"The system's clear," Jenna announced. "But at least half that last wing got into the atmosphere. We're going to have to go after them; Lyris and Saryn can't take them alone."

"Incoming message from Ranger Control," the ship's computer interjected.

Without waiting for their acknowledgement, the computer routed the communication through, and Carlos recognized a distinctive Aquitian accent on the other end. "This the Aquitian Megazord relaying a distress call for the Earth command center," a female voice said urgently. "We are under heavy attack--"

Kris spoke over the voice. "This is the Delta Sun; please confirm your coordinates."

"I've got them," Timmin said, half a second later.

"Delta Sun, do not interfere," Matt said sternly, his voice no less authoritative for the distortion superimposed on it by the comm. "Our Megazord will reinforce the Power Chamber."

"Earth Megazord." Carlos couldn't see Kris' expression, but she sounded deadly. "If you abandon our fighters, I will personally ensure that this ship never answers a distress call from your planet again. Is that understood?"

He could practically see the line she had drawn, and it was obviously not lost on Matt, either. "Perfectly, Delta Sun," he replied coldly. The comm cut off without another word, but Carlos knew that was far from the end of the matter.

"I'm taking us in," Kris announced, to no one in particular.

Carlos knew he should be offended on behalf of his teammates. He knew Kris had just violated one of the strongest unwritten laws of Ranger defense: the home team made the rules. Always. But there was one question more important than his team's priority on his mind, and he had to ask it. "What about the Astro Megaship?"

They had all seen it go down an indefinable amount of time ago, but there had been no one to spare. Its loss had left the Delta Sun alone in orbit against another battleship and the two remaining cruisers, not to mention more than one wing of velocifighters. The Turbo Megazord and the two Elisian fighters were fully occupied by monsters on Earth. The Aquitian Megazord, now defending the Power Chamber, had been the closest to the Astro Megaship's projected crash point, but it had been unable to break off its defense long enough to investigate.

"No distress call," Kris said, as though it were as simple as that. "We have one from the Aquitians, and that has to take priority."

"What if they can't send one?" Carlos argued, trying not to let her seeming carelessness aggravate him. "Their comm might be down."

"Or there might not be anyone left alive to send it," Kris said bluntly. "We help the ones we know need it first, Carlos."

"Thanks for the comfort," he told her sarcastically.

"Without a distress signal, we can't find them right away anyway," Cassie put in quietly. "They had thrusters, and we know they made it through the atmosphere. They could be fine."

He glanced over at her in surprise. "I--thanks," he managed. He felt compelled to offer something in return. "Matt wouldn't leave your teammates without backup, you know."

She smiled a little. "I know."

Still, despite her reassurance, he couldn't help noticing that the sky was darkening as they soared through the atmosphere and out over the desert. Night was falling, and Ashley was out there alone, possibly injured, and with no way to call for help.

*Not really alone,* he admitted grudgingly, thinking of the Kerovan Rangers. But he wasn't sure whether the idea of Andros being out there in the night with her made him feel better or worse.

***

She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, shivering a little in the cool air. The stars above twinkled down with breathtaking brilliance, undimmed for once by the lights of the city. She thought maybe she could enjoy this, if only the circumstances were different.

She glanced over at Zhane, sleeping restlessly by the fire and clearly still in too much pain. He alone had no Power to speed the healing process, and unfortunately he seemed to need it the most. He had been standing when the remains of the crumbling battleship began to buffet their hull, and instead of slamming into the console he had been thrown to the floor. While Andros, Kerone, and even Leigh looked as though they would recover on their own, Zhane needed medical attention.

She sighed quietly, deliberately not looking at the Megaship. The hulking shadow that served as their windbreak was not capable of doing much more at the moment. Their crashlanding had taken what little power the ship had left, and thanks to the earlier malfunction the contaminated atmosphere inside was unsafe over an extended period of time.

So they set up camp out here with portable heating units lining the perimeter. The fire was a comfort factor as much as anything, though she supposed it would alert anyone doing a flyby that they were here. The Kerovan communicators were next to useless without the Megaship's computer, and her own had been damaged during the fighting. All they could do was wait for someone to find them.

She sighed again, wishing she had a better idea of how likely that scenario was. Just before they'd lost the comm, she had heard TJ frantically calling for help from the Power Chamber. It was supposed to be a secure location; none of them had expected it to come under siege. The Aquitian megazord had gone to its aid, but that had only increased the pressure on the Turbo megazord. And she hated to think what the loss of the Megaship had done to the Delta Sun.

"Is it over yet?" she whispered, very quietly. She scanned the sky, wishing she could read anything into the heavens' peaceful countenance. "Are you guys okay?"

She heard a sound, abruptly stifled, and she looked down in time to see Zhane's expression twist from one of discomfort to outright agony. He shifted again, and tear-filled eyes opened incrementally in the semi-dark. "Hold still," she whispered, grabbing for the medkit beside him.

"I'm... okay," he breathed, but his face gave the lie to his words.

"Here," she said, fumbling for her canteen. She pressed one of the pain relievers into his hand, waiting until he put it in his mouth to hand him the water. He pushed himself up on one elbow and gulped it down, dropping back onto his sleeping bag as soon as she took the canteen back.

She watched him stare blindly up at the sky, waiting for the pain reliever to catch up with his system. She bit her lip, wishing there were something more she could do. Her gaze slid past him to Andros, just for a moment, and she thought that at least he was finally asleep. He seemed almost to feel his friend's pain every moment that he was awake, and it had been wearing him down as surely as it did Zhane.

"Thanks," Zhane whispered, breaking into her thoughts.

"You're welcome," she answered softly, glancing back up at the sky. He had done his best to ignore her from the first, and she wasn't going to confront him over it now.

But he stirred, and it surprised her to look over and see him struggling to prop himself up on his elbows again. "You okay?" she whispered, concerned.

He nodded. "Yeah," he said, studying her. "I just--well... I guess I feel like I owe you an apology or something."

She just looked at him, not sure what to say. "You don't," she said finally. "Don't worry about it."

"No," he said slowly, still watching her. "I think I do. I think... I made up my mind not to like you before I met you, just because Andros was so obsessed with you. That wasn't fair, and I'm sorry if I acted... weird."

She glanced down, wondering if this was her chance to get an answer about the two of them. "It's okay," she said, reaching out to run her fingers through the sand. "You didn't act that weird. Can I--um, ask why Andros is so interested in me?"

She tried not to blush, knowing that sounded strange. It wasn't even what she had wanted to ask, but it had come out anyway. "Sorry, that was..."

"No," Zhane said, when she trailed off. "I just thought you knew, somehow. I guess maybe there wasn't any way you could," he added thoughtfully, "but I just figured you did anyway."

"What?" she asked, wondering if he meant what she thought he did.

Zhane sighed, but it wasn't an impatient sound. She wasn't quite sure how to interpret it, actually. "He loved you. In the vision? His double was in love with you."

She caught her breath, glancing involuntarily at Andros' sleeping form. "Did I--do you know how I felt about him?"

"No," Zhane said, sounding a little disgruntled. "And it's been driving him crazy for days."

She swallowed, telling herself firmly that she shouldn't be happy about that. "Sorry," she offered weakly.

"It's not your fault." He sounded as though he was trying to convince himself as much as her. "You're not the person in the vision, after all."

"But... neither is he," she pointed out.

"Believe me, I know," Zhane said, tilting his head back for a moment. Finally, he gave up and pushed himself into a sitting position. "Look, I know that you have your own life here, and I know that you didn't even see this vision that the rest of them had. I'm not asking you to believe it was real, I just... I think maybe if you talked to him, just for a little while, maybe you could help him figure things out."

She watched the sand run through her fingers, more than a little surprised by the request. "Do *you* want me to talk to him?" she asked, not sure he would understand what she meant.

He shrugged. "I want him to find some answers. That's what matters to me."

"In other words, no," she said wryly. "You don't like him being interested in me, do you." She tried not to wince as she realized how bluntly that had come out.

"I don't want him to get hurt," Zhane answered, his tone sharper than before.

"I wouldn't hurt him!" She couldn't keep from sounding indignant, but it was the truth. She liked Andros--she didn't know when it had happened, or even what she liked about him, but he had an adorable manner. Something about him was just... cute. And *completely* unhurtable.

Zhane took a deep breath. "You might not mean to," he allowed. "But you don't know him. Andros doesn't do things halfway, and I'm--I just worry that he won't be able to stop with being curious."

She looked at him in surprise. Was he saying that he thought... Andros might actually fall for her? She considered that for a moment, wondering why it didn't bother her. She didn't *want* him to fall in love with her, did she? The two of them would really screw things up... Or would they?

"Zhane," she said hesitantly. "Can I ask you something? Something personal?"

He gave her a wary look, but he nodded once.

She plunged ahead, figuring she would never get a better chance. "What *is* Andros to you?"

"He's my best friend," he said immediately, though he still looked a little guarded. It was as though he was still waiting for the "personal question".

She frowned. "Just your best friend?"

He frowned right back. "What do you mean, 'just'?"

She swallowed. "Do you love him?"

His frowned deepened, making the shadows from the firelight a little darker on his face. "Of course. I've loved him as long as I can remember."

"But..." He acted the same way Rill had, when she questioned her earlier. "When you say you love him," she persisted. "Do you mean like a brother, or like... a boyfriend?"

Even in the dim light, she could see the odd look that he gave her, as though he thought she might be a little slow. "Like a boyfriend."

She had no idea what she was going to say to that now that she'd asked, but she had opened her mouth to try anyway when he added, "I *wish* he was my brother, but he isn't."

She closed her mouth, staring helplessly at him. If the two of them were trying to thoroughly confuse her, they were doing an incredible job. "Oh," she managed at last, fighting the urge to sigh again.

***

Andros listened to Zhane and Ashley whisper back and forth, wondering how much longer it would go on before he felt compelled to speak. So far, he found himself at first too embarrassed and then too curious to interrupt.

There was a pause in their conversation, and he could just make out the sound of his sister's voice on the other side of the fire, talking softly with Kaeth. He couldn't make out any of the words, but she didn't sound distressed and that was really all he could ask in this situation.

He didn't hear any rustling, aside from Zhane, so he assumed that Leigh had finally settled down. She always had trouble sleeping in unfamiliar settings, but at least she had Rill now. If the quiet was any indication, the two of them were fast asleep, probably in each other's arms.

He stared up at the alien sky, satisfied that the seven of them would at least make it through the night. If rescue didn't arrive in the morning... well, they would just have to face that circumstance if it came. In the meantime, the best thing he could do was get some sleep.

As he closed his eyes again, though, he heard Ashley mutter, "I give up." Her voice was mildly frustrated, and the sound of Zhane's chuckle made him smile. If the two of them were finally on speaking terms, maybe he wouldn't feel so guilty every time he looked at her...

It was the last thing he remembered until the next morning.