Cover
Disclaimer: But can't I have just one? Pretty please?
Warnings: A lot of angst.
Summary: There are decisions to be made in the aftermath of the Countdown and loyalties to be determined.
After the final battle for earth, Tommy Oliver meets with Andros and Ashley. Tommy's bruised and bloody, with one arm in a sling; all the former rangers had been in the thick of the fighting and he was no exception. Even without powers, he's intimidating, radiating determination and strength and barely banked fury. He is everything Ashley has always aspired to be, everything that being a ranger represents.
"I heard you captured Astronema," he says without preamble.
Ashley senses more than sees Andros tense. She reaches without looking to lay her hand on his arm.
"That's not quite true," she says. Tommy's eyebrows rise.
"Civilians reported you taking her off the Fortress and escorting her onto the MegaShip."
"She's my sister," Andros bursts out, ignoring Ashley's cautionary touch. She desperately wishes to cover his mouth, to muffle the words that will bring down the attention of the Morphing Council and countless traumatized, angry words. Even now, Astronema has the power to destroy him.
"Your sister," Tommy repeats slowly. His free hand is clenching.
"Andros' sister was held captive on the Fortress," Ashley says. She hadn't even realised she'd made a decision until she's speaking. It's made before she knows it, as instinctive as blocking a punch in battle. "Astronema dressed her as a decoy, and Andros fired on her by mistake." She forces a meaningless smile. "There's a bit of a resemblance, you see."
From the corner of her eye she sees Andros frown and open his mouth. She grips his arm warningly, digging her nails in. Trust me. She's trusted him enough times this year, when her friends and her own judgement would say otherwise. Time for him to return the favour.
Tommy is still looking at her.
"Is that so?" He says.
"Yes." She holds his gaze without flinching. "It is."
She hates the disappointment in his eyes. With a horrible little lurch she realises that this one of those life-changing moments, whose repercussions that will echo through the years. Her team will back up her story, and her predecessors will accept it because they have no alternative and Zordon's sacrifice destroyed all evidence that would disprove it. But they won't forget this betrayal.
"Are you sure about this, Ashley?" Tommy asks. For a moment Ashley is horribly tempted to come clean and say no, she was lying, Karone really is Astronema, but she's good now, she's really really good, and she doesn't deserve the hatred or notoriety of the war trial that would inevitably follow her exposure…
"I'm sure," she says.
There's no way to conclusively prove that Astronema wasn't in control for the past few months. And even if there were, there are still years that she was. There are worlds out there bearing scars that will never heal, where Astronema's name is a curse and an epitah. Those crimes can't be taken back, regardless of what name she takes or whose blood she shares. But Andros will defend her to his last breath. He can't not, even if it destroys him, and Ashley can't let that happen.
Tommy nods wearily. Ashley can see him rearranging his thoughts, putting away those questions whose answers he can't afford to know. His disappointment is a heavy weight on her shoulders, but that's okay. She's carried worse.
"You should spread the word, make sure people know," he says finally. "If the public were to believe – for whatever reason – that the Astro rangers were harbouring a war criminal, there would be a serious backlash."
As Tommy walks away, limping slightly, Andros' hand slides into Ashley's.
"You didn't need to lie," he says softly. She feels the old scars on his skin, nearly invisible lines that fit the lifelines of her palm.
"Yes, I did."
A/N: This is based off the fact that Astronema's true identity doesn't appear in Tommy's historical records in Dino Thunder. This got me to thinking that maybe this isn't general knowledge, even among rangers. Going by the Onyx bar's reaction to 'Astronema', her switching sides isn't well known. It would certainly explain Karone's easy acceptance by her own people and how she managed to avoid being put on trial or imprisoned.