He didn't look much like the Red Ranger now. Zhane studied him from his position by the wall, listening with only half his attention to the strategy session taking place in the middle of the room. Andros and Marsie hunched over readouts and fighter deps as though they could be in position at a moment's notice, when in truth any situation would be long changed by the time they reached it.

Andros had one of TJ's old flannels over his shoulders, and the shirt was distinctly out of place here on the Quon fighter base. His hair had been pulled impatiently back when it got in his way, an elastic restraining the blonde and brown strands without smoothing them down. He moved stiffly, as though in pain or maybe just fighting the effects of the sedative, and Zhane wished he would take a break. Just a short one, just for a minute...

Just long enough for Zhane to be reassured that it was still Andros in that unorthodox uniform, that the events of today hadn't changed him beyond recognition. That Ty's betrayal hadn't ignited the same cold fury that had driven him through the last battle on KO-35, that his own failure to see it hadn't made him withdraw deeper than Zhane could reach... that he didn't blame the team, that he didn't blame himself for what was happening.

Just that. Not so much to ask, really. But Andros and Marsie were completely engaged, with three different departments up on the tabletop screens and a Council representative that for once wasn't Kinwon. They didn't have time to look up, let alone leave the room.

It did worry him that he couldn't follow exactly what they were doing. He knew evac orders had been withdrawn and reissued, giving entire sectors time to fill their siege shelters. He knew several fighter wings, including his own, had been recalled when the air bombardment started to ground. DECA had been recruited as a militia teleportal, and Kerone and Kyril had been pulled to secure the orbital satellites.

The rest of it, though, he wasn't quite so certain of. There seemed to be numerous concerns about computer hacks from the orbital satellites, and although he knew why he didn't know exactly what was being done about it. The ground troops had been deployed by someone Zhane didn't recognize, and he had no idea how the fighter wings were coordinating with them. On top of that, there was the looming threat of an even bigger attack, one that could come at any time and with no more warning than the first one.

In the midst of this, Andros and Marsie had turned the Quon base into PD central and imposed martial law on the rest of the planet. Or at least, he assumed they had: no one had said the words, but no one was questioning their orders either. Which was interesting, considering that Marsie looked about as good as Andros did at the moment and under ordinary circumstances neither of them would have inspired him to get a cup of coffee, let alone marshal a counterattack.

Zhane glanced over at Kristet, wondering what she made of all this. She had shown up at Andros' side when he arrived in Quon, and Zhane wasn't sure whose idea that had been. He did know that if she didn't turn out to be the kind of person they wanted to have talking about them, they were going to be in trouble.

She looked up as though she had sensed his regard, scanning the room before her gaze came to rest on him. She studied him for a moment, then tipped her head surreptitiously. It could almost have been an idle gesture, except that she didn't take her eyes off of him.

Zhane straightened up, wandering across the room toward her. She indicated the camera she held in her left hand, keeping her voice quiet so as not to interrupt the two at the table. "Whose permission do I need to broadcast this?" she murmured.

He frowned, gaze going automatically to the camera's tiny screen. "Mine," he said at last. At the very least he could see what she was working on, and it would give him something to do. "Let's go."

Neither Andros nor Marsie paid the slightest attention as they left the command center and headed down the hallway. Zhane found a conference room and gestured for her to precede him inside. The terminals in this room would be encrypted, and he wasn't going to chance her sending something out before he saw it in its entirety.

***

Zhane was gone. His place by the wall was empty and Andros noted distantly that Kristet had disappeared as well. *Zhane?* he asked, in the semi-privacy of his own mind. *Still here?*

*Yeah,* Zhane's voice answered immediately. *Kristet's got a news flash she wants to send out; I told her I'd look at it.*

*Assume everyone can see it,* Andros reminded him. *Civilians, military, enemy fighters too.*

*Got it.* Zhane's reply was neutral, but Andros knew he had known that.

*Sorry,* Andros said, squeezing his eyes shut for a moment. *You're not stuck here, you know. You can get DECA to ship you out if you want to fight.*

Again, Zhane's tone was completely noncommittal. *Do you want me to go?*

Andros stared down at the table as the words flickered between them, fast as thought. *I don't want you to go anywhere without me,* he admitted, trying to keep memories of the last battle for their planet out of his voice. *But I won't try to hold you back.*

*That's why I'm still here,* Zhane replied cryptically. *We'll be back in a few.*

Marsie asked him a question and he produced an automatic response. How many times had the truth kept Zhane at his side without him even realizing it? It was an idea he didn't have the time or energy to consider right now.

She watched from the corner of her eye as Zhane's attention wavered. He was still staring intently at the screen, but she'd bet anything that he asked her to replay the story as soon as it ended. There was an odd look on his face that said he wasn't seeing anything in front of him just now.

He blinked, and his entire focus was back on the screen. She couldn't say how she knew, for nothing perceptible in his expression had changed. But the Silver Ranger was easy to read; that had to be why he joked around so much. As long as he could keep people's attention on his words, not his face, he could be whoever he wanted to be.

"Start it over," Zhane said, the moment the report concluded. "I didn't catch the whole thing."

"Are you and Andros telepathic?" The words were out before she had time to consider how they would sound, and she probably would have said them anyway. Still, she couldn't help a pang of guilt when he flinched.

"I'm not going to answer that," he said easily, giving her a smile that would probably get him anything he wanted from most of the population. "I'd rather not have it on the newsnets either way."

She nodded her understanding, not bothering to tell him that she was curious for herself. Anything you told a reporter had to be public knowledge, and although the Rangers' spokesperson would be privy to far more information than was ever in the news... she wasn't the Rangers' spokesperson. The fact that they didn't have one was conspicuous, but she suspected that asking for the job would be the fastest way to ensure that she didn't get it.

She watched Zhane watching the brief report. She was confident enough that it would add to current reports without compromising anything that shouldn't be compromised, and his expression was far more interesting than the screen. His attention didn't waver this time, and his gaze was--focused. Almost unnervingly so.

Why did they worry about the Red Ranger? It was common knowledge in media circles that Andros was the one you wanted answering your questions, unless they were questionable themselves--his wrath was a force to be avoided. And yet here, on the same fighter base but hidden away in a conference room, an equally competent young man was exercising his own authority only because he was bored.

She had seen him holding up the wall in the command center, eyes fixed on Andros and a deep concern obvious in his gaze. He made no effort to participate in deployment or coordination, content to guard Andros' back in what had to be one of the safest places on the planet while he could have been out leading his own troops to glory or at least victory against Dark Spectre. He didn't even seem particularly interested in the battle raging outside, not when he had his first and apparently most important teammate right there in front of him.

Was that unfair, she wondered to herself? He was capable of much more, certainly, but weren't they all? If someone had an ability they chose not to use, were they neglecting a responsibility by fulfilling some alternate role? In everyday life she would have said no, but when it came to the safety of the planet...

It was really only a matter of degree. If someone was good at laser surgery but chose to be a carpenter instead, surely that was their decision to make. And Zhane wasn't the only Ranger with proven leadership ability--they all had to have it, or no one would follow them into battle. If he chose a position of support rather than command, surely that deserved no less respect.

"This is good," Zhane said abruptly, and she realized that he was now returning her stare with equal curiosity. "Did you do all this in your camera just now?"

She couldn't help a self-conscious grimace for the lack of proper editing and transitions, but she knew better than to apologize for her work. "I did. It's all footage from today."

"It's good," Zhane repeated. He considered the screen a moment longer, then added, "You can use my comm code to get a link out. Send away."

Bad decision. It kept tugging at his consciousness, demanding attention like a child clinging to his sleeve, and he kept trying to ignore it in favor of more pressing concerns. There they were, right in front of him: pressing concerns. But it was still a bad decision.

Another wave of velocifighters had grounded, slipping past Ashley's wing and reaching the ground with an alarming lack of casualties. They couldn't keep tapping the ground troops; they were having enough trouble keeping up as it was. And Gold group couldn't keep the area clear from the air without inflicting considerable surface damage.

Bad decision. He hadn't consciously made it, but every moment he chose to ignore it was another moment he would be responsible for later. He tried to tell himself that one zord wouldn't make much of a difference either way. That was blatantly untrue, and he knew it as well as anyone.

A second orbital satellite went dark. Kerone knew they couldn't afford to shut the network down, but if she and Kyril couldn't keep up with the insurgents they would have no choice. They needed those relay stations. But they didn't need them at the expense of every secure communications server on the planet.

Bad decision. They were already short one Ranger, and it was only good luck that the Elisians were here and willing to fill in. Cassie was the Megaship's current crew of one, sufficient only because she had withdrawn from battle to teleport the ground forces. She would need backup if the battleship were to rejoin the fight--and he had it right here.

Saryn's voice cut through the fighter chatter, ordering his wing out to reinforce Black group. He was taking Andros' zord in to mop up the stragglers over sector 31, but Ty's wing needed help more than Ashley's and it wouldn't wait. Andros saw Marsie look up when Red group took off, and he knew she was on the verge of relaunching S wing.

He couldn't keep Zhane out of the fight any longer.

"Got it!"

She looked up in surprise, and Kyril vaulted over the half wall to join her. "Their code's been purged," he said, bracing one hand against the panel she was working on and studying the readout over her shoulder. "How are you doing?"

Kerone didn't answer until the panel signaled that the satellite defenses were once again in place. "The shields are back up," she said unnecessarily. "Ready?"

He nodded once, and the world shimmered violet around them. This time they appeared in the middle of a quantron unit and she lashed out instinctively. Kyril didn't move, and she saw a Q-blade go straight through him as he considered the scene carefully. That was one trick she wished she could manage in times like these.

Kyril turned and walked away, clearly of the opinion that she had the situation under control. She didn't bother to keep the quantrons from following, knowing that not only would they not be able to hurt him, but also that they would be back for her as soon as she destroyed their fellows. It didn't take long to get their attention; there weren't that many of them and she had a distinct advantage in a close-quarters struggle.

"No code," Kyril called down to her. His confidence in her ability to listen and fight simultaneously was either flattering or annoying. She hadn't decided which yet.

Her hand crackled with energy as she shoved another quantron away, tingling slightly as the mechanical being crashed to the floor. Excess electricity traced the quantron's visor before fizzling out, but she was already kicking a second down on top of it. She missed her staff. There was no room for it on these tiny, orbiting comm platforms.

Kyril ghosted through her combat zone, disconcerting in his ability to be where she was without taking the slightest amount of abuse. "Don't do that," she snapped, punching through him in retaliation.

He wasn't fazed, of course, and he didn't give the quantron she had struck a single glance as it went down behind him. "Just doing your job," he pointed out, stopping by the satellite defense panel. "Next time I'll fight and you can do disaster recovery."

She didn't know whether he was joking or not, but he had the shields back up the moment she finished off the last of the quantrons. He nodded at her questioning glance, and she sent them on to the next satellite. This one was devoid of metal soldiers, and for once he had the hard job when the override code turned out to already be in use.

She finished first and flipped her digimorpher open, leaning back against the panel while she waited for him. "Andros," she told the device. "Satellites 13 through 19 are clear. 20 and 21 look all right from here, so we're going on ahead."

"Skip 24," he answered immediately. How did he keep track of them all like that? "It's right in the middle of combat; if it survives we'll shut it down anyway."

"Got it." Closing her digimorpher, she saw Kyril swinging down to join her again. "Clear?"

He just nodded, and she pictured the 22nd satellite commission placard in her mind. The violet curtain didn't change a thing about their surroundings--except for the number by the access hatch. They worked their way through another code and shield operation, and she wondered how the quantrons had gotten so far ahead of them. If she didn't think it was impossible, she would assume they had gotten into the system from the outside.

Their next jump once again put them in the middle of quantrons, but this time the soldiers glittered violet to her eyes. Interesting, she thought, flashing Astronema's symbol at them. What were Dark Fortress quantrons doing here? Could they have gotten transferred somewhere along the line? Or was her reach more extensive in JT's dimension?

She smiled to herself as the quantrons saluted and signaled for pickup without fuss. A quick check of the shields revealed no "backdoor" block in place, and she would be surprised if they'd had time to rewrite the relay codes. Kyril gave her a startled look as the quantrons vanished, but he checked the code without waiting for an explanation.

"Andros," she told her morpher. "There are quantrons from the Dark Fortress here."

He didn't reply right away, but when he did it was no surprise. "There's no sign of the Dark Fortress," he answered. "Should we be looking for it?"

"No." Even if they could, they didn't have the resources to spare. "They're probably just transfers. I'll let you know if we find any more."

If he could leave this to Marsie he would, but she couldn't do it by herself and she wanted to be out there just as much as he did. He had managed to avoid assigning Zhane when she put S group back in the sky, but Cassie wanted back into the fight and there weren't any other choices. He was going to have to let his friend go without him.

*Zhane.*

The orbital network flashed as comm relays were rerouted, and he glanced over at the blank display that had once shown satellite 24. If his entire system wasn't flooded with adrenaline his stomach might have clenched uncomfortably. He knew Kerone wasn't on that satellite; he had warned her in plenty of time. But there was no place safe on KO-35 right now.

*Behind you,* Zhane's voice said, closer than he had expected. He must have returned only seconds before. Kristet wasn't with him.

*Cassie's taking the Megaship in,* he told his friend, not looking up. He hated this. He kept telling himself that the Megaship was better protection than anything else they had, and furthermore, Zhane was a Ranger. He didn't need Andros trying to shield him.

But Andros had needed him, all those years ago, and no Power in the world had been enough to keep him safe. If it hadn't been for DECA, Zhane would have died in the last invasion. What could possibly make Andros tempt those fates again?

The fate of everyone the Megaship could save if it had a copilot. Zhane knew it, maybe better than Andros did, and he didn't give Andros a chance for second thoughts. *I'm on it,* he replied.

*Zhane.* Andros didn't turn around, knowing that if he looked at the Silver Ranger he wouldn't let him leave. *Come back.*

Zhane didn't hesitate. *I swear.*

She wondered if her children would be born addicted to adrenaline. Was that possible? She was going to find out. Flooding their systems with any kind of chemical before they were even born had to be bad, even if it was a natural one. Or was adrenaline a hormone? Did it make a difference? It was one of those things Saryn would know.

She supposed she should just be grateful she wasn't in labor. The twins wouldn't be that early, truth be told, and she knew labor could be induced by stress. No invasion was complete without a woman in labor. She was going through movie withdrawal.

"Pilot or weapons?" Zhane's voice asked from behind her, and she tried not to jump.

Turning a mock-glare on him, she declared, "It's about time. I was starting to think Saryn had made a deal with Andros to keep me up here forever!"

Zhane grinned at her. "Saryn just doesn't want you to show him up by flying the Megaship into battle all by yourself. If you guys keep score, you could crush him."

"Keep score?" she repeated, amused in spite of herself. Was Zhane ever not the most flippant person on the planet? She dropped into her accustomed seat without a word, and he took Andros' seat. "DECA, let's get to Ashley."

"Yeah, keep score," Zhane said easily. "You know, how many quantrons you take out, how many velocifighters you destroy, that kind of thing. You don't keep track of that?"

"You do?" she countered, somehow not surprised.

"Sure! I've been ahead of Andros for months; it drives him crazy."

There had been a time when she could tell whether he was joking or not. She was disappointed that now she had no idea. Zhane was almost as mercurial as he pretended to be, that she remembered clearly. But reading him? Only constant practice made it possible.

"Where's Ty?" Zhane asked abruptly, just as her tactical screen flashed an "in range" warning. They were coming up on Ashley's wing fast.

"Medical bay," she answered. "Still unconscious."

Kristet was back, and he tried to remember what she was doing here. DECA hadn't wanted her on the Megaship, that much was certain. But what had made Andros take her with him? She didn't even have the security clearance to get her onto the base, and here she was in the command center. With a camera, no less.

The Megaship had decimated the first wave of velocifighters it encountered. This time it was Gold group that dropped back to fly ground support, and Zhane's wing fell into formation with the battleship. The fighter wings were finally getting coordinated with the ground troops, and he knew he had more than Marsie to thank for that. Her pilots were exceptionally good.

They had lost another orbital satellite, but communication with the rest of the planet was in no danger yet. Kerone and Kyril were getting the satellites back online almost as fast as the quantrons overrode them. There had been only one successful hack, and the compromised network had voluntarily shut down. No confusion, no complaints, just an immediate response. There were some advantages to KO-35's history after all.

He saw Ashley disengage from her fighter wing, and he wondered if the zords were as reliable as they had seemed. He still didn't know what Ty had done to them, but no one had reported any problems. Yet. He watched her ascend, caught her report a moment later, and glanced automatically over at Saryn's position.

There were only two zords still in the fight. Could that have something to do with Ashley's determination to reunite them? He wished he had time to find out, but he would just have to trust that she knew what she was doing. Ty might have been subdued, but the effects of his actions could haunt them for a long time to come.

He had no idea where he was. It took him several seconds to recognize the camera in the corner, and several more to comprehend what it meant. It was lit... and his mission was in serious trouble.

He closed his eyes for just a moment. There were two things he needed right now, and only luck and the element of surprise were going to get them for him. He rolled off the patient bed, catching himself at the last second when the disorientation caught up with his senses. He really didn't have time to be nauseous.

Forcing himself to straighten, Ty headed for the hallway--and walked right into the door. He winced, pressing his palm to his head and glaring at the door as if it had deliberately malfunctioned. That was the last thing he needed.

"Good morning," DECA's voice said pleasantly, and he groaned. Almost the last thing he needed.

"You seem to be feeling better," she remarked, ignoring his reaction. "Perhaps you are coherent enough to explain your actions at this time."

He turned to stare at her camera, eyes narrowed. "Open this door, DECA."

"Or perhaps not," she continued smoothly. "You seem to be operating under the misapprehension that you have any authority here."

"I'm a Ranger," he ground out.

"And I am the AI that controls this ship," she replied. "If you believe you have a point, feel free to restate it."

He turned and punched the emergency override beside the door. Nothing happened. He tried again, entering his code and then reaching for his digimorpher when there was no response.

It wasn't there.

He glanced around the room, heart sinking when he came up empty. No wonder DECA wasn't paying any attention to him. No digimorpher... no Ranger status. No Ranger status, no authority. Sometimes he hated artificial intelligence.

"When you are willing to accept that your effort is futile," the computer interjected, "I am still waiting for your explanation."

"What explanation?" he retorted, glaring up at the camera. "I tried to take over the ship! I'm still trying," he muttered under his breath.

"Why?" DECA inquired. "Surely you know that the Megaship is at your disposal. There was no need to commandeer it."

"You wouldn't have done what I wanted," Ty said, lowering his gaze to the door and wondering if there was any other way out of here.

"Not if I didn't know what it was," DECA agreed. "There are telepaths on the team, but I am not among them."

He sighed, sinking back onto the patient bed. Could she really still believe in him after everything he'd done? Why did she still assume his intentions were honorable? He thought her faith was worse than her accusations would have been.

The system sentries were picking up incoming velocifighters. He and Marsie stared in stunned silence just long enough to realize that they were both doing it, and then their gazes sought each other out. "They're passing the sentries," Marsie said.

At the same moment, he pointed out, "They're in a standard attack formation."

Marsie slapped the allcall. "Velocifighters coming in, system limits."

"They're not reinforcements," Andros added firmly. "I repeat, these are not reinforcements!"

"Andros, the orbital satellites are clean." Kerone's voice came over the zord network, and he knew she and Kyril were already out.

"Saryn, status," he snapped, scanning the satellite displays automatically. "Do you want the fighters or the zords?"

"The fighters." Saryn understood immediately what he was asking and didn't bother to elaborate.

"Megaship, break off," Andros told the zord network. Marsie was already talking to the fighters. "Intercept the incoming velocifighters. Kerone, Kyril, you're with the Megaship."

Marsie touched his shoulder distractedly, not even catching his eye. "S wing?" she murmured, quietly enough that it stayed between them.

"Yours," he responded, just as quietly.

She nodded, recalling Zhane's fighters without question. He didn't watch long enough to see where she sent them. He was already following the Megaship in his mind, hoping the decision that had sent it away would also bring it back.

His instincts screamed at him to follow the Megaship, but he let it go without a word of protest. They each made their own decisions, and he couldn't take that from her if he wanted to. And, as she would no doubt remind him, she did have a better record with life and death situations than he did.

Saryn turned his attention back to the fighters, noting that Ashley was not having any trouble coordinating her attack with that of Andros' wing. They were nominally under his control, but they clearly recognized her tactics without the need for commands. He would be better off turning his group over to her--or better, getting Gold group up here with her and sending his wing to the surface as air support.

He did it without thinking, without hesitation, the way he had been trained so many years ago. He and Ashley were the only zord pilots left in orbit, and they could use whatever backup they could find. The primary fighter wings were all flying air support now, except for Ashley's, and the secondaries had taken over the upper atmosphere.

It was a surprisingly organized counterforce, considering its hastily assembled nature and somewhat disjointed command structure. He did appreciate the Kerovans' willingness to follow the instructions of Rangers--any Rangers that happened to be nearby, not just their own. They clearly had their own planetary defense units, but they also had a healthy and very helpful respect for the Power.

If only the zords were as respectful. He knew why Ashley had joined him, and it did seem to be helping. He could only assume that she wasn't having as much trouble with her zord as he was, but Andros' clearly did not recognize him as its regular pilot. It was responsive, yes, but with a reluctance that he could sense if not describe.

"Saryn." Ashley's voice spoke across the network as though it was in the cockpit with him. He wondered, not for the first time, if they had comm codes he wasn't aware of. "They're better together?"

He caught the questioning note in her voice and nodded once. "Yes. It seems Kerone was correct with regard to their loyalty to each other."

Then the lull was gone, and the battle engulfed him again. He hadn't fought in space for some time, and the illusion of safety that the cockpit gave him was one he had forgotten. The enemy was nothing more than colors on a screen, maneuvers and signals that were somehow removed from his person. Yet that sense of detachment was false.

The cockpit, however isolating, was still the only thing standing between himself and the unforgiving environment of space. A mistake in an atmosphere would get him another bruise or perhaps a broken bone. A mistake in the vacuum of space would get him death by asphyxiation, explosive decompression, or any number of other equally distasteful possibilities.

He wasn't sure he liked this growing ability to think and fight at the same time. Was it because his Power and that of his zord were not synchronized, allowing his mind to linger outside of the battle? Or was it simply the product of experience, a rather annoying side effect of well-developed reflexes and ingrained training?

Cassie would say thinking about it only made it worse. And she would be right. Yet he couldn't imagine telling Mirine that he had decided to stop thinking during battles because he found it inconvenient. Perhaps Cassie could explain it to her... assuming it still mattered after today.

No, Saryn decided. He didn't like this at all.

"Get those fighters out of there," Andros said tersely.

"I don't care if it looks clear," Marsie was telling the Council representative. "The shelters were built for a reason and until the ground troops tell me otherwise, the evac order is in force."

Without waiting for an answer she tilted her head toward him and added, "We have the firepower to spare. Let us use it at the hangar."

"It won't do any good," he argued. "The quantrons are inside."

"Ground troops, then," Marsie answered. "Lethwin doesn't want them in Kataisa anyway."

Andros studiously avoided the Council screen, careful not to let his smile show. "We'll take care of it," he said firmly. "The hangar has defenses that the troops could walk right into, and there's no reason to risk more lives on an unoccupied structure."

"Upper atmospheric encroachment is negligible," Saryn reported calmly. "Please advise."

Andros caught Marsie's eye again. "Kerone," he said, just as Marsie asked for her own wingleader. "Status," they said at the same time.

"We're fine, KO-35," Kerone's voice answered. "Keep them."

"Show-off," Andros heard Ashley mutter over the network.

She wanted to go help the Megaship, but she knew that even if she and Saryn split up, she would be the one to stay. She had fighter training and the pilots' trust, even if he was the one with the experience. It was odd to think that she was more qualified than Saryn for something--anything, really, but especially something Ranger related.

They didn't split up. Marsie sent them both down to the surface, along with the rest of Gold group and Kerone's oh-so-innocent good wishes. Ashley smiled to herself, but managed to not respond to her friend's suggestion that they scrimmage if it got too boring. Even if they were, finally, making progress, Andros probably wouldn't appreciate the levity.

The situation on the surface wasn't quite what she expected, and it didn't take long to realize that her zord wasn't any more discriminating when it came to ground targets than it had been before. It wasn't that it was trying to cause damage, but the delta wing lasers had been designed for battle in space. She was going to have to shift. The zord's cat form would do better on the ground, and Gold group didn't need her help here.

"Gold One, take over," she told the fighters' comm channel. "I'm setting down."

Cara's voice came back immediately. "Acknowledged, Gold Leader."

She saw Saryn follow her down, no doubt having come to the same conclusion. The lasers were fine even in a heavy firefight, but this was almost a mop-up operation and they didn't need to destroy anything that had made it through the fighting intact. Her cat reformed around her, Saryn's shifting a moment later, and they touched down one right after another.

It was strange to have him at her back. Strange even to have the red cat behind her, no matter who was piloting it. It was usually Kerone who watched her back, not Andros. Andros and Zhane still fought together, no matter what Andros told the rest of them about working as a team.

That was all she had time for until the quantrons were gone from her forward screen and her tactical monitor. It took a lot more concentration to maneuver on the ground, and target practice hadn't been one of their priorities of late. No matter how enthusiastic the cats were about eliminating quantrons--and today they were less enthusiastic than usual--their aim was far from automatic.

She heard the Megaship return, knew when the other zords were deployed across the planet, and wondered how many velocifighters Kerone had counted as hers. She had been behind ever since the quest, but Ashley suspected her score would be considerably higher after today. Ashley hadn't been able to keep track; she'd have to check the zord records later.

Nothing else was coming up on her tactical screen, and she heard Cara sending the all-clear to Marsie. The ground troops would probably stay longer, but the fighter wings were lifting up and out. She waited for Andros to send them somewhere else, rolling her shoulders absently and stretching her fingers. She would be so glad to get out of this cockpit.

"Saryn, Ashley," Andros said at last. He'd been using their names all day, presumably out of respect for Saryn and Kyril who didn't know their code conventions. "It's time to clear the hangar."

She hesitated over her controls, her gaze going to the SD screen automatically. Its focus had narrowed to a planetary display, and there was nothing brighter than yellow anywhere except the Keyota hills. Even as she watched, one of the yellow sectors turned green and she heard S One request redeployment.

"S One, pull out," Marsie's voice replied. "Orbital vector--"

Andros' voice on the zord network overrode her. "Kerone, head back to the hangar."

"On my way," his sister's voice answered.

"Right behind you," Ashley put in belatedly. Saryn acknowledged too, and she wondered if he had been waiting for her to speak first. Andros' cat launched itself into the air as soon as she cleared the surface.

Zhane wasn't happy. Andros knew that without having to hear him complain, not that the Silver Ranger would do it over an open comm channel. He was probably inflicting his disappointment on Cassie in the form of jokes and a constant running commentary on everything from the velocifighters to atmospheric turbulence.

The Megaship couldn't join the zords at the hangar. They needed it in orbit, and they needed Rangers on it. DECA could monitor the entire planet, but if she didn't have someone to send to trouble spots it wouldn't do any good. Cassie was perfectly competent, of course, but not in any condition to provide backup for the ground troops. And Ty...

He didn't know what they were going to do with Ty. How long had he been in contact with Dark Spectre? What had he promised in exchange for Ryse? How much of that promise had he made good on, and how committed was he to the exchange? Would they even be able to reason with him?

"Hangar perimeter is secure," Kerone reported over the zord network.

He heard Ashley's voice answer, but Marsie was trying to recall the primary fighter wings and Lethwin wanted to know how long ground troops would be occupying the cities. Andros couldn't answer that, but he could assign Marsie's secondary wings to temporary patrol while she was distracted. They were going to have to find a way to use sim time for patrols anyway.

Andros sent the newsnets a promise that the evac order would soon be lifted, a reminder to all satellite maintainers that the relays would have to be calibrated again, and a preliminary estimate on the number of fighters that had been involved in the battle. He gave the zord screen a furtive glance, noting that Ashley and Kerone were now inside. Communication had temporarily lapsed, and he forced himself not to ask for their status.

Zhane wasn't the only one who wished he could be there.

Ashley finally gave the all-clear, and he allowed his zord to settle to the ground. The giant bird of prey took up a position on the ridge overlooking the hangar, allowing Kyril one last scan before he teleported out. He couldn't get a clear fix on quantron activity through the hangar shielding, but Ashley's tone had been one of finality. When she said it was clear, she meant it was completely clear.

She and Kerone had gone on ahead, claiming the hangar had defenses that didn't recognize any Rangers but their own. He found that unlikely, especially since no one had thought to mention this before. On the other hand, this was the Border, and one couldn't be too careful.

He joined Saryn in front of the bay doors, and they advanced cautiously no matter what they expected to find inside. They were greeted, surprisingly, by a stillness so total that he wondered for a moment where Kerone and Ashley had gone. Then Kerone's voice called out from somewhere above them, and Kyril's weapon tracked upwards while Saryn held his position.

Kerone lifted a hand in acknowledgement, her uniform dissolving in a shower of sparkles as she looked down at them. "The computer system's locked down," she called. "It was in charge of intruder defense, so there shouldn't be any more surprises."

More surprises? Kyril glanced around, noting the apparently deactivated quantrons at comm and computer stations. Given the lack of weapons' damage deep inside the hangar, he could only assume that the intruder defense system was entirely network oriented. He supposed the only physical defense they needed was the hangar itself--when the doors were closed, and someone wasn't working against it from the inside.

"We may have to get DECA to override the lockdown code," Ashley's voice added, and this time he caught the peripheral motion before she spoke. "But for now, I guess we're going to have to do something with these quantrons."

"Too bad evil can't clean up after itself anymore," Kerone remarked, pausing as she paced the length of the catwalk to key open every door and do a cursory sweep. "You'd think if it brought them in here, the least it could do is take them back out again."

The hangar shields would prevent the quantrons from being recalled when they were deactivated. Whatever force had sent them was now short several dozen quantrons, even the parts or scrap metal the damaged ones could have provided. It was an open question whether that small victory was worth the inconvenience of having to dispose of them.

"This place is a total mess," Ashley said abruptly, and he glanced her way in time to see her demorph. "Can we go back to fighting now? That was less depressing."

Kyril considered the hangar with some surprise. It actually looked pretty decent, for a place that had been abandoned to the forces of evil some hours earlier. But maybe that was the problem... of course it looked decent, for a battlefield. But for a residential building? A place where people lived?

For a home, the place was a shambles.

"Saryn," he said quietly, getting the Red Ranger's attention as subtly as possible. "They're going to need help."

Saryn's expression didn't change. "I know," he said just as softly. "This fight belongs to all of us. But the Defense is reluctant to commit to this region, and I have been gone from Elisia too long already."

"Let me stay," Kyril offered. "If they'll have me. I can at least represent the other Border worlds and give them some sense of solidarity."

Saryn seemed to study him, but Kyril knew he was considering the idea. "If they'll have you," he agreed at last. "And if you are willing... your presence could be both practically and symbolically beneficial."

"Kerone!" Kyril raised his voice without warning, and he saw Saryn smile a little as he turned away. "Want some help here?"

"Can you stay corporeal long enough to haul quantrons?" she called back. It was impossible to tell whether she was teasing or not.

"Let's do it," he replied, making his way across the zord bay toward the second set of stairs. "Find anything up there?"

This time her voice was openly amused. "Quantrons for you!"

*DECA says she's not keeping him in the medical bay anymore,* Zhane reported silently. If there was one thing they didn't want on an open comm link in a room where almost anyone on the planet could overhear, it was their discussion of Ty.

*But he's still there?* Andros couldn't quite get his mind around that. Someone who had just betrayed everything they believed in--well, almost everything--didn't just change their mind. *What's he doing?*

*Just sitting there.* Zhane sounded, of all things, worried. Andros' emotional opposite, the Silver Ranger was slow to anger and quick to sympathize. *DECA says he won't even talk to her now.*

Andros considered that. *I don't suppose she's found my morpher,* he said at last.

*Yeah, I have it right here.* There was a pause, and Zhane added, *I'm thinking about holding it ransom.*

Andros blinked. *For what?* he asked, surprised by the change in subject.

Zhane's sympathy was gone, replaced by smugness faster than Andros had even noticed. *I'll think of something.*

Distracted, Andros hesitated a moment too long in answering an incoming comm link. He shook his head at Marsie's questioning look, tempted to step back and just talk but knowing he couldn't justify it. *Leave me alone,* he said sternly and, he didn't doubt, completely unconvincingly.

Zhane's reply was no less than he'd expected, given the circumstances. *Make me!*

He could see all of them on the comm screen in the medical bay. Well, he couldn't actually see Andros, but the newsnet's constant coverage seemed to replay the same scenes from inside the Quon fighter base every time he blinked. He could only assume that was Kristet's work.

DECA willingly supplied a camera feed from the Bridge, which surprised him a little. He hadn't asked, but she displayed Zhane and Cassie every so often. She seemed to be rotating through visuals of the other Rangers... to what end, he wasn't entirely sure. The pictures she lingered over were the ones he, too, found himself drawn to watching.

The hangar bay. Kerone, searching room by room, and Ashley, struggling to get the computer system operational again. The Elisian Rangers, conversing quietly just inside the doorway. Each of them dealing with the scene in their own way--it was hard to say how it affected them individually.

He couldn't even tell how it affected him. He hated the images DECA was showing him, and yet he couldn't stop looking. But did he hate them because the other Rangers had beaten him? Or because they had had to? What *would* DECA have done if he had asked? What would the others have done?

They were futile questions now. Now, he had failed both his teammates and his lover. He had no place on either side anymore, and he supposed it was only a matter of time before he had to make his own way again. If he was even allowed to go. There had to be some kind of justice for a Ranger gone rogue.

He couldn't bring himself to care when he had gambled everything and lost. There wasn't anything left for him now, here or anywhere else. The sick feeling in his stomach was giving way to numbness, having eaten away at everything inside of him until he didn't recognize himself anymore.

Ty watched the screen without expression, without a word... without feeling.