She could hear laughter through the door, and she glanced over at Maya as she lifted her hand to knock. The Yellow Ranger smiled at the sound, and she had to smile back. They'd been afraid their guests wouldn't be quite so excited to be on Terra Venture after the adrenaline wore off and they'd had a few hours to get used to the place.

Kendrix tapped lightly on the door, but there was no answer. She waited a few moments, sure she could make out at least one voice inside the room. She was about to try again when the door slid open to reveal the cheerful face of the Yellow Space Ranger.

The other girl put a finger to her lips and motioned them in, indicating the center of the room. Her friend was seated on the couch, facing the rotating television screen as she said solemnly, "And I bet you know what happened next."

The comm link must have been routed through the larger screen, for Kendrix could see two childish faces staring out at the Pink Space Ranger. Their expressions were rapt, but the little girl immediately declared, "They all lived happily ever after!"

"That's exactly right," Cassie agreed, a smile in her voice. "Now go brush your teeth, and go to bed when your father tells you to."

The little girl pouted, but the boy smiled angelically at the screen. "Good night, Mommy."

"Good night," Cassie said, wiggling her fingers at them. "I love you. Sweet dreams."

The field of view shifted as someone waved the camera up, and the children's quiet scuffling was overridden by a new voice. "Good night, Cassie," a dark-haired man said, smiling out at her.

Cassie's voice softened noticeably. "Good night," she murmured, lifting her fingers to her mouth and kissing them. She stretched out her hand to the screen, and he echoed her gesture. "I love you."

"I love you too," he answered, gazing back at her. He waited until she ended the transmission.

Cassie turned as soon as the screen went blank, smiling over her shoulder. "Hi," she greeted them. "Sorry to keep you waiting... bedtime ritual."

"Oh, I think it's adorable," Maya said with a happy sigh. "What better way to put children to sleep than to give them something to dream about?"

Cassie and Ashley exchanged amused glanced, and Cassie said, "Thanks--I think. And thanks for the room," she added, standing up and joining them near the door. "This is beautiful."

"Are you sure it's all right?" Kendrix asked anxiously. All of the Space Rangers had been offered VIP suites, but they had turned them down. "We don't want you to be uncomfortable..."

Ashley laughed, and it was such a delighted sound that she relaxed a little. "This is perfect," she assured them, taking Maya's arm and leading her over to the couch that Cassie had just vacated. "Here, have a seat--can we get you anything?"

"Actually," Maya said, accepting Ashley's gesture with a somewhat bemused look, "we were just coming to ask you the same thing!"

"We're really all set," Cassie began, but her friend interrupted.

"There is one thing," Ashley said, a secretive smile on her face. "Do you have any good places around here for... oh, say, a moonlit stroll?"

Cassie laughed. "Ashley!"

"It's not like I get to see him any other time," she replied defensively. Despite her tone, her smile didn't fade. "And since the GSA doesn't believe in coed quarters, I'm just asking!"

"There are coed quarters," Kendrix put in. "Mostly for couples and same-gender preferences. We could--"

"No, no." Ashley waved it off with a grin. "It's really not a big deal. We knew what we were getting into. Besides, it'll serve him right for ditching the mission to Earth."

"The mission?" Maya asked, as Cassie pushed Kendrix gently toward the couch. "What mission?"

"Sit down," Cassie urged. "I'll go get us something to drink."

"Haven't you heard?" Ashley wanted to know, pushing the screen to one side and perching on the edge of the table. "How much news do you get from Earth?"

"Not much," Kendrix said ruefully. "We have hyperboosted communications thanks to Megaship technology, but only on a priority basis. Basically we get mail call every month or so, and that's about it."

Maya looked from one to the other politely, but it was clearly a surface curiosity. She had read some of Kendrix's mail once or twice, and that was the extent of her contact with the other Galaxy Rangers' home planet. Everything she knew about it came from Terra Venture or the stories her teammates would tell.

"Well, the Sol system will be the first in galaxy 1987A to join the League." She paused and glanced at them. "You did know that Earth was petitioning for League membership, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Kendrix said quickly. "That was news even before we left. It was a nightmare for all things GSA--equipment and security upgrades, interplanetary passport requirements, whole new bureaus of government to deal with things we thought we'd gotten past with the expansion of the UN. And all to make something that had existed for years official."

"Earth was only part of the League by default, though," Ashley reminded her. "Only League worlds have Ranger teams, so since we had one, we had to be a League world. We were never a functioning part of the Alliance, and when the Space Rangers left..." She actually looked a little guilty at that. "Well, a lot of people argued that Earth lost its League status along with its Rangers."

"So now you'll be a part of this League again?" Maya asked. "Is that good?"

"It's very good," Ashley answered. "League membership means protection, technology, and offplanet exchange."

The answer was a little too smooth, and Kendrix hid her smile as Maya asked, "Why do you need those things?"

Ashley opened her mouth, but she didn't answer right away. Finally, she grinned sheepishly. "Sorry," she offered. "Alliance rhetoric. I've been stuck in diplomacy too long, I think. Mostly, it's more a matter of wanting those things than needing them. I think a lot of humans are curious about what's beyond their front door, and the League gives them a chance to find out."

"Good answer," Cassie agreed, balancing glasses as she emerged from the kitchen area. Ashley jumped up to help her, and Kendrix was about to get up when Ashley waved at her to stay.

"I think it's a natural curiosity about other people, too," the Pink Space Ranger added. "We want to know how other people live, not because we have to know, but because we're always searching for new ways to look at things."

Kendrix accepted her glass as Cassie handed it to her, admitting, "That's why I joined the GSA. And it's why I became a scientist, before that."

"That's why I like being here with you," Maya spoke up unexpectedly. "You make me see things differently."

Surprised, Kendrix smiled at her, and her best friend smiled back. "You make us see things, too," she told her. "Like the Galactabeasts, and the Lights... and sunflowers."

Ashley brightened suddenly. "Do you have sunflowers here?"

"Oh, yes!" Maya assured her. "Would you like some?"

"I'd haven't seen honest-to-goodness sunflowers in a long time," Cassie said, looking a little wistful. "I'd love some, if it's not too much trouble."

"Not at all. We'll bring you some tomorrow morning," Kendrix promised.

"We can even show you where they grow, if you want," Maya added. "You could see the Galactabeasts at the same time; they like the same fields."

"Oh, that would be great!" Ashley glanced at the screen beside her. "We should tell Carlos... Would you mind if he came? He's fascinated by all kinds of sentient zords."

"You're all welcome to come," Kendrix told them. "I'm sure the Galactabeasts would love to meet you."

Maya nodded emphatically.

"We'd better postpone the trip till afternoon, then," Cassie remarked dryly. "We can't expect Carlos to get up before lunch, after all."

Ashley laughed. "Oh, he's gotten better since Coral was born. He and Aura split the night into shifts; and I think his is the second half. If anything happens between four and eight, he has to get up."

"Which is why he's probably taking advantage of his vacation!" Cassie pointed out.

Kendrix couldn't help her surprise at hearing them refer to this as a "vacation", and she had to ask, "You never did tell us what your mission on Earth was. Did you expect to be away from your families?"

"For a few days," Ashley admitted. "We actually came here from Earth when Andros didn't show up yesterday... Oh," she said suddenly, glancing at her friend. "Tessa wants us to check out the shuttle, by the way. That's why TJ brought it; she says it's been running funny the last couple of times she's gone to Aquitar."

Cassie nodded. "Got it. I didn't have a chance to talk to them before we left."

"Anyway," Ashley continued, as though she hadn't paused. "The Space Rangers were supposed to be present at the induction ceremony, and we headed for Earth early to help smooth things over a little. Leave it to Andros to ditch a high-level diplomatic gathering to go chasing the rumor of villains," she added wryly.

Despite her words, her grin said that she was more proud than exasperated, and Cassie was smiling too. "He wouldn't be Andros if he hadn't," she murmured. "And of course, he was right."

"He wouldn't be Andros if he wasn't," Ashley repeated with a laugh. "He and Zhane are terribly smug sometimes, but at least they have reason."

Watching them, Kendrix wondered suddenly if they were as far away from their families as she had first thought. They had clearly come from very different lives to be here with the Galaxy Rangers now, but they seemed to belong together in a way she wouldn't have expected. They were the heroic Space team from the stories, of that there was no doubt, but they were also... kin, to each other it seemed as much as to their blood relatives.

Across the room, the comm chimed, and a moment later the datafeed routed the signal through to the screen on the table. The Space Rangers' insignia appeared, followed by a double planet logo that she had never seen before. A multi-colored design flashed across the logo, red-gold and silver-violet, and Ashley laughed. "Speak of the devil!"

She touched the screen, and a face replaced what Kendrix assumed was a household design. "Heads up," the blue-eyed boy said with a grin. "He's on his way, and I think he has plans."

Ashley laughed again, blowing a kiss at the screen. "Thanks, Zhane. Say good night to Kerone and the kids for me."

"Will do," he promised, and his mischievous expression vanished from the screen.

"Was that really necessary?" Cassie inquired, but she sounded more amused than anything.

Ashley shrugged, setting her glass down and bouncing to her feet. "I think it was cute!" She turned her attention back to Maya and Kerone with a grin. "So, about those places for a moonlit stroll..."