We have been searching for Zordon for some time now, and a friend recently brought us new information on his whereabouts--but Astronema is making certain we can't act on that information. She continues to attack Earth, effectively containing us there."

"And you wish the Aquitian Rangers to defend Earth for you while you search for Zordon?" gain, there seemed to be no judgement in the question, just genuine curiosity--and again, Cassie was amazed, this time at the way Zordon seemed to be known everywhere.

Andros nodded. "We do." He offered no further reasons or excuses, simply waited for Cetaci to decide.

"One moment, please," Cetaci said, and the screen went dark. A tense moment passed while Cetaci contacted her teammates.

The answer was not long in coming. The screen brightened less than a minute later, and Cetaci smiled out at them. "We will come," the White Ranger assured them, and Cassie heard sighs of relief pass among her fellow Rangers.

"Transmitting coordinates for teleportation now," Andros said, fingers dancing across the control panel in front of him. "Thank you, Cetaci. We look forward to meeting you."

"And we you," she replied, touching her fingertips together in an Aquitian sign of respect. Andros mimicked the gesture, and the screen dimmed, flashing the five-colored swirls once more before it darkened completely.

"What coordinates did you give them?" Carlos asked.

"The lakeshore," Andros answered briefly, tapping a few more controls. "DECA, send these coordinates to everyone's morphers." Then, to Carlos, he added, "They need freshwater, and the lake is the largest source in Angel Grove."

Cassie pulled her sleeve up to reveal her astromorpher, still on her wrist from the recent fight. Tapping the catch to flip it open, and then several of the buttons inside, the numbers 1-0-8 flashed up at her in holographic gold before fading into nothingness. DECA's coordinates were transferred through the link, and her morpher reported a location lock for teleportation.

Around her, the others were doing the same thing. Exchanging glances, they crossed their arms simultaneously and turned into miniature waterfalls of red, yellow, blue and black light.

Cassie watched them go, then looked over at Phantom. "You're not coming," she said, stating the obvious.

"I am not needed," he answered.

"Plus, you can barely stand up," Cassie pointed out with some asperity.

"I'm fine," Phantom insisted, and she remembered the last time he had said that. It had taken the combined forces of both her and Ashley to hold him up.

"Come over here and say that," Cassie challenged, folding her arms in front of her. "I want to see you stand without leaning on that console."

For a moment, he just looked at her. Then, slowly, he stepped away from the scanner controls and walked carefully towards her. "I am all right, Cassie," he assured her, just as he stumbled.

She leaped forward, grabbing his arm and helping him into a chair. "Tell me what's wrong," she requested, leaving her hand on his arm.

He looked down at her hand, then at her face. Finally, he turned his head away. "Your friends are waiting for you."

"And if I go down there with them," she said, trying to lighten the mood, "how do I know you'll still be here when I come back?"

The way he started, head jerking up to look at her and arm twitching beneath her hand, told her that her attempt at humor had been far closer to the truth than she would have ever believed. For a moment, Cassie could only stare at him, bewildered and hurt. Then, softly, she said, "That's what you were going to do, isn't it. While we went down to greet the Aquitians, you were going to leave.

Trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice, she repeated, "You were going to leave..."

"Hey, Astronema!" Elgar's strident voice echoed across the Bridge of the Dark Fortress.

She turned, a glower darkening her youthful features. As usual, Elgar was oblivious to her displeasure, but that didn't stop her from glaring whenever he spoke. Soon, Astronema had vowed, she would find a way to send that incompetent buffoon back to wherever he'd come from.

Elgar's next words, however, ensured that today would not be that day. "Four of the Rangers just teleported down to the lake," he reported, loudly enough to deafen several nearby quantrons.

"Four?" Astronema repeated, momentarily distracted. She caught Ecliptor's eye, returning his speculative look with one of her own. "Is the Phantom Ranger with them?"

"Nope, he's not," Elgar said, as proudly as though he himself were responsible for this fact.

Ecliptor straightened, and she saw her bodyguard clench his fist around his broadsword. "Send down the quantrons," Astronema ordered.

As the sapphire glow cleared from TJ's eyes, he looked around with appreciation. Andros must have had a map on the tactical screen in front of him when he chose this location, because this spot was about as private as Angel Grove's lake got. The trees came right down to the water, hiding the Rangers from the beach on the other side.

Glancing across the water, TJ noted that the most popular beach area was empty this early. Still, there was no way to know how long that would continue, and he was thankful for the relative security their present location gave them.

*Now, as long as the Aquitians don't wait too long to put in an appearance,* he thought, looking skyward. Although no one would be able to sneak up on them here, the colored streaks of teleportation arching across the sky would be easy enough to see if someone were looking for them--and there were some people just curious enough to follow them.

"Hey," Ashley said, cutting into his musing. "Where's Cassie?"

TJ's gaze returned to the little clearing in which he and his friends stood--he and his friends, minus one. Cassie was not among them. *For that matter,* he realized, putting the pieces together in his mind, *where's Phantom?*

The one known as Phantom had seen a lot of hurt in his life. He had seen friends left behind and teammates lost, and he had seen the beginnings of a war that was currently shaking many of the League worlds to their very foundations. At one point in his life, he had thought he was so numb to pain that he would never feel anything again.

His first visit to Earth had changed all that, though. At the request of a friend, he had ventured across the universe to a small blue-green marble in orbit around a nondescript G-type star. He had sought out the Ranger team that defended it--this, one of the least significant of the League worlds, yet perpetually plagued with would-be conquerors. And here, on this out of the way world, he found something that most of his people spent a good part of their lives searching for.

He had known her as soon as he saw her, and had known, then, that he was not so impervious to emotion as he had thought. Her smile had kept him on Earth longer than he had intended to stay, and had made him return more often than he could justify. He had felt the bond between them, even that first time, and with that recognition he lost the impassivity that had protected him for almost two years.

Sometimes, he wanted that feeling of indifferent numbness back. More often, though, he felt he wouldn't trade the joy he felt at knowing her for anything. Even when, as now, that knowing brought him pain.

The look of betrayal on Cassie's face cut through his heart in a way nothing had for years. And it was almost worse to know that he could take that look off her face with a single sentence, and yet didn't dare.

Instead, his words were the opposite of those he wished he could say, and he hated himself for them even as he spoke. "I must leave... I'm sorry, Cassie."

She stared at him, still with that awful expression that made him feel as though there was nothing he could have said that would hurt her more. "I understand that," she said at last, "but to leave without even telling us... without telling me? Why would you do that?"

*This is why,* he thought, unable to look away from her sorrowful eyes. *I didn't think I could do it if it meant looking into your eyes and saying that I was leaving you again.*

"Phantom," she said, and he closed his eyes, knowing that every moment he lingered made it harder to justify leaving to her. But her hand rested gently on his arm and her voice fell like music on his ears, and he couldn't tear himself away.

"Phantom, please talk to me," Cassie said, and he opened his eyes to find her staring straight through his armor to his very soul.

"I..." He finally looked away, unable to bear the pleading look on her face. "I can't." Suddenly, the edges of his vision darkened, and he felt the familiar exhaustion catching up with him. He fought it off with an effort.

"Why not?" Cassie insisted, frustrated but still so gentle with him that he almost wished she would yell. It would make her distress easier to cope with.

"I have a mission to complete," he heard himself say, as though from a distance.

"What mission? To find Zordon?" Cassie's fingers tightened on his arm. "We all want that. Why can't--"

He jerked his head back as he started to nod off, but he knew he had given himself away. Cassie's arm was around him, now, lifting him from the chair and helping him into the lift. Her strength astonished him--or it would have, had he been thinking coherently enough to be astonished.

The next thing he knew, she was guiding him into the Medical bay, and DECA was saying something too quietly for him to hear. Then he was lying on the patient bed, staring up at Cassie's worried face.

Suddenly, she looked away, and it took him a moment to register that the alarm was shrieking at them.He struggled to sit up, knowing the sound meant danger and that it was his duty to help. But Cassie pushed him back down with one hand, giving him a glare that pierced the fog surrounding him. "*You're* not going," he heard her say, very distinctly. She said something else, this time to DECA, and gave him one more look before she disappeared.

He tried to hold the darkness at bay, but it would not be put off. The fog moved in closer, and he finally succumbed to its embrace, taking that last image of Cassie with him into oblivion.

"This is starting to get old!" Ashley yelled, using the emphasis on the last word to focus her energy into a hurricane kick that sent a nearby quantron flying into a tree.

"I mean," she continued, "you'd think Astronema would have something better to do--" As before, she made the accentuated word into a kiyah, this time punching a quantron in the chest. "--than send her endless robotic minions after us!"

Carlos tried to hold back a grin. Unmorphed, the Yellow Ranger was holding quantrons off with an ease he envied, even as he recognized the driving force behind it. Ashley was really mad now, and she was letting everyone know it. *If those quantrons know what's good for them,* he thought, *they'll stay away from her this morning.*

A brief gleam of pink sparkles amid the silver of the quantrons signaled Cassie's arrival. Assuming she'd tell them if it was important, Carlos didn't comment on her absence. TJ, on the other hand, had no such compunction.

"Nice of you to join us!" he shouted across the clearing.

"I'll go back to the Megaship if you want," Cassie retorted, blocking a blow and twisting the offending arm over the quantron's shoulder, costing it both its balance and standing position as it hit the ground with a thump.

Just then, further reinforcements arrived in the form of the multicolored water molecule pattern that characterized the Aquitian teleportation system. Fully morphed, the Rangers of Aquitar appeared in the clearing. They took only seconds to assess the situation before they, too, plunged into the fray.

Within moments, Carlos found himself without an opponent. The Aquitian Rangers were keeping every single one of the quantrons occupied, while the team from the Megaship caught a breather.

He looked around in the momentary lull, counting heads, just to make sure. Andros and Ashley stood off to his right, shoulders almost touching as they recovered together. TJ was only about a meter to Carlos' left, eyes darting across the fight, ready to leap back in at a moment's notice. Cassie stood on the other side of the clearing, and by the intensity of her expression, wanted nothing more than to hit something, hard.

*She stayed behind to talk to Phantom,* Carlos realized, feeling rather silly for not figuring it out earlier. *So--why does she look so upset?*

The Yellow Aquitian Ranger fell, and Carlos abandoned his train of thought, ready to lend aid if necessary. But the Blue Ranger beat him to it, sending quantrons sprawling as he moved closer to his fallen comrade and offered a hand. Yellow shoulder rolled backward and came to her feet without assistance, but she took the hand anyway in a surprisingly affectionate gesture.

*Romance is in the air,* Carlos thought wryly, inadvertently glancing at Andros and Ashley again. They both looked away from the fight at the same moment, locking gazes for a breath, and Carlos smiled.

He'd been jealous at first, he had to admit. Returning his gaze to the fight, he watched the Aquitians decimate the quantrons' ranks, idly remembering the day they'd met Andros. He'd known Ashley for years, and he'd recognized the look she gave Andros when he demorphed the first time: complete absorption.

Andros' appearance had surprised them all. Although they hadn't been prepared to see an alien when he demorphed, they certainly hadn't expected a human. Carlos had looked over to exchange glances with Ashley--a gesture they had made often that day, one of reassurance and support in the completely foreign environment in which they'd found themselves.

Only this time, Ashley hadn't returned it. He saw her gaze fix on Andros, saw her fall into his eyes and pull back immediately, the surprise on her face easily readable to him as she realized the effect their reluctant savior had had on her.

Even then, though, she didn't look in Carlos' direction. She'd stepped instead toward Andros, circling him with a speculative look on her face and poking him the way she might an doubtful bowl of jello. Carlos had recognized it as her way of distancing herself, but her haste to introduce herself on Cassie's heels made it clear she hadn't succeeded.

*She had a crush on him from the beginning,* Carlos thought, as the White Ranger tossed a quantron to the ground. *And somehow... he's come to mean more to her than that.*

*I'm glad,* Carlos decided finally. The five alien Rangers were driving the remaining quantrons back, toward the lake. *We'll never stop being friends--but her heart is his, and as long as Andros knows what a good thing he has, there's no reason for me to get involved.*

The quantrons evaporated into double pinpoints of light, vanishing into the midmorning air. The Aquitian Rangers broke out into cheers and congratulations, jolting Carlos out of his reflections. *Daydreaming during a battle,* he thought ruefully. *Ashley would laugh.*

The Aquitian Rangers were making their way back into the clearing, and Carlos, TJ, and Cassie moved over to flank Andros and Ashley. The alien Rangers positioned themselves so that the two teams faced each other at a distance of perhaps a meter and a half. There was an awkward pause while it seemed possible the Aquitians wouldn't demorph--but then, at some signal that Carlos missed, all five of them touched fingertips and thumbs together and their Ranger uniforms vanished.

He took in their black V-neck tunics, lined with purple and open far enough to reveal a shirt of their color beneath. Letting his gaze slide down the line, he quickly tried to match face with color for future reference--and stopped short when he reached the Blue Ranger.

Then Andros stepped slightly forward, and Carlos' attention returned to his team. "I am called Andros," the Kerovan Ranger introduced himself. "And these are Carlos, Ashley, Cassie, and TJ."

Each Ranger nodded as he said their name, and Ashley waved. Carlos noticed, though, when he snuck a glance at his teammates, that he wasn't the only one to take a second look at the Blue Aquitian Ranger.

"I am Cetaci," the White Aquitian Ranger declared in return. "My teammates are Aura, Delphinius, Cestria, and Billy. We greet you, Rangers of Earth." Bringing their fingertips together once more, each of the alien Rangers bowed.

Carlos gave his head a quick shake. *So it wasn't my overtired brain,* he thought, amazed. *Billy is definitely not an Aquitian name.* And the Blue Ranger was decidedly human looking.

Andros didn't seem the least bit surprised. "We welcome you, Rangers of Aquitar," he replied, imitating the bow, "and we thank you for your assistance, both past and future."

"Yeah, you have good timing," TJ put in, apparently unable to abide all this formality.

The Blue Aquitian Ranger grinned, but Cetaci merely cocked her head at TJ and said, "We came when we were called."

"Well, thanks," Cassie said, her expression cheerful even if Carlos knew her well enough to see through it. He wondered again what had transpired on the Megaship in their absence. "With Astronema's recent attacks, we wouldn't be able to risk leaving Earth to go after Zordon if you hadn't come."

"We are always willing to help our friends on Earth," the Yellow Aquitian Ranger told her. Turning her head to regard the human at her side, Cestria added, "You have always been there for us."

There was no mistaking the tender look that flashed between the two, and Carlos wished he could ask how their team had come to include someone so obviously not of Aquitar. *Then again,* he thought, looking over at the "alien" Ranger of their own team, *we've got Andros. Think of the stories we could trade with these people...*

As the Aquitian Rangers dissolved into topaz haze, something occurred to Ashley. When the Bridge reformed around her, she inquired of no one in particular, "Where exactly are they going to stay?"

Right on top of her, Carlos asked, "Who is Billy?"

They looked at each other, and Ashley saw TJ fold his arms across his chest. "As long as we're talking about unanswerable questions," the Blue Ranger said mildly, "can someone tell me how they knew to arrive morphed?"

A pervasive quiet settled over the Bridge, and Ashley glanced at Andros. He didn't appear to be paying the slightest bit of attention. Rather, his gaze roamed across the Bridge with an expression of confusion that he usually reserved for the actions of his shipmates.

Frowning, Andros wanted to know, "Where's Phantom?"

That brought Ashley up short. In the excitement of meeting the Aquitians, she had almost forgotten about their old ally. She shot a quick look around the Bridge as well, but Andros was right: Phantom was nowhere to be seen.

"Cassie?" TJ asked, and Ashley turned her attention to her friend--and found her halfway across the Bridge, heading for the lift.

Cassie barely paused. "He collapsed," she told them over her shoulder.

"What!" Ashley's startled exclamation was echoed by TJ, and Cassie halted in the doorway to look at them.

"A few minutes after you guys left, he just couldn't stand up any more," she said, the façade of cheerfulness that she had worn on the planet now gone. Worry had replaced it, tinged with an anger that Ashley didn't understand. "Even sitting down, he couldn't seem to stay conscious. I took him down to the Medical bay..."

Here, Cassie shrugged helplessly. "He wouldn't tell me what was wrong, though, and the alarm went off before DECA could check him out."

Eyes wide, Ashley looked around at the others, catching first Carlos' eye, then TJ's. They both looked as shocked as she felt, but TJ recovered quickest.

"We're coming with you," he informed Cassie, striding across the Bridge to join her. TJ gave her shoulder an sympathetic squeeze while they waited for the others to catch up, and Ashley saw Cassie send a small smile in his direction.

As they piled into the lift, Ashley felt someone bump into her from behind. Turning, she saw Andros duck his head, an apologetic expression on his face. "Sorry," he offered, and she waved it away, moving over to give him room.

"Deck four," Cassie ordered, and the doors slid shut. The trip took only seconds, but Ashley could sense the Pink Ranger's impatience nonetheless.

They emerged at last onto Deck four, heading for the open doors of the Medical bay. Like most of the other vital areas of the ship, the doors here were locked open for easier passage during an emergency.

By some unspoken agreement, they all let Cassie enter first. Phantom lay still on the only patient bed currently set up, showing no sign that he was aware of their presence.

Behind her, Ashley heard Andros' sharp intake of breath as he caught sight of his friend for the first time. She fumbled for his hand and tangled her fingers in his, looking for support as much as lending it. She had seen Phantom like this only once before, and it had been an experience she had never thought--or wanted--to repeat.

It was a minute before anyone could find words. Even Cassie, who had been the one to bring him here, seemed unwilling or unable to speak. She simply stood beside the bed, staring down at their reluctant ally.

Carlos was the first to break the silence. "DECA?" he asked, his voice tentative in the hushed atmosphere. "What's wrong with him?"

DECA's camera had been on when they entered the room, and now it turned slightly to observe Carlos. "The Phantom Ranger is not injured in any way," she replied.

Cassie looked up at that, and Ashley was surprised to see a glimmer of tears in her eyes. "DECA, he's unconscious," she pointed out quietly.

"He is asleep," DECA corrected.

Andros reached across Ashley and grabbed the datapad that had been linked to the medical scanners. "His vital signs are low, and his adrenaline level is too high..." The Red Ranger looked up. "That's nothing that can't be explained by extreme fatigue, though."

*When does Phantom sleep?* Ashley wondered suddenly. She'd never thought about it before, but he couldn't possibly live on his ship. *So where does he go?*

"So... he just needs rest?" TJ asked, apparently having trouble with the concept.

Andros nodded. "I don't know when he'll wake up, but when he does, he should be all right."

Cassie seemed somewhat reassured by this news. Looking more closely at her friend, though, Ashley saw the same hint of anger that had lingered in her expression earlier. Before she could wonder about it, though, Andros' fingers tightened on hers, distracting her.

Startled, she looked in his direction. His last comment had been directed at TJ, but he was staring at her with a look on his face that she couldn't interpret.

Ashley cocked her head, silently questioning him. He shook his head once, but Ashley just raised her eyebrows, not sure she wanted to let it go. It was more curiosity than anything else... What did he think about when he fixed that impassive gaze on something--or someone?

"I'll tell you later," Andros murmured. His tone, quiet though it was, carried clearly in the silent medical bay. Ashley saw Carlos glance at them, but TJ pretended not to hear. And Cassie... Cassie was so lost in thought that she might really *not* have heard.

"That's what you said before," Ashley whispered back, referring to his words when they'd returned to breakfast after the fight in the warehouse district. At his concerned look, she smiled to show she was only teasing.

With only a brief hesitation, Andros smiled back, and she caught her breath. He didn't often smile like that--a real smile, one that took the seriousness out of his eyes, not just a quirk of the lips--and to know it was for her made her feel warm inside.

"Hey, Andros," Carlos interrupted quietly, moving a step or two closer to them. "I know we're all worried about Phantom, but Ashley had a good point earlier. The Aquitians don't exactly have a place to stay on Earth..."

"Yeah," TJ agreed, moving away from Cassie and Phantom to join the group that now clustered against the far wall of the Medical bay. "We can't ask them to teleport back and forth from Aquitar."

"They won't," Andros said. He let go of Ashley's hand, whether out of self-consciousness or something else, she couldn't tell. "That's why we met them at the lake--the Aquitian team has a seaship that simulates the environment on Aquitar. They use it whenever they leave their planet for extended periods of time. It uses less power when it's submerged, so I sent them the coordinates for the lake, and the seaship teleported at the same time they did."

"Wait a minute," Carlos objected. "I admit I don't know much Earth Ranger history, and what I do know I can't keep straight, but I'm sure the Aquitians traveled to Earth at least once. And wasn't one of the major problems their difficulty surviving in our environment?" He looked at TJ and Ashley for confirmation.

Andros only shrugged. "If they visited your planet more than a year ago, it's no wonder. Their seaship is a relatively new vessel; I don't think it's even been field-tested more than a dozen times."

"And they trust it?" Ashley frowned, knowing how hypocritical she sounded but unable to help it. The Rangers had, after all, put their faith in completely untried mechanisms before, and in the middle of battle no less. But if there was one thing all those science labs had drilled into her, it was to never trust results until you'd completed as many trials as were feasible.

"It was designed by Billy Cranston," Andros replied, as though that explained it.

Ashley shot a bemused look at TJ, who just shrugged. Carlos, on the other hand, got it immediately. "Billy Cranston?" he repeated. "As in, Billy the Blue Aquitian Ranger?"

Andros nodded, and from the patient bed, a hoarse voice agreed, "One of the most brilliant minds on this side of the universe."

"Phantom?" Ashley exclaimed, following the words to their source.

They gathered around him once more, this time with an air of hope, rather than quiet fear. He managed to sit up, but was clearly too weak to maintain the position for long. Without a word, Cassie sat beside him and put her arm behind his shoulders for support. Phantom didn't object.

"Are you all right?" were the first words out of Andros' mouth.

Phantom nodded, although it seemed more of an effort than it had earlier. "I will be fine."

*Not,* Ashley noticed, *that he really answered the question...*

"Man, you had us worried there for a while," TJ said, shaking his head at Phantom.

"Yeah," Carlos agreed. "Don't scare us like that." Ashley wondered if he too was reliving that nightmarish time in the Power Chamber a few months back, when a scene vaguely reminiscent of this had played itself out.

"It was not my intent to alarm you," Phantom assured them, although the concern still present on Cassie's face was mute testament to his lack of success in that respect.

"So who's this Billy Cranston?" TJ wanted to know, after an awkward pause.

"You do not know of him?" Phantom sounded puzzled by this news. "He was an Earth Ranger for several years."

Surprised, Ashley looked at TJ and Carlos, but neither of them showed any signs of recognition either. "Dimitria didn't talk about the other Rangers much," she offered, trying to remember what Justin had said about prior teammates. She and her friends had been given their powers by the former Turbo team, but "Billy" hadn't been a part of it, as far as she knew.

Phantom started to shake his head, but the way he aborted the gesture mid-movement made Ashley wonder how well he really was. "He was a Ranger under Zordon, not Dimitria. I believe he was a member of your two earliest teams."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carlos shrug uncomfortably. "We were recruited rather suddenly. We barely had time to learn each others' names, let alone all the Rangers' before us."

"And it never slowed down after that," TJ added wryly.

"I understand," Phantom said with a small nod. "Billy Cranston left Earth shortly after he gave up his Ranger status, and succeeded in making his name known on both Aquitar and Triforia." He paused, but Ashley couldn't tell if he was having trouble speaking or just couldn't decide how much they wanted to know. "He returned to Earth for a short time before leaving the planet again, this time to live on Aquitar."

"And he's a genius?" Ashley asked, wishing they had had time to learn about their predecessors. They obviously led interesting lives, even outside their time as Power Rangers.

Phantom didn't reply right away, and Andros put in, "He's known for his mechanical and scientific knowledge."

Finally, Phantom managed to nod. "He is also a remarkable diplomat. Billy negotiated the Hydro-Aquitian peace accords several years ago, and he has been instrumental in keeping Aquitar out of the current war."

*It sounds like he knows what he's talking about,* Ashley noted. *He's either quoting some major news network, or he has some diplomatic connections himself...*

"Which reminds me," TJ began. "Would someone please explain this war to me? All I know is that Eltare's been conquered and Zordon was captured."

The Pink Ranger shifted slightly, and Ashley thought at first that she would speak. Then she realized that Cassie had turned a little to the side, bracing Phantom with her shoulder rather than just her arm. *He's leaning a lot heavier on her than he was a minute ago,* Ashley thought, glancing at Andros to see if he'd noticed.

The frown on his face said he had. "I'll tell you what I know," Andros told them. "But if we go to the Bridge, I can show you how to access Interstellar News. That way you can keep up on your own if you want."

TJ nodded. Ashley saw the look he sent in Cassie's direction, and the flash of understanding when he, too, realized that she was no longer just supporting Phantom--she was holding him up.

"Come on, man," TJ said, clapping Carlos on the back. "Let's go learn something."

"On summer vacation?" Carlos complained, his expression one of mock-horror. However, he too had caught the reason for Andros' suggestion, and he allowed himself to be led out of the room.

Ashley glanced at Phantom one more time before following. He had slumped against Cassie as soon as the four of them turned to leave, and Ashley suspected that being morphed was the only thing keeping him from going catatonic.

*Take care of him, Cassie,* she thought, preceding Andros out of the Medical bay. From the look on Cassie's face, the Pink Ranger wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon, and with a little luck, her presence alone would be enough to convince Phantom to stay put--*at least until he can stand without help,* Ashley thought.

It didn't take Andros long to tell what he knew of the war. "Phantom is the one you should be asking," he said at last. "He was based on Eltare for several years, up to until a few months ago, when Dark Spectre started gathering and coordinating the forces of evil into a cohesive enough unit that they could start causing serious trouble."

"But he said earlier that he'd been out of touch," TJ objected.

Andros dismissed the remark with a shake of his head and a touch of sarcasm. "For Phantom, that just means he hasn't attended any interstellar strategy sessions lately. I've never known him to be more than a week behind current events, at the most."

"So why didn't he know what our official designation was?" Carlos demanded.

Andros looked at him. "Did you know?" he asked pointedly.

Carlos shrugged, exchanging glances with Ashley. For some inexplicable reason, she covered her mouth and tilted her head down so she was staring at the floor. When Andros looked over at her, he saw repressed laughter on her face, and he wondered what he'd missed this time.

Shooting a covert glance in TJ's direction, Andros noted the Blue Ranger's puzzlement with relief. TJ apparently hadn't caught the joke either.

"No, I didn't know," Carlos admitted after a moment, once Ashley had managed to compose herself. He returned his attention to Andros, who decided to ignore the incident entirely.

"DECA, are communications still being jammed?" he asked, counting on the onboard computer system having overheard their earlier conversation with Phantom on the Bridge.

"No, Andros," DECA replied. "Shortly after their arrival, the Aquitians Rangers deactivated the jamming field."

Unsurprised, Andros said only, "Send our thanks." He made a mental note to speak with the Blue Aquitian Ranger later, when they weren't so pressed for time. Now, though, he was already busy at the station Ashley usually supervised. Odd how he had started to associate places with certain members of the team, despite their relatively short time on the Megaship.

"This is how you access IN," he said over his shoulder, and the others gathered around the station as well to peer at the console in front of him. Andros took them through the basic steps of logging onto the news network, then stepped back and let them try it on their own. It wasn't difficult; it had simply never occurred to him that they wouldn't know how to do it, and none of the Rangers had ever asked.

"DECA," he said, watching Ashley play with the settings on the screen. "Set the scanners still calibrated for long range to start scanning for interdimensional energy signatures." Zordon, and others who were not entirely of this dimension, were easily detectable through the distortion their presence caused in the space-time continuum. The distortion was maskable, of course--but if Zordon was in transit, whatever shielding Dark Spectre had around him would be temporary and possibly incomplete.

"Yes, Andros," DECA acknowledged.

Andros crossed to the auxiliary scanner controls, intending to add to the preprogrammed search parameters. Zordon's dimensional distortion was the most obvious thing to scan for, but Phantom had mentioned that the Eltaran had been under Divatox's guard when he was taken from Hercuron. He augmented the scanners' search with instructions to flag any indication of Divatox's army and alert the Rangers to it, as DECA would alert them if any trace of Zordon was detected.

Suddenly aware of someone's presence at his shoulder, he looked up. *I must be getting used to them,* Andros thought, *if I didn't even hear her come up behind me.*

He turned toward Ashley, who was staring curiously at the console. "You're adjusting the scanners," she observed. "Why? I heard you tell DECA to scan for Zordon already."

"DECA knows what to look for when I ask her to scan for Zordon," Andros explained, leaning back against the console to give himself a little extra space. Ashley had a tendency to stand too close, and now that he didn't have to imagine what it would feel like to hold her, it was more distracting than ever. "After what Phantom told us, though, I figured the scanners should look for Divatox's ships as well."

Ashley nodded slowly. "Yeah..." She looked over her shoulder before asking softly, "Do you really think we're going to find him?"

"Zordon?" Andros looked at her in surprise. He'd never seen Ashley doubtful--she was one of the most relentlessly cheery people he knew.

She nodded again, folding her arms. The gesture made her look suddenly smaller, and at first Andros didn't know what to say. "I don't know," he told her after a moment of studying her. "But I have to believe we will--maybe not this time, but soon."

Ashley stared back at him, considering his words. Disconcerted once again, this time by her direct gaze, he had to force himself not to look away. At last, she started to smile--the same bright smile she had used on him at breakfast that had nearly made him drop his glass.

"Thanks, Andros," she said quietly. "You're right, of course--sometimes it just makes me feel better to hear it, you know?"

He managed a quick smile in response, but her innocent comment evoked thoughts of his own private search, begun long before the war had started. He hadn't had anyone to tell him he would succeed, to urge him on when he felt like giving up. *I didn't have anyone at all,* Andros remembered, not sure how to feel about the memory.

He did know that he could no longer imagine going back to that life, without the other Rangers--without Ashley. It scared him to think that once he had been strong enough to live like that, when he knew he would miss their companionship now if he had to do it again.

Ashley's hand on his shoulder startled him out of his reverie. He looked up, and fought the instinct to distrust the kindness in her eyes. *She cares,* he thought, as amazed now as he had been the day before when her lips had touched his.

"What is it?" Ashley whispered.

For once, he answered without thinking. "When did I start liking you so much?" Andros wondered aloud, and saw her brown eyes soften.

"I like you too," she murmured, sliding her arm through his and leaning into him. "Very much."

TJ's voice intruded on the moment. "Hey, guys! Check this out!"

Andros glanced over his shoulder to see Carlos and TJ peering intently at the screen. Ashley sighed, and as he turned back to her, he saw her roll her eyes in TJ's direction. Uncertain, he caught her gaze and shrugged.

Her annoyance melted into a smile, and she tugged on his arm. Glad he didn't have to let go just yet, Andros let her pull him across the Bridge to where TJ and Carlos stood.

"Someone was more observant than we thought," Carlos said, eyes still on the screen.

"Or just lucky," TJ commented.

Arm still linked through Ashley's, Andros noted with bemusement the logo in the corner of the screen. Nothing he was familiar with--*an Earth program,* he thought as understanding dawned. *Forty-two interstellar news channels, and they watch a national program from Earth.*

The reporter seemed to be announcing, of all things, a Power Ranger sighting. "--this footage was caught on home video at Angel Grove lake this morning."

Her image was replaced by a sky shot, probably intended to catch the hawk soaring past overhead. Then the camera skewed suddenly, and a technicolored smear darted past the lens. A half-second later, the colors were back as the operator managed to focus and follow the motion as it arced across the sky. Five individual blurs were distinguishable, and if one knew what to look for, it wasn't hard to pick out the stylized water molecule pattern of each color.

They were gone in seconds, rendered invisible among the trees on the north side of the lake. The camera operator attempted to zoom in on their location, but got nothing except the fading glow of rematerialization as it shone briefly through the vegetation.

"It's a good thing they came morphed," Carlos remarked, turning the volume down as the reporter replaced the lake view on the screen.

"Standard procedure now," Andros said absently, watching the news program flash what must be old footage of the Aquitian Rangers. "The Rangers are the ones on the front lines in the war, so teleportation to any involved planet, even one so far on the fringes as this one, is done morphed."

TJ gave him a look, possibly for the "fringes" comment, but said only, "Well, it's a good thing. If we'd been a little closer to the water..."

Suddenly aware of the concern coming from both TJ and Carlos, Andros looked away from the news program. "What do you mean?"

"Well, they're pretty recognizable," Ashley tried to explain. "If that camera had seen them seen them unmorphed, there wouldn't be much doubt about who the new Rangers are."

Remembering the rule of secret identities that seemed so prevalent on Earth, Andros began to understand their fear. "The Aquitian Rangers don't hide their identities. They won't mind your people knowing who they are."

"Our people?" Ashley murmured, turning to look at him.

At the same time, TJ said, "I thought one of the conditions of being a Power Ranger was that no one know who you are."

Not certain how to respond to Ashley's questioning glance, Andros looked at TJ instead. "Only on worlds where the inhabitants are..." Not sure how to avoid offending them, he paused. "Sheltered," he said at last.

He could practically hear Ashley raise her eyebrow, but she said nothing. Carlos, on the other hand, repeated, "Sheltered?"

"Or where the Rangers are particularly young," he added quickly, but that didn't seem to help.

"Young?" TJ echoed.

"Did people on KO-35 know you were a Ranger?" Ashley wanted to know, and this time he was grateful for her diversion.

With a quick shrug, Andros replied, "It's hard to hide something like that in a colony of only about three thousand people."

Distracted, Carlos muttered, "Try Angel Grove. You never notice how curious people are until you have something you don't want them to know..."

"Most Rangers' identities are known to the people they protect," Andros told them. "Even if they're not active, every League world has a team to call upon if they're needed, and usually everyone knows who they are."

"Earth didn't," Carlos pointed out. "The Power Rangers never appeared until Rita Repulsa attacked."

Andros tried not to sigh. "Earth did," he insisted. "Just because they had never morphed before doesn't mean they weren't Power Rangers. They didn't even have to know it themselves--they had the right skills, honor, and discipline, and they came when they were called. They would have been Rangers even if Earth had never had need of them."

"Anomaly detected," DECA announced, effectively ending the conversation. "One of Divatox's ships has been located in sector 439."

Andros moved over to the scanner controls, shutting off the news channel and switching to long-range scanner display. "Any sign of space-time distortion?" he asked, as a magnified and slightly fuzzy image of the ship in question appeared on the main screen.

Computer enhancement sharpened the image, and DECA replied, "No, Andros. Effects of interdimensional existence are negative."

*Masked,* Andros thought immediately, even though he knew it wasn't the mostly likely explanation. If Zordon were being moved, he would have a considerable escort. Even if Dark Spectre were going for subtly over strength--which he had never been known to do before--he wouldn't leave a single ship to make the transfer without a much better armament and shielding capacity than this one displayed.

"DECA. Set a course for sector 439." Andros ignored the skeptical looks of the others, instead concentrating on the engine preflight sequence.

"Andros," Ashley began. "If Zordon is on that ship, wouldn't it have some kind of guard around it?"

He nodded without looking up. "I doubt we'll find Zordon there. But Divatox keeps her people under tight control--if one of her ships is in sector 439 alone, it's probably on a reconnaissance mission. The others won't be far away."

The silence said that she hadn't thought of that. *Someone needs to teach them something about space,* Andros thought for the hundredth time. But when they weren't fighting, it didn't seem important, and when they were fighting, there wasn't time.

"I'll go tell Cassie," TJ volunteered.

DECA's camera blinked. "I have already informed Cassie of the situation."

Andros only shook his head. *I shouldn't have let Phantom near the computer last time he was onboard,* he thought wryly.

The automated preflight flashed an OK signal at him, and he moved up to the pilot's console. Keying the thruster controls, he accelerated the Megaship slowly out of its Earth orbit and into the interplanetary space beyond. As they headed past the moon, he pushed the thrusters to full, feeling them strain against the sun's gravity.

He sensed Ashley at his shoulder again, and tried to remember when they had stepped apart. He hadn't noticed, although now that she was back, he didn't know how that prior emptiness had gone unremarked.

Andros smiled at the enthralled expression on her face as she stared at the forward screen, now showing a realtime image of the stars. It was a sight he had seen many times before--indeed, so had she--but watching through her eyes, he felt a new wonder flood through him.

Jupiter turned peacefully in the upper lefthand corner, growing larger with every second. Four distinguishable moons hung silently still about the red-gold bauble, caught midrevolution as they climbed or fell around the ringed gas giant. Beyond, Saturn had become a recognizable point of light against the otherwise static background of stars.

"DECA," Andros said at last, reluctant to spoil her view but aware of the time passing as they stood and stared. "Hyperush three."

"Hyperush three," DECA acknowledged, and Andros moved away from the controls.

Gesturing Ashley into his place, he asked, "Will you take us out?"

She shot a surprised look in his direction. He saw the surprise fade as she realized what he was asking, and delight took its place. Stepping forward, Ashley put both hands on the engine controls and drew them back simultaneously. The exterior cameras failed as the Megaship reached, then passed, lightspeed, and a computer-generated simulation of starlines took the place of realtime images. They were on their way.

5. Transition

The Medical bay was as close to silent as any place on the Megaship ever got. The ever-present hiss of the air recyclers seemed muted, and the hum of life support systems that kept the ship warm was least intrusive in the patient ward.

Thanks to the quiet stillness, Cassie could plainly hear the thrum of the engines as they came online. *We're moving out of Earth orbit,* she thought, glancing instinctively toward a nonexistent window.

Without visual cues, she could only wait for the subtle shift in the vibration of the deck that would tell her the switch from thruster to engine power had occurred. As soon as it came, DECA's voice returned to the Medical bay to announce, "Hyperush three."

Cassie attempted a smile. "Thanks, DECA," she said, and the camera flashed once at her before going dark again.

*We're off after Zordon again,* she mused, gaze returning to the prone form on the patient bed. *You've been looking for him for months, and we're supposed to find him in a couple of days?*

*Months...* Had it really been only months since she'd last seen him? *It felt like years,* Cassie thought, staring at the figure lying before her. He hadn't even said goodbye the last time, leaving only a recorded message that asked her not to forget him.

At first, the words had cheered her, and she had asked DECA to upload the message to the terminal in her room. As the weeks went by without word, however, she had started to worry.

She knew he was, by nature, a loner, even as she had been before she'd met TJ and become a part of the Ranger team. But his message had seemed to indicate that he would be in touch eventually, and she knew how badly injured he had been. As time passed, increasing concern for his well-being plagued her thoughts and even began to affect her dreams.

*Don't you understand how hard it is to not know?* she demanded silently, knowing she could never be so harsh to him when he was awake. Now, though, she couldn't repress the anger that his apparent carelessness caused.

*Do you have any idea how many times I tried to sleep and couldn't, because I was afraid I'd see you like this in my dreams? Defeated or dead, or injured too severely to call for help?*

She continued to rail against him within the privacy of her own mind until she felt a little calmer. Gazing at him with less antipathy, Cassie shivered suddenly. It scared her sometimes, how much his absence affected her.

"Why are you so important to me?" she wondered aloud, her voice a whisper. "I barely even know you..."

From the day she'd first caught a glimpse of him--invisible, yet somehow reflected for her eyes only in a mirror--she knew he would change her life. She hadn't understood how, or why, but there had been no denying the connection between them.

*Why?* she asked again, the question directed at herself rather than him this time. *Who is Phantom? Would I even recognize him if I saw him without his armor?*

Logically, she knew she wouldn't--she couldn't; he had never demorphed around her or her friends. But there was a part of her heart that insisted that the answer was yes, she would know him anywhere, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't ignore that feeling.

Lost in thought, she would have missed the sudden twitch of his fingers if she hadn't been staring directly at him. "Phantom?" she inquired softly, leaning forward to take his hand.

At first he didn't reply, and she wondered if the movement had been her imagination. Then, slowly, he turned his head toward her. "I'm sorry, Cassie," he whispered. His voice sounded choked, but not particularly sleepy. "I'm sorry this had to happen."

Her grip tightened at the pain in his voice, though she didn't understand its source. She had the distinct impression that he wasn't referring to the circumstances that had brought him to the Megaship's Medical bay.

"What?" she asked, sympathy and curiosity fighting for expression in her tone. "Sorry what had to happen?"

She waited, but no answer seemed forthcoming. *He started this,* she thought, feeling her earlier frustration returning. *It's not like I asked something he didn't want to answer--he answered a question I didn't hear.*

"You don't have to talk to me," she said, trying to be as gentle as she could. "But I'm listening, and I do care."

He stared at her for what seemed an interminably long period of time. Then, turning his head away, he repeated, "I'm sorry."

Cassie sighed inwardly. *Don't be sorry,* she thought at him. *Just tell me what's going on!*

She had not thought to hear him speak again, but after a moment, he said, almost inaudibly, "It wasn't supposed to be like this."

This time, she said nothing. Her curiosity was screaming at her to ask, but in the end, silence seemed to produce better results than anything else. Cassie shifted on her stool and waited.

Finally, Phantom looked back at her. "You asked why I was so important to you."

Startled, she bit her lip to keep from exclaiming. *That's the last time I assume he's asleep,* she promised herself.

His next words drove that concern from her head. "You are important to me, as well," he said, voice quiet. "More important even than my own life, and you have been so since the day we met."

Cassie had no idea how to answer that, except with joy and amazed relief at the words she had never stopped hoping to hear. But she could vocalize neither feeling, so, after a violent struggle to get her emotions under control, she managed to ask simply, "How is that a bad thing?"

"My people--" his voice was strained, as though he were forcing himself to say the words. "We love for life. We bond with our partner at first sight; a recognition that none of us truly understand, but no one can deny.

"For some, there is an empathic link as well, which is probably the source of your feelings. I would--" he swallowed, and she felt his gloved fingers convulse beneath hers. "I would end it, for your sake, if I could. But I cannot."

Cassie found herself speechless for the third time in as many minutes. "Empathic link?" she stammered at last, incapable of anything more coherent.

He gave a short nod, expression hidden behind his visor. "Some partners can sense each other's feelings. It is stronger the closer they are to one another."

"You mean--like ESP?" Cassie focused on the one part of his explanation that he seemed to be able to discuss without distress.

"You do not question Andros' telekinesis," he retorted, and she blinked. She'd never heard him defensive before.

"I'm just trying to understand," she protested, standing for a moment to nudge her stool a little closer to the bed. "You think I feel this way about you because of some... link we have?"

"Recognition is not a common thing outside of my people," Phantom told her, his voice growing quieter again. "The blame, therefore, is mine. And I fear my own feelings have influenced yours to a greater degree than I would have expected."

"What?" Cassie exclaimed, still on her feet. She let go of his hand to fold her arms over her chest. "Let me get this straight. Each of your people has some kind of connection with the person they're going to fall in love with, so that they know each other as soon as they meet?"

She didn't wait for his confirmation, just plunged ahead, all of her frustration freeing itself in the form of anger toward Phantom. "And you think that because I'm human, I'm not worthy of this connection and it's all you. And on top of that, you assume I can't have any feelings of my own, and those are yours too!"

She stopped, suddenly realizing that she was shouting at him. It was exactly what she had promised herself she wouldn't do--he was too fragile right now, and he didn't deserve her reproof even when he was well. *Not that he even cares,* she thought bitterly, remembering his plan to leave while she and the others were on Earth.

The seconds stretched out, and Cassie found herself glaring down at him. Shaking her head abruptly, she looked away, ashamed of her outburst.

"Cassie." His voice, soft as it was, got her attention. She turned, almost involuntarily, back toward him. "I did not mean to imply that you are somehow inferior to my people. I only meant that there is no reason for you to feel anything for me, except for what I have unknowingly projected onto you."

"Why not?" she demanded. "Why can't I love you for my own reasons?"

She was reacting, not thinking, and the words were out before she had time to consider what they meant. Once released, though, they seemed to echo throughout the room, and her eyes widened as she realized what she'd said.

Cassie suffered through the long pause, wondering if she should take the word back or let it remain unaltered. *It was just because we were arguing,* she rationalized. *Or at least, I was arguing. It was just a rhetorical question...*

But it wasn't. She knew it, and though the strength of her feelings frightened her, she knew they were her feelings. Which only left the question of why he didn't seem to believe it...

"Because I don't deserve it," he whispered finally. "I am to you an alien, a Ranger without a team, without a purpose in life except for you. You are not one of my people, and as such there is no reason that my recognizing you implies any return affection on your part. I can come up with no reason for your feelings, except that they are a reflection of my own."

"Can you tell what I'm feeling now?" Cassie asked suddenly, determined to end this empathic link theory of his.

After a few seconds of consideration, he shook his head once. "No. I can not."

Reseating herself on the stool, she shrugged at him. "I can't tell what you're feeling, either. You said empathy means we should be able to, right? And it works best over short distances--we can't get much closer than this. So..."

She trailed off, assuming it wasn't necessary to explain where she was going with that train of thought. He said nothing for a few moments, but the entire conversation had been somewhat staggered, so she simply sat forward and watched him while she waited for him to work through what seemed perfect logic to her.

Either he agreed, or he was willing to be convinced, because he lifted a hand toward her. His movement tentative, probably not certain how she'd react, he reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her face. Though their skin didn't touch, Cassie caught her breath, closing her eyes for a split-second.

When she opened them again, he was still staring at her, his hand half-raised as though he couldn't quite decide what to do with it now. She captured it with both of hers and held tight, giving him what she suspected was a somewhat dreamy smile. "My feelings are my own," she assured him, in case he still had any doubt. "And..." She couldn't quite bring herself to repeat the word she'd used earlier. "I care for you very much."

"And I you," he murmured.

They stayed that way for several long minutes, silence speaking what neither of them could say yet. Finally, she felt him relaxing, and she lowered his hand so that he could sleep more comfortably. Cassie herself settled back on her stool to continue her vigil, with a lighter and far more joyful heart.

"Hey, Carlos!" TJ's voice, muffled by inch-thick steel and concurrent with a loud rap on the door, woke Carlos out of a restless doze.

"Just a minute," he mumbled, rolling off his bunk and standing up. It took a moment to reorient himself--he wasn't used to napping in the middle of the day, and it played havoc with his internal clock.

Pushing his hair out of his face, Carlos went to the door and keyed it open. TJ stood there, full of his usual energy and looking so animated that Carlos wondered if it were possible to grow more tired simply by looking at such a person.

Taking in his expression and general disheveled look, TJ raised his eyebrows. "Man, were you sleeping?"

Carlos nodded. "Yeah..." Rubbing his eyes, he asked rhetorically, "Whose idea was it to stay up talking last night, anyway?"

"Yours," his friend teased. "Come on--you want to get some lunch?"

As he stretched, Carlos couldn't help but smile at TJ's unflagging enthusiasm. "Sure," he agreed, running a hand through his hair again in an attempt to smooth the tangles out of it. "Just give me a second."

He ducked back into his room and retrieved an elastic from his bureau. Pulling his hair into a ponytail, he twined the elastic around it and grabbed his uniform jacket. He tossed the jacket over his shoulders and rejoined TJ in the corridor.

"I already asked Cassie," TJ told him as he shoved his arms through the sleeves. Starting down the hallway, TJ continued, "She said she'd eat later."

They exchanged a knowing look. "I suppose 'later' won't be until Phantom is better," Carlos remarked.

TJ shook his head. "She has to eat. If she doesn't have lunch, I'll take her a sandwich or something later this afternoon."

"No one really needs to stay with him, do they?" Carlos asked, wondering if there was more to this than Cassie's obvious infatuation with Phantom. "I mean, DECA's keeping an eye on him, and it's not like he's awake or anything, right?"

TJ shrugged. "Actually, Cassie says he woke up earlier. She thinks it's been a long time since he slept for more than a few hours in a row, and she's worried he'll be disoriented if he keeps waking up in an unfamiliar environment."

Carlos was impressed in spite of himself. Cassie was a good friend, and he had always respected her, but when it came to Phantom, she acted like a kid with her first crush. This time, though, he conceded that she might have thought, rather than just feeling.

*Thought more than the rest of us, at least,* he thought ruefully. *It never occurred to me that he could be so burned out that he might not know where he is, but it's possible...*

As they approached the Bridge, Carlos could hear muffled voices drifting through the open doors of the Megaship's nerve center. Neither Andros nor Ashley was visible from the hallway, however, and they must have been at enough of an angle to the doors that their words didn't carry around the corner clearly enough to discern.

He wondered suddenly what they found to talk about. Andros had never struck him as a very good conversationalist--being alone in space for however long probably did that to a person. Ashley, on the other hand, loved to talk, and somehow he couldn't imagine her and Andros having the same kinds of discussions Carlos remembered having with her.

His ruminations lasted only seconds, but it was long enough to carry him and TJ onto the Bridge and within range of the conversation. Being able to overhear their words, however, didn't make the subject any clearer.

Ashley sat next to the auxiliary scanner controls, in almost exactly the same place and position Carlos had seen her in when he had left more than an hour ago. Andros, his back to the scanner readouts, was leaning against the console. "It's only because you don't concentrate hard enough," he was saying as TJ and Carlos walked in.

"I do concentrate," Ashley insisted, clearly confused about something.

Andros saw them first, and Ashley broke off, following his gaze toward the door. "Hi Carlos, TJ," she greeted them cheerily, her earlier puzzlement melting into a smile.

"Hey, guys," TJ returned, lounging against the doorway. "You up for some lunch?"

Ashley and Andros looked at each other, their hesitation obvious. "We'll join you in a few minutes," Ashley said at last, still watching Andros.

He nodded, and she turned back to Carlos and TJ, an apologetic look on her face. "Andros is just trying to explain something to me..."

She trailed off, reluctant to elaborate, and Carlos waved it away. "No problem," he assured her. He tried not to be hurt by her obvious wish that her conversation with Andros remain private. "Whenever you're done."

"Thanks," Ashley said, giving him a relieved smile. "We'll be right there."

Carlos could take a hint, and TJ pushed himself away from the wall and swung out into the corridor beside him. The short walk to the Glider holding bay was silent, but Carlos was too preoccupied to notice. *There was a time when Ashley and I told each other everything,* he thought, the image of her and Andros staring into each others' eyes still firmly embedded in his mind.

As they entered the holding bay, TJ put out a hand to stop him. "Hey, man," he said, when Carlos looked at him in surprise. "Are you all right?"

There was real concern in TJ's voice, and Carlos wondered if he had been that obvious. "Sure," he said, smiling and trying to dismiss his feeling of abandonment.

"It's kind of weird, seeing them together," TJ said, apparently unwilling to let the issue go. "I know you and her are closer than the rest of us..."

If it had been anyone but a fellow Ranger, Carlos would have told them to mind their own business. But he knew TJ was only trying to make sure he was all right, and Carlos appreciated it. Unfortunately, that didn't make it any easier to voice his thoughts.

"I don't know," he said, shrugging uncomfortably. He tried not to sigh. "I guess I feel like I'm losing my best friend."

The moment the words were out, he knew how forlorn they sounded. He wished he could take them back, knowing TJ would just say something about how he wouldn't lose her friendship just because she was interested in someone else. Under other circumstances, Carlos might say the same thing to someone else--but when he was the one in the situation, the phrase sounded hollow.

To his surprise, TJ just nodded. "I know what you mean," his friend agreed. Carlos looked at him, not following--until he remembered TJ saying "I already asked Cassie..."

*We're both the odd ones out, here,* Carlos realized, seeing past Andros and Ashley for the first time since he had left them alone on the Bridge the day before. *I've been a little self-centered,* he admitted to himself.

They each regarded the other with sympathy, until TJ finally grinned. "Well, if we're going to be left on our own every time we turn around, we might as well have something to eat."

His good humor was infectious, and Carlos chuckled. "There's no reason we should miss lunch, just because everyone else is."

"My thoughts exactly," TJ agreed, heading over to the Synthetron.

Ashley felt a twinge of guilt as she watched her friend leave. They had rarely hidden things from each other, but for some reason, she didn't want anyone to know what Andros was trying to teach her.

With a sigh, she turned back to Andros. "Maybe I just can't learn telekinesis," she said, somewhat discouraged. He'd been helping her for months now, and she wasn't any closer than she had been when she started.

"You can," Andros promised. "It's hard at first, but it just takes practice. I started learning when I was five, and it still took me longer than you've been doing it."

"When you were five?" she repeated, surprised. "Why so young?"

He shrugged, his gaze wandering away across the Bridge. "I don't know, really; that's just the way it is. Was," he corrected, and she winced at the shadow of pain that flitted across his face when he mentioned his abandoned homeworld.

"What happened to KO-35?" Ashley asked softly, not sure he would answer but wanting him to know she cared.

He looked down, shaking his head. His long hair was still loose, though less tousled than it had been when he raced into the Glider bay this morning, and it shielded his face from view.

"I'm sorry," she apologized immediately. "I didn't mean..." Aware that anything she said might make things worse, she didn't know how to finish the sentence.

Andros looked over at her, and his disconsolate expression made her sorry she had asked. *He looks like that too often,* she thought, only then realizing how long it had been since she had seen that sadness on his face. *And I had to go and bring it up again...*

"It's all right," he said, drawing in a deep breath. "It's just--I've never talked to anyone about it."

"You don't have to tell me," she assured him, though she hoped he wouldn't back out of it now.

Staring directly at her, he asked, "Do you want to know?"

Ashley nodded without hesitation. "Please."

He took her at her word, for which she was grateful. "The colony on KO-35 had only been there five years before it was attacked," Andros told her, though he was no longer meeting her eyes. "We were of little significance politically, not part of the mainstream--much like your Earth. We expected to be pretty much left alone."

He was reciting, she realized, watching his impassive expression. He stared off into the distance, telling the story as though it had happened to someone else. "For whatever reason, we weren't. Our Rangers were young and completely untried--no one thought we'd be needed. We had had some training, but we weren't called to join the defense when the assault began."

Andros looked at her for the first time, and she could see the pain the memory caused leaking out of his heart and into his eyes. "We were only children," he said, a pleading note in his voice. "And we were short a Ranger--no one ever replaced Kerone after..."

Ashley stood up, unable to watch him suffer anymore. "I'm sorry," she murmured, stepping closer and touching his arm. When he didn't object, she drew him into a gentle embrace.

He didn't return the hug, but he seemed to appreciate the comfort. She just held him, stroking his hair and letting him regain his composure. She could feel him beginning to breathe more evenly, and she closed her eyes, smiling to herself.

Suddenly, he pulled away. "I'm sorry, Ashley... I didn't mean--"

When he stopped, she cocked her head curiously. "What?"

He hesitated. Then, in a rush, he said, "I like being with you. I like watching you look out at the stars, and see their beauty instead of their potential for danger. But I'm not like that--I *see* the danger, because it's happened to me."

"So?" she asked, when he didn't continue. "Andros, I've been in danger plenty of times. That's what being a Ranger is about. But for me, it's also about forgetting that part when I can, and enjoying the rest of my life."

He shook his head again. "I never forget," Andros told her quietly.

She didn't know how to respond to that. She could only think that it had to be a hard way to live, and she wished she could take some of that burden away from him.

Andros must have taken her silence the wrong way, for he turned away and walked the few steps to the navigator's station. Back to her, he put his hands on the edge of the control panel and stared down at it. "We're too different," she heard him whisper.

Ashley had no idea what he was talking about, but he was obviously upset. She abandoned her own position, and, without a second thought, joined him next to Carlos' station.

"Andros?" Putting a hand on his shoulder, she tried to catch a glimpse of his expression. "Andros, what are you saying?"

He didn't move. "I'm saying that you're the friendliest, kindest, most cheerful person I've ever met. I'm not like that." Finally, he looked up at her. "It's never bothered me before."

She didn't want him to think she was mocking him, but she couldn't help the laugh that escaped. "Why should it bother you now?" Ashley inquired, smiling at him.

When he didn't reply, she tugged on his shoulder. He didn't move at first, just looked at her with an uncertain expression on his face. Then, reluctantly, he let go of the console and straightened, turning to face her.

"Andros," she began, her hand sliding off his shoulder to rest on his elbow. "I like you the way you are. I'm sorry for what's happened to you, and I would take your pain away if I could. But you're here now because of it, and that's one thing I would *not* change."

Almost unwillingly, the beginnings of a smile appeared on his face. "I wouldn't change it, either," he told her at last, and she squeezed his arm affectionately.

"Good," Ashley said, satisfied. She was about to ask if he wanted to go have lunch, but the serious look in his eyes stopped her just in time.

"Can I--" He gaze flickered to her hand on his arm before returning to her face, and the uncertain look was back. "Can I kiss you?"

She smiled up at him. "You don't have to ask," she said, heart racing as she leaned closer to him. His arm slid around her shoulders, and his lips were warm on hers as she closed her eyes. Then the moment was over, and she couldn't help the sigh that escaped as she looked at him.

He looked back, not speaking, and all she could think was that she wanted that moment back, to keep forever if possible. Screwing up her courage, Ashley drew him close once more and gave him another quick kiss.

When she pulled away, searching his eyes for a reaction, she was relieved to see him smile. "Thanks," Ashley whispered, not sure whether she was thanking him for the kiss or just for being there.

"You're welcome, I guess," he answered, the smile still on his face.

She laughed. Before she could reply, though, DECA interjected, "The Megaship is approaching sector 439."

"Thanks, DECA," Andros said, not taking his eyes off Ashley.

She sighed again. "What do we do now?"

Though she had meant it in reference to Divatox and her army, the glint in Andros' eye told her he had taken it differently. "You could promise to meet me later, if we don't get a chance to finish this conversation," he suggested. His tone was shy, at odds with the expression of mischief on his face.

Ashley had to laugh. "Deal," she said, holding out her hand. He took it, and they shook on it solemnly.

Then, letting go, Andros went to her station and began to play with the scanner controls, returning to her original question as though nothing had happened. "First, we have to try and locate the rest of Divatox's ships. They're probably here somewhere, and if we follow that ship blindly, we could walk right into a trap."

"If the other ships *are* here," Ashley pointed out, joining him at the scanners, "won't they see us coming?" She tried to get the memory of that elusive grin of his out of her mind and concentrate on the task at hand.

Andros nodded, glancing over at her. "That's why I want to find them as soon as possible. If they have Zordon, they'll be watching for us, especially if Astronema has reported to Dark Spectre already. They'll know we're not on Earth anymore."

"Andros." DECA's calm voice intruded once more. "The ship currently being pursued is emitting an interdimensional energy signal."

"What?" Far from looking pleased, Andros seemed troubled. "Why didn't we detect it before?"

He returned his gaze to the scanners, and his frown deepened. "I'm not picking up anything."

"The signal is no longer being emitted," DECA replied. "It appears to be intermittent."

"Which would explain why we didn't notice it before," Ashley said hopefully.

Andros shook his head, and she could hear his trademark phrase coming. He didn't disappoint her. "Something's not right here."

He looked her way again as she muffled a giggle. "What?"

"It's nothing." She tried to wave it away, but he didn't seem inclined to let it go. "You always say that, that's all," Ashley explained, feeling a smile threaten to engulf her face again.

Andros didn't seem to understand, but DECA saved her from having to elaborate. "Another ship has been detected," she told them, and something on the scanner console began to flash. "It is also showing signs of an interdimensional distortion."

"They can't both be Zordon," Ashley said, baffled.

"Neither of them are Zordon," Andros corrected, glaring at the scanners as though they were offensive to him. "DECA, show this sector of space on the main screen and superimpose locations of any ships the scanners can detect."

The computer-generated simulation of faster than light travel disappeared, to be replaced by a tactical map of sector 439. The Megaship's position was represented by a green triangle, while red circles meant unknown or hostile ships. Two blinking red dots appeared immediately, relatively close to each other. As Ashley watched, though, another red dot appeared farther away, and then another, and another, this last one clear on the other side of the sector.

"That's Divatox's army," Andros said grimly, as dot after dot flickered into existence on the screen. Here and there, two or more dots would be grouped together, but most were solitary pixels, slowly making their way across the screen.

"I don't understand." Ashley found herself at a loss. "What does she gain from this?"

"DECA," Andros said. "Whenever you pick up interdimensional distortion, circle the ship it's coming from."

DECA's camera blinked in acknowledgement, and a purple circle appeared around each of the first two red dots. Then another purple ring encircled a ship on the other side of the map. Another formed around a trio of ships in the lower right hand corner of the screen. More slowly than the red dots, but just as unstoppably, the purple circles crept across the screen.

"They're all distorting space-time?" Ashley exclaimed, watching the progression.

Andros shook his head. "No. But that's what Divatox wants us to think."

That sentence echoed in Ashley's mind for a moment before it sunk in. "She's hidden him in plain sight," she realized, as another purple circle blinked into existence on the screen. "That could be Zordon, and we'd never know."

"She's solved the problem of shielding rather well," Andros agreed. "DECA, slow us down to thruster power, but don't disengage the engines."

"The Megaship is decelerating," DECA announced.

Staring at all those red dots, something occurred to Ashley. "Is it a good idea to just fly into the middle of Divatox's forces like this? Even if they are spread out?"

Andros shrugged. She hid a grin; that was a typical Andros reaction. *Just charge right in, and if something gets in your way, negotiate it out of your way. Or hit it,* she added, acknowledging that there were some--quantrons and the like--who wouldn't be moved by his streaked hair and irresistible smile.

"They have no reason to come after us," Andros pointed out, jolting her out of her contemplation. "The Megaship is a match for any of those ships alone, and even if they team up against us, there's the possibility of their capture.

"All we would need is one person, or quantron, willing to give out a few details of whatever they're using to create interdimensional distortion, and we might be able to figure out how to distinguish that from the real thing. Their primary mission has to be to keep Zordon away from us, and the best way to do that is to stay away from us themselves and let us wander around the sector without a clue."

"What?" TJ's voice demanded from the doorway.

"It's about time you two showed up," Ashley commented, turning around with a smile to soften her words. "We arrived five minutes ago."

"Well, if the onboard computer didn't hold a grudge," TJ complained, giving DECA's camera the evil eye as he and Carlos joined them at the scanner console, "we could have *been* here five minutes ago."

"The first we heard anything had happened was when DECA announced the deceleration," Carlos confirmed when Ashley looked at him.

"DECA," Andros reproved, the scolding undermined by his amused expression. "Please let the other Rangers know when we enter an area of space filled with enemy ships."

"Yes, Andros," DECA answered, her tone slightly subdued.

"Speaking of 'other Rangers'," Ashley remarked, looking around, "where's Cassie? I thought she'd be having lunch too."

She didn't miss the look Carlos and TJ exchanged, but she didn't know what it meant, either. "Cassie's in the Medical bay," TJ explained. "She told me she'd eat later."

"Should I go tell her where we are?" Carlos asked, looking in DECA's direction.

"Cassie has been informed of the situation," DECA told them.

"Yeah," TJ muttered. "And I'll bet she was informed when it happened, too."

The light on DECA's camera flashed, but she did not deny the accusation. Ashley shook her head, putting a hand over her mouth to hide her smile. *When did this rivalry TJ has with DECA start?* she wondered, trying to call to mind some incident that might have started it, and failing.

Just then, the lift doors slid open to reveal Cassie. "Hey," she said, coming onto the Bridge with far too light a step for one who had been sitting in a patient ward for the last few hours. "DECA said I should come to the Bridge?"

TJ threw his hands up in the air. "I am telling you, that computer has a distinct predilection for some people..."

This time, Andros ignored him, his attention on Cassie. "How's Phantom?" he asked apprehensively, and Ashley reminded herself to ask how those two had met sometime.

Cassie shrugged, crossing her arms over her chest and joining the cluster around the scanners. "He seems to be all right. He's sleeping again now, but he did wake up earlier, and he was very--" She smiled, and her eyes went distant. "--coherent."

Ashley made another note to ask what that was about later. It struck her, then, that they all had far more secrets than they used to, and she wondered about it as Andros started to explain the implications of the tactical map still stretched across the screen.

Looking at TJ, his focus on Andros' explanation and his eyes studying the screen, she remembered him as the Red Ranger. He had never been anything but honest, with himself and with everyone else. And Carlos--

Shifting her gaze to her best friend, she knew he hadn't changed. He was the same warm, open guy she had known since elementary school. He looked away from Andros briefly and caught her gaze, giving her a quick smile as he did so. She smiled back, glad he was there the way he always had been.

Her eyes wandered to Cassie, whose attention, if her expression was anything to go by, was a million miles away. Cassie had been a little close-mouthed when she joined the Turbo team, but she had loosened up as they all got to know each other.

*She wasn't used to having people care about her,* Ashley thought, smiling at the once and present Pink Ranger. *I'm glad she accepted the Power. She deserved it, if any of us did.*

Coming full circle, Ashley found herself staring at Andros again. The determination on his face--that resolve to drive away evil, or at the very least to make it fight hard for every inch it won--was plain enough as he related to the others what the map showed of Divatox's plan. It was a look she had seen often enough, and she suspected it was part of what had carried him through the lonely years of searching for his sister aboard the empty Megaship.

Still, there was compassion there as well, a deep caring for all living things that made him the antithesis of the evil he fought against. Her heart skipped a beat as she remembered the full force of that tenderness turned on her--last night, when he had let her sleep in his room, and again just a little while ago, when he kissed her...

Ashley shook her head, smiling at her own preoccupation. *Maybe it's me who's changed,* she thought, looking the others over once more. *We're each of us a little different than we were when we left Earth, but I've finally fallen for someone. Not as hard as Cassie did for Phantom almost a year ago,* she admitted wryly, *but hard enough.*

She supposed, also, that they were closer now than they had been on Earth. The Rangers had always been friends, watching each other's backs and ready to die for one another if it ever came to that, but they had lived separately. Now they were with each other constantly, and even when they were apart, there was little between them but a few bulkheads.

*This kind of environment lends itself to the desire for secrets,* Ashley conceded. Unfortunately--or fortunately, depending on which side of the argument you were on--it was least conducive to actually keeping secrets...

She gave Cassie a speculative look. Ashley had always assumed her friend would get over Phantom when he stayed away for weeks, and then months, at a time. But it hadn't happened, and now that he had been held in one place long enough for them to actually talk, her curiosity demanded to know what they had talked about.

Caught up in her own thoughts, Ashley didn't hear the lift doors slide open. She noticed when Andros stopped talking, however, and she saw Cassie turn. Following their gaze, Ashley's eyes widened.

There was noise. Noise, and a kaleidoscopic whirl of color that made no sense, refusing to resolve itself into coherent images. *Keep moving,* came a discernible feeling--not thought, just impulse. *Have to get away--*

He bolted upright, taking in the foreign surroundings and the absence of--of what? *Something's wrong,* the instinct insisted, but logical thought refused to come.

He stared straight ahead for too long--vulnerable--but finally the noise began to subside, and the walls around him registered. The controlled panic didn't dissipate until he recognized them as the boundaries of the Megaship's Medical bay, and memories started flooding back.

He winced at the overflow of information, but managed to relax a little as he realized he was in no imminent danger. *Where's Cassie?* he thought first, glancing around.

The Medical bay was deserted. He had no answer for her absence, but, when he tried to think back on it, could not clearly remember her presence, either. He knew she had been here--at least, he thought she had.

*How much is dream, hallucination, and how much is memory?* he wondered, as he had several times before. He hated crashing like this, but it was an inevitable result of pushing his crystal too hard.

"DECA," he said, and waited for the camera light to come on. "Where's Cassie?"

"Cassie is on the Bridge," DECA informed him.

He swung his legs of the patient bed, and tried to ignore the dizziness that swept over him as he did so. Concentrating on the ruby embedded in his armor, he felt the Power respond dimly, and he managed to push himself to his feet.

*She's going to kill me,* he thought, considering for the first time that he might not be thinking very clearly. But the need to move overcame his indecision, and he walked carefully toward the door.

With the first few steps, the room swayed alarmingly, but he persevered. The environment steadied somewhat as he progressed, and soon he was in the hallway. It took only a moment to remember which way the lift was, and he found that if he concentrated on moving along the corridor, the Power responded by boosting his adrenaline levels.

By the time he reached the lift and stepped inside, he was feeling semi-alert. With enhanced clarity, however, came the realization that he was being extraordinarily stupid. He had, after all, been in the Medical bay for a reason. And the familiar feelings of disorientation and detachment told him what that reason had most likely been.

He lifted one hand to touch the ruby on his chest. *I pushed it too hard. But I had to--*

And there was no point in going back now. "Bridge," he said, and the lift obediently hummed to life.

They were standing at one of the Megaship's main stations when he arrived--he couldn't remember which one, but they were all gathered there, her included. She was staring at the forward screen, but she turned as soon as the doors opened, alarm written all over her face.

"Phantom?" Andros asked, an unspoken question in his address.

He nodded, regretting it when the room suddenly became unstable again. "I am well, Andros."

"No, you're not." Cassie's tone had no room for argument. She left the group and caught his arm, gently, as though that small movement could throw him off balance. It almost did.

Leading him forward, she swiveled one of the chairs around with her foot and looked pointedly at it. "Sit down before you fall," she told him, and he obeyed gratefully.

Andros was talking again, and Phantom half-listened as Cassie whispered, "You were in the Medical bay for a reason, you know." He smiled, not so much at her words as her voice. It seemed it had been a long time since he last heard it, but he couldn't remember why.

"So there's no way to tell which one is Zordon," Andros was saying. "They're all emitting some sort of false distortion field..."

He didn't hear the end of Andros' sentence, but something about it seemed wrong. He struggled to think--the urge to move was gone, but the emptiness of his mind still bothered him.

*I ought to be used to it by now,* he thought, staring at the purple and red scribbles on the screen.

*Shielding.* He had no idea where the thought came from, but he heard himself speak. "There is a way."

The Rangers all turned to look at him, and he was aware suddenly of Cassie's hand resting on his shoulder. "Some of Divatox's ships will be equipped to shield the true distortion from scanners, so that while in normal transit, or in the event that this ploy fails, she will still be able to disguise Zordon's location."

He had no idea where the words were coming from--the memory was there, amazingly enough, and the principles of its execution, but he simply wasn't capable of expressing them right now. He knew that--and yet, he was doing it. The Power lay almost dormant, yet something was converting his raw knowledge into understandable sentences.

"I will show you how to detect that shielding," he offered. "If we determine on which ships it is present, we will narrow the search parameters considerably."

Andros nodded, and the rest of them seemed to accept this plan without question. How he had conveyed it still baffled him, however, and he looked up at Cassie, meeting her gaze with a puzzlement she could not discern through his visor.

6. Before the Storm

Phantom stood, feeling Cassie's hand slide down his arm to rest possessively on his elbow. He smiled to himself as he bent over the scanner console. It felt right, somehow, to have her at his side, though he still didn't remember why he was here.

The scanner controls, on the other hand, were strangely familiar--almost as though he were seeing them through someone else's eyes. *Ironic,* he thought vaguely, adjusting the frequency readings so the scanners were operating on a different wavelength. *I can't remember how I came to be on the Megaship, yet I'm able to recalibrate the scanner system.*

"I don't like this," Carlos was saying in the background. "No matter which direction we go, we're pretty much surrounded by Divatox's army."

"Yeah," TJ agreed. "Are you sure she won't suddenly decide we'd be less of a nuisance in some other form? Say, spacedust?"

Andros must have shaken his head, because Carlos demanded, "Cassie, back us up here."

"I don't like it either," Cassie said over her shoulder. "But those ships are just sitting out there." She turned away from the scanners at last, folding her arms across her chest. "If they were going to attack, wouldn't they have done it by now?"

Phantom had to brace himself against the console as a wave of dizziness came over him. Even so, his vision darkened ominously, and he shook his head in a futile attempt to clear it. He cursed mentally as he felt himself stumble.

In seconds, Cassie was there again, her hand on his arm and concern in her voice. "Phantom?"

"I am well," he managed for the second time in the past half-hour. The world had stopped spinning, and he could concentrate again--but Cassie was not convinced.

"Stop saying that," she told him. "At least until you mean it!"

He looked up, staring into her dark brown eyes in confusion. *How does she--*

"Scanners are offline," DECA reminded them, and Phantom glanced back at the console automatically.

"You didn't enter search parameters yet," Cassie pointed out, leaning forward to indicate some part of the incomplete recalibration.

This time, he felt the world start to spin as soon as she let go of him, and when he tried to follow her explanation, the scanners had become an incomprehensible blur of instrumentation. *It's her,* he realized, reaching blindly for her hand.

She stared at him, puzzled, but she let him grab her fingers. "What's wrong?"

He gazed back in equal bewilderment as his surroundings went sane again. Shaking his head slowly, he didn't know how to answer.

"Guys," Andros broke in, when the silence went on too long.

Cassie started, and Phantom's fingers tightened on hers. Somehow, she must have understood what he needed, for she nodded at him and left her hand in his. Closing his eyes, he offered silent thanks and turned back to the scanners.

The argument over Divatox's intentions did not resume as he worked, and the Bridge was quiet until he entered the last adjustments and the "end program" code into the scanner interface. "DECA," he asked finally, looking up at the screen, "display traces of interdimensional shielding on the forward screen."

One of the purple-encircled dots started to blink. Another began to flicker on the other side of the map, and beside it, a third joined in. The rest of the dots remained a steady, luminescent red.

"Zordon has to be on one of those ships," TJ surmised, and Phantom nodded.

"We'll split into teams of two," Andros decided, taking his eyes away from the screen to survey his fellow Rangers. "Each team will teleport onto one of those ships and track the source of the interdimensional distortion manually."

"What are we going to do when we do find Zordon?" Ashley asked suddenly. "I mean, even assuming we can teleport him out of there, we're not going to be able to make a run for it afterwards."

"Yeah," Carlos spoke up. "Divatox's ships are everywhere. They're not going to let us just leave."

"We won't need to get far," Phantom put in, dim memories of a similar search and rescue coming to mind. "There's a Sanctuary moon about two light years from here. If we can reach it, Divatox will not be able to follow."

"A sanctuary moon?" Cassie repeated. "What's that?"

"It's an asteroid surrounded by an electronic damping field," Andros explained. "Some of them are natural, but most have been created as refuges by smugglers or other vagabonds that aren't under the protection of a specific Ranger team."

"They are used by everyone, though," Phantom reproved mildly, tiredly amused by Andros' mention of 'other vagabonds'. *It is a category of which I could be considered a part,* he admitted.

Andros did not dispute the correction. "Some hide dimensional gateways," he added, looking at Phantom questioningly.

Phantom nodded, but didn't have the energy to elaborate. He felt Cassie move closer, and knew that she had noticed his flagging enthusiasm.

"The gateways are leftover from a time before the League," Andros told the others. "No one knows where they came from or how they work, but they can transport an object halfway across the universe in less than a second."

"That's convenient," Carlos remarked.

"Only if we can reach it," Ashley said, looking apprehensively at the forward screen. "DECA, can you show us where this gateway is?"

"The Sanctuary moon is located on the outskirts of Sector 439," DECA's voice replied, and a blue square appeared in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Quiet settled across the Bridge once more as they all considered the distance involved.

"Let's find Zordon first," TJ declared, a much needed voice of reason. "Then we can worry about reaching this asteroid, or moon, or whatever it is."

"Asteroid," Phantom murmured. "Sanctuary moon is simply the term applied to an object surrounded by an electronic damping field."

TJ gave a small salute in acknowledgement, and Andros nodded once. "Right. Each team will be equipped with a handheld scanner and a homing device, so that if we lose contact with each other DECA will still be able to find us and bring us back."

Phantom didn't miss the look Cassie gave Andros, but he pretended to ignore it, even when Cassie rather obviously cocked her head in his direction. Right now, he was too drained to do anything but jeopardize the others' safety on a mission such as this, and he knew it.

"We should be safe here for the time being," Andros said, getting the hint. "We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Phantom nodded in acknowledgement, and felt Cassie tug on his arm. "You're going back to the Medical bay," she told him firmly. "I know you won't let us leave you behind tomorrow, so you'd better get some sleep in the meantime."

"And you'd better eat," TJ added, shooting her a look Phantom couldn't interpret.

Surprised, he glanced over at Cassie. "You are not eating?"

She shrugged, giving TJ an annoyed look. "I'm not hungry."

*She's hiding something,* he thought, though he didn't know how he could be so certain. Struggling to stay coherent, Phantom let Cassie lead him to the lift. "You're--you're not telling the truth," he told her, as the doors slid open for them. Her presence no longer seemed to help him focus, and finally he gave up trying to figure it out and asked her, "How did I know that?"

She drew him into the lift, her expression worried. "DECA, take us to Megadeck four," she told the computer, and he saw her glance out at someone on the Bridge just before the doors closed.

"Cassie?" he asked, listening to the hum of the lift. "Where are we going?" He didn't really care, but it seemed important to her.

She had both hands on his arm now, and was leaning against him--or was he leaning on her? He couldn't tell, but it felt nice either way. From a distance, he thought he heard her answer, "The Medical bay." There was a pause, and her voice came again, "Don't you remember?"

The doors slid open onto an empty corridor before he could think of a suitable reply. He just stood there, looking at it, until he felt Cassie move. "Phantom," she prompted softly.

He stepped forward, now leaning heavily on her shoulder. His vision tunneled--just for a moment, he thought, but when the darkness receded again, he was in the Medical bay, gazing up at Cassie's frightened face.

"What's wrong?" he mumbled, groping for her hand. "Don't look like that."

She tried to smile. "Then stop fainting on me."

"I didn't faint," he protested, finding her hand and squeezing it gently. "My crystal's overtaxed... can't keep me going..."

"What?" A frown marred her charming expression, and he wanted nothing more than to make it go away. "What do you mean?"

"Did I ever tell you," he asked drowsily, "how much I love you?"

He heard her catch her breath as his eyes slid shut. "You should sleep," she told him, from somewhere far away, and he felt dream images overtaking him already.

"And," he returned in a voice barely above a whisper, "you should eat." He didn't know why that was the appropriate response, but something told him it was, and he was in no condition to argue.

"Do you want me to go?" Cassie's voice asked, and he fought to open his eyes and look at her. That was the last thing he wanted, but he couldn't force his body to return from the brink of unconsciousness.

He wasn't even sure she heard him whisper, "Please... don't leave," before he fell into the welcoming arms of sleep.

"So what's wrong with Phantom?" Ashley asked, voicing the question that was on everyone's mind.

TJ looked up, catching Carlos' eye before turning to Andros for an explanation. The Red Ranger paused as they all stopped eating to look in his direction. He shrugged, a little uncomfortably, TJ thought, and said only, "I don't know much more than you do."

"But you know something," Carlos insisted.

Andros sighed, looking over his shoulder as though he expected Phantom to be in the doorway listening. "I know that his life energy is tied to his morphing ability," Andros told them.

"Why?" TJ interrupted, realizing his mistake when Andros shot him an exasperated look.

"I don't know; he never told me. But..." he looked down at his plate. "I know he can't stay morphed forever. It drains his ruby, which, by extension, drains his life force."

"I've never seen him demorph," Ashley put in, glancing at Carlos and TJ. TJ shook his head, as did Carlos.

Andros shook his head as well. "He doesn't usually demorph around other people. And before you ask," he said, with a quick look in TJ's direction, "I don't know why that is, either. But I've known him for almost three years, and I've never seen him unmorphed."

"So... you think he's been morphed too long?" Ashley guessed.

Andros shrugged again. "DECA can't find anything wrong with him, aside from the fact that he's too tired to stand for more than a few minutes at a time."

TJ raised an eyebrow. If that was true, there was something fundamentally wrong with the way Phantom was being treated. "Maybe I'm missing something, here, but--doesn't that mean that no matter how much he sleeps, he's not going to get better until he demorphs?"

"Readings indicate that if Phantom were not morphed, he would be comatose," DECA interjected calmly. TJ looked at her camera in surprise, not sure whether to be more amazed at her statement or the simple fact that she had answered him.

"Which he almost is anyway," Carlos remarked. "What good does that do him if he's not going to get any better?"

"You don't understand," Andros said, looking at each of them in turn. "Phantom has the strongest sense of loyalty and honor of anyone I've ever met, and he counts the four of you as friends. He won't let you go into battle without him."

"But we're not going into battle!" Carlos objected, and Andros gave him the exasperated look.

"You know what I mean," the Red Ranger told him.

"What about you?" Ashley wanted to know. "You're his friend too."

Before Andros could answer, TJ realized, "That's why he gave up following Dark Spectre to come help us. He could have learned something important, but he came all the way to Earth just to tell us what Astronema was up to."

Andros nodded. "And believe me, he's not going to stay here while we go look for Zordon tomorrow. Sleep will help to some degree; probably restore enough energy to his crystal that he can stay on his feet until we finish our mission. But..." Here, he sighed again. "I hope he doesn't have to fight."

"Someone has to go with him," Ashley said, even though that had never been in question. Andros had said they would go in pairs--and there would be no exceptions, especially for someone as weak as Phantom was right now.

The same thought ran through everyone's mind, and TJ said it aloud. "Cassie will go."

"We won't be able to get her away from him anyway," Carlos muttered.

To TJ's surprise, it was who Andros defended their teammate. "If she cares for him that much, she'll keep him safer than any of us can."

"It's true," Ashley agreed. "He's not used to working on a team, but if he'll accept anyone's help, it will be Cassie's."

TJ saw Andros give her a startled look, and he hid a smile. *If I had to guess, I'd say that one struck a little too close to home for Andros.*

Pushing his seat back, TJ stood. "On that note, I'm going to assume she's not joining us for lunch. And I," he added with a grin, "do not care how much Cassie and Phantom admire each other if it means she no longer eats."

Exchanging his dishes for another lunch at the Synthetron, TJ continued unnecessarily, "I'm going to take this down to the Medical bay. I'll see you guys later."

"Bye TJ," Ashley called, echoed by the other two as he strode out into the hallway. He waved over his shoulder before he was around the corner and out of their line of sight.

The Medical bay was quiet when he entered, and the scene was much the same as it had been an hour or two ago when he came to find Cassie the first time. Phantom lay on the patient bed, presumably asleep--not that anyone could tell by looking at him. Cassie perched nearby on a stool, chin on her fist, watching him.

"Cass?" TJ spoke softly, not wanting to disturb her.

She looked up, seeming unsurprised by his presence. "Hey, Teej."

"I brought you some lunch," he said, hefting the tray in her direction.

She smiled, sliding off the stool to take it from him. "Thanks. I appreciate it."

Not sure how to read her reaction, he tried to explain, "You said you weren't hungry, but..."

Cassie made a face, glancing in Phantom's direction. "He pretty much shot that story out of the water."

"So he was right?" TJ asked, helping her clear off one of the counters so she could set her tray down. "How did he know?"

She shook her head, putting the tray on the counter and turning back toward Phantom. "I don't know," she admitted. "He said something..."

Cassie looked at him uncertainly. "Can I tell you something? Something you can't tell the others, and something you definitely can't laugh at?"

He would have laughed then, except for the solemn expression on her face. "You know you can," he told her. "Cross my heart."

"Teej..." Staring intently at Phantom, she folded her arms across her chest in an automatic and instinctively defensive gesture that she had been wont to use all the time, back when she first joined the team. Her next words didn't really surprise him, other than the fact that he hadn't expected her to admit it. "I think I love him."

"I wouldn't have guessed," TJ replied dryly.

"Teej!" She glared at him, and he realized he was smiling.

Sobering, TJ apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to tease you; I just meant it's been obvious ever since we met him that you'd fallen pretty hard for him."

She sighed, accepting his explanation. "What am I going to do?" Cassie asked softly, her gaze returning to Phantom.

TJ shifted where he stood, not sure he should ask. "Do you... do you know how he feels?"

She nodded slowly. "I think I do. I think--I hope he feels the same way."

"You hope?" TJ repeated gently, not wanting to upset her.

She took a deep breath. "That's the other thing you can't tell anyone," she warned him.

With one finger, he drew an "X" over his heart. Cassie smiled at him. "Thanks--I feel like I have to tell someone, or it won't be real..."

TJ smiled back, and waited for her to continue.

"He said--this was earlier, a little while after you guys left..." She drew in another deep breath, and looked down at Phantom. "He told me that I was more important to him than his life."

TJ couldn't help the whistle that escaped. "I'd say that's pretty definitive."

She nodded, but she didn't look any less uncertain. "Something else?" TJ prompted, and she shrugged.

"He says his people bond to a person for life--they know the person they'll love as soon as they see them, and there's no changing it. What if--" She tore her eyes away from the figure on the patient bed and looked at him with worried eyes. "What if he doesn't want to love me, but he doesn't have any choice?"

TJ was still wrestling with the concept of a lifelong bond, but Cassie obviously needed an answer now. "No one chooses to love someone, Cassie. It just happens. You two just knew a little sooner than most people do, that's all."

Cassie looked thoughtful for a moment, then a smile started to creep across her face. "Thanks, Teej," she said, and to his surprise, she threw her arms around him.

He grinned, hugging her back. "Hey, what are friends for?"

Stepping back, Cassie smiled up at him again. "I mean it, TJ. Thanks."

"Any time," he promised, glad to see her happy again.

Turning around, she faced the tray he had brought with something akin to enthusiasm. "You know, I really am hungry," she confessed, picking up the sandwich.

"I know," TJ said cockily, and she rolled her eyes at him.

Something occurred to him as he watched her eat. "You never did tell me how Phantom knew you weren't telling the truth."

She raised an eyebrow at him over a mouthful of tuna sandwich, and held up one finger to indicate he should give her a second. Nodding, TJ looked over at Phantom. Remembering Andros' words, he shivered. *"He'll probably be able to stay on his feet, but I hope he doesn't have to fight..."*

*I don't want her going into a hostile situation with a partner who can't fight,* TJ thought, knowing at the same time that there was very little he could do about it. Still--*she should at least know how much of a liability he could be.*

Before he could say anything, though, Cassie swallowed and started to answer his first question. "I don't really understand it, either," she said, watching him with the same look she had given him just before she told him about the bond that Phantom had claimed the two of them had: doubtful of his reaction, and willing to talk about it only because he had been sworn to secrecy.

"Phantom says," she started, and it occurred to TJ, just briefly, that Phantom could hurt her very badly if he so chose. The thought was gone in less time than it took to blink--their ally had proven himself countless times to be an honorable person. But the impression left by the fleeting idea was enough to make TJ promise himself that Phantom would answer to him if he ever made Cassie so much as cry.

"There's some sort of telepathy thing," she was saying, "some kind of 'empathic bond', he called it, that lets both partners sense the other's feelings." She shrugged uncomfortably. "I didn't believe him at first, but there have been a couple of things I can't explain any other way."

"Like what?" TJ wanted to know.

Cassie took a deep breath. "When he showed up on the Bridge, a little while ago? I knew he was coming. Before the lift arrived. I knew he wasn't all right as soon as he stepped out onto the Bridge, and he knew I wasn't telling the truth about not being hungry."

"Lucky guesses," TJ ventured, not sure how he felt about the whole ESP issue. *Of course,* he had to remind himself, *Andros moves things around without even touching them on a daily basis, and that doesn't bother me... anymore, at least.*

"Maybe," Cassie said, her eyes on Phantom again. "I'm just not sure now."

"You'll figure it out," TJ assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "And we'll be here for you, no matter what."

"Thanks," she said with a smile, putting a hand over his. "You know," she added, glancing at him, "I think that meeting you guys and becoming a Ranger is the best thing that ever happened to me."

TJ grinned. "I think we all feel that way."

She nodded, and they stood in silence for a little while, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, TJ stirred, remembering his intention to tell her what Andros had said about Phantom.

"I hate to ruin the moment," TJ said ruefully, "but we were talking at lunch, and there's something I think you should know."

She looked at him curiously. "Andros says Phantom's life energy and his morphing ability are linked together somehow," TJ told her. "Apparently, Phantom doesn't demorph around anyone, as a general rule, but he also can't stay morphed forever--it takes too much out of him.

"Andros thinks that's why Phantom is so weak now. He thinks Phantom's been morphed for a long time, and it's drained his Power Ruby--and his regular energy, I guess. It sounds like he can't recover without demorphing--but if he demorphs, he'll lose what strength he has until he gets better."

TJ was watching Cassie's face as he talked, but her expression was completely inscrutable. *Heck, for all I know, Phantom's already told her all this,* TJ thought suddenly. *Maybe she's seen him demorphed...*

It was an interesting thought, but it also wasn't any of his business. He finished awkwardly, "Andros says sleep will help him temporarily; enough so he'll be able to go with us tomorrow--but he doesn't think Phantom will be well enough to fight."

Giving her a knowing look, he added, "I know you well enough to realize we won't be able to get either of you to stay behind, but I just wanted to warn you. No matter how well he seems when he wakes up, be careful. Don't expect him to be full strength."

"Good advice," mumbled a voice from the patient bed.

Cassie rolled her eyes in fond amusement. "You'd think I'd learn," she said, her words apparently directed at TJ, yet loud enough to be overheard in the hallway. "You can never count on him being asleep."

With that, she went to Phantom's side, and TJ could have sworn he heard a smile in the tired voice when Phantom replied, "I am used to sleeping with the hum of machinery, not the sound of voices."

"I'm sorry," Cassie said, instantly contrite. "I didn't realize we were that noisy."

"You were not," Phantom told her. "I am simply not accustomed to having people around me while I sleep... but I do not mind it."

Unspoken was the implication that he didn't mind having Cassie around, and TJ wondered if now would be a good time to leave. Before he could make his escape, though, Phantom's words stopped him.

"You were right, TJ," the prone shadow on the patient bed told him. "I can not recover completely by tomorrow morning, and sleep while morphed is a temporary measure at best. But I will not allow you to face Divatox's army alone, and I can be of no assistance if I am unconscious."

"So sleep," Cassie told him gently, clasping his hand in both of hers. "We'll be quiet now."

"Yes, Cassie," Phantom said, and TJ raised his eyebrows. Unless he was mistaken, Phantom was teasing his friend...

His suspicion was confirmed when Cassie rolled her eyes again. The contented look on her face gave her away, though, and TJ knew the mock-resignation in Phantom's voice hadn't bothered her in the slightest.

Backing up, TJ managed to slip away without drawing their attention. As he headed for the lift, he carried with him the image of Cassie kneeling beside Phantom, tenderness in her eyes as their fingers entwined.

Cassie finally joined them again at dinner, entering the Glider holding bay as they were sitting down. She was warmly greeted, and Andros couldn't help asking her about Phantom.

"He's as well as he can be, for now," she answered. That told him precisely nothing, but he supposed it was all she could say. Anything more definitive would be untrue, or at the very least, guesswork.

She didn't say much for the rest of the meal, although she didn't seem as preoccupied as she had been earlier. She followed the conversation, and laughed when someone made a joke--that alone told Andros that Phantom must be doing well enough.

After dinner, the group broke up sooner than usual--Carlos suggested a game of basketball, and Andros wondered that they never seemed to tire of that game. TJ agreed readily enough, and, surprisingly, so did Cassie.

"Great," TJ exclaimed, clapping her on the shoulder. "We'll switch off--unless either of you are going to join us?"

At his inquiring look, Andros shook his head. "No thanks," he said. "I've got some work to do still."

"I think I'll pass, too," Ashley said, when the Blue Ranger turned in her direction. "You guys have a good time, though."

"Oh, we will," TJ said, grinning as he shot an appraising look at his teammates.

"See you later, Ash, Andros," Carlos added, moving toward the door.

Cassie gave TJ a friendly shove as they followed. "What was that for?" he demanded, and Cassie laughed.

"That was just because," Andros heard her say, as the three of them disappeared into the corridor.

He shook his head. "Just because" didn't strike him as a particularly sound answer, and, judging from the good-natured argument that ensued, TJ agreed. Their laughter echoed back to him until the lift doors closed on them, cutting off the sound.

"Hey," Ashley said softly, coming up behind him. "What are you thinking about?"

He couldn't help but smile a little as he turned to look at her. "You always ask me that."

"Because you never tell me, otherwise," she countered, and he had to admit there was some truth to that.

He shrugged. "I was just thinking that Cassie seems... different, suddenly."

Ashley smiled. "You just never knew her when Phantom was around. She gets like this when he's with us--sort of thoughtful and dreamy."

"He mentioned her once, I think," Andros mused aloud.

Ashley cocked her head. "You think?" she repeated.

"It was just before the Battle of Eltare," he said defensively. "We didn't have much time to talk. I asked him what had kept him away so long the last time--he was usually on Eltare every other week, at the least--and he said he'd been on Earth. Someone had kept him..."

Catching her eye, he added, "I thought it was odd at the time--he never stayed anywhere for long, except maybe Aquitar--but when the fighting started, I didn't have a chance to ask him about it."

"Why Aquitar?" Ashley asked curiously.

He shook his head. "I don't know. You might have noticed he's not very communicative..."

Ashley laughed, and he smiled in satisfaction. It was hard to know what she would find funny, but he was getting better at it. It pleased him no end to hear that laugh...

"Do you really have work to do?" Ashley asked suddenly.

Andros hesitated. In truth, there were some things he needed to go over with DECA before the team left tomorrow. Staring into Ashley's eyes, though, he couldn't convince himself that it was important enough that it had to be done right now.

"Nothing that can't wait," he told her, and she smiled that sun-bright smile at him.

"Shall we continue our conversation, then?"

It took him a moment to remember what she was referring to, but when he did, his heart started to pound. Thinking back, he had no idea what had possessed him when he asked for a raincheck on the conversation they'd had on the Bridge. He hadn't wanted to let go of the closeness they had had there for a few minutes, and the question had been a way to postpone moving away from her. But he hadn't truly known what he meant by it, and he had even less idea how she'd taken it.

She laughed again at his expression. "I don't know what you're thinking, but I'll bet it's a lot more interesting than what I'm thinking."

Andros blushed, recognizing the veiled reference to teenage hormones despite his relative isolation over the past few years. "I'm just kidding, Andros," she said with a smile, taking pity on him.

Linking her arm through his, she continued, "I just want to talk, or whatever you want to do." Making a face, she suggested, "Maybe you could even help me figure out where I'm going wrong with my telekinesis."

Something occurred to him when she said that, and, seeing the frustration she tried to hide, he knew it was the right thing to do. *It might make her feel better, and it could even be enough to help her a little.*

"Come on," he said impulsively. "I want to show you something."

Surprised, Ashley let him lead her out of the Glider holding bay and down the corridor to the living quarters. He paused outside his door and tapped the keypad on the wall. The door slid open, and he stepped inside. "DECA, turn the lights up, please," he requested, already moving toward the closet.

He hit the release, and this door opened as well. He hadn't seen it in years, since he'd moved his personal possessions onto the Megaship, but he knew exactly where it was. It took him only moments to free it from its bubble prison, and he pulled it gently out into the light and open air. It wasn't even dusty.

Ashley had followed him into the room, and looked at the colorful bauble in surprise. "What is it?" she asked quietly, seeming to sense that it was important but not yet understanding its significance in his life.

"It's a telekinesis ball," Andros told her, holding it out in the palm of his hand and concentrating. The multi-colored sphere expanded at his mental summons, and the ball drifted into the air without effort.

Giving it a gentle push with his mind, he sent it floating in her direction. Ashley inhaled sharply, and he stopped the ball's movement immediately, giving her an inquisitive look. She had seen him use his telekinesis dozens of times before, so it couldn't be that...

"It--how does it work?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"It's activated as soon as it expands," he explained, poking one side to set the ball rotating lazily in the middle of the room. "It levitates on its own, and it's extremely sensitive to telekinetic projections. You barely have to think at it to make it move."

"Did you..." Ashley swallowed. "Did you learn with one of those?"

"I learned with this one," he answered quietly. "So did my sister."

"Oh..." she said quietly, still making no move toward it.

"Does it bother you?" he asked, confused by her reaction. "I didn't mean to--"

"No," she assured him. "No, I think it's the coolest thing I've ever seen..."

He waited, the ball still spinning idly between them. "It's just--" In a rush, Ashley confessed, "I feel like if I can't learn I'm letting you down. Telekinesis is obviously important to you, and I really want to be able to do it. But you've spent so much time with me, and I still don't understand!"

"Ashley," Andros said slowly. "You don't have to learn telekinesis for me."

"I'm not," she promised. "That's not why I'm doing it. But it's so easy for you--I feel like you must be exasperated when I can't learn."

"First off," Andros said, "You can learn; anyone can who's as determined as you are."

She flashed a brief smile at him, and he had to ask, "Do I really seem exasperated to you? because I'm not--I admire you for wanting something so much that you'll work at it for months without any outward sign of progress."

Ashley wrinkled her nose at him. "Thanks. I think."

"Ash, if there's one thing I've learned about you," he told her earnestly, "it's that you never give up. Once you set your mind to something, you do it, no matter what. This is just something else you've set your mind to, and it's taken longer than you expected. I know you'll get it eventually, just like everything else."

She sighed, but her expression looked happier. "You give good pep talks; did you know that?"

"Good what?" Andros asked.

"Pep talks," Ashley repeated, clearly amused. "It means you know how to inspire people."

He shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I think..."

"I know," she said, smiling. "That's what makes it so sweet. And so is this," she added, pointing at the telekinesis ball. "So, what do I do?"

"Hold your hands up in front of you," Andros instructed, putting his own hands up, palm out, to demonstrate. "Now, just think of giving it a push. Like you were going to throw it."

Her brow furrowed, and her hands moved forward a little. Andros shook his head. "You don't have to actually move your hands," he said, coming over to stand behind her. "Here, let me show you."

He reached around her and pulled her hands a little closer to her chest. "Just relax," he told her, aware of the tenseness in her upper body. "It's not going to turn and attack you."

She giggled at that, and he smiled as he felt her relax. "That's good," he murmured. "Now close your eyes... keep your hands up," he reminded her, seeing her fingers curl forward a little.

He put his own hands behind hers. "Picture the ball in your mind--don't think about anything else in the room. You can open your eyes to check where it is, if you want, but don't notice anything else. Just--push it."

The ball stayed where it was, still turning with residual momentum from the push he'd given it earlier. There was, after all, nothing to slow it down except air pressure.

"I'm going to push it for you," Andros told her, "so you know what it's like. Watch it as it moves away, and next time you try, expect it to do the same thing for you."

He felt her nod. "Ready?" he asked unnecessarily, and she nodded again.

Andros stared at the ball, giving it a light push. It flowed away from them, almost bumping into the opposite wall before he extended a hand and stopped it. With a single thought, he pulled it back toward Ashley.

She tried again, with no better results than before. The ball just hung there, tumbling over its rotational axis. "Could you please stop it spinning?" she asked at last, sighing. "It feels like it's mocking me."

The ball's spin slowed, and Andros looked at her, startled. "Thank you," Ashley said fervently.

"I didn't do it," Andros answered, feeling a smile spread across his face.

Ashley's hands fell, and she twisted around to look at him. Her eyes were as wide as they'd been when he'd first sent the ball spinning across the room toward her, and she searched his expression for something. "It wasn't you?" she asked, almost holding her breath.

He shook his head. "You mean--" She seemed reluctant to take the obvious conclusional step. "I did it? I stopped it from spinning?"

This time, he nodded. Her subdued inquiry left him completely unprepared for her reaction. With a delighted laugh, Ashley leaned forward and hugged him, hard--not that she had far to go, considering how close they'd been standing. "I did it, Andros! I actually did it!"

After only a second's pause, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged back. His smile widened into a grin, but all he said was, "I knew you could, Ashley."

"That was a good game," TJ announced, as he emerged with Carlos and Cassie from the Simudeck.

"You only say that because you won," Cassie teased.

"Not true!" TJ protested. "I also say that because I played exceptionally well."

Cassie laughed, and Carlos shook his head at his friend's outrageously cocky attitude. TJ had been like that all evening, but it seemed to be cheering Cassie up, and Carlos suspected that was the point.

"DECA, what's our status?" he asked, mindful of the army scattered around them.

"There is a course correction in progress," DECA informed them.

"What are we correcting for, DECA?" TJ queried, diverted.

There was a brief pause, but DECA apparently couldn't come up with a suitable excuse for not answering. "A comet will intersect with our previous course in approximately six and a half minutes."

Cassie looked up. "Will we be able to see it from our new course, DECA?"

"The comet will be visible in three minutes," DECA replied "It will pass out of range seven minutes later."

"Cool!" TJ exclaimed. "Let's watch it from the Bridge."

"I'll get Ashley and Andros," Carlos volunteered, as they piled into the lift.

"We'll come," Cassie offered, but he shook his head.

"It'll only take a second; go ahead up. I'll be right there."

He got no response when he knocked on Ashley's door, so he tried Andros'. "Come in," Andros' voice answered, and the door slid open.

Ashley was there, sitting on the floor, legs curled under her as she leaned back against the sideboard of Andros' bunk. She was wearing his red sweatshirt, and as the door opened, she snatched at something in the air. It collapsed and tumbled into her hands, but not before Carlos recognized it.

"Were you... practicing telekinesis?" he asked in surprise, looking from Ashley to Andros, who sat cross-legged on the floor across from her. Andros nodded.

Carlos glanced back at Ashley, who ducked her head and looked at him from beneath her eyelashes. "Andros has been trying to teach me," she said shyly.

*That's what they were talking about on the Bridge this afternoon,* he realized with a sudden flash of insight.

"Successfully teaching," Andros corrected, and she smiled happily.

"That's right. Successfully teaching," she repeated, clearly pleased with herself.

The initial shock wearing off, Carlos shook his head. "Congratulations, Ash," he told her, still a little disconcerted at seeing her in red. She had *never* worn red, even before she'd become a Ranger...

"Thanks!" she said, beaming at him. "So what's up?"

Suddenly remembering what had brought him here, Carlos gave his head another shake. "Right--DECA found a comet. We were on our way up to see it, and thought you might want to come."

"Sure!" Ashley exclaimed, bouncing to her feet.

Andros followed, a little more calmly. "Comets really aren't that impressive this far out from the stars they orbit," he warned them. "They're just balls of dust and ice; it's only when they heat up that they have a tail."

"Spoilsport," Ashley accused, taking his arm. "Let's go see."

Joining the others on the Bridge, they found that Andros was right. But, as Ashley pointed out, he was wrong as well, because as the comet crossed the Megaship's path only a few hundred kilometers behind them, something spectacular occurred.

The residual heat of the starship's passage, lingering in the freezing void of space, vaporized enough of the outer shell to surround the "ball of dust and ice" with a silver halo. And there was enough ambient light in this corner of the star system that the free-floating water vapor sparkled and shone as it tumbled along behind the comet, making it look like a wandering star freed from the responsibilities of gravity and on course with destiny.

Carlos stared in awe, amazed all over by the wonder of the celestial firmament through which they traveled. Gazing around at his friends, he wondered if they realized, at that moment, how lucky they truly were.

Cassie watched a little apart from the rest of the group, her mind probably at least half occupied with the mysterious Ranger sleeping in the Medical bay. But she wasn't truly alone--TJ was nearby, watching both her and the comet like a looming guardian angel. Ashley stood shoulder to shoulder with Andros, the two of them enjoying the night together as the angelic starfarer streaked past. As Carlos watched, the Red Ranger put his arm around Ashley's shoulders, and she leaned closer to him.

*Yes,* Carlos decided, looking back out at the silvery luminescence. *We all know exactly how lucky we are.*

7. Power Up

Although from Earth orbit the Megaship saw dawn arrive sixteen times a day, sunrise does not occur in deep space, so to say that Ashley woke before the dawn would be misleading. She did, however, open her eyes more than an hour before DECA's voice would have roused her from sleep.

She stretched, reaching above her head until her hands hit the metal edge of her bunk. She sighed happily, enjoying the feeling of a whole hour until she had to get up--until she remembered what the day held.

*Zordon...* The name echoed in her mind. She wondered again if they would find him, or end up chasing phantoms as they had so many times before. *Even if we do find him, what are our chances of freeing him, really?*

She pushed the thought out of her mind with an effort. There was no time for dwelling on negatives. *We're the Power Rangers, after all. Who else is there who can try?*

Rubbing her eyes to clear the sleep from them, Ashley turned her head to look around the room. Her gaze fell on the telekinesis ball that Andros had let her keep, and she smiled. With one hand, she snagged it off the chair beside her bed and held it in front of her face. She stared at it until it started to expand, unfolding outward into a sphere twice its original size.

Taking her hand away, she watched it float there for a minute. She remembered Andros' face last night as he stared at the ball, the way his eyes narrowed in concentration when he pushed it toward her. She felt again his presence near her, and then his body pressed against hers as he leaned forward and put his arms around her to demonstrate.

*He pretty much destroyed my focus right then,* Ashley thought wryly. She could count on one hand the number of times they'd been that close to each other, and their relationship was new enough that it still surprised her to feel his embrace. Delighted her, yes, but surprised her at first as well.

*I wonder if he's awake yet,* she mused idly, the colors of the ball barely visible in the dim lighting of her room. She pushed against it with her mind, and, after a moment, it started to drift down the length of her bunk. *Not that I have to see him,* she assured herself. *But... it would be nice, just for a few minutes before we have to go save the universe, to talk to him alone...*

Ashley shook her head. *You,* she told herself firmly, *have fallen way too hard.*

She'd had a crush on Andros from the first day they'd met, but he'd always been so distant that she hadn't had the courage to say anything. When the feelings hadn't gone away, she knew there was more to them than an infatuation, but she hadn't wanted to scare him off. Lately, though... she knew she'd been broadcasting worse than usual; she had caught herself staring at him at odd moments, or watching out for him on Earth as well as in battle.

Finally, when she'd seen him alone and so obviously haunted by something, she hadn't been able to stay quiet. Ashley smiled at the memory--able to do so now only because that kiss had started something wonderful. At the time, though, she'd been desperately afraid that she had alienated him for good.

There was a soft click as the telekinesis ball bumped against the end of her bunk, and she blinked in the darkness. She reached out with her right hand, pointing two fingers as Andros did, but she couldn't seem to bring it back. She tried for a few more seconds, then gave up with a sigh.

"DECA? What time is it?"

"It is one minute after six a.m.," DECA replied, her camera light blinking on briefly.

"Thanks," Ashley mumbled, stretching again. *I really should just get up,* she thought, sighing again. *I'd rather be awake for whatever we're going to face, and that means doing something to get my adrenaline going...*

She pushed the blanket away from her and sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bunk. "DECA, would you turn the lights up?"

The computer obliged, and Ashley squinted a little in the ensuing brightness. "Thanks," she repeated.

DECA's red light blinked once, than went out. Ashley smiled to herself. Even as she insisted on thanking the onboard computer for performing minor tasks, DECA returned the favor by granting her privacy without her having to ask.

Ashley pushed herself to her feet, glancing around her room. There was enough room to go through a kata in here--barely--but she wasn't as into martial arts as some of the others. *Cheerleading, though,* she thought, smiling to herself. *Now there's a sport with a purpose.*

She had to acknowledge that hers was not a common opinion, but she missed being a cheerleader. Rangering left little time for extra curricular activities, even when they were on Earth...

*No reason I can't enjoy them on my own,* she thought firmly, looking for her old workout clothes. *Especially if I'm going to spend the rest of the day on one of Divatox's ships tracking down interdimensional distortion signals.*

Ashley had left many of her clothes in her room on Earth, but she found a pair of stretch shorts and a yellow crop top, both well-worn and comfortable. Neither were really wearable in public, and combined they were a little revealing. But she didn't plan on anyone seeing her, either, so that wasn't an issue.

"If anyone's up at six o'clock on summer vacation," she muttered to herself, letting the sentence trail off. She shook her head, remembering a time when she wouldn't have opened her eyes before ten.

She grabbed a scrunchy and her sweatshirt and headed for the door, remembering the telekinesis ball at the last moment. Turning back, Ashley saw it still floating over the end of the bed, rotating slowly and silently in the otherwise motionless room. Just for fun, she gave it a mental nudge, and watched it inch toward the wall.

She tried again to pull it toward her, with no more success than she'd had before. Exasperated, Ashley made a face. She walked over to the ball and grabbed it out of the air, feeling it collapse in on itself the instant she touched it. Turning it over in her hands, she tried to imagine Andros as a little boy, playing and laughing with his sister. She found she couldn't--Andros' solemn air was such an integral part of his personality that she couldn't picture him being carefree.

She set the telekinesis ball down on her bureau, wishing she had known him then. It occurred to her to wonder, suddenly, what color his sister had been. He had said both he and Kerone were to be Rangers for KO-35--he was red; what color was Kerone? She had a sinking sensation that she knew.

*Is that why he was so uncomfortable around me at first?* She turned away from the remnant of Andros' childhood, moving more slowly toward the door than she had before. The light spilled out into the shadow-filled hallway with her, and, as an afterthought, she reached back through the doorway and hit the light control pad.

The shadows closed in, and she shivered as the door behind her slid shut. In the dimness, Kerone's spirit was that much closer. How often must it haunt Andros?

She tried to shake the feeling off, but it was easy to be spooked this early in the morning. The lights were low, and the Megaship practically deserted...

"Stop it," Ashley said aloud, her voice sounding overloud in the quiet hallway. "Kerone is still alive, somewhere. We will find her." She continued down the corridor, determined to put thoughts of Kerone, Zordon, and anyone else they might have any obligation to out of her mind, just for a little while.

The Simudeck was deserted, as she'd expected at this hour. She activated the park program, and watched as trees and grass and sun shimmered into existence around her. *I bet it's a beautiful day in Angel Grove,* she thought, a little wistfully.

She knew even as she walked into the sunlight, though, that she wouldn't trade her place on the Megaship for anything. The stars had become a second home to her, as she suspected they had always been for Andros. Staring up into a clear blue simulated sky, she knew something would always have been missing inside her if she hadn't been able to go into space.

*And if I had never met Andros...* the thought came unbidden to her mind, and she had to grin. *Will I be able to do anything this morning without thinking about him?*

"No," she answered her own question, sinking to the ground to start working her split out. *And I wouldn't have it any other way...*

Since two days ago when she had kissed him and he had responded, she had been on an uphill spiral. It seemed like all she wanted was to be with him, and the more time they spent together, the more her feelings intensified. Just thinking about Andros made her smile, and being around him had her grinning like a fool.

*But he's so sweet,* she thought, leaning forward to wrap her fingers around one extended foot. She couldn't help sighing when she remembered his arms around her last night, and Ashley had to laugh at herself.

"When did I turn into such a hopeless romantic?" she wondered aloud. Swinging around to stretch in the other direction, she had to admit that, embarrassing as it was, the answer was obvious. "The day I met Andros..."

Ashley giggled suddenly, glad there was no one there to see her mooning over their team leader. *I sound like a complete idiot.*

She put her legs out in front of her and leaned forward again, feeling her calves and hamstrings twinge a little with the new direction. She counted to ten before relaxing and flowing to her feet. Managing to get Andros out of her mind for more than a few seconds at a time, Ashley finished stretching and tipped her head back to brush her hair out of her eyes.

Gathering it into a ponytail, she twisted the scrunchy around her hair. Pulling off her sweatshirt, she tossed it on the ground next to an old oak tree and stepped back to survey the clearing in front of her.

Ashley took a deep breath. *It's been a long time since I went through one of these routines,* she thought--though once she had run through them almost every afternoon.

*No hesitation,* she reminded herself, thinking of the cheerleading motto. Pausing mid-routine would, at best, get you out of step with everyone else, and, at worst, cause yourself or someone else serious injury.

Ashley threw herself a handspring, launching her body into the air with the confidence brought on by long practice. The trees and sky whirled through her view in quick succession, and the grass caressed her bare feet when she returned to Earth. Once the first leap had passed, the rest came easily, the memories returning as needed until she found herself reaching toward the cloudless sky in a final, triumphant pose.

She felt a grin spread across her face, and she bowed to an imaginary crowd. Turning with a flourish, she went to bow in the other direction--and stopped short at the sight of a red-clad figure standing across the clearing, near the holographic entryway.

"Andros!" she exclaimed, blushing as she straightened up. "I didn't see you there..."

"I'm sorry," he said, backing up a step. "I shouldn't have come in while your program was running."

"No," she said hastily, "I don't mind; I just didn't expect anyone else to be up this early."

He didn't answer right away, and she suddenly remembered what she was wearing. Ashley folded her arms across her chest, trying to act nonchalant. *I did tell him I didn't think anyone would be up,* she reasoned, but she couldn't help feeling a little more embarrassed.

Andros blinked, meeting her eyes again. "I asked DECA to wake me up early," he explained, shrugging his shoulders and shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. "I wanted to work out a little before breakfast today."

"Yeah," Ashley agreed, hearing the words he left unspoken--they all needed to be as alert as possible, and some of them just weren't when they first woke up. Walking over to where he stood, she added, "That was my thought, too."

"So I see," Andros said, glancing around the park, and she blushed again.

She knew she probably didn't want to know, but she couldn't help asking, "How long were you standing there before I saw you?"

"Not very long," he said, staring out into the prismatic sunbeams of this picture perfect simulation. "Just since the beginning of your last routine."

"You saw the whole thing?" Ashley's mind flew back over all the things she'd done wrong, even though he couldn't possibly know how it was supposed to look.

Andros nodded. "You looked great," he told her, his eyes flickering back to hers.

"Thanks," she said, unable to keep from smiling at the praise. He looked away as soon as she did, and Ashley frowned a little.

"If you want to work out," she offered, not knowing what else to say, "go ahead and use the Simudeck. I've had it for a while; I'll just head back--to... my..."

She slowed and stopped as he turned his gaze back on her, something in it that she couldn't identify. He stared at her for a moment, and she looked back, surprised by his sudden intense regard.

He looked down as abruptly as he had looked at her, and she didn't understand why he moved back another step. "I don't want to interrupt," he said finally.

"You could always spar with me," Ashley suggested slyly. She swung a hook kick at him in slow motion, an impish grin on her face.

Andros' fist came up, and he went to block automatically, stopping just short of actually touching her. As they stared at each other, one corner of his mouth quirked in a half-smile, and he extended his other fist.

Her right foot found the ground again and she stepped back, catching his wrist and tugging him off-balance. Before she could throw him, though, he moved forward and twisted her arm--gently--forcing her onto her toes. With a quick spin, she broke free and aimed a blow at his head.

He brought his arms up to block, and the speed of their mock-battle increased as they tested and were tested in turn. Ashley had never fought another Ranger, and she wondered now if it was something they should have tried long ago. It was certainly instructive.

Still pulling their punches, they worked their way close to full speed. Ashley spun to avoid an uppercut and had half a second's warning before Andros' hurricane kick came at her. She was almost completely on instinct now, as a good fighter ought to be when challenged, and she ducked out of the way. The kick slowed as it went by overhead, and she knew he was still prepared to halt at any moment if necessary.

Ashley went on the offensive for only a moment before he turned the tables on her again, and she found herself dangerously close to being in a choke hold. She caught his arm before it could close around her neck and pulled downward, canting her body forward to send him tumbling past her shoulder to the ground.

Not willing to surrender the advantage, she didn't let go of his arm as she followed. Grabbing the other one as well, Ashley managed to pin both his arms down. He didn't struggle, just lay there staring up at her. Breathing heavily, she grinned down at him. "Give up?"

The look in his eyes should have warned her, but she was taken by surprise as, instead of pushing upward as she had expected, he flung his arms outward. Her support gone, she collapsed on top of him as he rolled, taking her with him and reversing their positions.

"Does the winner get a kiss?" Andros asked, his voice husky from the exercise.

"Always," she agreed, heart pounding as he leaned closer. She closed her eyes, feeling him release her wrists at the last minute so she could pull away if she wanted to. Then his lips covered hers, and she knew that was the last thing in the world she would want.

In the fleeting moment before the kiss ended, she wondered what he would do if she tried to turn the gentle touch into something deeper... but then it was over, and she chastised herself for the thought. *Don't push,* she reminded herself, but with his face only inches from hers, it was hard to remember the promise she'd made to herself to let him set the pace.

They stayed there on the grass, looking into each others' eyes, for what seemed like a very long time. Finally, Ashley couldn't stand it anymore and she reached up to tug playfully on his ponytail. The gesture turned into a caress, and she ran her fingers through his hair, freeing it from its red elastic and watching it fall forward in his face.

Andros said nothing, but seconds later he drew back, sitting up and drawing his knees up to his chest. He looked oddly vulnerable, and he would no longer meet her gaze.

Ashley regretted her action instantly, but there was no changing it now. "I'm sorry," she said contritely, propping herself up on her elbows. "I shouldn't have done that... please, forgive me?"

Andros shook his head, and her heart clenched. *I couldn't help it!* she cried, in the privacy of her own mind. *I can't think straight when I'm around him...*

"It's not you," Andros whispered, staring at the ground. "It's me--I can't think straight when I'm around you..."

Her eyes widened at his unknowing echo of her words. "I'm going to do something stupid, I know," he continued, oblivious to her reaction. "You'll never talk to me again--and I'm not sure I could live without you anymore."

His gaze met hers, and the pleading look there startled her more. It was an expression she had seen only once before on his face: yesterday, when he had told her about KO-35. Now, as then, she felt that she was seeing straight through the defenses he had so carefully constructed and into his very soul.

"Andros," Ashley said softly, pushing herself up the rest of the way, "there is nothing you could say--or do--that would make me never speak to you again. Nothing at all."

He looked up at her uncertainly, and she smiled, kneeling forward to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. Unconsciously, he repeated the gesture, and their hands touched. Unfolding his legs, he drew her a little closer, and she leaned the rest of the way to hug him.

"Then... can I tell you that you're really beautiful?" he whispered in her ear.

She giggled. "Anytime."

He didn't answer, and Ashley pulled far enough away to look at his expression. "You were serious," she realized, and Andros nodded.

"I'll have to wear my old stuff more often," Ashley teased.

"It's not your clothes," he protested, glancing down at her outfit. Andros blushed suddenly, and when he met her eyes again, he admitted, "Well, maybe a little. But--you have a beautiful spirit, Ashley Hammond."

Touched, she could only smile at him. "So do you, Andros. The most beautiful I've ever known..."

He took a deep breath, giving her a nervous look, and she knew he was about to kiss her again. Hands still on his shoulders, she scooted closer. Before he could move, she had pressed her lips to his, and this time she didn't pull away.

*So much for letting him set the pace,* her mind thought distantly, but she ignored it. She felt his arms go around her, felt his hands on her bare skin, and relaxed against him even as her pulse skyrocketed.

"It's seven o'clock," DECA's voice broke in, and they both started.

Ashley sighed. "What a reality check," she murmured, not willing to move away just yet.

Smiling at her, Andros lifted one hand to smooth the stray curls of hair away from her face. "You're my reality," he told her softly, and she rested her forehead on his shoulder, an answering smile on her face.

"You're unbelievably romantic, you know that?" she asked, fondly amused.

She felt his free hand stroking her hair. "I try," he replied, and she giggled, not sure why it was funny but unable to keep her sheer delight from bubbling over.

At last, she shifted slightly and looked up at him, aware that they could sit there for hours if someone didn't move. "I guess we should go," she said reluctantly.

Andros nodded. "I still have work to do on the equipment we're taking with us. And I should probably change," he added ruefully, holding up his arms for inspection.

"Haven't you heard that grass stains are the newest fad?" Ashley kidded, plucking at his sleeves.

"Grass stains, maybe," Andros said, looking pointedly at her outfit. "But I think that if you don't change, I'm going to have some competition."

Ashley slapped his shoulder lightly. "As if I've even looked at anyone else since I met you."

Andros' head came up, and she tried hard not to blush, realizing she'd given away more than he had known. "Since... when?"

"You're going to make me say it again?" Ashley shrugged uncomfortably beneath his gaze. "I've liked you since we first met... I just didn't know how to tell you."

There was an almost unbearable pause--then Andros drew her into a fierce hug. "Me too," he confessed quietly. "But I didn't know it until a few days ago."

She hugged back, certain she could never be happier than she was right now...

She knew he had to let go eventually, but she was still disappointed when it happened. Andros scrambled to his feet and offered her a hand, which she took gratefully. Not because she needed it, but because it prolonged contact with him a little longer.

"I'll get your sweatshirt," Andros said, but she stopped him.

"Don't be silly," Ashley chided. "You have more to do than me; go get started. Thanks for the thought, though," she added, and was rewarded by his smile.

"I'll see you at breakfast," Andros said, his intonation making it almost a question.

She nodded, smiling, and he backed away slowly. Finally, he turned and strode toward the door, but she saw him glance over his shoulder once more before heading out into the corridor. A grin spread across her face, and she practically skipped over to her sweatshirt. Scooping it up, she hugged it to her chest and closed her eyes, reliving Andros' embrace in her mind.

She was still thinking about him when she returned to her room, and no matter how often she tried to focus on something else while she showered and changed, her thoughts always came back to Andros. Finally, she gave up and let herself daydream as she made her way to the Glider holding bay.

"Hey, Ash!" Carlos greeted her as she entered.

"Hi," Ashley answered with a contented sigh.

Carlos raised an eyebrow. "You sound... happy."

"Probably because I am," she called over her shoulder, as she went to the Synthetron.

"Sleep well?" he asked, and she smiled.

"As a matter of fact, yes. How about you?"

There was a pause, and she pulled her dishes from the Synthetron and turned in time to see him shaking his head. "I had the weirdest dream," Carlos said. "About Dimitria, and Zordon... I think Phantom was in it, and the Blue Senturion. Even Justin."

Ashley winced as she set her plate and tumbler on the table. This mission was one Justin would have wanted to be in on, even if it was just to know what was going on. *How long since any of us have talked to him, I wonder?*

"Justin says good luck," TJ's voice volunteered sleepily from the doorway, and Carlos and Ashley both looked up.

"Morning, Teej," Carlos greeted him.

At the same time, Ashley asked, "When did you talk to Justin?"

"Yesterday," TJ mumbled, walking over to the Synthetron. "Right after the news broadcast with the Aquitians. I figured someone on Earth should know what was really going on."

Ashley smiled to herself. Leave it to TJ to think of details while the rest of them were freaking out over the main issue. "Speaking of which," the Blue Ranger continued, looking around the room as he returned to the table, "Where are Cassie and Andros?"

Not sure how that related, Ashley nonetheless answered. "Andros had some work to do on the scanners and the homing devices. He should be here soon, though."

Carlos frowned. "I thought he did that last night."

"No," Ashley replied, trying to hide a grin. "He was... involved with something else."

She saw comprehension dawn on Carlos' face--he had, after all, been the one to find them playing with the telekinesis ball. He said nothing, though, and the exchange seemed to have gone right over TJ's sleepy head.

TJ proved that he had been paying some attention, however, for when they paused, he inquired, "What about Cassie?"

Ashley noticed that he didn't ask about Phantom, and she wondered if the omission was deliberate, or simply a product of his obvious drowsiness. She looked at Carlos, who shrugged.

"I'll go find her," Ashley volunteered, somehow not ready to sit down and do something so mundane as eat breakfast yet.

"She'll probably be here in a minute," Carlos said, but she shook her head.

"I don't mind. Back in a sec!" Ashley darted out into the hallway before either of them could come up with a logical reason for her not to.

Pausing outside the lift, she couldn't help peeking onto the Bridge. Andros stood at the auxiliary scanner console, fiddling with something tiny and metallic. Ashley smiled, noticing his hair was still loose.

She ducked into the lift without saying anything, not wanting to interrupt. "Deck four," she requested, and DECA's voice confirmed.

It did occur to her that Cassie might actually be in her room, but that possibility struck her as highly unlikely. Even assuming Cassie had not woken up until seven, when DECA woke everyone up, she would have had plenty of time to get down to the Medical bay and check on Phantom.

Sure enough, when the lift doors opened, Ashley could hear faint voices emanating from the open doors of the Medical bay. She walked toward them, pausing as she approached to listen more closely. The voices had stopped, and she frowned.

As she peered into the bay, her eyes widened. Cassie stood facing the door, eyes closed. Phantom was directly behind her, arms encircling her as she leaned back against him, her hands on his.

Neither seemed aware of her presence, although Phantom was looking almost straight at her. Maybe his eyes were closed, too, or maybe he saw her and simply didn't want to disturb Cassie. Either way, Ashley wasn't going to be the one to disrupt the peaceful scene.

She tiptoed back the way she'd come, and waited for the lift doors to close before she gave a destination. The Bridge was empty this time, and, returning to the holding bay, she found Andros just sitting down next to her empty place.

"Good morning," Ashley said, for all the world as though she hadn't seen him just fifteen minutes ago.

He looked up as she sat down. "Morning, Ash," Andros said with a smile, and she grinned back, knowing that they weren't fooling anyone but not caring.

"So where's Cassie?" TJ asked, looking up from scrambled eggs smothered in ketchup.

"And Phantom," Carlos added.

"They're... talking," Ashley said, figuring it wasn't entirely untrue. "They'll be here soon."

She saw TJ and Carlos exchange glances, but she didn't say anything. It gave her a chance to sneak a look at Andros, and she found him doing the same thing. Their eyes met, and she smiled again.

He smiled back, and she felt his hand fumble for hers under the table. Their fingers touched, and she squeezed his hand. He returned the gesture, and she realized she was staring at him--had been for several moments now, in fact.

Ashley tried to go back to her breakfast as though nothing had happened, but she didn't miss the second look that passed between Carlos and TJ. *Those two could seriously get on my nerves,* she thought, but was too happy to let it bother her for long.

Luckily, the arrival of Cassie and Phantom prevented any overt questioning. Cassie went over to the Synthetron, and Phantom lingered for a moment in the doorway.

"Will you join us for breakfast?" Andros asked, but Ashley got the feeling he was only asking because someone had to, for politeness' sake.

Her suspicion was confirmed when Phantom shook his head. Morphed, one could go for a long time without eating, and Ashley assumed he had been planning to take advantage of that--since, as Andros had pointed out, he didn't demorph around anyone, and demorphing would be something of a requirement in this situation.

"I must make sure my ship is properly stabilized," Phantom said, turning his head to watch Cassie cross the room. "It will not take long; inform me when you are ready to leave, and I will come."

*In other words,* Ashley thought, *he's going to go off by himself until we're ready to actually do something, thereby avoiding any unnecessary socializing.*

Cassie waved as she sat down, and Phantom nodded to her before he turned and left. *And yet--he must have been planning to do that all along,* she realized. *Which means he walked Cassie up here for no reason except to keep her company...*

"So?" TJ demanded, as soon as Phantom was out of earshot.

"So what?" Cassie asked innocently, around a mouthful of toast.

"You know what I mean," her friend retorted. "Is he going to make it through the day?"

Cassie stopped, swallowing hard. "That wasn't funny, TJ."

TJ looked puzzled at first, and Ashley heard Andros draw in a breath, getting ready to jump in if necessary. Then TJ's expression cleared, and he apologized immediately. "That's not what I meant, Cassie, really. I was just asking if he's up to an infiltration assault like the one we're planning for today."

She continued to stare at him for a moment, then she lowered her gaze, and Ashley saw her eyes slide shut. "Sorry, Teej. I didn't mean to jump on you like that."

TJ looked around the table, and Ashley shot a sympathetic look in Cassie's direction. He nodded. "Hey, don't worry about it. I wasn't very clear, and you've been under a lot of stress lately."

"Yeah..." Cassie said softly. Ashley wasn't even sure they were meant to hear it. But Cassie looked up at last, her eyes open and clear, and maybe just a little too bright. "I think he'll be okay. There's nothing we can do, anyway; it's his choice to go or stay."

"But it's your choice, too," Andros said. "You don’t have to go with someone if you don't think they can watch your back."

"Oh, I'm going," Cassie said vehemently. "Someone has to keep him from getting killed."

The word hung over the table ominously, but Cassie didn't even seem to notice. She tore off a piece of toast and crunched on it, clearly lost deep in thought somewhere.

Ashley glanced at Andros. *We're not going to die,* she protested silently. *We're the Power Rangers. Rangers don't die.*

*But what if--* She cut off that train of thought before it got any further. Suddenly realizing that Andros was speaking, she tried to put images of destruction out of her mind and focus on the issue at hand.

"TJ and Carlos will take the other ship," he was saying, pushing his plate away. "Ashley and I will board the nearest one, and anyone who finds any evidence either way for their signal is to contact DECA immediately. She'll alert the rest of us the next time we check in, and we'll have to improvise the rest as we go."

"How often are we checking in?" TJ asked.

Andros paused. "Every fifteen minutes," he decided at last. "It seems like a lot, but believe me, fifteen minutes can be a long time when you're injured, captive, or otherwise threatened.

"All you'll have to do is push a button on your communicator to let us know you're doing all right. Whenever you can, you should also establish an audio link with DECA so we can pass information back and forth, but when you're in a sensitive location--which will probably be most of the time--just use the carrier frequency to let the Megaship know you'll be in touch as soon as you can."

"What about the homing beacons?" Carlos wanted to know.

Andros produced the miniature devices seemingly out of thin air. *He has to have pockets in that uniform,* Ashley thought, not for the first time.

"Hide them on you somewhere," Andros said, passing them out. "It doesn't matter where; Astronema doesn't search anything very carefully. But it's probably best for everyone not to have them in the same place."

Ashley heard the unspoken thought behind his statement: *in case some of us are captured, there's a better chance of a least one of the captives keeping their homing device that way.*

The rest of the meal was somewhat subdued, and Ashley couldn't really blame anyone for not talking. She didn't feel that cheery herself, not after their previous conversations.

They all trooped up to the Bridge afterwards, only to find that calling Phantom was unnecessary, as he was already there. Ashley had time to wonder about that, while Andros gave every other person a scanner and reviewed basic operations with them. She did pay attention to his explanations, in a half-hearted way, knowing that he would be reading it most of the time and confident that she could figure out anything she needed to know.

The six of them gathered together while he talked, drawing support from each other's company as much as the technical reminders. Finally, there was nothing left to say, and they all just stood there, looking at each other.

"Good luck, guys," TJ said at last, putting his hand out into the middle of the group.

"Be safe," Carlos added, covering TJ's hand with his own.

"Let's find Zordon," Cassie chimed in, extending her hand as well.

"See you at lunch," Ashley remarked flippantly, adding her hand to the pile.

"Let's do it," Andros said, putting his hand on top of hers.

They all looked at Phantom. Without a word, he did the same, and the circle was complete. They looked at each other, counting down simultaneously in their minds. *Two... one...*

"Power Rangers!" the team exclaimed, and Ashley, TJ, and Cassie jumped, hi-fiving each other and then the rest of the Rangers.

Andros turned away from the group to alter something on the console, and when he looked back, they were all waiting expectantly. He nodded to Cassie and Phantom, and the two stepped a little apart from the others. Cassie flipped her morpher open, and the numbers three, three, five sounded clearly in the quiet room.

A trail of pink sparkles obscured her form briefly, and the Pink Ranger stood, morphed, at Phantom's side. She looked up at him, and he returned the gaze for an instant before they both, at some unspoken signal, turned toward Andros and nodded. He punched another series of buttons on the console, and the two of them disappeared in a flash of shadowy pink.

TJ and Carlos punched their morphing codes into their astromorphers simultaneously, transforming in a hail of blue and black sparkles. TJ saluted, and, at Carlos' nod, Andros triggered the teleportation sequence from the console. Cobalt flared and vanished, leaving Ashley and Andros alone on the Megaship.

Ashley touched the catch on her morpher, but Andros caught her wrist before she could enter the numbers. "Ash..."

Surprised, she looked up. He was regarding her with a worried expression, and she wondered what could be wrong. *Other than this mission...*

"Be careful, all right?" he said at last.

She smiled. "That's what you're along for, isn't it?"

His mouth quirked, but he insisted, "I'm serious. Don't get hurt, all right? I don't want to find out what I'd be like if something happened to you."

"Same goes for you," Ashley murmured, stepping forward to put her arms around him.

For the first time, he returned her embrace without hesitation. "Be safe," she whispered, repeating Carlos' earlier admonition. She didn't see him close his eyes, but she felt his grip tighten just before he let go.

He stepped back, and they stared into each others eyes for a moment. *Please be safe,* she repeated silently, vowing to stay at his side for as long as it took to see them both through this.

Finally, Andros looked down at the console. The last thing she saw was his fingers tapping in the teleporation sequence before her world was enveloped in a haze of glimmering gold.

8. Fifteen Minutes

TJ looked over his shoulder for what felt like the hundredth time since he and Carlos had boarded the ship. *I hate this,* he thought to himself, careful not to speak aloud.

They had seen no sign of activity in the short time they had been exploring, save the silent blip on the scanner Carlos held. The interdimensional distortion--real or artificially created--came through loud and clear, but they had encountered no resistance as they worked their way toward it.

Approaching a corridor junction, the two slowed. Carlos overlaid an infrared scanner sweep across the dimensional tracking grid, and the screen filled with color. Nothing warm and moving showed around the corner, or in any direction for more than fifty meters.

TJ held up his hand, pointing at his wrist to remind his partner about their check-in. Carlos shook his head, and tapped the simple code on his morpher that would send an "ok" signal back to the Megaship.

TJ followed his example, unable to blame him for not wanting to make the noise required for a vocal exchange with DECA. The conditions seemed ideal--no distractions, eavesdroppers, or any apparent possibility of detection--but there was something about the perfect quietness that set TJ's teeth on edge.

*It's almost too quiet,* TJ thought, with a wry grin for the cliché. *There's something spooky about this. It's like they're avoiding us; as though we were expected, somehow.*

He touched a couple buttons on his own communicator, and a flash told him the link had been successful. Carlos spared one more glance for the scanner before gesturing to the corner. TJ nodded, and they crept forward once more, growing increasingly wary with every step.

The faint slipping sound alerted Ashley, who had learned over the course of her Turbo Ranger career to recognize that noise anywhere. She tapped Andros' shoulder, not wanting to startle him but not willing to risk speaking aloud.

He looked up from the scanner immediately, and she nodded at a nearby corridor. Without giving him time to wonder what she meant, Ashley took his arm and tugged him down the alternate and apparently (by the dust content) semi-used section of hall. By now the sound of pirahnatron footsteps was clearly audible, and Andros flattened himself against the wall beside her.

*One thing about pirahnatrons,* Ashley thought, holding her breath as the contingent marched past, *they have lousy peripheral vision when they're out of the water.*

Though their check-in was overdue, neither moved until the sound of pirahnatrons had once more faded into the background hum of machinery. Then Andros held up his wrist, and she nodded. Two "ok" signals shot simultaneously across the void of space to the Megaship's EM sensors.

Cassie frowned at her scanner. For an instrument specifically calibrated for sensing dimensional distortion, it was being remarkably unhelpful.

She and Phantom had ducked into one of the alcoves that seemed to dot the corridors. He stood just inside, keeping watch on the hallway while she tried to clean up the echoes that appeared on the scanner every time they moved. The closer they traveled to the original signal, the more duplicates showed up--and vanished, just as quickly. Finally, the scanner had become almost impossible to read, and she had called a halt to try and do something about it.

Another false signal popped up when she turned, and Cassie shook her head. *What's wrong with this thing?* she wondered, exasperated.

She did, at last, get the scanner to isolate the central signal and give it priority on the display. Moving forward as quietly as she could, Cassie flashed a thumbs-up when Phantom turned to look at her. Pointing at the scanner, she held her thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart to indicate that they were close, and he nodded.

It took less time than she had anticipated to reach the signal's source--at least according to the scanner. As for any kind of visual identification...

Cassie came to an abrupt halt as they rounded the corner and found themselves staring down a short hallway the opened outward in all directions at the opposite end. Up, down, left, right--the hall seemed to let out onto an observation deck for the area below. A supervisor's walkway, perhaps; it was about ten meters up and hugged the wall all the way around the cavernous expanse of work area.

She exchanged glances with Phantom, and they moved forward cautiously, trying to get close enough to peer out over the edge. Unfortunately, every part of the walkway was visible from every other part, and some of it could be seen from the ground below. They stopped just before the shadows of the hall would have ceased to conceal them, and stared out across a bay that was almost half the size of the Megaship.

Pirahnatrons scurried across the floor, and cargohaulers moved more slowly along the outside walls. Catwalks started about five meters up, stretching across the room and continuing upwards to run almost directly underneath the observation walkway on which they stood. Overhead, multiple points of light were arrayed on the domed ceiling, illuminating the chaos below.

Cassie shook her head, not knowing or truly caring what the purpose of all the activity was. What bothered her more was the fact that she could see no hint of any kind of interdimensional time warp.

Looking back down at the scanner, she confirmed their location. *We should be right on top of it,* she thought. *Even if it's artificial--what in that mess could be producing the signal?*

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Phantom move slightly, and she looked over at him. He held up his wrist right, tapping it with two fingers, and she nodded.

They withdrew back down the hallway a little, and Cassie rolled back her glove to expose her morpher. Keying the output volume down, she linked up with the Megaship. "DECA, this is Cassie," she said quietly, counting on the noise echoing out of the work bay to keep her voice from being heard by anything but the communicator's sensitive microphone. "Phantom and I are both all right, but we haven't found the source of the distortion yet."

A second flicker of red light indicated an incoming transmission. "Acknowledged, Cassie," DECA's calm voice replied.

Satisfied with that response, knowing DECA would have told them if the others were in trouble, Cassie signed off. She glanced at Phantom, and found him looking down the hallway, away from the work bay.

Following his gaze, she saw nothing but dimly lit corridor, so she turned her attention back to the scanner.

The thing was still giving off false indicators, but the original distortion now showed up as a steady, green-tinged glow amid yellow echoes. She was adjusting the scanner for the close-range accuracy they would need to pinpoint the source when she noticed Phantom stiffen.

She heard the scuffling even before she could look, and time seemed to slow as a sinking feeling descended on her stomach. Her gaze tracked inevitably down the hallway, and the brief flare of blaster fire seared her vision as she turned.

*One minute...*

She heard Phantom shout her name, and felt a weight crash against her side as sudden, numbing pain spread across her chest. She didn't even realize she was falling until the hard grid surface of the deck bruised her shoulder and hip, pinning her left arm beneath her.

Gasping for breath, Cassie tried to roll, knowing their attackers wouldn't stop at one shot. The dead weight on top of her registered then, and she felt Phantom slide off her as she struggled to sit up. She caught at his shoulder, staring in disbelief at the burn marks on his armor.

Another blast streaked by overhead, and she ducked instinctively, going for her astroblaster. Clenching her teeth as another wave of pain hit her, she crouched in front of Phantom and leveled her blaster at the shadowy forms lurking by the corridor junction. *The same one we just came through,* she thought distantly. *Were we being followed the whole time?*

She fired blindly, hoping to discourage anyone from coming further down the hallway. She was rewarded by a solid thunk as one of the bolder pirahnatrons fell, caught by her random fire. The others drew back, but not without several parting shots that cut into the bulkhead beside her as she dove out of the way.

Turning her head, she saw Phantom still prone on the deck, and fear raced through her--a fear completely unlike the rush of adrenaline that the ambush had triggered. She crawled closer, pushing herself to her knees so she could look down at him.

The burn marks on his left shoulder and chest stared back at her accusingly, and she glanced down at her own chest. Nothing--her uniform was completely unscathed, and the pain she had felt earlier was nearly gone.

*You saved my life,* she realized finally. *That blast was meant for me...*

She couldn't tell if he was conscious, or even breathing, but there was no way she was leaving him here. Their attackers would be back before long--she'd done nothing but buy the two of them some more time, and they would need every second of it.

Cassie reached out to touch his shoulder, wanting to know if he could move under anything like his own power. She stopped short, staring in shock as his armor started to shimmer in the dim lighting.

She rubbed her eyes, thinking they were tearing, but the hazy quality of his form did not resolve itself into the familiar outlines she had known for more than a year. Instead, his armor seemed to shift somehow, becoming more and more insubstantial, until she was seeing more than just the shadow he had always appeared to be.

Phantom demorphed completely.

*Two minutes...*

A blast ricocheted off the wall across from her, and Cassie flinched. *They're faster than I would have guessed,* she thought, grabbing Phantom's arms and pulling him down the hall in the other direction. She had no idea where they would go, but they certainly couldn't stay here.

The hallway widened sharply just before it let out onto the observation walkway of the work bay, and Cassie managed to duck around the corner with Phantom in tow as the fire resumed in earnest. *Since when do pirahnatrons carry sidearms?* she demanded silently, leaning forward to look back the way they'd come.

A shot that practically singed her helmet greeted her, and she pulled back instantly. The brief view had shown pirahnatrons approaching unchecked down the corridor toward her, obviously motivated by something scarier behind them than Cassie was in front of them.

*And I think I'd rather not meet whatever it is,* Cassie thought, cocking her astroblaster. She took a deep breath and swung out into the hallway on one knee, the other bracing her firing arm. She fired as rapidly as she could pull the trigger into the advancing squad, and had the satisfaction of seeing most of the front line stagger and fall as she decimated their ranks.

Unfortunately, the pirahnatrons were as kamikaze-minded as she was, and they just kept coming. The only good news was that she seemed to have hit most of the ones carrying blaster weapons, and the firefight was quickly becoming one-sided.

She spared a single glance for Phantom, still out of their line of sight, and her eye fell on the ruby that hung on a gold chain around his neck. Except for that, there was no identifying him as the Phantom Ranger, and the thought occurred to her that anonymity would work to his advantage if they were captured.

Pushing out of her defensive stance, she skidded the few steps to his side and wrapped her fingers around the ruby. She hesitated then, remembering the last time he'd been without it, but slapping finlike footsteps convinced her and she quickly pulled it off over his head.

*Three minutes...*

Slipping the necklace into her boot, Cassie stood and stepped out into the hallway in time to see pirahnatrons only meters away and closing. "Satellite Stunner!" Cassie exclaimed, and holding out her left hand.

She'd never been particularly ambidextrous, but at this point it didn't matter. There were so many pirahnatrons that she was bound to hit something with any shot she got off. Even against the now weaponless army, she knew she would be overwhelmed eventually.

Sooner than she'd expected, the squad had closed around her, rendering her blaster and stunner next to useless in the close quarters. As she glanced down for a split second to reholster the astroblaster, a pirahnatron went for her stunner and she flung her hand away.

The fingers caught on her morpher, still exposed from her earlier communication with DECA, and she felt the wristband snap. Cassie felt the Power ebbing out of her, and she looked down in horror as she demorphed.

*This is not good,* she thought fervently, instinctively dodging a blow. If she couldn't hold them off with her powers, she certainly wouldn't be able to do it now...

As she went to block another blow, her left fist came up in guard position and she realized she still clutched her Satellite Stunner in her hand. The discovery did her little good, however, as another pirahnatron grabbed her shoulder and tried to hold her in place for his friend.

*Right,* Cassie scoffed to herself. *In your dreams!* Whirling, she tossed her stunner from hand to hand and shrugged out of her jacket, managing to evade both grasping hands and incoming fists.

As she straightened once more, guard at the ready, her eye caught the control panel at the end of the hallway and a sudden wild hope dawned. *If the work bay ever needed to be sealed off from the rest of the ship...*

Cassie started backing up--not difficult, considering that the narrowness of the hallway had kept the majority of her attackers from surrounding her, and the assault was still concentrated in front of her. She sensed rather than saw the fist flying toward her from behind, and ducked past the last pirahnatron and out onto the edge of the observation walkway.

Hefting the stunner with her good hand, she sited toward the control panel and fired. The panel exploded in a shower of sparks, and she thanked any deity that cared to listen when a bulkhead slammed into place between her and the pirahnatrons.

*Four minutes...*

She drew in a deep breath, and turned to Phantom. Her eyes widened as she remembered the ruby, and she looked down automatically. But she could still feel the stone digging into her ankle, and the discomfort was almost as welcome as the sight of the descending bulkhead had been.

The sound of fists pounding on the aforementioned bulkhead brought her back to the issue of refuge, since this one was obviously temporary at best. Her gaze roved across the bay as she shoved the grip of her stunner into her belt, and she noted distractedly that the hustle below had not abated in the slightest. No one appeared to take any notice of them.

The bulkhead behind her hissed, and she swung around in alarm. It had raised several centimeters above the floor, and she suspected whoever was on the other side wouldn't stop there. She debated for a second, wondering whether to try and lift Phantom, but dismissed that idea almost immediately.

"Sorry," she apologized wryly, dragging him over the solid decking. "But I'm not morphed, and you're not even semi-conscious--there's no way I can carry you far."

Another ominous hiss echoed from the bulkhead they'd left behind, and she winced. *All right,* she thought, *we need to be out of sight now.*

There was another opening coming up on her left, and she peered over her shoulder at it. The portal was indistinguishable from the one they'd just come from--with the notable exception of a lack of pirahnatrons.

"Look's like that's as good as it gets," she muttered, shuffling backwards into the hall. They were out of sight--*but what now?* It wouldn't take the pirahnatrons long to get that bulkhead all the way up, and there was always the possibility that a completely different group might stumble on them...

She glanced down the hallway--and stopped. *That grating...* Leaving Phantom, she darted over to it and tugged. With some effort, it swung open, revealing what looked like a maintenance shaft of some sort.

*Five minutes...*

Cassie grunted as she dragged Phantom into the tunnel. "Next time, I get to be unconscious and you can do the work," she whispered, pulling the grate shut with a clang.

The cramped area of the maintenance shaft afforded her little room to maneuver, but with a combination of crawling and tugging she managed to get the two of them out of line-of-sight from the hallway in a niche whose use she couldn't fathom. When it came right down to it, though, she didn't care what it was used for, so long as it sheltered them from the prying eyes of pirahnatrons.

Leaning back against the side of the alcove, Cassie let out a heavy sigh. Her heart was still pounding, and she heard pirahnatrons in every whisper of air, but her rational mind told her they were safe for a few minutes.

She glanced over at Phantom, sprawled motionless beside her, and her breath caught. She stared, seeing him--really seeing him--for the first time since he'd demorphed.

He looked human enough, with light skin and dark hair--a strange combination, she thought, until it occurred to her to wonder how much time he spent in the sun. He wore dark pants and a simple black tunic, belted at the waist, and she had to smile. *Black... I should have guessed.*

He also looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't pin the feeling down more than that. "Phantom?" she whispered, suddenly uncertain about the name. Though it had been appropriate for the Ranger she had known before, she wasn't sure it fit the person she saw in front of her now.

He didn't stir--though she had almost expected him to--but the slight rise and fall of his chest comforted her. She remembered the ruby, suddenly, still grinding against her ankle, and she fished it out. Holding the stone in the palm of her hand, she let the gold chain slide through her fingers.

The links sparkled in the dim lighting, and she edged closer to him. Gently, Cassie lifted his head and slipped the necklace back on. It fell against his tunic as though it belonged there--which, she supposed, it did--and she found herself staring again.

"Who are you?" she wondered quietly, for maybe the fiftieth time.

Footsteps sounded in the corridor, and she froze.

*Six minutes...*

It took several seconds to convince herself that the noise wasn't her imagination, but by then it was unmistakable. Something--a large number of somethings--was moving down the corridor off of which their tunnel branched.

Inching back toward the wall again, she tugged Phantom with her, letting his head rest on her lap as she leaned back. A flicker of light caught on the opposite wall, and she held her breath, watching it dance up and down the tunnel and reflect into their alcove.

Phantom picked that moment to move, mumbling something that she couldn't make out as he shivered. Cassie put a finger over his lips and leaned down to breath, "Shh," in his ear. She was aware of the intimacy of the action even as she did it, but it was the only way.

To her relief, he quieted immediately, and she waited, hunched over, for the light to intensify. She refused to move, trying not to even breathe as the unsteady illumination came searching.

Then it was gone, and she found she still couldn't move. What if they were still out there, just waiting for her to decide they'd left and make a break for it? *Not that there's anywhere to go,* Cassie thought, dismayed. *We're alone on an alien ship--no way to get off, no way to call for help, and no one will even know we're missing for another ten minutes.*

Phantom stirred again, and she focused on his face, only inches from hers, and wondered what would happen if he opened his eyes. Of course he wouldn't--probably couldn't, even, if he was injured on top of his exhausted state, but she couldn't help wondering.

Phantom's eyes opened, and he blinked slowly up at her.

*Seven minutes...*

Cassie froze again, held in place as surely as she had been when the light had shone down the tunnel toward them. Neither moved for several seconds, and she realized suddenly that her fingers still rested gently on his face.

She moved her hand, not meaning the gesture to be a caress but knowing it had turned into one anyway. His lips quirked, and she saw him struggle to draw in a breath. "I'm not--" he started to whisper, voice catching. "I am not awake enough... to--to enjoy this properly."

Cassie blushed, surprised and pleased at the same time. He lifted one hand to cover hers, and she started at the contact. *No gloves,* she thought, realizing for the first time that they had finally touched with nothing between them.

His expression was startled as well, and he was staring at their hands. "I am... not morphed?"

He sounded suddenly vulnerable and almost lost without his uniform. She shook her head, her hair falling further forward over her shoulders. "Do you remember us being ambushed?"

His gaze returned to hers, eyes still wide and a little worried. He nodded slowly, moving his head only a fraction and not taking his eyes off hers. "They shot--" he swallowed. "They shot at you..."

"Yeah," Cassie whispered. "You pushed me out of the way. You were hit--" She stopped too, glancing inadvertently at his chest. "Are you all right?"

He closed his eyes briefly, seeming to remember only then the pain he should have been in. "I... I don't know," he admitted, voice still hoarse and barely above a whisper.

She waited, but he didn't say anything more. "Can you sit up?" she asked at last.

He tried immediately, struggling to get his elbows under him and push himself up. Cassie moved back a little and helped him prop himself against the wall, regarding him critically as he did so. "Now take off your shirt."

He gave her a startled look, and she blushed. "If you're not going to tell me," she said firmly, "I want to see for myself."

He didn't argue, just unbelted his tunic and started to pull it off over his head. She saw him wince at the movement, and heard his sharp intake of breath when he tried to lift his left arm above shoulder level.

"Stop it," she begged at last, unable to stand his obvious discomfort. Leaning forward, she peeled the tunic back herself without making him take it all the way off. He relaxed a little, letting his arms fall, and she inspected the discoloration on his chest.

*No blood, at least,* she thought, thankful that he didn't seem to have suffered anything more than impact wounds. "You're going to have some amazing bruises," she murmured, unable to suppress the instinct to cover them with her hand, as though by touching the injuries she could make them heal faster.

*Eight minutes...*

He shivered at her touch, and she looked up to find him staring at her intently. "When--" He stopped, then tried again. "When did I demorph?"

"Right after the blaster fire hit you," she answered, conscious of her hand still on his chest. Removing it, she let his tunic fall, and asked, "Does it matter?"

He looked down, hiding his eyes, and she realized then how much she had been depending on them to judge his reactions. How easy it had been to interpret expressions she'd never seen before--but she still had the advantage of all those previous months, and she found she could read him as well as she had before.

Troubled, he whispered, "I am not... the way you knew me before."

She had to smile. "Funny," Cassie murmured. "I was just thinking that you're exactly the way you've always been." *Stubborn and uncommunicative,* she added wryly, but she didn't say so aloud.

Taking a deep breath--and only wincing a little--he met her gaze again. He started to return her smile, and she thought how long she had wished to see that particular expression. Before she could stop herself, she reached out and ran her fingers over his lips again, trying to capture the moment.

To her surprise, he echoed her gesture, and, on impulse, she kissed his fingers. His hand trembled slightly, but he stared steadily back at her, almost daring her to move. She couldn't resist the offer--she edged closer, still on her knees, and let her hand slide across his cheek, making it perfectly clear what she intended to do.

He didn't look away. Close enough to feel his breath on her face, she whispered, "You know how I feel about you, don't you?"

The seconds stretched out as he just gazed at her. Finally, he nodded incrementally, as though the movement might shatter something precious. Still not certain of his reaction, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his.

He continued to hold absolutely still for more than a second, but in moments he was responding, and with a heat she hadn't expected. Their mouths melded together, and she rested her hands on his shoulders, trying to be careful of his injuries.

He would have none of it, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close, making her bare arms tingle where his skin touched hers. The kiss went on and on, until she broke away, gasping for air. He smiled, and then he kissed her again, and she lost herself in the feeling of his hands on her back and his mouth on hers.

*Nine minutes...*

"No," Cassie murmured when he pulled away at last, and he hesitated. He could stay here with her for the rest of the day, for the rest of his life, even, but if he did, neither of their lives would be as long as they were meant to be.

Still... he couldn't ignore the pleading look on her face, and he couldn't deny that he wanted nothing more than to hold her and touch her for just a little longer. Giving in, he covered her mouth with his once more and kissed her hungrily.

She melted against him, and he knew he was lost. He would stay here as long as she wanted, and though he knew distantly that there was something else they should be doing, he knew too that it would hurt his heart when he finally had to let her go.

Blood pounding in his ears, he almost didn't hear her whisper, "Phantom?"

He turned his head gently, letting her catch her breath. "Yes?"

"What's your name?" Cassie asked quietly.

He hadn't given his name freely in years, but he told her now without hesitation, realizing as he did so just how much power she had over him. "I was born Saryn, of Elisia."

She tilted her head, her black hair spilling across her shoulders as she moved and standing out in stark contrast to her pink tank top. "Elisia is your mother?"

"My world," he corrected, forcing himself to concentrate on her words, rather than her proximity.

She smiled a contented smile that warmed his heart and brushed her fingers across his chin, tracing the line of his jaw. He swallowed, trying very hard not to react as he had before, so as not to scare her.

"Thank you for your name, Saryn of Elisia," she murmured.

"Anything for you," he responded quietly, knowing even as he said it that it was true.

She leaned in and kissed him once more, a touch as gentle as her expression but somehow as suggestive and passionate as any of his. She almost destroyed his hard-won restraint right there, but he closed his eyes and managed to survive, somehow, until she pulled away.

*Ten minutes...*

He knew they had to separate then, for the sake of his sanity if nothing else. She was sitting nearly in his lap, and with her arms around him and the warmth of her body radiating into him, he could end up doing something unforgivable if she didn't move.

"Cassie," he whispered, but she solved the problem before he could say anything more.

Settling back into a crouch, she put enough distance between them that he could think again. "Yes?" she replied innocently.

It occurred to him to wonder if she had been as affected as he, but he probably didn't want to know if the answer was negative. *I'll wait,* he silently promised himself and her. *Someday, when you're ready... I won't do anything to jeopardize your trust.*

"Nothing," he managed to say, unable to keep from wincing as he tried to straighten.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, contrite but making no move to touch him. *Maybe she does know...* "Are you all right?"

He nodded, but without his visor the smile on his face was obvious to her.

"Aside from the fact that you need about three days' uninterrupted sleep," she allowed wryly, looking more closely at him. "And you probably feel like you've been hit by a small starfighter... and we're stuck on an alien ship with no way of getting in touch with the others..."

He glanced at her wrist, the absence of her morpher only now registering. He didn't ask how she'd lost it, and she didn't volunteer, but he did raise an eyebrow in her direction. "Your homing device?"

She shook her head. "It was on my jacket, which is currently in the possession of some extremely unhappy pirahnatrons."

"Mine was on my uniform," he said ruefully. "I was not expecting to demorph--I suspect it's still on the floor near where I fell. If the blaster impact did not make it completely inoperable," he added as an afterthought.

Neither spoke for a moment. Then Cassie shook herself, and said, "Right. Well, the first thing we need to do is get to a communications array. From there we can contact DECA, and she can get us out of here."

*Eleven minutes...*

She gave him an evil look when he started to protest. "I know what you're going to say, and first off, you're not in any condition to go anywhere except the Medical bay on the Megaship, and that won't happen unless we can get in touch with DECA.

"Second, I don't have my morpher, so even if you could convince me to leave you behind somewhere--which you can't!" He had to smile at her exclamation. "I wouldn't be in great shape to defend myself if I got caught going after that distortion signal anyway," she continued.

"I don't think we have a choice," Cassie informed him, meeting his gaze without hesitation. "We have to abort the mission."

He couldn't bring himself to agree right away--but he knew she was right. He suspected he would barely be able to walk, even with her help, and there was no way he would let her go after that signal alone.

So, with a sigh, he conceded defeat. "You're right," he admitted quietly. She nodded, as though she had expected no less, and he couldn't help watching the way her hair shone even in the dim light.

*Stop it,* he ordered himself, looking away as Cassie crawled past him toward the opening of their niche. *She is beautiful; there is no denying that. But she has *always* been beautiful. Concentrate...*

He mentally trailed off when she turned her brown eyes in his direction. "Can you crawl?" she whispered. "I had to drag you in here, and I don't think you'd appreciate leaving the same way you entered."

Taking a deep breath, he offered a one-shouldered shrug. "We will find out."

He saw her roll her eyes as he pushed away from the wall and onto his knees. With an effort, he caught his weight with his hands, careful to keep his expression hidden so she wouldn't see his grimace as pain shot through his left shoulder.

"I saw that," she chided, reaching out to stroke his injured shoulder with a gentle touch. "Go easy on that shoulder, all right?"

"Yes, Cassie," he murmured, teasing her with the same words he had used the day before in the Medical bay.

*Twelve minutes...*

"I wouldn't have to mother you if you'd take better care of yourself," she responded, amusement in her tone as she shuffled out into the service tunnel.

"Next time," he answered, following considerably more slowly, "You may take the blaster shot for me."

He heard her startled giggle from ahead, and he smiled to himself. The smile faded as his shoulder complained, but he stiffened his arm and kept going, clenching his jaw against the discomfort.

She was waiting by the grate that connected this tunnel to the outside corridor, and her solemn expression told him that she had been watching his progress. She said nothing, however, as she shoved the grate open and climbed out, turning back to assist him.

As he shifted to get his legs under him, gravity seemed to change on him, and he knew he wouldn't be standing on his own. She waited while the world settled down, and finally he let himself slide forward out of the tunnel so his feet were on the ground.

Again, the movement played havoc with his balance, and he stumbled against the wall. *Better that than nothing,* he supposed, watching Cassie close the grate.

*Thirteen minutes...*

When it was sealed to her satisfaction, she turned to him. He nodded and pushed away from the wall, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to walk. She darted over to him and took his right arm, wrapping it around her shoulders before he could stumble again.

"That's not what I meant," she hissed at him. "I was only asking if you were ready--I know you can't walk!"

"How--" he began in a whisper, then shook his head, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. "Do not answer that."

Her left arm behind his back, she let go of his hand with her right and tapped her temple with two fingers. The questioning look she shot at him unnerved him, but she didn't seem particularly upset, so he just nodded. "I think so," he murmured. "Do you... do you believe?"

She didn't answer right away. "I'm starting to," she admitted at last. "There are things I know, that I shouldn't. I can't explain them, except for telepathy."

"Empathy," he corrected.

She just shook her head. "Sometime, you're going to have to explain the difference to me."

*Fourteen minutes...*

They fell silent as they approached a junction identical in every noticeable way to the one they had passed in the last corridor, just before they'd been ambushed. Cassie took her hand off his right arm once more to snag the scanner from her belt clip. He had to wonder when she'd had time to attach it properly--it had been in her hand right up until the first shot had been fired.

He pushed the thought from his mind, only to have it replaced by an equally inconsequential musing: her Satellite Stunner was also on her belt, yet she was no longer in possession of her morpher. How had the weapon stayed with her after the Power was gone?

*My focus is slipping,* he realized, feeling Cassie shift beside him to support more of his weight.

"There," she whispered, tapping the display with her thumb. She had reconfigured the scanner to detect large quantities of radio signal, hyperboosted or not, and, even with its current short-range capacity, the instrument had located a possible communications array and indicated it on the display. "That's where we need to be..."

*Fifteen minutes...*

The scanner had been giving Andros problems for the last half-hour. No sooner had he isolated one source of distortion than another would appear while the first vanished. It was as though the distortion were actually emanating from the ship itself, rather than a point on the ship, so he had recalibrated the scanner for maximum range and set it to plot out every indication it received.

Ashley fidgeted beside him. Technologically inclined though she was--and she had been a help in altering the scanner's parameters--this waiting around was starting to bother her. He knew, because he had seen it before on the Megaship often enough. Waiting for anything just wasn't Ashley's style--she was very much a "go out and make it come to you" kind of person.

Setting the scanner down for a moment, he reached out and squeezed her hand. She turned toward him, and he nodded, knowing nothing else would be conveyed by their visors. Her shoulders rose and fell in an exaggerated sigh, and he grinned. *Well, almost nothing else.* Leave it to Ashley to find a way to express herself.

She tapped her wrist, and he nodded again. Looking around their wide open and almost completely unprotected position, he knew she would use the "ok" signal again, however much she might wish to check on the others through DECA. Andros did the same, tapping the simple signal into his communicator and returning to the scanner without waiting for the Megaship's acknowledging flash.

Carlos turned the scanner in TJ's direction, and the Blue Ranger flashed him a thumbs-up. The two were, according to the sensing instrument, only meters away from the ship's resident dimension distorter. *Now to get through this bulkhead,* Carlos thought, just as his ears caught the sound of pirahnatron finfeet on the floor somewhere down the corridor.

He and TJ looked at each other, and he knew the other Ranger had heard the noise as well. They turned from their ultimate obstacle and prepared to deal first with the current threat.

*That means a plan,* Carlos thought grimly, his mind racing. Staring across the corridor, he shot a look down the main branch that ran perpendicular to their hallway and led directly away from the door in front of which they stood.

The idea must have occurred to them at the same time, for he and TJ both dove for the corridor before the pirahnatron's weaker vision could detect them. TJ pointed to the pipes running over their heads, and Carlos nodded.

The pirahnatron continued on, oblivious, until it passed the entrance to the corridor in which Carlos stood. Then it had the misfortune to glance his way, and he waved cheerfully at it. The pirahnatron's limited mental capacity caused it to pause in confusion for a moment, and then, predictably, charge the Black Ranger without sounding any kind of alarm.

Carlos just watched it come, grinning like an idiot. He hated being bait, just on general principles, but it afforded him an excellent view of the pirahnatron's shock when TJ swung down from the ceiling and slammed his feet into the fish being's chest. It collapsed against the bulkhead they had been contemplating earlier, and TJ held up his hand for Carlos to hi-five.

The Black Ranger did so, albeit quietly, due to the fact that they were both wearing gloves. "Check-in," TJ reminded him quietly, as he turned back to the bulkhead, and Carlos nodded reluctantly.

His communicator, already set to minimum intensity, activated as soon as he slapped it. "DECA, it's Carlos," he told his wrist. "TJ's with me, and we're almost on top of the distortion."

A red flash indicated near simultaneous receipt and transmission. "Carlos," DECA's voice came back, and he frowned. *Shouldn't she just say acknowledged or something?* he wondered, looking over his shoulder apprehensively.

"The homing device worn by the Phantom Ranger has stopped transmitting," the computer announced, as though declaring the time of day.

"What?!" TJ's hiss carried clearly to Carlos, and he motioned at his friend to lower his voice.

"DECA, have either Phantom or Cassie checked in yet?" Carlos asked, trying to stay reasonable.

"No," DECA answered.

"Bring her homing device back, right now," TJ demanded, and there was a brief pause while DECA complied.

"Cassie was not wearing her homing device at the time of teleportation," DECA told them after a moment.

TJ swore, and Carlos looked at him in surprise. "Look, we're going to have to go after them," he told Carlos.

The Black Ranger hesitated, giving the bulkhead in front of them one last look. But there was never any doubt in his mind--of course they would go. That's what Rangers did. Somewhere below the "always fight for good" rule and above "never escalate a fight" was the unspoken law that bound every team together tighter than family: "defend and protect your teammates."

Carlos clipped the scanner to his belt, and nodded once to TJ. "Let's go."

9. Alone

On board a ship almost exactly like the one he'd just left, TJ stood just outside the open doors to the Bridge. They had tracked the signal from Cassie's morpher to this location--but as he had feared, Cassie didn't seem to be anywhere in the vicinity. Inside, Divatox's voice was ranting over the comm channel while the ship's commander cringed in the face of her wrath.

"What do you mean, you LET her get AWAY?!" the space pirate shrieked at the top of her lungs. "How much trouble can one little Ranger be? What are you DOING over there--SLEEPING!?"

*Well, she hasn't changed,* TJ reflected, looking toward Carlos. The Black Ranger held a position identical to TJ's, on the opposite side of the doors. He cocked his head toward the sound of their old rival's temper tantrum, and TJ nodded.

Holding up three fingers, Carlos started a silent countdown. TJ tensed, and when the last finger went down, the two of them swung around the doorframe and lunged onto the Bridge. TJ took out the communications console as soon as he had a clear shot, and Divatox's furious expression vanished from the forward viewscreen.

Meanwhile, Carlos rained blaster fire on the pirahnatrons, who still didn't seem to be able to grasp what was happening. The ship's commander was yelling at them from where he cowered beneath one of the consoles, to little effect. Pirahnatrons simply weren't equipped for initiative, and they didn't respond well to situations that hadn't been planned out in advance.

TJ fired several more times, more to add to the chaos than with the intent of actually hitting anything. But Carlos had sufficiently intimidated the Bridge crew, and as their blaster fire trailed off, TJ strode toward the commander with no fear of being stopped.

Thus far, he had kept images of Cassie, unconscious or imprisoned somewhere, out of his mind by concentrating only on the action around him. Now, however, the Bridge was almost silent as he paced across its length, and he couldn't forget that it was her life at stake if he and Carlos failed.

The being quivered beneath his console, and TJ ground to a halt directly in front of him, siting down his astroblaster at the alien's face. "Tell me where the Pink Ranger is," he growled, not in the mood for anything more civil.

The commander stuttered something incoherent, and TJ shifted impatiently. Cocking his blaster, he demanded, "Tell me!"

"TJ," Carlos' voice cut in. "Over here."

His glare, still focused on the commander's face, didn't lessen. "What did you find?"

"There's a disturbance two decks down," Carlos answered, and TJ risked a look over his shoulder. Carlos stood at one of the control panels, apparently reading a status report from elsewhere on the ship.

"Cassie?" TJ asked, backing away from the commander but keeping his astroblaster at the ready.

Even from where he stood, he caught the "duh" look Carlos sent in his direction. "Who else would dare, on one of Divatox's ships?"

"Right." TJ scanned the Bridge, saw Carlos hold up Cassie's morpher, and nodded. "What are we going to do with them?"

"Lock 'em in," Carlos opined. "With the comm system down, what are they going to do?"

Ready to be gone, TJ just nodded again. "Suits me. Let's get going."

Before he followed Carlos, though, he sent a single parting shot in the commander's direction. The blast impacted centimeters from the being's head, and the alien flinched. "If she's hurt..." TJ let the threat hang in the air, and he saw the commander gulp.

Hurrying after Carlos, he saw the Black Ranger's head turn briefly in his direction. The other Ranger must have thought better of whatever he was going to say, however, for he was silent as TJ joined him in the corridor. Realigning his astroblaster, TJ's teammate took out the door mechanism with one shot, and the Bridge automatically sealed itself off from the hallway in which they stood.

TJ was already moving down the hallway. Carlos caught up wordlessly, handheld scanner out and blinking Cassie's current location at them. "I downloaded their sensor parameters into the scanner," he explained when TJ gave him a surprised look. "I thought it would be handy to have a non-static location on her."

TJ nodded. "Good thinking." *I'm glad one of us is,* he added silently, aware that he was not at his most rational right now.

Carlos' sensor download had the added benefit of giving them a sketchy layout of the ship's interior, and they were able to reach their destination more quickly than TJ had expected. Nonetheless, by the time they reached the location of the original disturbance, the scene was quiet.

TJ caught the sounds of a firefight further down the hall, even as Carlos tapped the scanner and pointed in the same direction. They crept toward the noise, senses alert and astroblasters ready.

The stealth proved unnecessary--the pirahnatrons weren't expecting trouble from behind, especially on their own ship. As TJ and Carlos rounded the last corner, they came upon the alien fish clustered around a doorway that was being well defended from the inside. The pirahnatrons didn't even look around, until the first blast from TJ's sidearm.

Half of them swarmed forward to deal with this new threat, while the others maintained their siege on the occupants of the room. "TJ!" Carlos yelled. "I'll hold them off; you get Cassie and Phantom!"

It occurred to TJ only then to wonder what had happened to Phantom. Divatox had spoken of only one Ranger while she was ranting at the ship's commander. And to damage a homing device badly enough that it would stop transmitting would require, from most energy weapons he was familiar with at least, a direct hit...

Ducking past the pirahnatrons, he heard Carlos shout, "Lunar Lance!"

TJ smiled grimly as he raised his blaster. The Black Ranger's weapon of choice would be the end of a good number of pirahnatrons today--*and the rest,* he thought, slowing his pace enough to aim, *are mine.*

The pirahnatrons in the doorway separated as he opened fire, shuffling in either direction, some on both sides of the portal as they frantically tried to find cover. The crossfire worked phenomenally well to reduce their numbers--better than it should have, in fact--and, watching the pattern of assault from within the room, TJ concluded that there was more than one person shooting in there.

That in itself boded well, and he was almost sure he could distinguish the high-pitched whine of Cassie's Satellite Stunner amid the fighting. Still, even knowing how dangerous it would be to try and get through the door right now, it was an effort for TJ to remain where he was until the last pirahnatrons turned and ran.

Once they were gone, though, he ran through the doorway without a second thought--and found himself staring down the barrel of Cassie's stunner. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, throwing both arms out to the side. "It's just me, Cassie!"

The stunner wavered, then clattered to the floor. She came out from behind the console she must have been using for cover and, without a word, threw her arms around him. TJ hugged back, silently offering thanks that she was all right.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," Cassie said at last, stepping back.

"I think I can guess," TJ replied, his gaze taking in her weary expression and disheveled uniform. Movement behind her caught his eye, and for the first time he noticed the person who must have been the second source of fire from within the room.

A dark-haired boy leaned heavily on the console, blaster clutched tightly in one hand. His head was bowed, but his stance spoke eloquently of pain and fatigue.

TJ nodded in his direction. "Who's your friend?" he asked quietly.

Cassie followed his gaze, then shot TJ a startled look as she went to help her companion, stopping only to pick up her stunner. "You don't recognize him?"

Now that TJ thought about it, the weapon he held did look somewhat familiar, but after a certain amount of time, every energy weapon started to look like every other. "Should I?"

"Hey, guys," Carlos called, entering the room with his lance in one hand and scanner in the other. "Now would be the time--"

TJ didn't even look around when Carlos cut off, transfixed by the sight in front of him. Cassie had taken the blaster from the boy's clenched fist and stuffed it into her belt next to her own weapon. Far from complaining, he seemed almost glad to be relieved of the sidearm, and TJ watched in amazement as Cassie touched his face gently, turning his head toward her.

"Are you all right?" TJ heard her murmur.

Her companion nodded slowly. "I am now," he said, voice hoarse as he let Cassie slip underneath his arm and help him away from the console.

"Where's Phantom?" Carlos asked quietly from behind TJ's shoulder, but even as he heard the question, TJ knew the answer. The black-clad stranger in front of them *was* Phantom. He pointed without a word, and Carlos nodded in comprehension.

"My morpher," Cassie said suddenly, looking away from Phantom to regard her teammates with a questioning expression.

"Right here," Carlos said, his tone smug as he held it up for her to see.

A relieved smile spread across her face. "Thanks, guys."

"We're just glad you're all right," TJ assured her, flipping his own morpher open. "DECA, four to teleport."

"Wait," Cassie interrupted. "DECA, can you send me and Phantom directly to the Medical bay?"

"Acknowledged," DECA replied, and TJ's world turned sparkling sapphire. As soon as it reformed, however, he knew something was wrong--his vision came back fine, but gravity had gone haywire.

TJ stumbled as the deck suddenly wasn't where it had been before, and he slammed into the weapons' console. "DECA, what's going on?" he heard Carlos shout.

"The Megaship is under attack," DECA replied, and perversely, her answer comforted TJ.

*At least that's something normal,* he thought. He knew the sight of Phantom demorphed and clinging to Cassie shouldn't bother him, but he couldn't deny that, on some level, it did. He was glad to have something else to think about.

"We should have expected this," Carlos said, and TJ blinked. Realizing then that Carlos was referring to the attack, he nodded.

"Power down," TJ declared, and Carlos followed suit. The ship shuddered, and this time they both staggered.

"Divatox probably had the Megaship surrounded as soon as she realized there were Rangers on one of her ships." Carlos shook his head, obviously frustrated. "DECA, find Ashley and Andros and teleport them back here, now."

Red and yellow light should have filled the Bridge within seconds, signaling their arrival. Nothing happened, and TJ wondered if it was impatience that made the time seem long.

At Carlos' worried look, though, he knew it wasn't just him. "DECA?"

"Neither Andros' nor Ashley's homing beacons are within detectable range," DECA replied at last, her tone no longer perfectly impassive.

The ship shook again, and TJ grabbed at the console in front of him. "We don't have time for this," he muttered. Hitting the catch on his morpher, he went to signal Cassie--and exclaimed in annoyance when a beep sounded on the other side of the Bridge. Carlos still had her morpher, and with it, any possibility of contacting her directly.

"DECA, tell Cassie we need her on the Bridge," TJ said. The lift doors opened on the end of his sentence, and Cassie raced out.

"What's going on?" she asked breathlessly.

"Divatox decided she doesn't want us hanging around anymore," TJ replied. He tried very hard not to add, "I told you so."

This time, when the Megaship trembled beneath the weapons' fire of Divatox's army, Cassie was at her station in less time than it took to blink and firing back. Despite the severity of the situation, TJ had to smile at her determined expression. *She's not going to take that from anyone...*

"They're gone," Carlos said suddenly.

TJ looked at him, and the numb expression on his friend's face said it all. Nonetheless, he had to ask, "Andros and Ashley?"

Carlos nodded. At the sudden silence, Cassie took her eyes away from the tactical display long enough to glance in their direction and demand an explanation.

"Half the army's just--gone," Carlos said, staring at the viewscreen.

"They must have taken off with Zordon as soon as Divatox realized she had spies on board," TJ said, thinking out loud. "The rest of them came after the Megaship--"

"To make sure we wouldn't get away with whatever information she thinks we have," Cassie finished, squinting at her controls. Slapping the firing mechanism, she smiled evilly at the screen. "Gotcha," she muttered.

Just then, the Megaship reeled from yet another hit. Clearly, what damage Cassie was doing to the enemy wasn't enough. "We need to get out of here," TJ said, taking Andros' place at the front of the Bridge.

Carlos started to protest, but TJ cut him off. "I don't want to leave them either, but they're not here--we are, and we're getting pounded!"

The Black Ranger didn't answer, but moments later, coordinates were coming from the navigation station, and TJ had a vector and course for the sanctuary moon. "DECA, hyperrush three," he ordered, and the stars streaked across the screen as she complied.

They had been lucky--the remainder of Divatox's army hadn't completely surrounded them yet; it had been too scattered for more than a third of its force to reach the Megaship before the Rangers' ship went to hyperrush velocity. And hyperrush was possible thanks to the defensive fire that had kept damage to a minimum on the Megaship; he reminded himself to compliment Cassie on that later.

As it was, they reached the moon in minutes. Slowing to thruster power only, TJ mentally crossed his fingers and let the ship coast into the fringes of the damping field that radiated from some invisible core. Static filled the forward screen, and it blinked out moments later.

"Scanners are offline," Cassie reported a few seconds after the screen went white.

"The navigation computer's down as well," Carlos said, folding his arms across his chest.

"Nowhere to go, and blind as a bat," TJ muttered, liking this less and less. The only thing he distrusted more than failing instrumentation was Divatox, and that alone was what made him slow the ship even more, until they were at full stop relative to the asteroid.

Everyone was silent for a moment, staring at the useless viewscreen as though it could tell them what they wanted to know. "DECA," TJ said at last, "reduce power levels to minimum. Might as well give them as little as possible to look for."

"Reducing power," DECA responded, and the Bridge lights dimmed as the auxiliary panels went dark. "Full power is being maintained for Medical bay equipment and environmental controls only."

TJ had the uncomfortable feeling that there was nothing left to do. He turned slowly away from the pilot's console, and faced Cassie and Carlos. Especially Carlos, who looked as though TJ had just betrayed everything he'd ever believed in.

"Carlos..." TJ didn't know what to tell him.

"I know," Carlos said, not waiting for him to finish. "I know; we did the right thing. But--it still feels wrong."

TJ nodded, and Cassie sighed. "Right now we have to concentrate on how to get them back."

"The homing devices have a longer range then our morphers," TJ reminded them. "If DECA can't detect those, there's no way we can track them."

"Unless we go after them," Carlos pointed out. "We could get a vapor trail on a fleet that size, no problem."

"Not in the Megaship," TJ said. "We'll be visible the moment we leave this damping field."

"Well, what if one of us teleports over to the Delta Megaship?" Cassie suggested. "It could bypass this part of space completely and pick up the trail on the other side of the sector."

"There's only one problem with that," Carlos said, glancing across the Bridge. "DECA? Does Andros have the Battlelizer?"

DECA's camera flickered. "Andros was wearing the Battlelizer when he left the Megaship."

"Which means we'd have to operate the Delta Megaship manually," Carlos finished. "I'm not even sure it can be done. And that's the only other ship we have."

*Except--* TJ's head came up, even as he dismissed the idea. But he caught Cassie's eye nonetheless, and the look on her face said that she had had the same thought. "No," he said firmly. "It's too dangerous."

"So is being trapped on an alien ship with no way to call for help," she retorted. "I know; remember?"

Carlos was looking at them strangely. "What?"

"None of us know the first thing about piloting his ship," TJ told her, hoping it was true. He had no idea what she and Phantom talked about, but he was betting it wasn't piloting lessons.

"Some things are universal," she insisted.

TJ shook his head. "Carlos, help me out here!"

"I don't even know what you're talking about," Carlos protested.

"Cassie wants to take Phantom's ship after half of Divatox's army!" Even as he said it, TJ had to admit there was some merit to the plan, combined with a whole lot of idiotic bravery. But there was also enough impracticality to it to reassure him that he wasn't just vetoing the idea because he didn't want to send another teammate off into the darkness of space alone.

Carlos considered the idea for a moment. "You mean, track them down and send their coordinates back to DECA? But we already know our communicators won't work over that distance--"

"So use Phantom's communications system," Cassie replied impatiently. "Our communication signals aren't hyperboosted; our morphers are too small to have that kind of capability. But his ship must, or he'd never be able to communicate with anyone farther than a few million kilometers away."

"But none of us know how to do that on his ship!" TJ repeated. "Phantom didn't exactly leave his ship's schematics with DECA the last time we saw him..." Looking sideways at the computer's camera, he asked, "He didn't, did he, DECA?"

"I do not have information on the Phantom Ranger's ship, beyond the data collected by the scanners," DECA replied.

TJ shrugged. "It was worth a shot."

"I bet I could figure it out," Cassie persisted. He shot her an incredulous stare, and she returned it with a pointed look, tapping her temple.

He shook his head, glancing in Carlos' direction. Carlos hadn't missed the silent exchange, but, not having any reference for it, he just looked bewildered, and TJ was willing to bet Cassie wouldn't talk about it in front of him. "No," he repeated. "It's too dangerous."

She sighed. "Fine. You two work it out--I'm going to check on Phantom."

TJ stared after her in surprise. *Cassie--sulking?* he wondered as the lift doors closed on her.

"What was that about?" Carlos demanded.

He hesitated a second, not wanting to keep something from his friend but knowing Cassie would kill him if he repeated what she had told him in confidence. Finally, he shook his head: *no-win situation.* "I don't know," TJ lied.

Carlos looked at him, with an expression that said he knew very well TJ was holding something back. "Right."

TJ shrugged uncomfortably, knowing that anything he said now would only aggravate the situation. "Is there any way to plot a probability curve on that fleet's destination?" he asked, more to change the subject than because he thought it would work.

Carlos stared at him a moment longer, then turned to Ashley's console. "Maybe," he said, to TJ's surprise. "If we can work with the information the Megaship's sensors were picking up while we were--busy. Specifically, anything DECA noticed as Divatox's army broke up, and the vectors of the ships that were leaving..."

He trailed off, working on something TJ couldn't see. Breathing a silent sigh of relief, TJ stared at the disturbing blankness on the forward viewscreen. Even if Carlos found something, they were still left with the same issues they had just been debating--but it made him feel better to have something to do, and it gave TJ a chance to... well, worry.

He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else they could have done. What if Andros and Ashley were even now trying to get in touch with them? *Did we give up too soon?* he wondered, but could find no answer to the question.

And Cassie... He couldn't forget the way she had stalked off the Bridge. *Does her idea have a chance? Could she really intuit the controls of Phantom's ship well enough to fly it? And should we have let her try anyway?*

What it came down to, TJ knew, was that he hated waiting. He hated not being able to do anything to remedy a situation, and more than that, he hated the feeling that there was something he could do, if only he could figure out what it was.

So he stared at a blank viewscreen and fidgeted--until an announcement from DECA brought him upright in the chair where he'd been slumped. "Hangar bay doors opening."

*No.* He knew, instantly, what was happening, but his mind tried to deny it. *She wouldn't...*

But she would, and it was one of the things that had made her accept the Power when it had been offered to her. Cassie's sense of duty, no matter how she tried to repress it or rebel against it, always won out in the end. She was one of the most loyal people he knew--and she wouldn't stand by and watch when she thought there was something she could do.

"DECA." Carlos looked up from the scanner console. "Who's leaving?" The way he asked told TJ that he knew perfectly well, but couldn't keep himself from checking.

"Cassie has left the Megaship aboard the Phantom Ranger's ship."

The thought crossed TJ's mind distantly that Cassie hadn't been sulking, after all... *Should have known better,* he thought, unable to suppress a twinge of admiration for his teammate's daring.

"DECA," he asked, "can we communicate with Phantom's ship?"

"Close-range communication is nonfunctional, due to the damping field," DECA told him.

"But we can hyperboost it, right?" Carlos prompted, turning to another console. "TJ." He gestured his friend over, and TJ waited impatiently for the screen to resolve into a coherent image.

Cassie's face appeared seconds later, and TJ couldn't help sighing. "You could have told us, Cassie."

"I did," she reminded him. "You thought it was too dangerous."

"It is too dangerous," Carlos interrupted. "But... good luck."

She smiled. "Thanks, Carlos. I'll let you know as soon as I find anything."

She was about to break the comm link, and TJ couldn't leave it like that between them. "Cass--be careful."

"I will be," she promised. "We're going to get them back, Teej."

Seeing her there, perfectly comfortable in the midst of alien technology, convinced him more than anything else could have--but about what, he wasn't entirely sure. "I know."

Cassie nodded at them both, and her image on the screen faded out, to be replaced only by blankness.

When Andros' communicator produced nothing but static, Ashley tried hers. She flipped her morpher open and pushed the required buttons--with no better results than Andros.

"What's going on?" she whispered, as the two of them huddled out of sight in a small control room off the main corridor. "Are our communicators being jammed?"

Andros shook his head. "We wouldn't even get static, if they were. Somehow, the Megaship must be out of range."

"What?" she exclaimed, then clapped a hand over her mouth. Or at least, she tried--her helmet reduced the effect somewhat.

"I don't understand it, either." Doing something to the scanner, he told her, "I'm adjusting to detect stellar radiation--hopefully we can get a location fix from that."

"You think we're the ones who are out of range, not the Megaship," Ashley realized.

He shrugged. "It makes more sense to think Divatox had a sudden change of plans than it does for the Megaship to just leave."

She quieted, letting Andros do the recalibration while she stood guard at the door. The last scanner adjustment had revealed what neither of them had wanted to believe--the interdimensional distortion signal they were picking up was false. They weren't sure how it was being generated, but the signal itself was resonating through whatever metal this ship was made of, causing the "echoes" they had been seeing. A real distortion wouldn't do that, and they had reluctantly concluded that they had been chasing ghosts.

Ashley crossed her fingers, hoping this time the scanner would tell them what they wanted to hear--although, when she thought about it, she wasn't sure what that was. *Would it be better to discover that this ship took off across the galaxy with us on board, or that the Megaship and probably the other Rangers had abandoned us?*

Neither option was particularly appealing, and she looked over her shoulder, suddenly needing to know she wasn't alone. Andros paused what he was doing and looked up as she turned, giving her a quick thumbs-up.

She smiled, even though he couldn't see it, and nodded. *How does he know?* she wondered, returning her gaze to the deserted hallway. *I've always been the one to cheer people up, but he seems to know when I need cheering...*

Footsteps interrupted her train of thought, and she tensed at the familiar splashing sound. "Andros," she hissed, motioning for him to step further into the shadows.

He complied without hesitation, and she stayed where she was, waiting for the source of the sound to show itself before she ducked out of line-of-sight from the doorway. The pirahnatrons came into view moments later, a supervisor goading them onward. Ashley withdrew to crouch just inside the doorframe, straining her ears to catch the supervisor's words.

"You heard the boss," the alien was grumbling as the group rounded a corner and started down the hallway Ashley had been watching. "The whole ship--and no slacking just because you think you smell lunch. We can't afford to have any more Rangers snooping around."

Ashley did her best not to gasp. *They found someone,* she thought, her mind racing. She dismissed TJ and Carlos as soon as she thought of them--they were too sharp to be caught off guard by anything but the worst luck. But Cassie and Phantom...

Ordinarily, she had as much confidence in Cassie as she had in any of her teammates. But Cassie had gone into this mission with an injured partner, and Ashley couldn't shake the feeling that those two were the weak link. *We let ourselves believe Phantom could do it... We made him into such a legend as the Turbo Rangers; I don't think we even considered that he has the same weaknesses as anyone else.*

The pirahnatrons passed by, peering into the room as they went but not stopping to search it. *After all,* she thought, watching them pace awkwardly away, *they have an entire ship to cover, and they're hungry...* She grinned to herself, more in relief than in humor, and backed away from the door.

A hand on her shoulder startled her, and she turned to find Andros holding the scanner up for her to see. Two Power signals, one red and one yellow, almost on top of each other, were centered on the screen. But the surrounding spatial landmarks were strange, and it took her a moment to orient herself.

Finally, she recognized the course of the comet they had seen the night before--almost off the screen now, and definitely headed in a different direction than she remembered it. The nebula that had been distantly discernible from the Megaship that morning was now prominent in the lower left-hand corner, and Ashley knew with sinking certainty that they were a long way from where they had been only half an hour ago.

"The army must have taken off when Divatox realized there were Rangers on board," Ashley whispered, and she could almost see Andros' alarmed look. "Not us--I think they found one of the other teams. The supervisor that just went by with those pirahnatrons said something about not wanting to find any more Rangers snooping around."

Andros' wordless exclamation was quiet, but nonetheless frustrated. "Cassie and Phantom."

Ashley nodded. "That was my thought, too."

"I knew he was a liability," Andros fumed softly. "I shouldn't have let him go..."

"Hey," Ashley interrupted. "You couldn't have known this would happen, any more than the rest of us. You heard Cassie at breakfast--she chose to go with him, and she probably knew better than anyone what condition he was in. It's not your fault."

"Maybe," Andros sighed. Then, with the focus that had made him their leader, he shook it off. "Either way, though, I think you're right. Divatox's primary goal is to keep Zordon, and our presence on her ships threatens that. As soon as she realized she had spies on board, she would have taken off with Zordon and most of her army, leaving some of her ships behind to deal with the intruders."

"TJ and Carlos," Ashley said suddenly. "What if they're on one of the ships that went with Divatox too?"

When he didn't answer, she touched her communicator. Andros made a motion toward her wrist, and an eerie feeling of déjà vu settled over her. "It's worth the risk," she insisted. "There's no other way to know."

He nodded reluctantly, and she hoped she was right. "Carlos?" she said into her communicator. "TJ? Can you guys hear me?"

She was simultaneously relieved and disappointed when only static answered her. On the one hand, she hadn't blown anyone else's cover. But on the other, that static meant she and Andros were alone out here...

On impulse, she touched her communicator again. They'd assumed Cassie and Phantom were the ones who had gotten into trouble, but there was a chance they were wrong. "Cassie?" she asked.

Static was the only reply.

More clattering in the hallway alerted them, and this time, Andros drew her with him into the shadows. "You're not standing in the doorway again," he whispered as they hid behind a bank of consoles. "I've never been so scared in my life."

Surprised, she couldn't resist the opportunity to tease him. "Coming from a Power Ranger, that's a little extreme."

His head turned toward hers, and she was sure she had just gotten the Look. "You know what I mean."

This time, the fish squad went so far as to shine light into the room as they passed, and one or two actually slowed enough to pause by the door before moving on. "That was too close," Andros muttered, when the sound of retreating finfeet had died away.

Ashley nodded emphatically. "We need to get out of here."

"We need to get off this ship," Andros corrected.

Ashley raised her eyebrows. "And how do you suggest we do that?"

He held up the scanner once more. The display had changed yet again--now it showed a rough layout of a ship, presumably the one they were on, with two sections highlighted. Looking closer, she could make out the dual red and yellow blip that indicated their location, but the other dot remained a mystery.

"Escape pod," Andros explained.

"How do you do that?" she demanded. "That scanner isn't a video game; there are limits to what it can do!"

Ashley could hear the grin in his voice when he answered, "Magic."

"Great," she replied wryly. "One of your scientific explanations."

"I'll show you," he said, stepping out from behind the console bank. "Later. Let's get out of here first, okay?"

Ashley crossed her arms. "You still haven't explained why we're going to be safer on an escape pod than we are here."

"Because it's only a matter of time before someone thinks to scan all the ships for 'alien' bioreadings. On a ship full of pirahnatrons and other non-humans, the two of us won't exactly blend in."

"Right," Ashley said, straightening. "I'm convinced; let's go."

Andros' map worked better than she'd expected, and they made it to their destination with a minimum of detours. The little backtracking they did was thanks to two more harrowing pirahnatron encounters--which served to further convince Ashley of the need to get off the ship.

"After you," Andros said, hitting the control panel next to the hatch. The door rolled open, and Ashley climbed through. It wasn't a true airlock, since the time required for air pressure to equalize was often more than crewpeople fleeing a shipwide catastrophe could afford to wait, but it was cramped enough that it might as well have been.

The pod itself wasn't much better, but at least there was room to maneuver. She heard the door clang shut behind Andros, and he dropped into the pod a moment later. "Ready?" he asked, sounding somewhat breathless.

Ashley nodded, but she was starting to have serious misgivings about spending an indefinite amount of time in this tiny space. *I'm not claustrophobic,* she reminded herself. *I'm not claustrophobic...*

Andros did something to the instrumentation at what could be considered the front of their escape pod, and the vessel shuddered violently. Ashley felt the pod's wall slam against her side, and heard Andros apologize over the accelerating hum of their single engine.

"S'okay," she managed to reply. Pushing herself upright once more, she added, "Inertial damping on this thing could use a tune-up, though."

"If the dampers are the only thing out of sync on this ship, we'll be lucky," Andros replied, playing with the controls some more.

"What are you doing?" Ashley wanted to know, crawling forward to look over his shoulder. "And if you hold up that scanner one more time..."

"Actually..." Andros pointed at the scanner, which was even now dumping information into the pod's navigation computers.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Andros shook his head. "Remember that sweep we did of stellar radiation? There was an interference pattern nearby that's characteristic of stars with planetary satellites, and if we can land this pod somewhere, we'll have our ticket home."

At first, Ashley didn't understand. Then she saw him raise his right wrist, and, in a sparkle of red, the familiar outline of the Battlelizer appeared. "The Delta Megaship!"

"Exactly," Andros agreed, satisfaction evident in his tone. "The only problem is that, without DECA to regulate our teleportation signals, we can't teleport directly onboard. We'll have to set down somewhere and physically transfer from ship to ship."

"Can't the computer on the Delta Megaship do it?" she wanted to know.

He shrugged, and she thought he looked a little uncomfortable. "It was never fully activated. Between DECA and the Delta Megaship's remote control, we didn't need a second operating system."

"That's something we'll have to change," Ashley muttered. "But for now, we have no way to get aboard, except..." Suddenly realizing that this had been his intent from the beginning, she shook her head. "You had a plan all along!"

"We still don't know if it's going to work, though," he cautioned. "There's no way to know if any of the planets will have an atmosphere we can survive in--and even if they do, we still have to reach them."

She wasn't sure whether to be indignant with him for keeping her in the dark or exasperated with herself for not figuring it out. "Next time, tell me," she said, unfastening her helmet and shaking her hair out.

He looked over at her and paused. "I would have, really. I just wasn't sure we had time."

"I know," she said, smiling to reassure him. "And you were right; I just like to keep up, you know?"

He nodded, and, after a moment, went back to the navigation controls. She watched, but it didn't take long for his commands to the escape pod's computer to surpass her rudimentary knowledge of starship piloting. So she stopped trying to follow along and just gazed at him while he worked, wondering what his expression looked like behind his visor.

"That should do it," he announced at last, taking his hands off the console and reaching up to remove his own helmet.

Still loose, his hair spilled over his shoulders, and Ashley smiled again inadvertently. His red hair elastic was on her wrist--she'd forgotten to give it back before they morphed.

"Our course is random enough that it shouldn't set off any warnings on their tracking systems," Andros continued, oblivious to her musing. "And they didn't notice us leave--the escape pod bays must not be programmed to notify the computer when a pod launches, so they won't be looking for us."

"That's the good news," Ashley agreed. She could read his expression well enough to know that wasn't everything, though. "So what's the bad?"

He glanced over at her. "Well... we have minimal hyperrush capability with this escape pod. It's going to take more than a day to reach this solar system. And--"

"And?" Ashley prompted, not sure she wanted to know.

"The inertial dampers aren't the only thing not at peak efficiency on this ship," he told her, glancing down at the console in front of him. "Environmental controls aren't as good as they could be, either. The air recyclers should hold out until we get where we're going, but I'm not sure about the temperature regulators."

Looking up again, he met her worried gaze. "I think we'd better stay morphed. It may get a little cold in here."

Despite the seriousness of his statement, Ashley couldn't keep a smile from spreading across her face. "I'm not worried," she said, wondering if she could make him blush. "You're here--we'll find a way to stay warm."

It worked. Andros blushed, and her smile widened. "Sorry," she said, not feeling at all apologetic. *He's so cute when he's embarrassed...* "I couldn't resist."

"You're doing it on purpose," he accused. "You're trying to make me uncomfortable!"

She squirmed. "When you put it like that, it doesn't sound very nice, does it?" Ashley admitted.

"It isn't!" he exclaimed, but he didn't sound particularly upset. "I've never been in a--" Andros hesitated over the word. "--relationship before, and I don't have the faintest clue what I'm doing. The least you could do is help me out a little..."

She doubted he realized how that sounded, but his tone was too plaintive for her to resist. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him, planting a quick kiss on his lips before drawing him closer into her embrace. "You're doing fine," she assured him quietly.

Feeling his arms go around her, it struck Ashley just then how interesting her life had become since the day Tanya Sloan had handed her a Turbo key all those months ago. She had been prepared for change when she started at Angel Grove High, but no one had told her that saving the world would become a regular extracurricular activity.

Now, here she was, about to enter her senior year in high school, and she was halfway across the galaxy, with new Power and a boyfriend from another planet. She let out her breath in a half-chuckle, and she felt Andros shift.

"What is it?" he asked quietly, making no move to let her go.

"I was just thinking..." She wasn't sure how to explain it. "The last few years have turned out much--differently than I expected."

Now he did move, drawing back far enough that he could search her expression. "Do you--are you sorry?" he asked, his tone worried.

She didn't even have to think about it. "Not at all," Ashley told him. Aboard a chilly, isolated escape pod, light years from home, she stared into his concerned brown eyes and smiled. "I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."

10. Reflections

Early afternoon found Carlos back on the Bridge of the Megaship, trying to find a way around the damping field of the Sanctuary moon. He had managed to calculate a probable course for the half of Divatox's army that had taken off with Zordon, but he couldn't come up with any likely destinations along their predicted path. Without scanners, there was nothing more he could do.

*If only we could hyperboost the scanners the way we do the communications,* Carlos mused, staring at the console in front of them. Hyperboosted communication signals were currently the only form of data that the Megaship could transmit or receive--with the exception of teleportation beams, since those were not electronic in origin--because they were sent directly to their destination through hyperspace, bypassing the damping field altogether.

*Maybe there's a way to do it...* he thought, knowing full well that he was only trying to keep himself busy.

He glanced involuntarily toward the auxiliary bank of scanner controls, where TJ sat staring at the monitor. The Blue Ranger had wandered onto the Bridge about a half an hour ago, and Carlos had said nothing when he restored power to the backup station and tuned into an IN network.

TJ could, of course, have accessed the network from his room. But the minimal amount of power required to run the monitor and receive the boosted comm transmission would make little difference in the long run, and it probably made him feel better to be on the Bridge.

Carlos, too, had tried to work in his room. But what it came down to was that he felt too isolated there. He and TJ were the only Astro Rangers still on board, and it was easier to ignore the pervasive quiet when he was surrounded by the hum of the Megaship's control center.

Glancing down at the time display on the scanner console, Carlos decided to give up on the scanners for the moment. "I'll be back in a minute," he told TJ, and his friend looked away from the monitor to wave.

The two of them had, by mutual agreement, been taking turns checking on Phantom every hour or so. DECA was monitoring him as well, and would alert them if something was wrong, but they both knew Cassie would appreciate the extra effort.

*It seems only fair,* Carlos thought, stepping into the lift. *She gave up her ability to watch over him to go after our friends; the least we can do is look in on him from time to time.*

He still wasn't sure how he felt about the two of them. When Phantom first appeared, Carlos had figured Cassie's reaction to their mysterious ally was nothing more than a crush. It was, after all, easy to idealize someone about whom you knew almost nothing.

It had puzzled him, however, that Phantom appeared to return her feelings, and he had wondered if he was imagining things. It seemed an unlikely coincidence that they could have developed a mutual infatuation with each other, based on their extremely limited encounters, and the idea that they had fallen in love seemed even more preposterous.

Lately, though, it was becoming obvious that Phantom did indeed favor Cassie. And Cassie had certainly waited for him--it had been a long time, and she wouldn't have lacked for male companionship if she had sought it.

The lift doors opened, and Carlos made his way down the hall toward the Medical bay. The boy Cassie had teleported here earlier in the day lay exactly as she must have left him--on his back, eyes closed and still, in a sleep too deep for dreams.

The Phantom Ranger. Carlos had a hard time associating the enigmatic warrior they had known so briefly on Earth with the stranger he saw every time he entered the Medical bay. Phantom had been his uniform, when it came right down to it--none of them had known him any other way.

*I didn't trust him,* Carlos realized suddenly. It was a strange revelation, and startling in its abruptness. Only know, seeing Phantom's unmorphed form, did he understand that the armored Ranger had been the epitome of what Carlos didn't want to become: just a uniform, fighting for good as automatically as the Blue Senturion.

*He never seemed real to me, I guess. Almost--more of a machine than a person.* And machines were not inherently good or evil; they were merely programmed. He supposed back then he had never been sure the Power Rangers were anything more than a series of numbers to Phantom.

The person on the patient bed now, though, was real in a way the Phantom Ranger hadn't been. Dressed in the color Carlos himself preferred, this boy was someone he could relate to: someone he could see smiling once in a while, rather than just appearing to rescue the team from impending doom every other week.

*Maybe there's a chance for him and Cassie after all,* the Black Ranger mused, leaving the Medical bay once more. *If they ever have a conversation that isn't cut off by some life threatening situation...*

Of course, they hardly needed his approval. The two seemed perfectly content with each other without any of the conventional things that made a relationship work. He crossed his fingers for them, hoping against all logic that they would continue to be happy.

The stars beckoned from a window as he passed, and he paused a moment to gaze out. *And you, Ashley?* he wondered into the vacuum. *Will you be happy with the one you've chosen? Will he give you the devotion you deserve?*

Staring out at the unforgiving points of light, he prayed his friends lived long enough to find those answers for themselves.

Andros sat back from the control console in the diminutive escape pod. *That should do it,* he thought, rather pleased with himself.

It had occurred to him not long after the pod was jettisoned that, if the Megaship came looking for them, anyone on their trail would follow the fleet. The escape pod's tiny and erratic vapor trail would go unnoticed in the midst of the larger and far more numerous ships.

So he'd rigged a beacon, set to the Astro Rangers' morpher frequency. It would remain silent, indistinguishable from free-floating space debris, until and unless a morpher passed within two million kilometers of the beacon. The proximity indicator would trigger an automatic signal that ought to show up as a static burst on their communicators, alerting whomever was searching for them that there was someone out here.

*At least, that's the idea...*

He shrugged off the flicker of doubt. No solution was foolproof, and this was the best one he could implement with limited resources. There was no way to know, really, whether the other Rangers were even in a position to rescue them.

*So we'll continue with the original plan... and hope the rest of the team is all right.* There was, in all honesty, little else they could do. With a barely concealed sigh, Andros looked over at his fellow escapee.

Ashley was curled against the back of the escape pod, eyes closed and body relaxed in sleep. He had seen her doze off a little while ago and had done nothing to prevent it. It was better for her to nap now, before the temperature got low enough that sleeping would be dangerous.

Besides, he admitted to himself, it was nice to be able to watch her without her knowing for once. When she was awake, she seemed to have some sixth sense that told her when he was looking at her--and he would invariably become flustered when she returned his gaze.

*What is it about her that makes me so confused?* he wondered, shifting so that his back was to the console. *How is she so different from anyone I've ever known?*

Ashley had been unique since the day he met her. She had been the first in years to try to break through his shell, and she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Watching her stir a little in her sleep, he remembered the argument they'd had just last week. It had begun as one of their typical battles over Terran versus Kerovan superiority--good-natured squabbling that had been occurring more and more frequently, despite the fact that he couldn't recall how he had let her drag him into it the first time--but had quickly turned into a more serious fight over what she termed his "antisociality"...

The whole thing had started when he refused to go rollerblading with the others. *"You won't try anything new,"* she had accused. *"Just because you never did it on KO-35 doesn't mean it's bad."*

*"Just because it originated on Earth doesn't make it good, either,"* he had retorted. *"I have more important things to do."*

*"We all do! But we take time to be with each other, to just hang out and have fun."* She had given him a look he couldn't interpret. *"If you don't want to do things with us, you could just tell us instead of making up excuses, you know."*

He remembered being rather taken aback. Normally, their mock-battles over which planet was "better" would continue until he started to get irritated. She always noticed, and would back off immediately, laughing at their sport and often conceding that KO-35 was at least equal to her home planet.

This time, though... he hadn't known how to respond to her sudden change in demeanor. *"I just don't have time,"* he had said at last, and when her eyes flashed he knew he'd said something wrong.

*"We're not so bad, if you'd just give us a chance,"* she'd told him. *"Is having friends one of those things that wasn't done on KO-35, or is it us in particular that you don't like?"*

He had frowned at her sudden animosity. Ashley had never spoken to him like that, and he had no idea what he'd done to deserve it. Frankly, their "friendliness" overwhelmed him when it was imposed on him every hour of the day, and he found he needed some time away from it after a while. But to admit that would be admitting weakness, and he couldn't do that in front of her.

*"I survived on my own for years before you came along,"* he had answered, rather more harshly than he'd intended. *"I can do just fine without your help *or* your company."*

Andros winced at the memory. Hurt had flashed across her face before she could hide it, and he had paused--too late. The damage had been done, and she had left the Bridge soon after.

Now, he knew the entire fight could have been avoided if he had simply told her the truth, as he had two days ago. Sometimes the others were just too much to handle, and he needed to be alone from time to time--she had understood, and he wished that he had told her then, before the rollerblading incident got out of hand.

*Did I ever apologize for the things I said?* He couldn't remember doing so--Ashley had been unusually quiet at dinner that night, but the next morning she had acted as though nothing had happened. Things had gone back to normal between them, with her prodding him into activities and him agreeing a little less reluctantly each time, until the day of the backrubs.

That was a memory he could smile at. "Thank you," Andros whispered, leaning over to touch her face. "Thank you for... everything."

She stirred again, and he drew back quickly. "Ash?" he asked quietly, but she didn't answer.

He tried to resist the temptation to touch her again, but his hand moved irresistibly back toward her face. He found himself running his fingers through her hair, heart racing as he prayed she would not wake up.

Another flashback took hold of his mind, and the scene on the Simudeck this morning replayed in front of his eyes. She had looked so beautiful, dancing in the early sunlight of the simulated park. And when she turned, eyes shining and arms lifted triumphantly over her head as though she had been performing solely for him, he had almost stopped breathing.

He had wanted to run to her, take her in his arms and tell her how amazing she was--but he restrained himself, for the same reason that he now sat beside her hoping she would not wake. He simply didn't know how much she would accept from him... and in all honesty, he wasn't sure how much he could give.

*I've been alone for so long--what do I know about relationships?* Ashley's presence was intoxicating, and the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted to always be with her. But something inside him wouldn't let go that easily.

Something in him refused to yield, refused to be swept away by the feelings that tried to overpower him whenever Ashley smiled. Something had screamed at him to stop when they were sparring; something had made him tense when she pinned him to the ground. And though he had very much wanted to kiss her then, and had liked the feeling of her fingers in his hair, something had made him pull away.

Ashley murmured something incomprehensible, and he froze. Her eyes were still closed, but her expression was far less peaceful than it had been minutes before. His train of thought abandoned, he focused all his attention on her and was not surprised when she cried out a moment later.

"Ashley," he whispered, letting his hand fall to her shoulder and giving her a gentle shake.

She twitched away, moaning, and he couldn't suppress his alarm. "Ash," he said, louder. "Wake up."

He took hold of her other shoulder, then just as quickly let go and touched her cheek. "Ashley, don't do this to me. Come on, wake up. It's just a dream."

Her eyes snapped open at last, and the fear he saw there cut straight to his heart. He started to pull away, but she stopped him with a single word. "Andros..."

The fear had dissipated from her eyes as soon as she caught sight of him, but her expression was still troubled and there was no ignoring the distress in her voice. He pulled her close, wanting only to banish whatever terrors had plagued her dreams.

She clung to him, and suddenly he heard her whisper, "Andros? Do you think they're all right?"

"Yeah," he whispered back, suddenly aware of just how much trust she was putting in him. This was a side of her the others never saw--yet she revealed her doubts to him without a second thought, counting on him to comfort her and keep her secrets. "Yeah, I do," he repeated, forcing the words out. "They're Rangers, Ash--they'll be okay."

Even he could hear how choked his voice sounded, but he couldn't explain the turmoil inside him. To his intense relief, she didn't ask, though her next words made it obvious she had noticed. He felt her hand stroke his hair as she murmured, "We're going to be okay too, Andros. Everything's going to be all right."

He tried to answer, but found he couldn't. Closing his eyes, he let her reassure him, when it was supposed to be the other way around. *Is she right? Will we be okay--can I find a way to make this work?*

"Hey," Ashley said gently, pulling back to look at him with a concerned expression. "What are you thinking?"

He tried to smile. "How do you know?"

"Know what?" she asked, combing his hair away from his face with her fingers.

"When I'm..." He couldn't finish.

"When you're upset?" she suggested, and he nodded once. She smiled. "You tense your shoulders, and your eyes get really dark looking."

"You couldn't see my eyes," he pointed out.

She shrugged. "But you still tensed your shoulders." She demonstrated, hunching forward and frowning a little. Some of the effect was lost, since her arms were still twined around his neck, but he had to admit he recognized the posture.

Ashley giggled at his expression. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. But it's true--so what's wrong?"

He sighed, glancing away. He didn't know what to tell her--after all, he wasn't even sure himself.

"Is it something I did?" she asked quietly.

Andros looked up instantly. "No!" That was the last thing he wanted her to think, but he still couldn't figure out how to tell her what he was feeling. "It's not you at all..."

"Then what?" she pressed, and he shrugged uncomfortably.

Tempted to just shake his head and tell her it was nothing, he stopped himself with an effort. She let him know her fears, and it was a gesture of trust he longed to return, if only he could find the words.

"I guess... I guess I don't know what you want," he said at last. She opened her mouth, but he shook his head at her, afraid she had taken it wrong. "Wait. Let me explain--or try, at least."

She nodded with a smile on her face, and he figured that was a good sign. "It's just that I don't know what you're used to, in a relationship. And..." He paused, trying to decide how to say this without making it sound like a reflection on her.

Andros sighed, and started with the sentence closest to his heart. "I like you, Ash. I like you more than I can remember liking anyone for a long time, but--I guess I'm just not used to it. I don't know how to act around you; I don't know... what you want," he finished, frustrated with his inability to explain.

She waited a moment, then asked timidly, "Can I say something?"

"Please," Andros said emphatically. "I'm certainly not doing a very good job."

She tilted her head to one side and smiled up at him. "I think you're doing fine. Let me clear something up--what I want? You. That's it; just you, however you are or want to be. You don't have to 'act' any way--just be you."

"But--" He didn't get past the first word before she stopped him.

Placing two fingers over his mouth, she told him, "But nothing. *You* are the person I like, not some image I have of you. If something I do makes you uncomfortable, *tell* me--I'm not trying to make you live up to an ideal; I just don't know any better if you don't tell me how you feel."

Andros let himself relax a little, realizing as he did so that his shoulders *were* tense, after all. "Thanks..." He couldn't begin to describe the relief he felt at her words. "I don't know what else to say, Ash."

She bit her lip, looking at him from under her eyelashes. "Would it be okay--would it make you uncomfortable if I kissed you now?"

He couldn't keep a smile from spreading across his face. "There's nothing I'd like more," Andros confessed. He felt his heart start pounding as she leaned closer, and he had time to wonder whether she would simply touch her lips to his as she had several times before, or if it would be a kiss like the one they'd shared on the Simudeck...

Ashley kissed him gently, then waited, her face centimeters from his. He understood that it was up to him how far it went, and he hesitated. Then, slowly, he closed the gap between them and pressed his mouth to hers.

She returned the kiss with more confidence than he had felt initiating it, and though it lacked the passion of their earlier encounter, it was just as sweet. As he kissed her again, he found he was enjoying himself more for knowing she didn't expect anything he couldn’t yet give.

Finally, she turned her head and laid it against his shoulder. "I'm so lucky to know you," Ashley whispered.

He smiled, breathing in the clean scent of her hair. "Funny," Andros replied softly. "I was just thinking the same thing about you."

Phantom awoke suddenly, feeling closer to rested than he had in weeks. Without moving, he did a quick survey of his surroundings and recognized the Medical bay on the Megaship. *Safe,* his mind reminded him, but he had been operating on instinct for too long to let rational thought dictate his actions completely.

Reaching automatically for his blaster, he sat up--or tried to. The instant he moved, pain shot through his chest and he bit his lip to keep from crying out.

He must have made some noise, however, because DECA's camera light flicked on. "Good evening, Saryn."

That brought him upright no matter the pain, and he again reached for the comforting weight of his blaster. It wasn't on his hip where it should have been, and he looked down in shock as he realized he was not morphed.

His right hand flew to the ruby around his neck, and he felt the Power flood through him. Within seconds, he was looking at the Medical bay through the sensory datafeed of his visor.

"How did you know?" he demanded of the ship's computer.

"Visual correlation with intergalactic files was achieved four point six seconds after you were brought on board," DECA replied calmly.

He swore silently. There were few enough who knew of his identity, and each had promised to guard his secret. Having a computer that interacted with dozens of other systems every week "achieve visual correlation with intergalactic files" was not part of the plan.

"DECA," he said through clenched teeth, "I would prefer that this information not become public."

"Saryn of Elisia has been absent from the public eye for years now," DECA remarked, ignoring the intent of his statement.

"Stop saying that name," Phantom warned, his voice dangerously low.

"Many have thought you dead," the computer continued, unfazed.

He turned his head away abruptly. "I should have been," he muttered, shutting his eyes against the memory of those last few days as Saryn. It didn't help--the images were that much clearer on the dark background of the inside of his eyelids, and he snapped them open again, shaking his head. *I can not believe I let a computer get to me,* he thought bitterly.

"DECA." He stood up, fists clenched at his sides, trying very hard to keep his tone even. "I am the Phantom Ranger. That is both my title and my name. Do you understand?"

DECA blinked at him. In the pause, he wished suddenly for Andros--the Red Ranger could convince DECA of anything.

"No information on the location, identity, or status of Saryn of Elisia will leave this ship," the computer said at last. "Is that sufficient?"

Phantom almost agreed--until the loophole she had left in that statement caught up with him. "I do not wish the other Rangers to know either, DECA."

The fact that she didn't answer right away confirmed his suspicions. When she did, however, her reply caught him off guard. "Including Cassie Chan?"

He caught his breath in surprise, then glared at the camera. *I hate artificial intelligence...*

When he didn't respond, the camera turned a little, readjusting its angle. "You have not answered the question," she reminded him. "Do you wish Cassie Chan to know your identity?"

Phantom looked away. "She already knows," he muttered, remembering those few minutes on an alien ship when all he had cared about was the feel of her in his arms. He swallowed, knowing that mistake could cost him. "Who she tells--is her business."

DECA's camera blinked twice. "Understood," the computer's voice replied, sounding a little quieter than before. The red light lingered a moment longer, then darkened, and he was alone again.

He forced himself to relax, sitting down on the edge of the patient bed and closing his eyes. Taking a few deep breaths, he could feel his injuries complain a little, but it was inconsequential compared to the way they had felt when he first awoke. The Power had infused him with something like his old strength, and it had diminished the pain in his chest to almost nothing.

Enjoying the absence of discomfort, he reflected that it was nice not to feel so insanely tired anymore...

"From what I hear, you'll heal faster if half your energy isn't going to keeping you morphed."

Phantom's eyes opened and his head jerked up--he hadn't even realized he had been nodding off until a familiar voice cut into his doze.

The Blue Ranger was lounging in the doorway, watching him with a knowing expression. "And after everything that's happened, you definitely shouldn't be sleeping that way."

He started to deny it, but the fact that he hadn't heard TJ's entrance was proof enough. "I do not have time to sleep," he said instead, wondering how long he had been unaware--and how long the other Ranger had been there.

TJ snorted. "Oh yes you do. Time is the one thing we have plenty of right now--I wish I could sleep some of it away."

"What has happened?" Phantom asked, troubled by the sudden realization that he wasn't even completely sure what day it was.

TJ didn't answer right away. "DECA?" he inquired, glancing toward the camera mounted on the wall of the Medical bay. It blinked on, and he asked, "How's Phantom doing?"

"I am fine," Phantom said, but DECA spoke over him.

"The Phantom Ranger is still recovering," she said, and he could have sworn he heard a smug note in her voice. "The injuries he sustained on Divatox's ship have not healed, and he requires more sleep before his life force will be at optimum levels."

Knowing neither she nor TJ could see his expression, Phantom grimaced at the camera. To his surprise, the light blinked at him when TJ looked away, and Phantom's eyes widened. *That computer is laughing at me,* he thought, not sure whether to be startled or annoyed.

"You'd better get some rest," TJ told him. "Cassie will kill me if she comes back to find out I made your condition worse."

Phantom had been trying to ignore the Pink Ranger's absence, though it was made more conspicuous by the fact that she had been at his side almost every time he woke up the day before. Now, though, something in the way TJ spoke made him think that Cassie had not just slipped away to get something to eat. He was almost afraid to ask--but he had to know. "Where is Cassie?"

TJ hesitated, and the worry that flashed across his face confirmed Phantom's fear. He closed his eyes, remembering her admission that there were things she *knew* about him that she couldn't explain. He tried to sense any emotion that he could identify as *not* his...

But there was only emptiness. "Where is she?" he repeated, opening his eyes and staring up at the concerned expression on her teammate's face.

"She's fine," TJ said at last, pulling himself together. "Don't worry; we're in touch with her, and she is all right. She'll be back soon... You should really sleep."

Phantom pushed himself to his feet. "TJ." He found it a struggle to keep his voice even, and suspected the other Ranger noticed. "I do not wish to argue with you. But if you do not tell me where Cassie is and what she is doing, I will go to the Bridge and find out for myself."

TJ stared at him for a moment, but Phantom had no intention of backing down. After a moment, TJ sighed and nodded. "All right. I'd insist on knowing too--I was only trying to keep you from worrying."

"You are not succeeding," Phantom said, trying not to snap at him.

TJ's eyes narrowed. "Look, we're all concerned. I know you and Cassie have something special, but she's our teammate, and we're just as worried as you are."

"Except that you know where she is," Phantom pointed out, barely keeping his impatience in check.

TJ gave him an unreadable look, followed by a curt nod. "She left to find Andros and Ashley--"

Realizing that meant nothing to him, TJ stopped. Backing up, he explained, "The army went on alert as soon as the two of you were discovered, and half of them surrounded the Megaship while the other half took off with Zordon. Carlos and I came after you, but we couldn't alert the others in time, and the fleet was gone before we realized they were with it.

"We're hiding in the damping field of the Sanctuary moon now--but Cassie insisted on going after them on her own. The last we heard from her, she had made it out of the sector and was still tracking the fleet's vapor trail."

Phantom was sitting on the patient bed again, with no memory of when his legs had ceased to hold him. "You let her go alone?"

"She didn't exactly give us a choice," TJ said wryly. "She just left--with me and Carlos still arguing over what to do."

Phantom tried to smile. That did sound like Cassie. The thought of her alone among an entire army still terrified him, though, and he must have said so aloud, because TJ gave him an odd look.

"You're not really one to talk," the Blue Ranger commented. There was no mistaking the animosity in his voice this time.

Phantom winced. "What do you mean?" he asked, suspecting he knew but surprised that any of the Rangers would mention it in front of him.

"You know what I mean," TJ told him evenly. "You haven't exactly made your presence felt lately. Or ever, for that matter."

"I have duties, even as you do," Phantom reminded him. "We are all of us Rangers."

"Some more than others," TJ muttered, and Phantom tried not to jump to conclusions. The Rangers had never treated him with anything less than perfect courtesy, and he couldn't believe one of them would insult him now.

"Please elaborate," he said, his voice calm even as his mind raced.

"Some of us are Rangers," TJ said, more loudly. "But there are certain rules that we follow, and one of those involves loyalty to our teammates. Who are you loyal to, Phantom?"

Phantom's eyes widened. The challenge in TJ's tone was obvious. "I am a Ranger," he stated. "I fight for good, just as you do."

"That's not what I asked. Who do you fight with?"

Phantom stared at him, unable to believe the teenager's audacity. *He doesn't know,* he tried to remind himself, but he could feel the anger welling up inside him. "I did not choose this course," he said, trying to keep his feelings from showing. "I did not choose to be alone in the universe. But it happened, and I have learned to accept it."

"But you did choose it," TJ insisted. "Our team would have accepted you--Dimitria would have let you stay, and we would have welcomed you as one of us. Instead, you gave us some nonsense about going where you were needed and leaving when the need had passed."

"That was not nonsense," Phantom ground out. "It was, and still is, true."

"How can it be?" TJ shot back. "Both megazords fell later that same year, Phantom! The Power Chamber was destroyed, and the Turbo powers were lost. Where were you?"

Phantom took a deep breath, determined not to lose his temper. "I was on Eltare, fighting for the planet's freedom."

"And Cassie was on Earth, fighting for her life!" Phantom looked away, but TJ continued relentlessly. "You've been needed more times than I can count--but we've heard nothing from you, not even a message to let us know you were still alive."

"You survived," Phantom pointed out quietly. "I was not needed. You and your friends managed on your own."

TJ shook his head. "You don't understand. I'm not just talking about your fighting ability--although there's no question it would have helped. I'm talking about you, and what you mean to Cassie."

Phantom turned back to regard him, wondering whether to stop the other Ranger right there. "That is not your affair."

"But it is." TJ stared back, and suddenly he seemed taller. "Cassie is my best friend, and her happiness is very much my affair. You have no idea what she was like when you were with us on Earth--she walked around with this glow, and a smile on her face that wouldn't go away."

Phantom could see what was coming, and he was sure he didn't want to hear it. But what better punishment--it was his fault, after all.

"Then you left. She seemed fine for a while--then I saw her report card. Her grades improved when she moved to Angel Grove, but in the months after you left they started falling again. Add to that she didn't go out on a single date that entire fall, and when I talked to Ashley, she said Cassie would go out in the yard at night and just stare up the sky--one night she didn't come in at all, and when Ashley went looking for her, she found her asleep in the grass."

"Stop," Phantom whispered at last. "Please, stop."

"Why?" TJ demanded. "You weren't there; you didn't have to watch. Do you know how hard it was to see her and know there was absolutely nothing I could do? Every time I asked, she'd just smile and say she was fine, but I could tell."

He fell silent for a moment, but Phantom had nothing to say. All he could do was get to his feet and turn away, wishing he hadn't heard what TJ had just told him. It had been so much easier to think of her forgetting him and moving on, enjoying her life on Earth and never turning her gaze to the stars except in awe of their beauty.

Even now that he knew how deeply she cared for him, he had hoped the happiness that had eluded him while they were apart had somehow found her in his absence. It would have made the time they had lost more bearable--and it would make the future less bleak, for he knew he could not stay on the Megaship forever. The thought of causing her any further pain was one he couldn't face right now.

Then TJ's voice came again. "Phantom?"

He turned his head, knowing he wouldn't be able to speak without giving himself away.

TJ sighed. "Look, maybe that was a little harsh. It's just that I can't stand to see her hurting, and it would have been so simple for you to just show up every once in a while. Especially after we went into space--she was so glad to see you on Hercuron, even in the middle of Astronema's scheming. I suppose you were too busy to notice."

"I noticed," Phantom answered quietly, hoping TJ didn't hear the tremor in his voice. He didn't add that having her arm around him when they rescued him from Ecliptor had been the best thing that had happened to him in weeks.

"Then why did you leave?!" TJ burst out. "You knew we would come back for you after we defeated that monster on Earth--why didn't you wait?"

"I couldn't," Phantom whispered, knowing it was an answer TJ would never let rest. But there was no way the other Ranger could understand how hard that decision had been.

TJ sighed, obviously exasperated, but Phantom continued before he could speak. "Unlike you, I do not heal faster when I am morphed, and the injuries I sustained on Hercuron were too severe for me to recover from in this form."

"And you didn't want to demorph in front of us," TJ finished. He considered that for a moment, then said, "All right. I'll accept that you had your reasons for that. But you could have at least contacted us later to let us know you were all right."

Back still turned to TJ, Phantom braced himself against the counter next to the patient bed and closed his eyes. "You can't know how much I wanted to," he told the other, remembering nights he had woken from nightmares gasping for breath and wanting nothing more than to hear the sound of her voice. "But I left a message for your team, and for her, on Hercuron."

"Yeah; it was really comforting," TJ agree sarcastically. "You could barely stand up, and you said you were leaving on a mission which we all knew could get you killed!"

"I had to," Phantom protested, guilt warring with his growing anger. "The lives of thousands, maybe millions of people depend on Dark Spectre being stopped before he drains Zordon's powers completely."

"And billions more would suffer, indirectly," TJ allowed. "I'm not denying that what you're doing is right--it's how you're doing it that I object to. Do you know Cassie uploaded that message you left to the computer terminal in her room? How many times do you think she's stayed awake, staring out at the stars, hearing your words over again and wondering if you're all right?"

The image of Cassie doing just that sprang to mind all too easily, and Phantom couldn't stand it anymore. Slamming his fist down on the counter, he growled, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because she won't, and someone has to," TJ retorted. "Because every time she watches that message she hears you say, 'I'll see you soon, Cassie.' When is soon, Phantom? At her college graduation? After she's married?!"

"Stop it!" Phantom shouted, spinning around to face TJ. "I know I've hurt her, and I am sorry!"

The startled look on TJ's face made him pause, and he tried to force himself to calm down. Cassie would never forgive him if he hit one of her friends.

Phantom took a deep breath. "I understand what you are saying--that Cassie would be better off with another..." The words hurt, all the more so because he knew they were true. "I am sure this would all be easier if you were me, and could be the person you wish I was," he added bitterly. "But you are not me, and there are things you do not understand."

"No," TJ acknowledged, his voice abruptly quiet. "I'm not you. Frankly, I've been a better friend than you have. I've been there when she needed someone. I've helped her study for chemistry when she was convinced she couldn't learn it, and I've dragged her down to the beach afterwards to cheer her up. I've gone on her crazy hiking expeditions when she just needed to get away from it all. I've listened when she wanted to talk, and I've cried on her shoulder and let her cry on mine when we needed it.

"That's what friends do, and that's what I am to her: a friend. You're the one she loves, and I don't think you appreciate how special that is."

Phantom didn't reply right away, feeling the pieces click together in his mind. "You... like her," he observed at last.

"We're best friends," TJ answered warily.

"That is not what I meant," Phantom said, more convinced by that quiet recitation than he had been by all of TJ's accusations. "I did not realize--I'm sorry."

There was silence for a moment, then TJ shrugged. "It's not your fault. That's how things worked out. I just want to see her happy."

Phantom nodded slowly. "As do I. And--"

He swallowed, trying to get out the hardest thing he'd ever had to say. "If there is any way she could be happy with you..."

"She wouldn't be," TJ cut him off, and, no matter how selfish, Phantom couldn't help the twinge of relief that accompanied the other Ranger's words.

"She's in love, Phantom, and it isn't with me." TJ regarded him steadily. "She needs you. All I'm trying to do is to get you to see that."

Phantom gazed back, wondering if he could be so selfless if their positions were reversed. "Thank you," he said finally, not knowing how else to respond. "I will... think about what you have said."

"Do that," TJ agreed. "And while you're doing that? Do yourself a favor: demorph and sleep. Do it so Cassie will have someone to come back to, if for no other reason."

The Blue Ranger turned away without waiting for an answer, but he hesitated in the doorway. Looking over his shoulder, he added softly, "And Phantom? Remember how lucky you are."

*Lucky...* The word had an ironic ring. With a slight nod, he watched TJ go.

11. Follow the Stars

He had looked at her with that intense gaze of his, and she had been drawn irresistibly closer. Staring into the eyes of the one she had seen only in times of crisis and shadow, always in a hurry and no time to exchange more than a sentence of two, she had seen a familiar soul. Past lives and soulmates had never been the kind of thing she put much stock in, but at that moment, she had been sure the two of them had known each other in another time.

Staring through the transparent canopy of his fighter, Cassie couldn't keep her mind from wandering back to Phantom. *Or--Saryn?* Gratified though she was to know his name, she wondered if she would ever dare use it. *Would he even want me to? He told me under sort of unusual circumstances...*

To kiss him had been only natural--but as she leaned closer, her certainty had fled and she had had time to wonder what she was doing. Their mouths had met, and when he didn't move, she had been sure she had just made the biggest mistake of her life.

Then, as though waking from a dream, he had started to respond. His touch had definitely not been the touch of someone innocent of such matters, but she hadn't had time to care. He had pulled her close and quite literally taken her breath away.

Cassie sighed at the memory. *I have never been kissed like that before...*

She had let herself get lost in the sensation, and a crushing disappointment had overtaken her when he pulled back. She had suddenly thought that she was the only one being swept away, and maybe he had wanted to distance himself from her feelings and expectation.

But he had been so willing to kiss her again, and the words he had uttered in the Medical bay had come back to her with startling clarity: *"Have I ever told you how much I love you?"*

*Did he mean that?* she wondered, remembering how quickly his embrace had erased her doubts. When she considered it logically, she acknowledged how unlikely a couple they were--but all she had to do was think of him, and logic went right out the window.

A scratching sound jolted her out of her musing, and she looked around in alarm. So far, the basic piloting skills she had learned on the Megaship, combined with the bizarre instinct that had somehow guided her understanding of the controls around her, had been enough to keep her in control of the starfighter. *But what was that?* she thought, searching for the source.

The noise came again, fainter this time, and she looked down in sudden comprehension. She reached for the engine controls, bringing the little ship out of hyperspace and spinning it around on thruster power to backtrack along her previous course. The sound intensified once more, and she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

The sound was static--and it was coming from her communicator. Not the comm system on Phantom's ship, but the morpher she wore around her wrist. The morphers could only receive transmissions over a very narrow band, and the only people who knew that specific frequency were the Astro Rangers themselves.

She touched her communicator. "Ashley? Andros? Are you guys out there?"

Her voice sounded strange, piercing the quiet that had surrounded her for hours. She had found the silence and the cramped quarters did not bother her a bit--until now. Now, with static the only reply to her words, she frowned.

"Ashley?" Cassie tried again. "Andros?"

Still no response, and she started to worry. Static usually meant the intended recipient of the transmission was out of range--yet static had been the original signal, and she could pinpoint the source on the scanners.

Tracking the signal to its location, she found nothing. Narrowing her eyes at the scanners, she upped their sensitivity until they revealed the origin of the mysterious static: a tiny piece of free-floating metal in the vastness of space.

It took Cassie a moment to identify it. The scanners wouldn't give her a picture, but they did give her the specs for the diminutive object. Roughly circular, less than a centimeter in diameter, and made out of--

*One of our homing devices!* Fear stabbed at her heart and grew exponentially for a fraction of a second, which was exactly how long in took for her brain to take over again.

The homing device couldn't be all that was left of her friends--it was behaving too strangely. *I didn't even know those things could be set to emit static pulses like that,* she thought, listening to the odd popping sound. *That has to have been done deliberately--but why?*

Without thinking, she reached for the comm system. She stopped just short of signaling the Megaship, realizing as she did so that she was no longer protected by a bubble of hyperspace. Scanning the region, she could detect no sign of enemy vessels--although the scan did show occasional blips, thanks to the surface activity of a nearby star.

*It's a good thing there are safeties built into the hyperdrive,* Cassie thought, shivering as it occurred to her for the first time how close she had come to coming out of hyperspace in the star rather than next to it. The stellar luminary was a relatively benign one, G-type, and it was light years away from her current position. But in hyperspace, light years passed in the blink of an eye, and *any* star's corona was an unfriendly place to end up.

Satisfied she was alone in this part of space, she put the thought aside and touched the comm controls. The system had already been keyed to the Rangers' comm frequency when she came aboard, and she marveled, not for the first time, at how simple the setup of this ship was. It made more sense to her than the Megaship ever had, and on the Megaship she'd had Alpha and DECA to help her out.

The little viewscreen embedded in the helm lit up, and she saw Carlos' face looking back at her. "Cassie?" he asked immediately. "Are you all right?"

She nodded. "I'm fine, Carlos, and I've found something. The only problem is, I can't figure out what it means..."

She trailed off as Carlos looked away, glancing at something offscreen. "TJ," he called, "message from Cassie."

"Cassie?" she heard TJ exclaim, and a moment later he was at Carlos' side. "Oh, you morphed; good thinking."

She glanced down inadvertently. "Well, I haven't eaten since breakfast. I don't notice as much when I'm morphed." She wished she could ask about Phantom, but she'd asked the other two times she'd contacted them as well, and she knew they'd tell her if anything was wrong. She settled for, "Is everything okay over there?"

TJ saw through her anyway. "Phantom's fine," he promised, smiling at her. Guilt washed over her suddenly, and she was sorry she had been so obvious. Of course he was all right; TJ and Carlos were taking care of him. She wished she could see for herself, but that was no reason to make them think she doubted them.

"In fact, I was just talking to him," TJ continued, "but I think I convinced him to go back to sleep."

"Good. He certainly needs it," she said emphatically, wondering if he had morphed as soon as he had woken up. "Is he--"

"Unmorphed?" TJ supplied, and she smiled a little. He knew her too well. "He should be--he was morphed while I was talking to him, but I read him the riot act, so if he didn't demorph after I left, it's not for lack of effort."

"Thanks, Teej," she said, unable to shake the feeling of guilt.

"Hey, someone has to keep him in line while you're gone," he teased. Her smile widened, though she knew he couldn't see it.

Before she could repeat thanks, Carlos interrupted. "You said you found something, Cassie?"

"Yeah," she said, dragging her mind away from Phantom. She held up her morpher, from which intermittent static was still coming. "Listen."

"What is that?" TJ asked, after a few seconds.

"I found one of the homing devices we were using," Cassie explained. "It's just floating out here, giving off random static pulses."

The horror that flashed across Carlos' face told her that he'd taken it wrong. "No--I think it was done on purpose," she hurried to assure him. "I think one of them left it for us to find. I just can't figure out why."

"A warning?" TJ suggested, listening to the noise with renewed interest. "Telling us not to follow?"

"Not to follow the fleet, maybe," Carlos said slowly. "What if--" He snapped his fingers. "What if they managed to get off the ship they were on and started off in a different direction?"

Cassie raised an eyebrow, glad he wouldn't see her incredulity beneath her visor. "And what if it's just to let us know they're still alive? What if it has no meaning, other than that?"

TJ shook his head. "They'd figure we assumed that. I mean, if we didn't, why would we follow the fleet in the first place?"

"Revenge," Carlos muttered darkly.

TJ raised an eyebrow. "Well, all right. But let's think positively here, okay?"

Cassie sighed. She couldn't help feeling this was all her fault. If she and Phantom hadn't gotten ambushed, Divatox never would have known what was happening. Andros and Ashley would still be with them, and they might even have Zordon by now.

"Cassie?" TJ asked, concern evident in his expression no matter how far away he was. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "It's just--I feel like I'm to blame for this. Phantom and I were the ones that gave all of us away..."

"Cassie, none of this is your fault," Carlos interjected, and she could hear puzzlement in his voice. "Pirahnatrons could have surprised any of us. We knew how hard it was going to be before we started; no one expected this to go the way we planned."

"Even Andros said we'd have to make it up as we went along," TJ reminded her. "You can't hold yourself responsible for something you had no control over."

They were right, of course. "I know," she admitted, "but I can't keep from feeling guilty. I don't know why."

They were all silent for a moment, and she felt bad all over again for interrupting the conversation. She wasn't the focus here, after all. Before she could apologize, though, TJ spoke up.

"Cassie," he said slowly, shifting a little on the Bridge of the Megaship. "It's not your fault, and you know it. Maybe you're--" He glanced at Carlos. "Maybe someone else is influencing you."

Carlos didn't miss the look. "What are you looking at me for? I didn't do anything!"

*Phantom.* She knew what he meant instantly, and she silently thanked him for his tact. She really didn't want to have to explain to Carlos, too.

She managed to laugh. "That's not what he meant, Carlos. He's just saying I'm feeling guilty for the wrong reasons." *And he might be right...*

Carlos shook his head. "Whatever. Let's just figure out what this beacon means so we can get our friends back."

This time, the guilt was definitely hers, and she shot a sheepish look at TJ. He gave her a fractional shrug, but he looked a little chagrinned too. They couldn't say anything for fear of annoying Carlos further, but she reminded herself to tell him later how much she appreciated his keeping her secret.

"It sounds like there's a pattern to that static," the Black Ranger said suddenly. Cassie had to concentrate to ignore another flash of guilt, but now that she had an idea where it was coming from, she found she could do it.

*What is he so upset about?* she wondered, wishing she could ask TJ to go check on Phantom again.

"Cassie, can you send us a recording of what you're hearing?" TJ asked, and she came out of her reverie.

"Sure," she said, hoping they hadn't noticed her distraction this time. "I'm going to have to cut you off to record it, though--give me a second."

They both nodded at her, and she ended the transmission. Still active, the comm immediately picked up the static as well, echoing the morpher on her wrist. Without thinking about it, she reached out and set the computer to record several cycles of the odd rhythm. It was something DECA did automatically on the Megaship, yet she found that her fingers knew which controls to push to make it happen.

Cassie shook her head. *When I get back, we are going to have a long talk about this link thing.*

Contacting the Megaship again, she told the others, "I'm sending the recording now."

After a moment, TJ announced, "We've got it.'

"DECA," Carlos requested, 'will you play that signal for us, constant replay with a pause between each cycle?"

All three of them sat or stood, listening to the repeating static pulses, but could find no more meaning in them than they had before.

"Maybe we're reading too much into this," TJ said at last. "What if it's just supposed to get our attention?"

"Well, it's done that," Carlos muttered. "What were they thinking?"

"If it is telling us that they're not with the fleet anymore," TJ said, going back to Carlos' earlier speculation, "then where are they?"

"You can't isolate individual vapor trails out there, can you, Cassie?" Carlos asked.

She looked up, startled. "What?" She was embarrassed to realize that she'd been drifting again. A song had planted itself firmly in her mind, and she couldn't get rid of it no matter how she tried. "I'm sorry; I wasn't listening."

She saw Carlos and TJ exchange glances, but neither said anything. "Can you track individual ships in the fleet's wake?" Carlos repeated patiently. "If one of them, say, headed off in a different direction, would you be able to tell?"

She looked down at the scanners, but she already knew the answer. "No... the vapor trails are pretty intermingled. I'd have to get a fair distance away from the path of the fleet before I could pick up any individual trails at all, and a search that could cover that kind of area would take days."

"That's what I thought," Carlos said, looking disappointed nonetheless.

"Well, we can't ignore any option," TJ pointed out. "You're right about that--so what if there is a message in the static?"

"Some kind of code," Carlos agreed, leaning against a console. "Morse?"

"Does Ashley know Morse code?" TJ asked doubtfully.

"Andros certainly doesn't," Carlos said.

Cassie heard their speculation, but that stupid song kept distracting her. She suspected it was because she'd been thinking about Phantom, and the chorus, in her more melancholy moments, had always reminded her of him:

*Whenever I'm lost, I look to the stars/ I follow their path, I see where you are/ I hear your promise, you smile at me/ And we follow the stars, together and free*

She had sung the song just recently, for her friends after dinner one night. It was a nice song, but a little unusual. It didn't have much melody; the lyrics depended almost entirely on rhythm for their musicality...

She sat up straight in her seat, hearing the static pulses in a whole new light. "Guys," she said suddenly, cutting into their discussion. "Does that sound familiar to you?"

They looked at each other again, probably doubting her sanity, or at least her usefulness, at this point, but she ignored it. "Listen! Think last week--that cookout we had at the beach?"

Carlos' expression said she had clearly lost it, but TJ was frowning. "Wait. She's right; there is something familiar about it."

Cassie hummed along with the static bursts, and his frown dissolved, to be replaced first by surprise and then excitement. "Cassie--that's the song you sang!"

"Or at least the last part of the chorus," she agreed. "It's pretty distinctive."

"Follow the Stars," Carlos said suddenly, and she nodded.

"But what does that mean?" TJ demanded, frustrated once more.

Cassie gazed out the port side of the canopy, toward the star she had almost landed in when she dropped out of hyperspace to trace the static signal. "I think I know what it means," she told them.

In the cold loneliness of an escape pod, making its slow way across the interstellar void, Ashley nestled against Andros' side and wished she didn't have to move. He was the only comfort she needed in their somewhat precarious situation--but he was almost too much of a comfort. She was dangerously close to falling asleep.

"Andros?" she whispered.

There was no answer, and she turned her head to look up at him. Andros' eyes were closed, and the expression on his face was so peaceful she hated to wake him. But she could feel the drop in temperature the moment she tilted her head away from his shoulder, and she knew it was too chilly for either of them to be dozing off.

"Hey, Andros," she tried again, surprised and pleased that he had relaxed enough to sleep this soundly with her so close by.

Straightening a little, she kissed his cheek. "Come on, love," she whispered, feeling a thrill at the word but knowing it would be a while before she would dare use it when he could hear. "Time to wake up."

Andros moved a little, and she felt his arm stiffen against her back as he stretched. "I'm awake," he murmured, without opening his eyes. She watched his chest rise as he took a deep breath, and he relaxed again, his hand settling on her shoulder once more.

"Sure you are," she teased gently, reluctant to disturb him but suspecting he wasn't much closer to consciousness than he had been a minute ago. "C'mon, Andros; you'll have to do better than that."

She felt him sigh, but when he cracked his eyelids open, he smiled at her. "Well, the bad news is, we're still on an escape pod in the middle of nowhere. But the good news is that I'm waking up next to Ashley Hammond."

His tone was lazy, but the words were suspiciously clear, and she wondered how deeply asleep he had actually been. *On the other hand,* she thought, *if he's going to say things like that, I don't care.*

She pulled herself up slowly, feeling the cool air slink in as soon as she left his embrace. But it didn't last--unfolding her arm, she reached around him and tilted his head down toward her. She saw him close his eyes as she kissed him, and when she drew back again, they fluttered open, clear and untroubled.

"We'll have to do it again sometime," she said, knowing she shouldn't tease him so but unable to let the comment about waking up next to her pass unremarked.

To her surprise, he didn't blush. "I'd like that," Andros told her with a smile.

Her eyes widened, and she could only stare at him. *Does he know what he just said?* she wondered, stunned.

Taking in her startled expression, Andros leaned closer. "Ash," he whispered. "You were just kidding, right?"

She dissolved into relieved giggles. "Mostly," she admitted, "but you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Sorry," he offered, the apology somewhat spoiled by the grin on his face. "I thought you knew I wasn't serious."

She couldn't seem to stop laughing, and she buried her face in his chest. "Andros, don't do that to me," she managed to get out, between giggles.

"It's only fair," he pointed out, and the grin came through in his voice. "You've been--I don't know--teasing me I guess, for the last few days."

"I'm a bad influence," she said, still chuckling. "Oh, Andros..."

He still had one arm around her, and this time she noticed him tense when the closeness suddenly bothered him. She started to draw back, but his arm tightened and he patted her back reassuringly. "It's all right; just give me a second."

She quieted, letting him rub small circles on her back while he struggled to get his emotions under control. She didn't understand exactly what upset him--why he drew away from her on the Simudeck this morning, why he couldn't seem to let go for very long--but she trusted him when he said it was all right, so she didn't move.

She felt him draw in a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he said after a moment. "It's just taking me a while to get used to... us. Everything is so perfect, and then I'll suddenly think that this can't really be happening--like it's a dream, or something."

"It's real," Ashley promised softly, pressing her hands against his chest and lifting her head to look up at him.

His brown eyes sparkled at her in the dim light, and he leaned closer. She closed her eyes, and felt him gently kiss her lips. In that instant, she knew exactly what he had meant when he said he felt as though he were in a dream...

"Andros?" she murmured a moment later. "If it isn't real... I don't want to wake up."

She could feel his breath, warm on her face when he exhaled. "Me neither," Andros agreed softly.

"But that reminds me," he added, running a hand through her hair. "What I said before--I was kidding, but I don't want you to think... I mean, I wouldn't..."

He looked at her helplessly, and she tried not to smile at his confusion. "What you said before?" she prompted, and he shrugged a little uncomfortably.

"About waking up next to you," he clarified, and now she couldn't help smiling.

"Oh," Ashley said, not sure what to say. "That."

"Yeah," he agreed, his expression nervous. "I don't want you to think I don't want to--it's just--"

"Too soon," she finished, relieved, and he nodded.

"Andros--I'm not ready for sex," she told him bluntly. A faint smile crept over her face, and she added, "No matter how much I tease you."

He sighed. "You don't know how glad I am to hear that."

She swatted his arm playfully, and he grinned. "Well, what did you expect me to say?"

Ashley laughed, but a familiar and long absent sound hummed into the relative quiet of the pod, causing her to fall silent. Startled, she glanced down at her wrist, then back up to meet Andros' wide-eyed gaze.

The sound came again, a low-pitched but distinctive alert that for months had told them when another Ranger was trying to contact them. Andros stared at his morpher as though he'd never heard it before.

Finally, Ashley gave her head a shake and reached for her own morpher. "This is Ashley," she said tentatively.

"Ashley!" Cassie's voice came back, only slightly distorted by the communicator. "Are you and Andros all right?"

She caught Andros' eye. "Yeah," she said, seeing him smile at her. "Yeah, we're all right."

Suddenly remembering who she was talking to, she refocused her attention. "Cassie! Are you all right? What happened to you guys?"

"Good to hear from you, too," Cassie's wry voice answered. "I'm going to transmit your coordinates back to the Megaship--hold on."

"Wait," Andros said, leaning forward. "You're not on the Megaship?"

"Cassie, what's going on?" Ashley demanded.

"The Megaship's in hiding," Cassie told them. "The others are waiting in the damping field of the Sanctuary moon--I came in Phantom's ship to try and track you guys down."

Ashley raised an eyebrow, but Andros nodded. "Of course. His ship has an EM cloak, and it's small enough that it would have to get really close before its mass would set off proximity alarms."

"But what about Phantom?" Ashley wanted to know, feeling that they were missing a fundamental part of the story here.

There was just enough hesitation before Cassie answered to make Ashley wonder. "He's not really up to going anywhere right now," she said at last. "We were ambushed, and he took a blaster shot that was meant for me. He wasn't conscious when I left."

Ashley shot a worried look in Andros' direction, but he was frowning at her morpher. "Cassie, we don't have the power to teleport Phantom's ship back to the Megaship. Even if you can relay our coordinates, you'll have to fly back on your own."

"I know," Cassie answered. "I'll be okay, though--I got out all right, and the fleet waiting by the moon won't be looking for someone going in."

There was a pause, then Cassie told them, "The Megaship's got a coordinate lock."

Ashley took a deep breath, thinking of the hundred questions she wanted to ask. But the sooner they teleported out, the sooner Cassie could start back, so she picked up her helmet and said only, "Be careful, Cassie."

"I will be," her friend promised. "I'm glad you guys are okay--see you on the other side."

She had time to reach for Andros' hand before the world dissolved in swirls of golden light. Teleportation took longer than normal, but she could almost feel his presence beside her--and was it her imagination, or did crimson sparkles dot her vision just before the Megaship's Bridge reformed around her?

The familiar scene was somehow alien after all those hours on the escape pod, and Ashley blinked a few times. She looked at Andros, who nodded and let go of her hand.

"Power down," they announced simultaneously, and she felt her energy beginning to drain out of her. As the Power left her, the adrenaline that had been keeping her going started to fade as well--more slowly, but just as noticeably.

Then a black blur engulfed her in a hug, and all she could worry about was suffocating. "Carlos," she gasped, hugging back and wondering if she should have stayed morphed. "What are you doing up? It must be almost midnight!"

"With you two out there alone?" he asked indignantly. "And it's half past, by the way."

"Half past midnight?" Ashley squeaked.

"Cassie's been sending us reports every few hours or so," TJ told them, clasping Andros' hand. "It's good to have you back."

Carlos finally let her go, and she took a moment to rub her eyes. The Megaship's lighting was substantially brighter than what her eyes were accustomed to. "It's good to *be* back," she told them fervently. "I can't believe you guys found us!"

"Well, that song was a little obscure," Carlos said, slapping Andros on the back even as he gave the Red Ranger an evil look. "You're lucky Cassie recognized it."

"And figured out what it meant," TJ added, drawing a confused Ashley into a second hug.

"It was the only thing I could think of," Andros mumbled, clearly overwhelmed by the attention.

"Wait," Ashley said, slipping away from TJ to stand beside Andros again. "What song is this?"

Andros shrugged. "I modified my homing device to emit a static pattern if it detected the presence of an astromorpher nearby. I left it behind a little while after we jettisoned, so that if anyone came looking for us, they'd have some warning that we weren't on the fleet ships anymore."

"Thanks for telling me," she said, indignant. She punched Andros lightly in the shoulder.

"You didn't know?" TJ asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Andros shrugged uncomfortably. "We were busy."

Ashley realized how that must have sounded to the others, and she shot a covert look at Carlos and TJ. She didn't help matters any by blushing, and she saw the two of them exchange startled glances.

"Busy?" she asked Andros archly, trying to rectify the situation. "You fell asleep!"

"You fell asleep first," he retorted.

The other two were regarding them oddly, and Ashley was torn between blushing harder and bursting into laughter. "It's not what you think," she tried to tell them, looking to Andros for help.

Andros only looked puzzled, and she fell for it--until she saw him turn slightly and wink at her. Startled, she tried not to give him away by grinning. "It was cold, and we were trying not to doze off..."

Seeing that this was not helping their case, she gave up. "I'll explain in the morning," Ashley said with a sigh, ignoring TJ's obvious amusement.

"Right," Carlos agreed knowingly. "In the morning."

She glared at him, and he held up his hands to ward her off, grinning. "Sorry--you have to admit, it sounds pretty compromising, Ash."

Ashley just shook her head. "Boys!" she exclaimed, exasperated.

"Aw, come on," TJ said, reaching out to squeeze her shoulder. "We were just kidding. And what would you do without us, anyway?"

"Have some peace and quiet?" she suggested, seeing Andros bite his lip to keep from smiling. She was tempted to stick her tongue out at him, but she didn't want to draw attention to him now, after he had so carefully avoided the argument.

"I hate to remind you, Ash, but you're a Power Ranger," Carlos said. "Peace and quiet isn't part of the job description."

"Maybe not," Andros said, joining the conversation at last. He came over and put his hand on her shoulder. "But sleep is, and it's something we all need right now."

"That kind of 'sleep' won't help," Carlos cracked, and Ashley made a face at him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Andros roll his eyes and give the Black Ranger The Look, and she cheered mentally.

"I'll wait up for Cassie," TJ volunteered, apparently deciding it was in his best interests to ignore the exchange. "You guys get some rest."

Torn, Ashley hesitated. She was tired--but so must Cassie be, and the Pink Ranger had devoted much of the day to searching for her and Andros. It was thanks to her that they could sleep right now.

"Come on," Andros said, tugging gently on her shoulder. "She'll understand, and you really do need some sleep."

"Me?" Ashley exclaimed, but she let him draw her toward the lift. "What about you?"

"I'm coming with you, aren't I?" he asked, guiding her through the lift doors and stepping in behind her. She didn't even want to know what the others read into that, and she was almost too tired to care.

As the doors closed, she heard TJ say, "You too, Carlos. I don't mind, really."

Then there was only the hum of the lift, and she leaned back against the wall. She didn't remember closing her eyes, but they flew open at the slight jolt that signaled the lift's arrival.

She pushed away from the wall with an effort, and followed Andros wordlessly down the hall. He didn't stop at his door; instead, he walked with her to her room and waited while she keyed the door open.

Ashley turned around to face him, and he smiled at her. "You're pretty when you're tired," he told her softly, and she looked down, brushing hair out of her face self-consciously.

His touch surprised her, and she let him tilt her head upward. Then he kissed her, and she leaned against him, suddenly wishing he wasn't leaving. They'd been together almost nonstop since they'd woken up that morning, and she wondered what it would be like to be alone again.

They clung to each other for a little longer, until Andros finally stepped away. "'Night, Ash," he whispered.

"Good night," she answered quietly, watching him turn and head for his own room.

"Andros?" she asked, and he stopped, looking over his shoulder questioningly. "I'm glad we talked."

"About what?" he asked, after a moment's reflection.

"Everything," she said simply, and he nodded.

"Me, too," he told her, the corner of his mouth quirking up.

She raised her hand and curled her fingers in a half-wave, and he nodded. "Good night…"

"'Night," she replied, stifling a yawn. She watched until he disappeared into his room.

Hitting the control pad by her own door, she turned the lights up to half-strength and let the door close behind her. Almost automatically, she pulled her boots off and tossed her jacket on the chair.

As she brushed her teeth, it occurred to her that she hadn't eaten in far too long--but she couldn't face the thought of the long walk to the Glider holding bay. Even the process of eating itself sounded like too much work right now, so she simply collapsed onto her bunk --in tank top and uniform pants--and promised her stomach a large breakfast when she woke up.

Ashley felt sleep overtake her almost immediately. Just as she started to doze off, though, she was jolted awake by some internal alarm. She tried to calm her heart, knowing the adrenaline surge was only a side effect of those hours on the escape pod when she couldn't let herself sleep.

Inhaling deeply, she reminded herself of where she was. *It's okay,* she told herself. *It's safe here. No enemy about to blow you to pieces; no icy cold waiting to sneak in while you rest your eyes.*

She relaxed slowly, and sleep waited just around the corner...

This time, she was sure she actually fell asleep. It was several minutes later that she awoke, heart pounding and certain her fingers were about to freeze.

*I don't believe this,* Ashley thought, staring at the bunk above her. *I didn't have this much trouble sleeping on the escape pod, for Heaven's sake.*

There was a quiet knock on her door, and she groaned. Pushing her blanket off of her, she rolled clumsily to her feet, hampered by stiffness from sheer fatigue and remembered cold.

Keying the door open, she squinted into the too-bright light of the hallway. "Andros?" she whispered, too tired to be surprised.

He nodded miserably, and she touched his arm in sympathy. "Can't sleep?" she murmured.

"I tried," he said quietly. "I keep waking up. It was easier to sleep on that pod than it is to sleep here, remembering the pod."

It was her turn to nod. "I know. Believe me, I understand." She hesitated, but she was too tired to care what he thought at this point. "Do you want to come in?"

"Can I?" he asked, lifting his gaze at last to search her expression.

Without a word, she stepped aside to let him enter. The door closed as soon as he stepped through, and they stood there in darkness for several seconds before it occurred to her to turn the lights up.

They looked at each other, exhausted and yet unable to sleep, and the words wouldn't come. Finally, Ashley walked over to her bunk, took the pillow from the top bunk and placed it with her own against the wall. Climbing onto the bunk, she leaned against the makeshift backrest and cocked her head at him. "Sit down?" she asked quietly.

He joined her without hesitation, crawling over the mattress and propping himself up on the pillows. He let his head lean back against the wall, and she saw his eyes slide closed. She sat forward, rearranging her legs, and she felt Andros' arm go around her bare shoulders.

With a contented smile, Ashley leaned back and snuggled closer to him. Seconds later, she was fast asleep.

The ride back had been less than eventful, and Cassie had been hard-pressed to keep herself focused. As it grew later, even the Power couldn't keep the stresses of the day from catching up with her, and she found herself yawning deeply and often.

By the time she had the Sanctuary moon on her scanners, she could only offer thanks that Divatox's ships were all concentrated on keeping them in, rather than keeping visitors out. She had been able to maneuver past their tight guard earlier, but now she just let the ship's cloak carry her through, figuring that refuge was only seconds away if they turned on her.

The cloak did its job, however, and by skill or sheer luck she avoided triggering any kind of hostile reaction. Coasting into the damping field, she winced as the nav computer went dark, followed quickly by scanners and short-range communications.

She hyperboosted a signal to DECA, and the hangar bay doors at the back of the Megaship started to open for her. *This is where I cross my fingers,* she thought, suiting actions to thoughts.

Firing the forward thrusters, Cassie slowed the ship to little more than a crawl. She inched forward on residual momentum, depending entirely on her eyes to line Phantom's ship up with the gap in the doors.

The doors crept closer, and closer, finally surrounding the clearsteel canopy and swallowing the little fighter whole. She breathed a sigh of relief as the engines cleared the doors, which slid shut behind her with a thunderous roar that didn't reach her ears through the intervening vacuum.

The antigravs came on automatically when the scanners, online again after the doors closed out the effects of the damping field, detected the deck's proximity. She felt the ship balance out, and it settled slowly to the ground amid a fog of coolant.

The warning bright orange warning lights on the canopy seals flickered to green once the bay had repressurized, and she popped them open. The canopy lifted to allow her departure, and she clambered out of the cockpit and slid stiffly to the deck below.

Just then, the doors connecting the hangar to the rest of the ship flew open, and a figure in gray stepped through them. "TJ!" Cassie exclaimed, waving.

He strode toward her, and she crossed her wrists in front of her chest. Flinging her arms to the side, she was too tired to do anything but use the focus words. "Power down!"

Her Ranger uniform disappeared, and she had time for a single breath before TJ reached her and wrapped her in a fierce hug. "Good job, Cass," he whispered, and she smiled.

"I couldn't have done it without all of you," she assured him, hugging back. "Thanks for backing me up out there."

"That's what teams are for," he said, letting her go and clapping her shoulder affectionately. "So, are you ready for some serious shut-eye, or what?"

Cassie shook her head. "There's someone I want to check on first."

Something flashed across TJ's face, an inexplicable sadness that she'd never seen before. "I thought you might," he said. The look was gone as quickly as it had come, and she dismissed it as her imagination.

"Just remember to go to bed afterwards," he added, smiling, and she nodded.

"Good night, TJ," she said, her mind racing ahead to Phantom.

"Oh--" About to leave, he paused. "I almost forgot." TJ held something up, and she caught the glint of metal when he flipped it through the air in her direction.

She caught it instinctively, and stared at the little data disk in fascination. "What is it?"

"Listen and find out," he suggested over his shoulder, as he sauntered off. "See you in the morning, Cassie."

"See you then," she agreed, still puzzled by the disk.

Finally, she headed for the Medical bay, wondering what TJ could have given her. The lift deposited her at the end of Deck four, and she wandered down the corridor, turning the disk over in her fingers.

She came to an abrupt halt in front of the bay, only noticing then that the doors were closed. And they had not slid open at her approach, which was almost as unusual.

"DECA?" she asked. "Why are the Medical bay doors closed?"

"The Medical bay has been locked from the inside," DECA replied.

"Locked?" Cassie repeated incredulously. "By whom?"

"The Phantom Ranger set a privacy lock on the doors two point five hours ago," DECA told her.

Taken aback, she considered that. Remembering TJ's confidence that Phantom had demorphed, she assumed he had locked the doors so as to retain some measure of anonymity--but why he still wanted it, she could not fathom.

Slowly, she turned away. She could override the lock, but she couldn't bring herself to disregard his wishes to such an extent. He was here, and he was recovering. That would have to be enough for now.

Back in her room, she paused in her preparations for bed to regard the disk still clutched in her hand. Going over to her terminal, she touched the control panel beneath the computer's diskreader. It popped open, and she placed the object TJ had given her inside. The reader closed automatically, and she waited to see what would happen.

The disk was audio only, and the strains of a carelessly strummed guitar emerged from the speakers. *The cookout at the beach,* she thought, smiling as she recognized the tune--and the background noise. *He must have had a recorder going that whole time.*

Her own voice emanated from the speakers, strong and true, singing to embrace the camaraderie that had surrounded them that night and to chase away the campfire shadows. The deepening twilight had closed in, but their laughter and friendship kept it at bay.

*And we follow the stars, together and free...*

12. Morning After

Andros opened his eyes slowly, taking in the not quite familiar appearance of the bunk above him. The faintest scent of flowers registered next, and he smiled to himself. *Ashley's room.*

For some reason, the thought did not alarm him. He had half-woken several times the night before, including once when she had gotten up for some unexplained reason. He vaguely remembered curling up on the mattress when she left, and the next time he was aware, she was lying beside him again. The constant reminder of her presence as he drifted in and out of sleep had prepared him for this moment, when he would wake up next to her and face what it meant.

*I love her,* he admitted to himself, unable to keep the grin off his face as he allowed the words to solidify in his mind. There was no denying the feeling any longer--he suspected, looking back, that he had loved her for quite some time without realizing it.

Turning on his side, Andros propped himself up on one elbow and regarded her. Eyes still closed, her breathing was slow and even and her hair spilled over her pillow like a halo. He remembered the exasperation she used to instill in him, with her impulsive and sometimes reckless behavior.

*But it was always more than that,* he thought. *She scared me--every time she did something I didn't expect, every time she risked herself to save one of us, I worried that she wouldn't come back...* It wasn't so much annoyance with her naivete as it was fear for her safety--the same fear that had coursed through him yesterday when she waited in plain view of the approaching pirahnatrons in an attempt to overhear their conversation.

"Don't scare me like that," he begged her sleeping form softly, knowing it was a request she would never be able to honor. They were Rangers, after all, and her courage was the flame that kept her soul burning bright in the face of the darkness around them.

*You've shone your light into my life for so long, without compunction or question,* he thought, watching her stir a little. *And I've never thanked you for it...*

Ashley's eyelids fluttered, and she sighed as she opened them and found herself staring up at him. "Hey," she offered sleepily. "S'you again."

He raised an eyebrow. Apparently he wasn't the only one who had woken up on and off through the night. "Who else would it be?" he asked, amused.

Ashley's lips curved upward. "No one, silly." She closed her eyes as she stretched her arms over her head, and he couldn't help but notice that her tank top had come untucked in the night, and it pulled up when she moved her arms.

He looked away. Ashley often wore clothes that revealed more of her midriff than he could now see, but with their legs tangled in the blankets of her bed and their faces only centimeters away from each other, this situation was undeniably more intimate than their usual encounters.

"Sleep well?" she asked, a yawn in her voice, and he looked back to see her watching him through half-closed eyes.

He nodded, wondering if she had noticed his attention lapse. "Very," Andros assured her. "Better than I have in weeks, actually. You?"

The lights brightened suddenly, and DECA's voice intruded. "It is ten o'clock--time to get up."

"Ten o'clock?" Ashley repeated incredulously.

"It is eight hours after the last Ranger returned to the Megaship," DECA replied. "The optimum sleep cycle was observed."

"Thanks, DECA," Andros said, squinting in the light. "We'll get up in a minute." The camera blinked off, with no comment on their sleeping arrangements.

"I slept well, too," Ashley said, as though they hadn't been interrupted. "Of course," she added with a teasing smile, "if someone wasn't such a blanket hog, I wouldn't have had to get up in the middle of the night to get another one."

He grinned at her tone. "That's what you were doing... you woke me up, you know."

"Like it's my fault that you have issues with sharing," she retorted, playfully slapping the hand closest to her.

Instead of moving his hand, he caught hers and twined their fingers together. Gazing at her over their joined hands, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it.

She didn't move for a moment, staring at him with her mouth slightly open. Then she rallied, pushing his shoulder with her free hand and giggling when he lost his balance and rolled onto his back.

"You're just trying to make me forget about the blanket thing," Ashley said, a grin in her voice as she snatched her hand away from him. "One good turn deserves another... tickle fight!" she exclaimed, sitting up and ducking just in time to avoid hitting the top bunk.

That didn't sound good, but before he could ask, she gave him an evil look and wiggled her fingers in his direction menacingly. Andros gasped in surprise when she lunged forward and grabbed him, running her fingers up and down his sides. He couldn't help the laughter that escaped--it had been years since anyone had tickled him, and he'd forgotten how distracting it was.

He doubled over, pushing ineffectually at her hands and laughing uncontrollably. She showed no sign of stopping, and he was rapidly running out of breath--

He managed to catch one of her hands, pulling hard enough to make her collapse beside him. Rolling on top of her, Andros attacked her as she had done to him, and had the satisfaction of seeing her burst into giggles.

"Andros," she panted between explosions of laughter, "you're evil!"

"I'm evil?" he exclaimed, tickling harder. She squirmed, and he felt his fingers slip under her shirt. The strangest feeling ran through him, but she didn't stop laughing. "I'm not the one who started this," he reminded her, trying to ignore the soft feel of her skin and get his hands back to a more appropriate place.

Giggling, Ashley curled around his arms, effectively trapping him. "Mercy!" she cried, barely able to get the word out through her laughter.

"No mercy for you," he mock-growled, trying to keep up the pretense of the game lest she realize the predicament they were now in. He did let up a little, though, in case she meant it, and that was his mistake.

Ashley got her laughter under control long enough to glare at him indignantly. "I'll show you 'no mercy'!"

Abandoning her efforts to control his attack, she reached up and buried her fingers in his hair, drawing him close and kissing him hard. Heart already racing from their mock-battle, Andros forgot everything else and lost himself in the feel of her lips on his.

She didn't let up when his tickling ceased, and he found himself pressing closer, returning her spontaneous kiss with a seriousness he had not intended. Surprised at his own reaction, he broke away, staring down at her as she opened her eyes.

"Not fair," he whispered breathlessly. "You fight dirty."

"Me?" she squeaked, making no attempt to move away. "'Mercy' means 'stop', remember? You broke the rules first!"

Pulse still racing, he gazed at her face, barely registering her words. Cheeks flushed, her brown eyes sparkled at him in the artificial lighting of the room, and he didn't realize she was waiting for an answer until a hint of worry crept into her expression.

"Andros?" she asked tentatively. "I'm sorry... was that too much?"

"What?" He gave her a startled look. "No," he assured her, when he realized what she meant. "No, I--" Andros blushed. "I liked it."

Shifting to one side, he leaned on his elbow and watched her smile. When she was happy, it had a way of spreading from her mouth up into her eyes, and there was no expression he liked to see on her more.

"You look just like you did when I woke up," she observed quietly, studying his face, and he realized he had been smiling back at her. "What are you thinking about?"

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Could he tell really her? "Just that--" *I love you,* he thought, feeling his smile growing into a grin but powerless to stop it. "I can't believe how lucky I am," he said at last.

They weren't the words he wanted to say, but they were ones that he had said before in some form or other, and he knew she wouldn’t laugh at them. He had dreamed yesterday, while they were on the escape pod, that she had called him "love"... coming from her, it had been the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. But it was only a dream, and he wasn’t sure he could bare his heart to her completely without knowing for certain how she felt.

"Me too," she sighed, her eyes not leaving his. "Do you realize how close we came to never meeting each other at all?"

He tried not to shiver at the thought, but the air seemed suddenly chilly against his bare arms. "I guess I owe DECA. A lot."

She must have seen him tremble, because she flipped her own blanket over his shoulders. "Why DECA?"

He freed his arm, letting it rest on top of the blanket and completely negating her purpose in putting it where it was. She made a face at him, and he shrugged self-consciously. "DECA is the one who brought your shuttle on board. I wasn't here--she made that decision on her own. And she and Alpha were the ones who convinced me to turn around after I dropped you guys off on..."

Andros swallowed, unable to finish the sentence. "I came so close to giving up the best thing that ever happened to me."

"You're not the only one," Ashley said softly. She slid her arm underneath her and pushed herself up onto one elbow, mirroring his position. "After the Power Chamber was destroyed on Earth? I almost didn't go into space with the others."

"Why not?" he asked, hearing the sorrow in her voice.

She looked down. "We had always been invincible--I never thought our team could be defeated. When the megazords fell, it was like a nightmare. But we had always survived before, and we kept going by never thinking farther ahead than the next minute or so.

"Then, in the Power Chamber..." She took a deep breath, obviously reliving traumatic memories. "The pirahnatrons got into our supposedly impenetrable fortress, and there was nothing we could do except barricade ourselves in the command center and wait for them to come. TJ never seemed to give up, and Justin held together pretty well--but Carlos was scared, and that scared me. Cassie and I just held onto each other, until the doors started to bend inward--we got ready for a last stand, and then the ceiling collapsed..."

Andros had never heard the whole story behind their flight into space, and he listened in horrified fascination. Ashley took a shaky breath, and he saw a tear escape. Without a second thought, he reached out and wiped it away.

She leaned her head against his hand briefly, and he stroked her cheek, waiting to see if she would to continue. "The Power Chamber was blown to pieces," she said at last, and another tear fled down her face. "We survived the explosion, but our powers were gone, and Divatox would have hunted us down if not for Dark Spectre calling her off at the last minute to attend his gathering of evil.

"I don't think I ever realized how real a possibility death was until that day," Ashley said, staring into his eyes. "We'd been in trouble before, and just as close to never coming back from a fight, but it was never so real as it was during our last battle as the Turbo Rangers."

Pushing himself into a sitting position, he regarded her impatiently. "Sit up," he requested, and she gave him an questioning look that was spoiled only by her sniffle.

"I can't hug you lying down," he explained. She let out her breath in a half-chuckle, brushing another tear away as she complied.

He enfolded her in his arms, closing his eyes as she relaxed against him. After a moment, he asked quietly, "What made you change your mind? About going into space, I mean?"

"They were going," she said simply. "My best friends in the world, my family for more than a year, the people I would've given my life for if I had to--they were going into space, and I couldn't let them go without me." Taking a deep breath, she added, "I sometimes wonder if Justin wasn't the most courageous of all of us, staying behind like that... Without the team, I wouldn't have known who I was anymore."

Pulling back to look at him, Ashley said seriously, "There were all the noble reasons for leaving earth; all the things I tell myself at night--and then there was the simple fact that I didn’t want to be alone. I couldn't stand the thought of staring up at the stars every night and wondering about them."

"That's called loyalty, Ash," he told her gently. "There's nothing wrong with it. Most people consider it a good trait, in fact."

"It was selfishness," she whispered.

Andros let his breath out all at once, giving her a wry smile. "And what I did wasn't? leaving you guys with the shuttle to be captured by Astronema, just because I thought I could do a better job of finding Zordon on my own?"

"Big help we've been," Ashley muttered.

"Hey," Andros said, alarmed by the derision in her voice. Tapping her chin, he forced her to look up. "We've survived, against incredible odds. We've stuck together. And we've done a lot of good as Astro Rangers. That's something that can never be diminished."

She searched his expression for a moment, and a smile started to creep over her face. "You just said, 'we've stuck together.' The team is important to you too, isn't it?"

"It didn't used to be," he admitted. "But now? Yeah. You guys are the best friends I've had in a long time--maybe ever. I can't imagine the Megaship empty again."

"It won't be," she promised, drawing him into another hug. "You're right: we haven't done what we set out to do--yet--but we *have* made a difference, and we're all still together. The Megaship will never be empty so long as we're around."

"That's what matters," Andros murmured into her hair, and she nodded.

That sat and held each other in silence for a few moments, until he felt Ashley start to giggle. "What is it?" he whispered curiously, and her amusement only seemed to increase.

"It can be sort of inconvenient sometimes, though," she managed to say, but the words didn’t increase his comprehension to any significant degree.

Settling back to look him in the eye, she cocked her head at him, laughter glittering in her eyes. "Think of what the others will say, if they find out we--" she stumbled a little, but continued without too much stuttering, "spent the night together, here. We'll never hear the end of it..."

She dissolved into giggles again at the expression on his face. "Especially after last night," she added, between breaths.

He remembered the conversation on the Bridge all too well, despite the fact that he had tried to stay out of it as much as possible. He had assumed that denying Carlos' implications would only add credibility to them, and frankly, he had been too tired to care much at the time.

With a sigh, Andros offered, "I guess that means I should go, huh?"

The laughter faded from Ashley's expression, and she reached out to lay her hand alongside his face. "I guess," she agreed reluctantly. "If we’re both late to breakfast, we’ll probably get some strange looks..."

As if on cue, Andros' stomach rumbled threateningly. "Normally, that wouldn't stop me from enjoying your company for as long as you'd have me," he said ruefully, and smiled when she chimed in with a cheerful "forever!"

"But," he continued, swinging his legs over the side of her bunk, "I think my stomach is going to rebel if I don't get something into it soon. And you're probably just as hungry."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "I wasn't, until you said that. Thanks a lot."

His smile widened, and he stood, extending a hand to help her to her feet. She joined him, and they walked slowly toward the door. It opened for them, and he hesitated in the doorway, not sure what to say.

Ashley paused as well, brushing her hair out of her face. "Not exactly an average date," she suggested with a smile.

"No," Andros agreed, watching her hair tumble back toward her face as soon as her fingers released it. "It was better."

He was rewarded with that brilliant smile of hers, a look of delight that reminded him of a rainbow he had seen when he was much younger--a luminescent splash of color against the sunstreaked sky, glistening high over land so recently soaked by rain.

"See you at breakfast," Ashley said softly, and he nodded.

Andros headed down the corridor, trying not to look over his shoulder. When he reached his door, though, the temptation was too great, and he looked back. She was still standing there, a knowing smile on her face as she waved.

At the other end of the hallway, Andros disappeared into his room. Closer, Ashley's door slid shut as well, and Carlos let out a sigh of relief. He gave himself to the count of ten before he poked his head out into the hall again, and found it clear. Stepping quietly into the corridor, he released his door, letting it slide shut just as TJ strode out of his own room.

Carlos stopped, realizing even as he did so that that was more incriminating than anything. If he had just kept walking, no one would have been the wiser--so it made him feel better when TJ's confident saunter halted abruptly as soon as he caught sight of Carlos.

"Did you--?" Carlos cocked his head toward the now-closed door from which both their friends had emerged, pitching his voice low enough that the sound shouldn't carry beyond the immediate hallway.

"See that?" TJ finished for him, his tone equally quiet. "Yeah. What's going on with them?"

Carlos shrugged. "You think I know? I haven't had time to talk to Ashley in days." *She’s always with Andros,* he added silently, but did not say as much.

He and TJ just looked at each other for a moment. "It could be completely innocent," TJ offered at last.

Carlos opened his mouth, then stopped himself, suspecting that TJ had been witness to far less of the encounter than he had. Carlos had stepped into the hallway just as Ashley's door opened, and he had almost called out to her before he saw Andros pause in her doorway--on his way out. They hadn't seemed to notice him, and Carlos had ducked back into his room without a word, catching the door so the noise of it sliding shut wouldn't alert them.

Unfortunately, his stealth had made him an unwitting eavesdropper on their ensuing conversation. And the words they had exchanged convinced him that "innocent" was not the appropriate term.

TJ must have seen some of that uncertainty on his face, for he pointed out, "And I suppose it's not really any of our business."

"Who else is there?" Carlos objected, staring worriedly down the hall.

TJ frowned. "What do you mean?"

"On earth, she'd have her brother to watch out for her," Carlos said. "Or at least her parents. Out here, who do we have other than each other to look out for us?"

TJ looked over his shoulder, as though he expected Andros or Ashley to be sneaking up on them while they spoke. "Let's get going before one of the others comes out and wants to know what we're talking about, all right?"

Carlos nodded, and they made their way down the corridor. Neither said another word until they were in the lift and on their way. As soon as the doors closed, though, TJ turned to him and said, "Let me get this straight. You think Ashley needs someone to keep her out of trouble?"

"Not exactly," Carlos protested, but TJ shook his head.

"Carlos, she's almost a legal adult, and she's lived through more in the last few years than most people do in a lifetime. I think she can take care of herself."

"I know she can," Carlos told him. "I just mean that sometimes we need our friends to tell us when we're making a mistake."

He knew he'd worded that wrong when TJ's frown deepened. "No offense, man, but maybe you're a little too close to the situation. Ash and Andros can make their own decisions--it's not up to us to tell them what we think they should or shouldn't do."

Carlos took a deep breath, letting TJ exit first as the lift doors opened. "It's not that," he told the other, as they headed for the Glider holding bay. "I'm happy for both of them--I just don't want Ashley to get hurt. That's all."

TJ shot him a considering look. "You can't really think that Andros would do anything to hurt her."

"Not intentionally," Carlos allowed. Inside the holding bay, he waited while TJ pulled a plate out of the Synthetron. "But I don't want to see her rushed into things she's not ready for, either."

"By Andros?" TJ asked incredulously.

"Look, Teej," Carlos said, not sure whether to be annoyed or amused, "Ashley is the closest thing I have to a sister, and her brother isn't here. It's practically my job to be suspicious of her boyfriend--I'm just trying to protect her. You'd do the same thing for Cassie."

Removing his own breakfast from the Synthetron, Carlos didn’t see the pensive look that crossed TJ's face. "Point," TJ agreed at last, as Carlos joined him at the table. "All right; I can see that. Just remember that in the end, it is her decision."

"What's whose decision?" Andros asked, walking into the bay.

Carlos and TJ exchanged glances. Carlos shook his head once, and TJ straightened uncomfortably. "Cassie's decision," he supplied, "whether she comes to breakfast or not."

"Yeah," Carlos chimed in, and Andros gave them a strange look.

"Why wouldn't she?" he wanted to know, punching buttons on the Synthetron.

"Well..." Carlos shrugged, knowing how obvious they sounded but equally aware that they couldn't tell Andros they'd been talking about him behind his back, either. "You know how worried she's been about Phantom."

TJ gave him a look that plainly said, "That was weak" but he ignored it. Luckily, Andros seemed distracted as he came to sit down. "How is Phantom?" he wanted to know. "What exactly happened to you guys, anyway?"

"Hey," Ashley's voice interjected from the doorway. "Don't start this story without me."

Carlos looked up in time to see Ashley and Cassie wander into the room. His wasn't the only eye drawn to them, either; he saw Andros' gaze snap across the room as soon as Ashley spoke.

"Hey, Ash, Cassie," Carlos said, and TJ greeted them as well. Andros nodded in their direction, but Carlos didn't miss the slight smile Ashley gave him.

"Morning," Cassie replied to the room at large, lounging against the wall while Ashley got something to eat from the Synthetron. "You wouldn't believe how hungry I am right now."

"Me too!" Ashley seconded, heading over to the table. "I am so ready for breakfast." Carlos watched her claim the seat across from Andros, and noted with interest the smiles the two exchanged as she sat down.

As soon as Cassie had joined them, and before anyone could launch into a tale of yesterday's adventures, TJ lifted his glass. "Everyone, before I forget--a toast. To us, and to being together again."

Carlos raised his own glass, and saw Cassie nod vehemently. "To being together," she agreed, holding up her juice.

"To us," Carlos echoed, and heard Andros and Ashley chime in. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw them clink glasses, and he smiled. Reaching over, he tapped his own glass against theirs, and Ashley laughed at him. Cassie joined in, and at the end of the table, TJ stood up with a grin and leaned across everyone's plates to make the group complete.

"Not exactly back in time for lunch," Carlos said wryly, remembering Ashley's comment the morning before, and she laughed again, setting her glass down and giving him a friendly shove.

"But back just the same," Cassie answered with a smile, "and that's what counts."

"That and breakfast," TJ added, putting his glass down and diving into his food.

Andros snorted. "At least you got dinner last night," he pointed out, picking up his fork.

"And lunch," Ashley reminded them, between bites of her muffin.

"What, are you going to fine us two meals?" Carlos kidded.

TJ shot him a mock-glare over the rim of his glass. "Don't give them any ideas."

The conversation lapsed as they all concentrated on eating, but it was an amiable silence, and Carlos found himself enjoying their companionship. It wasn't often that he stopped and thought about how incredible the bond they shared actually was, but times like yesterday made him remember how much they had to be thankful for.

TJ finished eating first, and he took it upon himself to relate the happenings of the previous day. He had cause to regret it later, as everyone interrupted to tell their side as it came up, but at least the information got across.

The rest of the team cleaned their plates as the story was told, and by the end they were all ready to head to the Bridge and assess the damage Divatox's army had caused. By common consent, they would not leave the safety of the sanctuary moon until the Megaship was repaired.

"It's going to be tough to get external damage confirmed without scanners," Andros reminded them. "But we'll do what we can. Ash, why don't you get started on the starboard laser array." She gave him a quick nod, and he glanced around at the others.

"Carlos, head belowdecks and check our hull integrity. I don't trust the electronic reports from that part of the ship--shielding is lower there, and with this damping field around us..." He trailed off, but no one needed him to elaborate.

"TJ, Cassie, see what you can do in the engine room." Andros looked down at the datapad in his hand. "I'm going to try and locate the gateway that's supposed to be lurking around this asteroid."

Ashley didn't head for the lift right away, and Carlos paused next to it. TJ and Cassie entered, and TJ held the door, looking at him questioningly. Carlos gave a slight shake of his head, and TJ let the door slide shut.

"What was that about?" Cassie asked, as the lift hummed down to deck six.

He hesitated. "I think Carlos just wanted to talk to Ashley about something."

Her curious look increased in intensity. "Teej, you know something."

"Why do you assume I know?" he exclaimed as the lift halted and the doors slid open. "It's none of my business!"

Cassie's eyes narrowed. "What's none of your business?"

He sighed, giving up. "Carlos and I saw Andros leaving Ashley's room this morning. Early this morning," he added, and he saw comprehension dawn in her expression.

When she didn't have a reply, he stepped out of the lift, and they walked, still silent, toward the engine room. He glanced over at her as they entered, but a thoughtful look was the only indication that she was considering what he had said.

Cassie paused just inside the door, folding her arms, and he waited for her to speak. At last, she inquired, "So what's Carlos' problem? They're old enough to make their own decisions."

TJ shrugged. "He thinks Ashley needs someone watching out for her. I think he wants to make sure she's not being pressured into anything."

"By Andros?" Cassie exclaimed, and TJ couldn't keep a grin off his face.

"That was my reaction, too," he assured her, leaning against one of the cargo crates. "But you know how impossible it is to talk Carlos out of something once he's set his mind to it."

Cassie nodded absently. After a moment, she asked, "Teej? What do you think?"

He looked at her in surprise. "I thought you said they were old enough to make their own decisions."

"That doesn't mean I think they're making the right decision," she answered slowly. "I just--don't know."

"You don't have to," he reminded her. Then a thought occurred to him, and he shot a penetrating look in her direction. "You don't--do you?"

She looked up, meeting his gaze with a frown. "What?" Her expression cleared seconds later, and she shook her head as she realized what he was asking. "No, I don't. I was just wondering."

TJ sighed, shifting his weight against the crates. "Mostly, I think it's up to them. It's not my place to tell anyone how to live their life--I'm not them; I can't know what they know or how they feel."

She nodded, but he knew he hadn't really answered the question. She had asked for his opinion. "Personally?" he said quietly, and Cassie glanced up again. "I'd wait. Again, maybe I'm not one to talk, but I believe that feelings like love take time, trust, and a lot of talking things out. I don't believe sex is something you do with someone you don't love, so I don't think it's something anyone should rush into."

Cassie regarded him with the same thoughtful expression she'd had earlier, and he smiled, a little self-consciously. "Did that help any?"

She nodded again. "Yeah, I think it did." She smiled back at him. "Thanks."

"No problem," he responded, straightening. "But--" he pointed his index finger at her. "Don't tell Ashley we saw her and Andros this morning, okay? If they had wanted anyone to know, they wouldn't have come to breakfast separately."

She drew an X over her heart. "Promise," she told him solemnly. "Let's get to work."

They split up the diagnostics and started walking around the room in opposite directions. Nothing more was said about their two friends, and TJ let the readout on his datapad take over most of his conscious thought.

There was surprisingly little damage, and after a while, he called over his shoulder, "You did a great job yesterday, Cassie. I think it was because of you that we still had hyperrush velocity when we headed for the sanctuary moon."

There was no answer, and he turned around to seek her out. His eye finally caught her, on the other side of the room, almost hidden by the main engine core. She held her own datapad in front of her, but her head was tilted to one side at such an angle that she couldn't possibly be reading off of it.

"Cassie?" TJ asked, making his way over to her. "Cass, are you okay?"

She looked up suddenly at his approach, and he saw her eyes focus on him from somewhere far away. "Yeah," she said, giving her head a shake. "I was just..."

"Daydreaming?" he suggested, smiling to show he was just teasing.

Her return smile was weak, and his heart went out to her. "Cass--if you want to go up to the Medical bay, I'll cover for you here. There isn't as much damage as we expected; I think I can take care of this place."

He could see the struggle inside her. She wanted to go, but at the same time, it went against everything they'd trained for to just take off in the middle of repair work. "It's okay," he promised. "I'll let you know if I need any help."

"Oh, Teej," she said at last. Her eyes sparkled hopefully at him. "Would you, really?"

"Of course," he said, squeezing her shoulder. "Go see if Phantom's doing any better."

"Thanks so much," she said, and he could tell she meant it. "I owe you one, TJ."

His shook his head. "You don't owe me a thing--that's what friends are all about. Now get out of here before I change my mind," he told her threateningly, and she wrinkled her nose at him.

Tossing her datapad on a console, Cassie scrambled for the door. "Thank you!" she called again, waving from the doorway.

He waved back, and she disappeared down the hall. He wouldn't see her for the rest of the morning.

He did see Ashley, though--she came down more than an hour after Cassie left, wiping soot from her fingers. *Ashley is the only person I know who can get soot on her no matter what she's welding,* TJ thought, amused at her appearance.

"Hey, TJ," she said, sitting on one of the crates stacked against the wall and bracing her elbows on her knees. "Can you redirect power from the starboard lasers for a while?"

"Sure," he agreed, going over to auxiliary control bank. "Why didn't you just use your communicator?"

She sighed. "The shielding's been disabled on the lower decks while Carlos patches a microfracture in the hull. The tools are okay so far, but the leakage from the damping field is wreaking havoc on my morpher."

"More sensitive electronics," TJ offered, and she nodded.

"That's what I figure. But Carlos better finish soon--I'm not sure how fast or even how far the damping field can affect our systems."

"Will it be a problem?" TJ wanted to know, alarmed at the prospect of losing internal systems as well as external.

Ashley shook her head. "Not as long as we get the shielding back up soon. Carlos knows he has a time limit; he'll let me know as soon as the shields are in place again."

Reassured, TJ turned back to the console and started rerouting power. "How long do you want the lasers offline?"

She shrugged. "Can I let you know when I'm done? I just need to test a few things."

"Sure; no problem." Diverting the required energy flows, TJ tapped his access code into the panel and to authorize the changes. While the system reconfigured, he took a moment to study her. "Ash, are you okay? You look a little tired."

She waved a hand dismissively. "I'm fine. It's probably just yesterday catching up with me."

He drew in a breath, wondering whether he would make things worse by bringing this up. "Did you... Did Carlos talk to you?"

Her head snapped up. "What do you know about that?"

"Whoa." TJ held both hands out to his sides, surprised by the suddenness of her reaction. "Nothing; I was only asking. He mentioned earlier that he wanted to talk to you about something."

To his surprise, a faint smile curved her lips. "You were the other person in the hallway this morning, weren't you."

He tried his best to feign innocence, but she hadn't really been asking a question. "Carlos slipped up," Ashley explained, her tone colored by a hint of amusement. "He said 'we' saw Andros leave--I knew it had to be either you or Cassie, but I wasn't sure which."

Lowering his hands, TJ admitted, "You got me. I apologize for spying on you; it was unintentional. I left my room just in time to see Andros standing in your doorway, and I thought it was better not to interrupt."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "That's what Carlos said too. There was nothing to interrupt! You have every right to walk down the hallway, you know, no matter who's standing in it."

"We just didn't want to embarrass you," TJ told her, and she stared at him for a moment.

Finally, she nodded, the small smile on her face once more. "I'll take that the way I think it was intended," she said at last. "And thanks, by the way, for apologizing--Carlos didn't bother, and I think he heard more than you did."

TJ raised an eyebrow. "I didn't hear anything. I came out just as Andros was leaving."

She nodded again. "Sorry for jumping on you, TJ. Leftover frustration with Carlos, I guess--he's a little overprotective. I appreciate your consideration, even if it wasn't necessary."

"Carlos meant well," TJ said, feeling the need to defend his friend. "He just doesn't want you to get hurt."

"By Andros?!" Ashley demanded. "You know as well as I do that Andros would never hurt anyone. He's not like that."

"No," TJ conceded. "But Carlos was afraid..." He trailed off, realizing suddenly that he was arguing the same things he had tried to talk his friend out of earlier.

"TJ, nothing happened," Ashley said, leaning back against the wall with a tired smile on her face. "I couldn't sleep last night, and neither could Andros, so he came to find me. We sat down together to talk, and we fell asleep. That's it."

*And Andros went back to his room to change when he woke up this morning,* TJ realized, unable to deny that he was relieved.

Ashley was watching the expression on his face. "Andros is really important to me," she told him quietly. "He's not ready for--that kind of thing. And neither am I. We're still figuring out this relationship, but I promise you, sex isn't a part of it."

TJ looked at her steadily. "It's not really any of my business either way," he told her. "But I have to say I'm glad to hear that, Ash. And I'm really happy for you," he added with a smile.

"Thanks," she replied half-heartedly, pushing herself to her feet again. "Are the lasers deactivated?"

"They're off main power," TJ confirmed, glancing down at his console. "But they still have residual energy from the last time they were used stored inside--remember to discharge it before you do anything drastic to them."

"I know that," she told him, and he frowned, watching her turn carefully toward the door.

"Hey, Ash," he called after her. "You're sure you're all right? Maybe you should take a break for a little while."

She lifted a hand to wave over her shoulder. "I'm fine, TJ. I'll let you know when I need starboard weapon systems back online."

He waved back, unable to pin down the nagging feeling of doubt he felt as he watched her leave.

13. Ghost Stories

There was one person who, on waking, had not sought out the companionship of the others. Instead of joining in either breakfast or the repair effort, Phantom had made his way to the hangar bay.

He knew he had to leave. He didn't belong on the Megaship--he was no part of the Astro team. He was no part of any team, not anymore.

At the same time, he knew he couldn't leave. As long as Cassie was here, a voice inside insisted that he belonged here as well. And over the last few days, that voice had grown too loud to ignore.

So he had come to the hangar, not to flee the other Rangers, but to seek respite from his own emotions. Before meeting her, he had not truly felt anything in years. Now his feelings seemed to intensify daily, and he had hoped the familiar sight of his starfighter would grant him some peace.

As soon as he saw his ship, though, he knew it was not to be. The fighter was not where he had left it. It was settled on the other side of the bay, and although the stabilization was correct, its alignment was slightly off--characteristic of an inexperienced pilot.

He sighed, placing one foot on the port thruster and grabbing the edge of the reinforced canopy to haul himself up. TJ had not mentioned that it was his ship Cassie had taken in search of their teammates.

Seating himself on the metallic hull, just in front of the canopy, he wondered if that made him feel better or worse about the risk she had taken. His ship was a known quantity--swift and sound, it had always served him well. Its size made it more maneuverable than most deep space ships, and the EM cloak had gotten him out of numerous scrapes.

On the other hand, the shielding, while excellent for a fighter, was nothing compared to that of the Megaship. And though a hull breach on the Megaship could be contained, such an occurrence on a fighter meant near-instant death.

Phantom closed his eyes, resisting the temptation to ask DECA, yet again, for Cassie's location. *She is here, and she if safe,* he reminded himself. *That will have to be enough.*

Try as he might, however, he couldn't make himself believe it. The words did not alleviate the sense of dread that filled him when he thought of her threading her way through a hostile army alone. Nor did they convince him that everything would work out simply because they were together again.

"Hey," a soft voice intruded.

He flinched, and his eyes flew open. Cassie stood by the nose of his fighter, gazing inscrutably up at him.

There had been a time when no one could sneak up on him, and now it had happened twice in as many days. There was no arguing that emotions dulled the senses--maybe that explained why he had been an unstoppable fighter in the years between Elisia and Earth.

"I didn't mean to startle you," she apologized. "DECA told me you were down here, and I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I am--" He caught himself just in time. "Closer to well," he finished, and was rewarded with her smile.

"I'm sorry..." She trailed off, gesturing with one hand, though whether at his ship or merely in apology, he couldn't tell. "I'm sorry I took your ship without asking--I never would have if I had had a choice, I promise you. But Ashley and Andros were getting farther away every minute we waited, and you weren't exactly in a position to grant or deny permission..."

"I could not deny you anything," he told her quietly, extending a hand to her. She took it without hesitation, stepping onto the thruster as he had done and letting him pull her the rest of the way up. "What amazes me is your ability to fly this ship at all."

Cassie settled herself beside him, pulling one knee up to her chest and wrapping her arms around it. "I've flown the Megaship before," she pointed out.

He had to smile at her complete innocence of what she had accomplished--on strength of will alone, apparently. "There is a good deal of difference between sitting at the helm of a battleship with an artificial intelligence that can run almost every system automatically, and piloting a fighter with only a navigation computer to help with calculations."

"But I had more than just the navcomp," she told him, turning her head to look at him. "I had you."

The way she said those last three words gave his heart pause, and he found himself staring at her for a long moment before he remembered to ask what she meant.

Cassie shrugged. "It must have been the link that you told me about. Somehow, I just knew how everything worked. Some of it I can put down to Megaship training, but you're right--there's no way I could have flown this ship without help."

He shook his head, baffled, and even more impressed with the courage that would drive her in the face of such an uncertain attempt. "That is not possible. You were light years from me. Empathy rarely works over such distances."

"Rarely?" she repeated. "Not never?"

Though she couldn't know it, behind his visor, her eyes had locked with his and he couldn’t tear his gaze away. He couldn't tell her that the kind of communication she was talking about happened only between lovers, and ones that had been together far longer than the two of them had, at that. But neither could he lie. "No," he admitted. "Not never."

She took a deep breath. "In that case--what were you feeling so guilty about yesterday evening?"

His eyes widened. "TJ told you?"

"What!" she exclaimed. Her eyes narrowed. "What did TJ have to do with it?"

"You did not--" He stopped. "How did you know?"

Even as he asked, he couldn't help suspecting she had just told him the answer. Her next words confirmed it: "I just knew. I felt really guilty all of a sudden, for no reason--what did TJ do?"

He could see anger in her eyes, an expression so unlike her that it gave him pause. *She automatically assumes it was TJ's fault...* He wished he didn't have to tell her how wrong she was.

"He did nothing--it was me," Phantom told her quietly. "I... have not been where I was needed."

Cassie's eyes flashed. "Did TJ tell you that? You have duties, the same as us! I can't believe he would--"

"Cassie." She cut off as soon as he said her name. "TJ was referring to--" he tried not to stumble, but he heard the hesitation in his own voice despite his efforts, "my treatment of you."

Far from quieting, she grew more indignant on his behalf. "That's none of his business! And even if it were, there's nothing about the way you’ve treated me that he should be able to guilt-trip you for!" Shaking her head, she told him, "TJ's going to hear from me, I promise you."

He looked away. "You do not believe that," he said, knowing she had every right to be upset and almost wishing she would just say so.

Cassie looked startled. "What?"

"You do not believe that I've treated you fairly, either." *And you are right,* he added silently, not knowing what else to say.

"You have duties," she repeated firmly. She let her leg slide down to rest on the hull of his ship and leaned back on her hands, not looking at him. "I understand that you can't be around every day of the week."

He closed his eyes. "I could have been around more, Cassie. I am truly sorry... I thought that you would be better off without me."

He heard her draw breath, and he shook his head. "Let me finish." Opening his eyes, he glanced over at her, steeling his heart to make her the same offer he had made TJ yesterday. "I have not been a good friend to you, let alone anything more. I--"

Phantom swallowed hard. "I will love you forever," he confessed quietly. "But I have no illusions about our relationship, or lack thereof--I could not fault you for loving another." The words caught in his throat, but he forced himself to continue. "I... I relinquish any claim I might have had on your heart... and hope that you find happiness."

He had to stop before he choked on the sentences. Cassie was staring at him, a completely unreadable expression on her face. He looked away from her again, unable to face her as he waited on her judgement.

For almost a minute, there was no sound but the hum of the air recyclers and the soft sound of her breathing. He suffered through that pause, hope fading the longer she stayed silent.

"Saryn." The combination of her voice and his name jerked his head up, but he still couldn’t meet her gaze. "You say you love me," Cassie told him, her tone as neutral as her expression. "But you're making decisions for me--I may not have your experience, but I know my own mind as well as you know yours. You have to stop thinking you can run my life and turn it into what you think it should be."

He was shocked into catching her eye. "That was never my intent--"

Her slight nod reassured him. "I didn't really think it was," she said, a sigh escaping from her lips. "But that's how it works out, when you take off for months at a time without a word. Maybe you were worried when I went out in your ship alone... but I promise you, that was nothing compared to knowing that you had left Hercuron on your own, too injured to stand, and then hearing nothing from you for months.

"It's not comforting to not know, Saryn. It's torture. I can't forget you just because I don't see you!" The heartfelt echo of his own feelings startled him as much as her repeated use of his name, and the tears shining in her eyes hurt him more than she could have guessed.

The urge to comfort her almost overcame his long-ingrained instinct to stay morphed when in company, and he felt his armor shift as he reached out to touch her face. When his gloved fingers touched her cheek, he couldn't help a frustrated sigh, feeling trapped inside his uniform for the first time.

She reached up to wrap his hand in both of hers. "Saryn, I love you..." Time slowed down as he heard those words, over and over in his mind, until he wasn't sure they were actually more than a figment of his imagination.

"It's not empathy," she was saying, unaware of the effect she had had on him. "I know what that feels like now, and I can put that out of my mind when I try. This is a part of me, and it won't go away. It's not something either of us can change--so please, stop trying."

He stared at her fingers, unquestioningly intertwined with his, then lifted his gaze to her face. "Cassie," he whispered. "Say that again."

"Stop trying?" she repeated uncertainly.

He shook his head, unable to force the words out past the lump in his throat.

A sudden, brilliant smile spread across her face. "I love you," she said quietly, laying one hand alongside his visor.

He closed his eyes, yearning to feel her soft touch on his skin. The Power within him fluctuated again, and this time, the shift was complete. Without warning, her hand was touching his face, and her fingers were warm as they wove through his.

He had to concentrate on breathing, then, as the ache in his chest returned. It was more bearable this morning, but demorphing had not been a conscious choice, and the unexpectedness of the pain bothered him more than the discomfort.

Then thoughts of the injury were gone again, and far more pleasant sensations took over as her hand moved along his jaw to cup his chin. He tried to ignore the feelings her touch sent coursing through him, the same way he ignored the pain--with far less success.

She gently tilted his head up, until he met her searching gaze. "Saryn?"

Her eyes were warm, but her voice held a hint of doubt. He almost wished he had maintained his armored form--this was not how she was used to seeing him, and it would be so easy to continue as her mysterious savior, idealized and perfect.

Easy in some ways, at least. But he was far from perfect, and Cassie didn't need a savior--she could take care of herself. And when he let himself admit it, he couldn't deny that he needed her like this...

So he tightened his fingers on hers, and made himself stare into her eyes without concealment or pretense. "Yes?" he asked hesitantly.

"I didn't ask you before," she said, uncertainty lingering in her tone, "if you--mind me calling you that?"

It was so far from what he had expected that he couldn’t help gazing at her in surprise. Was it possible that his transition from morphed to unmorphed... did not bother her?

"I do not," he said at last, almost as surprised by his answer as he was by her question. "I... I like hearing you say it."

"Don't you ever hear it from anyone else?" she asked, still tentative.

He knew that was her way of asking if he would talk about himself, and he took a deep breath. "You are the first in more than three years to use that name," he said, not sure himself how much he could tell her.

"And... everyone else?" she prompted gently, when he paused.

"Most do not know it," he said, determined not to look away. "The few who do know respect my wishes and do not speak it aloud."

He could see her fighting her curiosity, and losing. "Why?" she asked finally, then lowered her hand from his face and looked away. "I'm sorry. You don't have to tell me."

"No," he assured her, struggling to find the words. "I want you to know... I am just not sure--" He paused to swallow. "I do not know if I can talk about it."

She folded one leg underneath her and turned a little more toward him. "I'll wait," she said simply.

His hand twitched in hers, and he looked down as her thumb stroked his fingers soothingly. "I do not use the name Saryn... because there is, for me, a good deal of pain associated with it."

Cassie shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry--I didn't know. Would you rather I didn't--"

"No!" Until now, he hadn't known himself why the sound of his name, coming from her, did not disturb him.

"Please," he begged, raising his eyes to hers again, "continue to use it. Each time I hear you say it, it erases a few more of the shadows from my past." *And there are plenty there,* he added silently.

"Anything for you," she said, echoing words he had never thought to hear returned. Then she smiled, and added, "Saryn."

He tried to smile back, but he couldn't help warning her, "You might not say that, if you knew who Saryn of Elisia was." *And what fate befell his team.*

She shook her head, placing her free hand over their joined ones. "You haven't been listening," she told him softly. "I love you. I love you, no matter what you call yourself: Saryn, or Phantom, or anything in between.

"Tell me what's so terrible," she pleaded, gazing up at him. "Tell me, and I'll prove to you that it's in the past."

He stared into her compassionate brown eyes, and wanted nothing more than to accept her offer. It hurt--badly--to remember, but he needed her to know who he was if they were ever to be honest with each other.

He knew that. But seconds later, he was still regarding her, no closer to knowing what to say than he had been before. Finally, he shook his head. "I do not know where to start," he told her helplessly.

She reached out, running her fingers across his forehead and smoothing his hair away from his face. "And I don't know what questions to ask," she said, her voice soft and sympathetic.

Her caress comforted him, and he leaned into it, letting his eyes slide shut while he tried to think of some way to explain. She seemed content to wait, and he let himself enjoy the feel of her fingers as she played with his hair.

"I think," Cassie said suddenly, her tone now quietly amused, "that you should consider a haircut."

He smiled a little as her amusement washed over him. "Or," she added as an afterthought, "is that not done on Elisia?"

Her innocent question evoked more memories than he cared to admit. "Elisia was a frontier world," he replied softly, the dusty plains and unending sky of his childhood springing into sharp relief against his eyelids. "Almost everyone there was what you would call a terraformer... or the child of a terraformer. Appearances were not a source of great concern."

"'Was'?" she murmured, and he flinched.

"It was one of the first to come under the attack of Dark Spectre, when he claimed his title as Monarch of all evil three and a half years ago. He wanted to get to the heart of the League--but he had to go through us to do it."

"And he did," Cassie surmised, keeping her voice very low.

Opening his eyes at last, he pulled away to gaze, without seeing, across the barren deck of the hangar bay. "He did."

Cassie was silent for a moment. "What about your Ranger team?"

He didn't want to be short with her, but he couldn't keep the harshness out of his voice. "They were not enough."

"But--" Her immediate protest did not surprise him. She and her friends had never failed; how could they understand? "You couldn't have been alone. There must have been others who could help!"

*The enigmatic ally who shows up just when he's needed?* he wondered bitterly, but he didn't say it.

"We were not alone," he replied instead. "Elisia was a protectorate of Eltare, and help arrived within hours. But the onslaught was immense, beyond the scope of any attack in generations, and they were too late. The Rangers had been defeated."

He heard Cassie gasp, but did not look in her direction. "Entire settlements lay in ruin by the time the Eltarans arrived," he continued, fighting to keep the images of destruction from taking over his sight. "Without the Rangers to rally them, the people were unorganized and dispirited. But they managed to hold out, somehow, and the combined strength of Eltare, Elisia, and several other frontier worlds was enough to drive Dark Spectre’s forces back."

"And--" Cassie hesitated, as though she didn't really want to ask, but had to. "The Rangers? Did they--were they... killed?"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "All but one."

Her sharp intake of breath reached him over the sudden ringing in his ears as he tried to shut out the horrors of that day. "The Red Ranger," he muttered. "Their leader... the one who was supposed to guide them and defend them with his life--he survived."

Cassie drew their joined hands closer to her, as though she could shelter him from the memories that haunted him. "It wasn't his fault," she said softly.

"It was," he insisted, staring at the spartan deck and seeing wreckage and debris, flames leaping to consume the wind... "He should have been able to save them. They were his team, his life..."

He couldn't continue. He had never given grief free reign, and he was not about to start now. *Another place,* he reminded himself, *another time. It is not now; it has no sway over me...*

As often as he had repeated those words to himself, they had never fully banished the memories. The ghosts of long-dead friends always returned to haunt him in the night, when his defenses were down and were no duties to take his mind from their loss.

Cassie put her other hand on his arm. "Saryn," she whispered, and the single word brought the tears he had never shed to his eyes.

Wrenching his arm away, he turned his head further to hide his expression from her. "Saryn was an inexperienced idealist," he said roughly. "A ‘rising star in frontier politics’, they said. Trained in the ancient way of the warrior, with a natural knack for diplomacy--a wonderful contradiction, caught everyone's attention and surprised no one when he was asked to join his homeworld's Ranger team..."

The words spilled out of him, uncontrollable and unstoppable, and to his horror, he felt a tear slide down his cheek. Cassie's hand was back on his arm, and he knew she had noticed the tremor in his voice. He didn't resist when she scooted closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulders but saying nothing to interrupt.

"I--Saryn led them, for two years," he whispered, staring out at the bay and back into the past. "They grew close, as every team does, became a unit, a family--invincible. No one could defeat them, and their leader's name became known for his tactical skills, as well as his insight into government.

"Then Dark Spectre came." He had no idea why he was telling her this; it was far more than she had asked for, but he couldn't seem to stop. "The Rangers fought as they always did--valiantly, together, and until the end... only this time, it was their end."

He choked on the words, and another tear slipped past his tightly controlled guard. It landed on her fingers as she reached around to turn his head back toward her. Ashamed though he was to be falling apart like this, he let her do it, unable to refuse what comfort she offered.

"The Blue Ranger fell first," he said, voice hoarse and hands shaking as he remembered the explosion that had destroyed any hope of seeing his best friend again. He had never been so full of rage... striking out in blind fury was no way to keep yourself alive, but he had managed to take a good number of them down with him before--

His voice dropped to near-inaudibility as he admitted, "The Red Ranger was next."

Running her fingers gently across his face, she wiped another tear away. He realized distantly that her arm was still draped over his shoulder, even though she was now facing him, and their position was inarguably compromising should anyone happen to come looking for them. But her support was all he had--he didn't know what he would do if she turned away from him after this story.

"I didn't die," he whispered, staring into her eyes but unable to interpret what he saw there. "They knew it--it would have been better for them if I had."

She shook her head, slowly, as though addressing a small child. "That isn't true," she murmured. "You know it's not true."

"But it is," he answered, his gaze shifting to a point past her left shoulder, and from there, three and a half years into the past and more. "I'm told Jenna fell defending me... She died for the chance that I could recover from my wounds and live again--"

He broke off, the words strangled in his throat as an image of a sprightly girl invaded his sight, blonde hair flying and pink bandana tied around her wrist as she ran through the swinging double doors, late for practice again...

"She's gone," he said hopelessly, refocusing on the face in front of him and ignoring the tears that now streamed freely down his face. "They were all gone when I woke up. And there was nothing I could do..."

"Shh," Cassie whispered, her own eyes shining with unshed tears. She put a hand on his other