System Clear
by Starhawk

He shouldn't have let her come. An inexperienced pilot had no business in the middle of a starfighter battle. While her chances of survival in the command center dome were slim, out here they were practically nonexistent.

But once Aura had offered to remain in their place, he knew there was no way he could have *kept* her from coming. And he couldn't deny that it felt right to be flying alongside her fighter, no matter what the reason.

He lifted one hand, forgetting for a moment that he was morphed. He would give almost anything to keep that kiss for eternity, to see all the fighting stop and have nothing to be concerned with but the feeling of her in his arms.

As their fighters cleared the atmosphere, he touched the controls of a tiny holomatrix just below his fighter's comm unit. It responded only to his Power signature, and as it acknowledged his presence a miniature image of Cassie appeared on the edge of the projection unit.

He had never told her about the afternoons he would spend in the park on her home planet, patiently waiting to see if today would be one of the days she and her friends came. His cloak hiding him from prying eyes, he would wait in the shadows, hoping for a glimpse of her slight figure.

Once, she had walked through the sunlit park alone, and he had been unable to resist the temptation to record her smile. That image played before him now: Cassie lifting her arms to the sky and smiling up at it, her dark hair falling loose across her shoulders.

He glanced through the canopy, ignoring his tactical map as Aquitian starlight glinted silver on her nearby fighter. He could feel her focus on him, but the comm link remained silent. They had said all they needed to say.

***

The Barox swarmed through the fighter wing like poorly animated graphics in an all-too-real video game. Cassie let the weapons' lock float, the computer seeking targets while she concentrated on flying. She couldn't do both, and all the laser fire in the world wouldn't do her any good if she couldn't keep her fighter under control.

The green blips on her tactical map scattered as the hunters' ships came in from all sides, but there was one that never seemed to leave her side. It was always there, no matter how she turned, and she didn't have to see the numbered tag superimposed on the image to know who it was.

Her fighter's lasers flared, over and over, responding to the computer-guided weapons' lock, but the red blips on her screen were unaffected. This, unfortunately, was a video game that none of them could win--the enemy had superior firepower, and there were no secret tricks to turn the tide.

Throwing her fighter to the side, narrowly avoiding a rain of fire that flashed by just below, she spared another glance for the tactical map. There were more red blips than there had been before, she was sure, but there had been no warning from the planet below…

"No comm," she muttered, pushing her thruster controls to maximum. Of course; how could she have forgotten--the command center had no way to communicate information to the wing, or anyone, when it came to that. There would be no ground-based assistance this time.

A red border lit up around her tactical map, flashing urgently at her, and she twisted her fighter downwards as sharply as she could. The map continued to blink, signaling a target lock by one of the Barox, and she couldn't help swearing as the hunter's laser fire seared her aft shields.

No matter how she tried, she couldn't shake the hunter. She saw Saryn's fighter drop back, flying tandem with hers and blasting the Barox ship from behind. She dove underneath one of the Karse battleships, her shields recharging as the pressure on them momentarily ceased.

The Karse hull flashed by overhead, and another glint of silver and blue made her wince as she came out right on top of another battleship. Her starboard thrusters fired in reverse, flinging her fighter into a spin that yanked her out of the Barox's line of fire. Saryn's ship shot by overhead, still pursuing the hunter, and she glanced down at the tactical map just as the battleship in front of her opened fire.

Bright blue laser beams reached out of the looming vessel, reaching for and catching the Barox ship in their grasp. The battleship--*The Megaship!* Cassie realized incredulously, noticing only then that the ship showed as green on her tactical grid.

The hunter writhed in the grip of their lasers, lasting several seconds before disintegrating into a ring of dust. Two more green blips moved across her screen, far too slowly to be fighters and too big to be anything but cruisers at least the size of the Megaship.

On top of the intership chatter between fighters, another voice was broadcasting on an open frequency. She gasped as she recognized Andros' stern tone, sounding far older and more commanding than that of the boy Ashley had had to coax into playing frisbee with them at the beach.

"This system is now under Alliance protection," the Red Astro Ranger declared, and she knew his face would be appearing on any comm screen that accepted the transmission. "Non-Alliance ships will stand down or be forcibly removed from Aquitian space."

"Aq-24," Saryn's voice interrupted, coming through the ship-to-ship channel and jerking her attention back to the fight. "Port thirty degrees!"

She followed his instructions without question, and saw the Megaship opening fire even as the stars spun past her canopy. Saryn's fighter screamed past, far too close for comfort, but the Barox followed him instead of her. She took off after them, hoping her computer could mimic what he had done for her earlier.

A flood of green blips infiltrated her tactical map, and she had no time to realize what it meant until a streamlined, three-prong starfighter dove in front of her and demolished the Barox ship with a single shot. "Damn!" Cassie exclaimed, staring wide-eyed after the ship as it shot out of sight and off her tactical screen.

A second three-pronged fighter flitted across the edge of the view afforded through her canopy, and she wondered where in the universe ships like that had *come* from. She searched her tactical screen automatically, trying to keep up, or at least know where to turn next--but for one brief moment, it was empty of red blips.

Then one of the Karse battleships cut through a corner of her screen, and she widened the view. Four Karse ships remained, and all were in full retreat, heading for the edge of the system and being harried by what looked like an entire fighter wing.

"Aq-one, respond!" someone demanded, and she blinked as Billy's voice came across the Aquitians' fighter wing comm frequency.

Two of the three Aquitian zords were closing on the planet, where four Barox refused to back down. Before they could arrive, a trio of the streamlined silver fighters that had arrived with the Megaship intercepted two of the hunters and blew them to pieces. The zords, backed up by the Megaship and a second battleship, surrounded the others and Cassie let herself relax a little.

Darian's voice finally answered Billy over the comm, and she looked automatically for the green blip that would be Saryn's ship. Holding close on her port side, his fighter was a comforting presence as she scanned the map again, unable to believe that it was over.

"Aquitian fighters, assemble," Darian ordered, and she responded automatically to the command that had been drilled into her during the training flights.

The Aquitian wing reassembled just above the atmosphere, awaiting Ranger confirmation. Billy's voice gave it a moment later, broadcasting to the entire wing. "Aquitian fighters, stand down," he said, his voice betraying no hint of emotion. "The system is clear."

Before Darian could order them home, the Blue Ranger's voice added, "You have honored Aquitar with your bravery today." This time, there was a note of quiet pride in his voice, and the intership channel was completely silent for a brief moment.

Then Darian barked, "You heard him. Stand down; prepare to return to base."

Cassie glanced through the canopy, seeing the flickers of light that were nearby fighters. Saryn's would be the nearest--she thought she could see it, one spark of silver against the celestial backdrop. Suddenly, they couldn't set down fast enough for her. She wanted nothing more than to demorph and find him waiting to hold her as she scrambled out of the cockpit.

Darian's voice came back once more, with the order to return to the launch bay. The fighters turned as one, her own fighter barely keeping up as she braced for re-entry. But when the wing leader added, "Well done, Aquitian fighters," she found herself grinning.

***

Three battleships had joined the Megaship when it left Irini bound for Aquitar, and two Qesiti fighter transports had met it halfway. The wing of Defense ships that had joined the newly formed Alliance fleet at the edge of the Aquitian system were the only group whose presence Andros could not explain, but he certainly wasn't going to complain.

"Those ships are amazing!" Ashley exclaimed, as three of the Defense fighters took on two of the Barox ships by themselves--and won.

Andros exchanged glances with Zhane, privately agreeing with her. Zhane's expression was as admiring as Ashley's tone. It took the combined forces of the Megaship, the two still-functional Aquitian zords and one of the Irini battleships to finish off the other two Barox.

Cestria's voice came over the comm channel the Alliance fighters had established, seconds after the last of the Barox had vanished from the tactical map. "Megaship, the Aquitian system is clear."

Andros looked over at Ashley for confirmation, and she nodded. "Acknowledged," he answered. "This fleet will remain in-system to protect Aquitar until a rotating Alliance patrol is established."

"Understood," Cestria replied, after a brief hesitation. "We of Aquitar thank you for your assistance. There was a great deal of damage done, however, and we will be unable to hold a debriefing right away."

"We'll wait," Andros told her, speaking for all the powers represented here. Turning to Carlos, he added, "Put us into orbit around Aquitar."

Carlos nodded, and the open comm transmission was ended. "DECA, send a closed signal to Aquitar," Andros said, but the computer did not immediately acknowledge.

He glanced over at the camera, saw it blink at him. "Aquitar is not responding," DECA informed him.

Andros frowned. "Contact Cestria again, but don't use the Alliance channel."

Cestria appeared on the main screen, a stylized design glowing softly behind her in her zord cockpit. "Andros," she greeted him, looking up from the control panel in front of her. "Thank you again for the role your team played in this--I know you were responsible for bringing this fleet together."

Andros shook his head, smiling a little. "I didn't do anything but make the Alliance official. We're just glad we got here in time--how much damage *have* you suffered?"

That was exactly what the debriefing would be for, to exchange this kind of information, but he wasn't asking as the unofficial field commander of the Alliance fleet. Andros was asking her as a friend and fellow Ranger, and Cestria knew it.

"Too much," she said quietly. "The command center has been torn apart from within, and two of our Rangers are seriously injured."

Andros looked down, wishing there was something he could say that would be any comfort. "If there's any way we can help," he began.

"You have already helped more than you know," Cestria told them. "However, if you and your team wish to join us in the command center, I will send you coordinates. I am sure Cetaci will want to thank you personally, and one of your own is there as well."

*Cassie,* Andros thought, his eagerness to see her muted by the sudden memory of her loss. He didn't have to look around to know what the others wanted.

"Of course we'll come," he told the screen, and Cestria nodded.

"It was necessary to abandon the control room--I am transmitting the new coordinates to you now."

"I've got them," Carlos said a moment later, and Andros wondered what kind of damage the command center had taken that the Rangers would desert the control room.

But all he said was, "We'll be there soon."

***

"Aura!"

Carlos tried to turn, reacting instinctively to the exclamation, but the teleportation stream was only just releasing him. He jerked as the temporary stasis faded, reaching out to steady himself on a console--and drawing back in horror as his fingers touched the charred surface.

"You shouldn't be on your feet yet," Billy was telling the Red Aquitian Ranger.

"*You* should not be moving around at all," Cestria said quickly, pulling Cetaci away from the console. The White Ranger did not protest, and from what Carlos knew of her personality, he suspected that was a bad sign.

"Delphinius," she muttered, as Cestria helped her sit down against the far wall.

"The Zaal zord will not fly again for some time," Cestria told her quietly, "but Delphinius was not hurt."

"Your Medical bay?" Andros was asking Billy. "Was it damaged?"

"No," Billy said. "We should be able to--"

Carlos didn't hear the rest of his sentence. Aura was suddenly sheet-white, and he was closest. Without even thinking about it, he caught her arm, startled to feel her stumble.

He heard Cestria ask Cetaci, "Where are the others?" but Billy took Aura's other arm and motioned toward the door.

"The Medical bay is on this level," he said. "Cestria, can you help Cetaci?"

The sudden flash of a black teleportation streak made the question unnecessary, as Delphinius appeared in the small room. "The Zaal zord has been--" He cut off as soon as he saw Cetaci, and he strode across the room to help Cestria. "You should be in the Medical bay," he said sternly.

"You should be more careful," she answered, her tone sharp despite the obvious fatigue in her voice. "Your zord is not a starfighter."

"Cetaci, please," Cestria murmured, helping the leader of her team to her feet.

Carlos shot a worried look at Aura, who was leaning on him more heavily with each passing moment. Billy caught his eye, and the Blue Ranger looked irritated. Without turning, he said, "Cetaci, you weren't there. Delphinius did what he had to."

"So did Cestria," Cetaci answered. She shrugged off Delphinius's attempts to help her, but she let her second-in-command guide her toward the door. "But her zord is still intact."

Any response to that was cut off as Ashley shrieked, "Cassie!"

Carlos couldn't help grinning as Ashley darted forward and wrapped her friend in an enthusiastic hug. The Pink Ranger just laughed, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling as she looked around the room at all of them.

Someone walked into the room right behind her, and Carlos heard Ashley gasp. She pulled away, staring at Saryn even as Cassie's gaze settled on Andros.

"Andros?!" Cassie exclaimed, giving Ashley's hand a squeeze before she let her go completely. "I thought you were dead!"

The room got very quiet, and Carlos glanced around. The Aquitians did not look particularly startled, but the entire Astro team had stopped in their tracks.

Then Aura shifted her weight a little, and Carlos pulled her arm closer over his shoulders. "Let's get down to the Medical bay," he reminded them. "Then we can establish who isn't dead--you, for example," he said, glancing over at Saryn.

"Everyone?" Zhane suggested innocently.

"Where were you?" Cestria asked, as she and Cetaci moved past Cassie through the doorway.

"Everyone what?" Andros wanted to know, and Carlos heard Ashley snicker.

"Carlos asked who wasn't dead," she explained, and Carlos rolled his eyes.

"That's not what I meant," he called over his shoulder, helping Aura down the corridor. "No one on this team stays dead, you know?"

"I think…" Aura's murmur surprised him, and he ignored Ashley's retort to lean closer. "I think that is a good thing," Aura whispered, and he smiled.

"You bet it is," he told her. He jumped as someone bumped into him from behind, and he glanced over his shoulder to see TJ grinning at him.

"Had a bad day, huh, Carlos?" The Blue Ranger smirked. "'No one stays dead'?"

"Shut up," Carlos complained good-naturedly. "I don't see you volunteering anything useful to the conversation."

"Neither are you!" TJ told him, slipping past him to duck into the Medical bay.

Saryn, Cassie, and most of the Aquitians were already inside, and Billy and Carlos helped Aura over to the nearest empty patient bed. "I don't understand," Ashley was saying as she entered the ward behind him. "Zhane said Saryn was…"

She trailed off as she realized most of the room was listening. It was TJ who broke the silence. "That seems to be a common misconception lately," the Blue Ranger cracked, and Carlos couldn't help laughing.

"Reports of my death were greatly exaggerated?" Ashley suggested, and TJ gave her an affectionate shove.

"Anyone who *didn't* die took off after someone else and managed to get themselves into serious trouble--except for Carlos and I, notice--so you don't have room to talk!"

Carlos watched Billy's expression as he read the biomonitor, listening with half his attention as Ashley argued, "Define 'serious trouble.'"

"That's easy," Zhane said. "Getting shot down by Darkonda and crashing the Astro Megazord shuttle."

"Or getting chased out of the system by a pair of Barox," TJ put in. "And that was your *plan*, no less!"

"Is she all right?" Carlos asked, glancing down at Aura's now-closed eyes.

"She's unconscious," Billy said, and Carlos tried not to roll his eyes. He could *see* that. "She didn't quite evade one of the Barox fireballs, but she should recover."

"Delphinius," Cestria called, her soft voice somehow cutting through the multiple conversations taking place in the Medical bay.

The Black Aquitian Ranger joined her immediately, and she said something to him too quietly for Carlos to overhear. He took the opportunity to glance around the rest of the Medical bay--Andros and Zhane stood near the door, as out of the way as they could possibly get and still be in the room. TJ and Ashley's banter had quieted, and they were nearby, Ashley next to Andros while TJ lounged against the wall.

Billy looked over his shoulder as Cestria stepped away from Cetaci's bedside, leaving Delphinius to watch over the sedated Ranger. She joined Billy at Aura's side, passing Cassie and Saryn as she did so--Carlos blinked, realizing he hadn't even noticed the two of them standing quietly in the corner.

"We must find a place to hold the debriefing," Cestria said, as Carlos regarded the handfast couple on the other side of the room. They were standing closer than he had ever seen them, and he wondered briefly if Cassie might actually be leaning against Saryn.

"The southern research dome," Billy suggested. "Any place in the command center is pretty much out, and Zordon would at least be able to join us there."

"Zordon," Cestria murmured. "No one has spoken to him since this morning, I assume?"

Billy shook his head. "Cetaci was with him until just before the Barox arrived. But she left when Delphinius summoned her, and Zordon stayed to continue the negotiations with the Defense."

Carlos saw Andros's sudden movement out of the corner of his eye, and glanced over at him curiously. "*That's* how the Defense ships knew to meet us here," Andros surmised, and Billy nodded.

"It must be," the Blue Aquitian Ranger agreed. "We were as surprised to see them as you."

"Can we reroute command center communications to the research dome?" Cestria asked.

"Of course," Billy said, giving her a smile. "I'll head out to the dome and do that now."

"I will accompany you," Cestria said, glancing around the Medical bay. "I would speak with Zordon before the debriefing, and there is little more I can do here. Delphinius, will you stay or come?"

For a moment, Delphinius seemed uncertain. Then he looked down at Cetaci and shook his head. "Her condition is only barely stable--I will remain here."

"Very well." Her gaze slid across the Astro Rangers. "If you wish to accompany us to the research dome, I will give you the coordinates."

But Andros shook his head. "I think we'd only get in your way--if we're not already. We'll return to the Megaship and wait for you to announce the debriefing."

Even as he finished the sentence, Andros's communicator beeped. DECA's voice informed him, "Incoming transmission, from the Defense wing for Cetaci."

Carlos saw Billy and Cestria exchange glances. "We need that comm system," she murmured, and he nodded.

"I'll meet you in the research dome," Billy said, and disappeared into a blue teleportation stream.

"Put her through, DECA," Andros told the Megaship's computer, and he passed his communicator to Cestria.

"This is Cestria of the Aquitian Rangers," the soft-spoken girl said. "Cetaci has been injured, and I am acting in her stead."

"Well met, Cestria of the Aquitian Rangers," a female voice answered, and Saryn's head swung around. "I'm Linnse, field commander for the Frontier Defense. I apologize for intruding, but I've been trying to contact the Phantom Ranger, with no success."

"One moment," Cestria said, before the other could continue. She offered Andros's communicator to Saryn as he stepped forward.

"This is Phantom," Saryn said, and Carlos blinked, only then realizing that he had started to think of their old ally as "Saryn" instead of "Phantom".

"Phantom!" Linnse's exclamation was distinctly scolding, and Carlos looked over at TJ in bemusement. "We haven't been able to reach you for days! Are you all right?"

"If I were not," Saryn said with a slight smile, "I would see no point in telling you now."

"Phantom," the voice warned, and he relented.

"I am well, Linnse. Thank you for coming to Aquitar's aid."

"Zordon told us you were under attack; I'm glad we arrived in time to help." There was a slight pause, and then she said, "Tobin's calling--shall I field his questions for you?"

Saryn glanced around the Medical bay. They were all listening: each of the Astro Rangers, Cestria, and even Delphinius. "Please," he said. "I appreciate your effort, Linnse."

"You'd better." Her tone sounded wry this time. "I'll talk to *you* later."

"Transmission ends," DECA's voice said a moment later, and Saryn handed Andros's communicator back.

"Thanks, DECA," Andros said to the device, and Cestria shifted as he slid it back onto his wrist.

"I must go," she began, and Andros nodded quickly.

"Just let us know when to come, and we'll be here," he promised.

"Thank you, Astro Rangers," Cestria said, her gaze touching on each of them. She looked over at Saryn last, maybe seeing if he would join her. When he made no movement, though, she followed Billy into the teleportation stream.

Carlos gave Aura a last glance, then nodded to Delphinius before stepping back himself. Reaching for his morpher, he saw Saryn offer Cassie his hand. She took it, looking delighted, and he saw the two of them disappear together just before velvet black enveloped him.

***

"What was that about the fighter wing?" Ashley asked, as they gathered in the Glider holding bay.

"TJ!" Cassie exclaimed, laughing as the Blue Ranger hugged her. "I have to breathe!"

"Sorry," he said, not looking at all repentant. "Forgot to do that this morning."

She gave him an affectionate smile as he let her go. "Good to see you too," she said. "What did you say, Ash?"

A movement beside Ashley distracted her, and she shot Andros a menacing look. "Sit *down*," she warned him. "DECA said to take it easy, remember?"

"I'm fine," Andros protested, but Zhane clapped him on the shoulder and pulled him toward the table before he could object further.

"Want me to hold him down for you?" Zhane suggested, and Ashley laughed.

"Zhane!"

She grinned at Andros's startled yelp as his friend pushed him onto one of the stools. "Please do--he won't stay, otherwise."

"Since when do you have someone else do your dirty work for you?" Carlos demanded, and she slapped his shoulder fondly.

"I considered sitting in his lap, but I think he'd be embarrassed."

"And you think that's a reason *not* to do it?" Zhane said, grinning.

"Don't encourage them," Andros said, giving Zhane a warning look.

" 'Them'?" Ashley repeated indignantly, catching his eye in surprise. "Now I'm 'them'?"

Andros's lips quirked. "Don't encourage *her*," he said, his gaze not leaving hers. His words were perfectly innocent, but there was something in the way he looked at her--

*He's daring me!* she thought, startled. It couldn't be; not Andros. But that look was still in his eyes, and she couldn't ignore the challenge.

*You asked for it,* she thought at him, a little smugly.

Cassie laughed as Ashley skipped across the room and seated herself carefully in Andros's lap. "You asked for that one, Andros," she said, echoing Ashley's sentiment without knowing it.

"And *you* haven't answered the question," Ashley said, shifting a little. The only comfortable way to sit on someone's lap was to lean back against them, and she glanced at Andros as she did so.

He didn't look upset--in fact, he smiled a little when she caught his eye, and she felt his arm slide around her shoulders. Resting her hands in her lap, she smiled back, completely forgetting she had said anything to Cassie until her friend asked, "What question?"

"The fighter wing," TJ put in, shooting an amused glance at her and Andros. "She asked what you meant when you told Cestria you were with the fighter wing."

Cassie gave him an odd look. "I meant I was with the fighter wing. When the Aquitians called their zords, Saryn and I took fighters and went with them."

"Starfighters didn't have a chance against the Barox," Carlos objected incredulously, but Cassie just shrugged.

"We had to do *something*," she said quietly. "We couldn't just sit around in the command center."

"Are you sure you should be flying those things?" TJ asked, frowning. "Look what happened last time."

Cassie folded her arms, looking slightly irritated. Before she could say anything, though, Saryn stepped up behind her and put both hands on her shoulders. "Cassie is a good pilot," he said, his tone neutral. "What happened last time could have happened to any of the wing."

"Which brings me back to my question," TJ said dryly. "Are you sure you should be flying those things?"

"We all take risks," Cassie started, at the same time Saryn spoke.

"Believe me," he said, "I would not let her fly if it were any more dangerous than any Ranger activity."

Cassie's eyes widened. "You're *letting* me fly?" she asked, twisting around to look at him.

"Maybe Phantom's not the best judge," TJ began, and Cassie turned to glare at him instead. She didn't say anything, though, and the silence only accentuated TJ's last words.

At length, Cassie took a deep breath. With some measure of calm, she told TJ, "He does have a name, you know. And *I'll* judge whether it's dangerous or not--I can make my own decisions." She included Saryn in her look this time--somewhat unfairly, Ashley thought. He had only been trying to help, after all.

"You guys, Cassie's right," she spoke up. "If anyone should tell her not to fly, it's Andros, but our team doesn't work that way. We're all responsible enough to make our own decisions."

"I don't want to hear about Andros," Cassie muttered, surprising her. "Every time I turn around, you and Andros are fawning over each other, and thanks to TJ, I don't even dare touch Saryn."

"What?" TJ asked, obviously startled. "What did I do?"

"You disapprove," Saryn said quietly, before Cassie could answer. "Even I know this."

"What, of you two?" TJ said, looking taken aback. "I just want you to be happy, Cass, you know that. If Phantom makes you happy, then--"

"His name is Saryn!" Cassie cried. "Stop calling him that!"

"Cassie," Saryn said quietly. "I do not mind."

"I do," she insisted. "He and Carlos have never--"

"Whoa," Carlos exclaimed, holding up his hands. "How did I get involved in this? I don't care if you kiss him or not."

Ashley tried to stifle a giggle, but Zhane didn't bother. He just burst out laughing. "If that's what this is about, just kiss her, Saryn. You can solve this right now. I'd do it for you," he added, almost as an afterthought, "but I don't think it would help."

Saryn glared at him but said nothing.

TJ sighed. "I'm sorry if I've made you feel uncomfortable, Cass. I honestly haven't meant to. I thought you knew I could never "disapprove" of someone who makes you happy."

Cassie held still for a moment, but then a small smile crept onto her face, and she hugged TJ. "Thanks, Teej," she murmured.

Ashley exchanged smiles with Andros, and caught a glimpse of Zhane squinting at Cassie and TJ. "I could be wrong," he said, "but isn't she hugging the wrong one?"

Ashley pushed him as hard as she could, which unfortunately wasn't very hard, considering that she was still sitting in Andros's lap. But Cassie just giggled, pulling away from TJ and stepping closer to Saryn.

He reached out to touch her cheek, and she rested one hand on his chest. "You 'let' me fly?" she repeated.

"You know that's not what I meant," he said quietly.

Cassie smiled. "I know," she agreed. Her gaze swept around the room before settling on him once more. "So are you going to kiss me or not?"

He, too, glanced around the room. Then, deliberately, he leaned forward and kissed her gently, his lips lingering on hers for just a moment.

Ashley sighed happily, leaning closer to Andros. Resting her head against his, she felt his arm tighten around her shoulders and she smiled. For a few seconds, everything was right with the universe.

***

"You *what*?" Carlos exclaimed, and Ashley giggled.

"I pulled him into the water too," she said, as thought it should be no real surprise. "It was his fault, anyway."

"Excuse me," Andros interjected. "Is this relevant to the story?"

Cassie smiled, watching Ashley relate the tale of her crash-landing and subsequent time on Irini's moon. Certain parts of it, anyway. She wouldn't be surprised if her friend was leaving some of it out, but Cassie would corner her about that later.

Meanwhile, she edged away from the group to linger in the doorway. Down the hall, the Bridge doors were open as usual, and she could just see Saryn standing in front of the main screen.

Linnse had called for him again a few minutes before, and he had politely excused himself. Cassie had only narrowly evaded the myriad questions the others had bombarded her with as soon as he was gone, wanting to know how he was still alive after what Zhane had told them all before.

She knew she wouldn't be able to put off the explanation forever, but she felt bad enough for her outburst earlier. She didn't want to add to her embarrassment by explaining that she had, in effect, brought Saryn back from the dead.

She took a single step into the hallway, glancing back to make sure no one was watching. Zhane looked up, catching her eye just before she slipped away, but he turned back to the group without a word.

Cassie walked slowly down the hall, knowing she should be with the others, catching up on everything she had missed in the last few days. She was glad to see them again--how could she not be?--but something drew her to Saryn, and no matter how much she enjoyed her friends' company, she could not ignore his absence.

She paused in the doorway to the Bridge, watching him talk to the woman on the screen. He wasn't morphed, but then, Linnse had always known who he was. She didn't seem at all fazed to be talking to "Saryn", instead of "the Phantom Ranger", and Cassie had to smile as the Eltaran scolded him for not answering his messages.

*My fault,* she realized suddenly. *He didn't answer because he was with me almost the whole time I was evil.* She saw Saryn's head turn a little to the side, and she knew he had just noticed her presence.

"If I could speak to you before the debriefing," Linnse was saying.

Saryn interrupted, "Linnse, may I ask you to wait for one moment?"

"Of course," Linnse said, peering at him curiously but not seeming particularly upset by the abrupt halt to the conversation. She pressed something on the console in front of her, and the screen went momentarily grey.

Saryn turned without bothering to pause the transmission from his end. "I did not distress you by leaving, did I?" he asked, looking genuinely concerned.

She walked around the second row of consoles toward him, smiling. "Of course not. Never apologize for having your own life, Saryn."

"Only when it makes you unhappy," he murmured, reaching out to slide his hand over her shoulder and squeeze her arm.

"Not even then," she whispered, stepping closer. "I love who you are, Saryn. Don't change for me."

"That is one request I can not honor," he said softly. "I am different because you are in my life, Cassie, and I would not have it any other way."

She kissed him before he could say anything else, sliding both hands around his neck and feeling him pull her close. His arms around her, she wished they had time to stay like this forever. His kiss was light, as it had been in the holding bay, but each time their lips separated he would kiss her again, as though he couldn't stand to let her go.

She didn't want him to--but as they stood there, lost in each other's embrace, DECA interrupted. "Incoming transmission from Aquitar," the computer told them, and the viewscreen suddenly cleared.

Linnse looked up as the grey vanished, a frown on her face as she began, "Did you just receive--"

Cassie let her hands slide down Saryn's chest as she stepped away, reluctant to put distance between them but knowing the two of them weren't exactly the epitome of professionalism. Linnse cut off midsentence as she caught sight of them, and her expression was nothing short of incredulous.

"Oh, I definitely want to talk to *you* before the debriefing," she told Saryn.