Getting captured had been easy. It was what followed that she was trying not to think about. It turned out that the hardest part of being behind enemy lines was not thinking, not anticipating. She was still whole, healthy, and not in immediate physical danger. She tried to focus only on that, and forget wondering what might come next.

Someone had to go. They all agreed on that. Who it should be, though, was a matter that refused to be settled no matter how long they discussed, argued, actively insulted and hurt each other in an effort to cover their fear of separation. In this war, everyone knew that each night, each hug, each glance across the zord bay could be their last. It was one thing to live with danger. It was quite another to send one of their own on what was little more than a suicide mission.

Andros was convinced he was the best choice. He was her brother, he should be the one to try and reason with her. There was a certain reluctant logic to it, but he was also the one they could least afford to lose. The leader of the Rangers couldn't go. He refused to admit it, but they all knew it was true.

In his place, TJ wanted to be the one that went. He had all the qualifications for a solo operation, if not the familial connection that might or might not make a single bit of difference. But he had no personal stake in the mission, and though he had conviction in spades, he had more challenge than compassion in his attitude. It wouldn't even get him an audience, let alone the chance to reverse months, possibly years of brainwashing.

Zhane had a personal stake, compassion, and the connection that TJ lacked. He didn't have the same training, but he had bizarre luck and an unmeasurable yet undeniable charm that had been known to work miracles in the past. And he was expendable where Andros was not--to the war effort if not to the team.

Unfortunately, weighing people solely in terms of their contribution to "the war effort" was doomed to fail, and that was why she had taken matters into her own hands. Zhane might not have the skills or leadership to make him an irreplaceable fighter, but the way he held the team together couldn't be duplicated. He kept people hoping, dreaming, believing in a day when it would all be over, and without that...

Without Zhane, Andros would falter and freeze, his humanity sacrificed to a bitter need for vengeance that might or might not be enough to get them through the war alive. Without Zhane, morale would plummet and the faith he had inspired in them that they might see the other side would waver. Without Zhane, the Astro team would break--again--and this time they might not be able to fix it.

Neither Zhane nor Andros would ever allow the other to go, and the truth was that the team couldn't afford to lose either of them. So she stole Andros' locket, abandoned her zord, her morpher, and her uniform, and took the fastest starfighter she knew how to fly. She headed for the Megaship's most recent and nearly final destination: the Dark Fortress.

Getting captured had been easy. It was what followed that she was trying not to think about.

"I don't have time for this," she snapped. "Bartok is in charge of the prisoners. Let him deal with it."

"My princess." Ecliptor refused to leave, and she couldn't exactly have her bodyguard throw himself out. "This was taken from the female we apprehended earlier."

"So?" She barely glanced at it, but the piece of jewelry caught her eye and she took a second look. "Give me that," she ordered, snatching it out of his hand before he could comply.

It was a superficial duplicate of the pendant she wore, from the shape and size to the inset on the front. She narrowed her eyes, wondering who would have the audacity to flaunt something like this. When she tracked the jeweler down--and she would track him down--she would make sure he understood the magnitude of his mistake.

"It is a functional replica as well as a visual one," Ecliptor remarked, watching her study the pendant.

She looked at him sharply, but his face betrayed nothing. It never did. She glanced down again, finding the catch easily and experiencing an odd queasiness as she flipped the locket open. Two undeniably familiar pictures stared up at her.

Her hand went to the locket around her neck, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the one in her hand. It wasn't possible. No one but Ecliptor knew what her necklace contained. No one else even knew that it could be opened, let alone the details of the images inside.

She lifted her gaze to Ecliptor at last, masking any expression with the harshness of her tone. "You said the captive was female?"

He nodded once. "She told Bartok it belonged to you," he told her. "That you were expecting it."

She smiled thinly. That, she had no doubt, was the only reason Ecliptor had seen it at all. Fear of her wrath had kept Bartok from claiming the bauble as his own, all spoils to the victor--the prisoner, whoever she was, knew the rules of war as well as her captor.

"Where was she taken?" Astronema asked, wrapping the chain around her fingers idly. "What do we know about her?"

She could have watched the video feed over a monitor in the comfort of her own rooms. The camera didn't capture everything, however, and she wanted everything this particular prisoner might give away. So she waited just beyond the mirrors, watching, listening--and wondering, deep in the privacy of her own thoughts.

"We have no record of a smuggler by the name of Aisling," Ecliptor was saying. That was no surprise. Even if it was an identity she'd ever used before, she wouldn't give it out if it had an incriminating record.

The woman tossed her head, and Astronema narrowed her eyes. Her unkempt hair was cropped short, but the gesture was unmistakably that of a person with something to toss. "I don't get caught," she informed Ecliptor.

"Yet here you are," Ecliptor observed. "With no cargo and an Alliance starfighter."

Stolen. It was the most likely explanation.

"I stole it," the woman said defiantly, and Astronema frowned. Not stolen, then. A thief good enough to flaunt it knew better. If "Aisling" had never been caught then she was either good enough--or hiding something more important.

"You already have my cargo," she added, apparently unconcerned. "I assume that's why I'm here. I thought Bartok was awfully nice to me earlier."

She was bruised and limping, a condition Astronema doubted she had been in when she arrived. If that was her definition of "nice", then maybe she had done this before. A smuggler good enough to have earned or even stolen an Alliance starfighter would have been in worse places. Everyone got caught at some point.

"You're here because you haven't given me a reason to kill you yet," Ecliptor told her dispassionately. "That could change at any moment."

"Don't waste my time," she scoffed. "I'm no threat, and you have better things to do. I delivered what I came to deliver. Now let me go."

Astronema frowned. She obviously didn't anticipate being allowed to leave, not if she knew she was being interrogated because of her "cargo". So why was she here? She couldn't be just a hired runner: no one paid that much.

"Very well." Ecliptor's agreement startled her as much as anything the woman had said. "We will confiscate your ship and release you at our earliest convenience."

"She's lying," Ecliptor observed.

"Of course she's lying," Astronema hissed. Her wrath staff coalesced out of nothingness and her fingers clenched around it in exasperation. "She hasn't given a single true answer! Why did you tell her she was going to be released?!"

Ecliptor didn't even flinch, which was one of the reasons he was her bodyguard. Those that couldn't be intimidated had to be recruited. "Aisling has no personal stake in that necklace," he said with certainty. "But she owes someone who does."

Intrigued, she considered that idea. That would explain at least one aspect of the smuggler's presence. It didn't explain what her presence was supposed to accomplish or why it was worth risking imprisonment or even death. Nonetheless, she allowed Ecliptor to continue with his speculation.

"Whether she owes her life, her allegiance, or merely her affection, the person who sent her will no doubt go to lengths to retrieve her. That person is the one you want. Not her."

"And you would have her followed," Astronema mused. "Without her ship, she'll be harder to track."

"She can not expect to go free without consequences," Ecliptor pointed out. "We must confiscate her ship in order to avoid arousing suspicion. We may root out some of her other contacts in the process."

"True..." She couldn't explain her sudden reluctance, but she couldn't afford to have Ecliptor see it, either. "Do it, then. Just be certain you don't lose her," she added, glowering at him for emphasis.

"Of course, my princess." He inclined his head, unfazed by her warning. "It will be as you wish."

As easily as that, he made it sound as though it had been her idea all along. She had to be careful of that. So far, Ecliptor's unswerving loyalty had ensured that his cunning and intelligence were used only to her advantage. But no one was loyal without gain forever, and his would be a formidable enmity.

He turned his back on her when she dismissed him, and she watched him leave with narrowed eyes. She hadn't mentioned the locket and he neither had he. But she had to wonder if she really wanted someone as difficult to dispose of as he was in charge of the investigation. She knew nothing of her past but what was contained in those images, and it would be safer to let it stay that way.

Safer... but no more satisfying. She let go of her wrath staff and headed determinedly for the door. Unless she wanted Ecliptor to have something he could use against her, she would just have to get the information first.

"Kerone!" Aisling was on her feet before she'd even closed the door. "Are you all right?"

Kerone? She had changed her appearance to match the one in her locket, and it seemed the gamble had paid off. It also seemed that Ecliptor had been wrong when he said that Aisling had no personal connection to those images--she clearly recognized this one.

"Kerone, what's going on?" Aisling was asking. "What are you doing here? Your teammates think you're dead!"

"Shh," Astronema hissed, glancing over her shoulder apprehensively. Teammates? "There's a guard outside the door."

"Well, if I thought you were the princess of evil, I'd be standing guard too," Aisling said wryly. She did lower her voice, though, and she seemed to be studying Astronema's appearance a little too closely.

Astronema returned her stare, wondering what the appropriate response was. She had no idea how to carry off this charade, but at least she hadn't had to prove she was who she appeared to be. Aisling just took that for granted. Illusion was a powerful thing.

"I'm sorry," Aisling said abruptly, a smile lighting her tired face. "You have no idea who I am, do you. I've heard so much about you that I just forget."

Astronema shook her head, relieved that she wasn't supposed to know this person. That was an unexpected gift. If that was the case, it was possible that just keeping her mouth shut would get her as much information as anything she could ask.

"My name is Ashley," the woman said, her voice quietly urgent. "Your brother sent me. You got his locket, right?"

She held up the locket without a word. Brother? That had to be his picture in the locket, then. But why had he sent Ais--Ashley instead of coming himself? Who was he? Who was she?

"Good." Ashley smiled again. "He and Zhane are worried sick. They thought you were dead for the longest time... how did you end up here? Are you all right?"

Astronema opened her mouth, not sure how she would answer before the words were actually being spoken. "I don't remember," she admitted, searching Ashley's expression for some sign that she hadn't said the wrong thing. "I--I don't remember anything."

Why had she said that? The woman acted like she knew her, and suddenly she was confessing her most closely guarded secret? Astronema had no past: it wasn't uncommon in the monarchy, where power gave you any identity you could enforce. In her case, though, it was truer than anyone knew.

"You don't remember how you got here?" Ashley's eyes were wide, and there was something... innocent, about her expression. "Do you know what happened to your team?"

"You don't understand," she said, unable to conceal her irritation. She shouldn't be saying this, but after all, Ashley was a prisoner. No one would notice if she disappeared. "I don't remember anything. Nothing. No one. The only reason I recognized the locket was because I have one just like it!"

This time, Ashley was the one to shush her, and the novelty of it took her by surprise. Staring at the woman in consternation, she wondered who Ashley was to shush the princess of evil. Or maybe she ought to wonder who Kerone was, that she would take it.

She wasn't sure she liked this Kerone person much, after all.

"Sorry," Ashley whispered, obviously catching her expression. "You said there are guards outside?"

"Yes." The admission was grudging, and she only gave it because she didn't want to sacrifice Ashley's goodwill so quickly. She was supposed to be the one asking questions.

"They must have done something to you, wiped your memory or something." Ashley was muttering under her breath, and it was hard to say whether her words were directed at Astronema or not. "Andros didn't count on that... well, not that he really knew what to expect, and I guess it's better than you being forced into this against your will."

She didn't sound too sure of that, and Astronema frowned at her. "This?" she repeated suspiciously.

"This." Ashley gestured all around them. "The Dark Fortress, princess of evil show. This isn't who you are, Kerone."

She narrowed her eyes at that cavalier statement. She longed to show this woman who she could be, but she managed to control her temper enough to shrug. "If you say so."

"I do," Ashley said carefully, seeming to sense her anger. "But only because your brother told me about you. He told me what a good person you are, how you're strong and funny and caring. I don't know you myself... but I'd like to. If you'll let me."

Then she smiled, and the expression was so spontaneous that Astronema responded automatically. Very few people smiled on the Dark Fortress, and when they did there was no warmth in it. Yet here was a prisoner, someone who had--at best--a very uncertain future, face to face with and smiling at her captor.

Astronema found herself smiling back. She wiped the expression off her face immediately, but the damage had been done. Ashley was leaning forward as though they were the closest of confidantes, and the ease with which she impinged on Astronema's personal space said that she considered them, incredibly, to be equals.

"I'll tell you what happened," Ashley whispered. "At least as much as I know, what Andros and Zhane told me. Is it okay to talk here?"

She refused to step back, to admit to weakness, but Ashley was too close. Lifting a hand, she turned and let sparkles dance around her fingers to cover her annoyance. She had already disabled the cameras, but she did a final sweep to make sure no new listening devices had been added in the interim. She wasn't the only magical being on the Dark Fortress.

"It's safe," she said at last, looking sideways at Ashley.

The other woman was staring at her in surprise. "Nice effect," she said cautiously. "What... did you just do?"

"That's the coolest thing I've ever seen!" The words might have been whispered, but the tone was sheer delight. Ashley had gone from awkward smuggler to entranced child in a matter of seconds, reaching for the violet bubble of magic as though she could touch it.

She could, Astronema supposed. She had amused herself with such games before, and she concentrated briefly. The magic turned liquid just as Ashley's finger came in contact with its surface, and the violet shimmer swirled like the film on a soap bubble. If it was possible, Ashley's eyes widened even further.

"How did you do that?" she murmured, awe in her voice. She was so clearly amazed that Astronema couldn't help showing off a little. This was the reaction she was used to, and it couldn't hurt to reinforce their roles a little.

She turned the sphere into an angry, toothy face that spat fire: miniature but menacing. To her infinite surprise, the shape made Ashley giggle instead of drawing back in alarm. "You made a dragon!" she exclaimed softly, reaching for it again. "That's awesome!"

"A--what?" She didn't mean to ask, but Ashley was so easily taken in that it seemed less dangerous to reveal her own weaknesses.

"A dragon!" Ashley ran one finger over the head spikes, flattening them and elongating them into a violet wisp that stretched out behind the space. "Look," she said, giggling again. "Now it even has a tail!"

Astronema's lips twitched, and she reminded herself not to smile. This was ridiculous. On the other hand, if she could distract the prisoner with something so small as a minor display of magic, she might have more control of this situation than she thought. It was odd to think of something so trivial as a tactical advantage, and yet...

"You're not afraid," she said abruptly.

Ashley looked up in surprise, her own smile fading. "What, of you? Should I be?"

"No." The correct answer to that question, at least, was easy. The less wary Ashley was, the more Astronema would get out of her.

Not that getting her to relax would be difficult. Not only was she not the hardened criminal she had pretended to be, she wasn't even focused enough to see the inconsistencies in "Kerone's" charade. It was no wonder the League was crumbling.

"Come with me," Astronema said impulsively. Ecliptor wasn't going to like this at all--which was just one more reason to do it. "I have a better place for us to talk."