Disclaimer: The Power Rangers are not mine.

Warning: Reasons for the rating include: slavery as a recurring theme and strong violence, as well as heavy implications of torture and abuse. Oh, and there's also sex. These are touchy subjects for some people, and if you would prefer not to read a story containing these elements, feel free to hit the back button.

Author's Note: This AU is built up around three different ideas. The one that you need to know to understand the first chapter is that Andros didn't turn the Megaship around and go back for the other Rangers. The rest will all be explained fully in the story.

An approximate timeline for the starting point of this story would be post-"A Date with Danger." Probably closer to "The Secret of the Locket," but Zhane sticks around.

The decisions the characters make in this story are, with very few exceptions, rational. They have reasons for doing everything that they do. Sometimes just not very good reasons.

And finally, I owe a huge thank you to AH/AY, Arwennicole, and DarkHonda for their support of this story. (Go read their stories, they're good!) Enjoy, and please remember to review!

Chapter 1

He was so close to freedom that he could practically see it. Hell, he would see it, assuming that his 'ship' could make it into hyperspace without exploding on him. He had to admit that it was unlikely that nothing would go wrong with the pod, but he had come this far and waited this long and he wasn't turning back now. The vessel exploding on him was a risk he was willing to take.

Four months Andros had waited for this chance. For four months, he had let himself be put through hell, let happen almost everything that could possibly have been done to him. Darkonda hadn't killed him, and he hadn't... Andros sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily. At least Darkonda hadn't killed him.

He tried not to think of everything that Darkonda had done. Whether it had been by Darkonda's hand or someone else's, everything Andros had suffered, every ordeal he had faced, every degradation he had endured, it had all been the work of the bounty hunter.

It was easier to lay the blame on Darkonda rather than himself. Had he wanted to, Andros could have ended it. Darkonda had made that clear shortly after Andros's capture.

"It would be a shame to kill you, Red Ranger," Darkonda remarked, slowly circling his newfound prisoner. Andros was unbound but also unmorphed, the Megaship long gone by his own orders. "Such a waste of training."

Andros didn't answer. He stared straight ahead into the dark shadows of Darkonda's ship, his chin held high as he pretended to ignore how the tip of Darkonda's blade trailed over his neck. Though the sensation was unpleasant, the metal didn't quite pierce through his skin.

"Would you like to live, Red Ranger?"

Still Andros kept his mouth shut. The lack of response displeased Darkonda. His captor made that clear by dealing him a hard blow to the ribs with the hilt of his sword. Darkonda leaned in closer, and Andros's stomach churned.

"Answer me, Red Ranger," Darkonda growled, "or I may decide to slit your throat after all."

"Yes." Andros finally spoke, and he spoke calmly, though his fingers curled into fists at Darkonda's sneer.

"Yes?"

"I want to live." He didn't like the glint in Darkonda's eyes.

"Baldric is dead." Darkonda watched intently for Andros's reaction. The Red Ranger twitched nervously, and the bounty hunter chuckled darkly. "I see you remember him. I can assure you that he remembered you as well; there weren't many that escaped. But with him gone, there is no one to reclaim you."

"The Astro Megaship has is no longer present in this system," the AI spoke up, and Darkonda rounded on Andros.

"If you think for one moment that I won't find that ship of yours--" He was cut off when Andros drove an uppercut to his jaw.

"You should have taken the ship when you had the chance," Andros retorted, far removed from the helpless child Darkonda had encountered eleven years earlier. "You were careless."

The comment only infuriated Darkonda further but Andros didn't regret it. He ducked to avoid losing his head, determined that he would never again beg for mercy from this pitiless brute. Andros fought with everything he had in him, at a serious disadvantage without his morpher but refusing to acknowledge the fact.

Darkonda didn't waste his chance when Andros missed a block and planted a foot into his stomach, sending the Red Ranger sprawling. Andros landed hard, his back scraping against the rough decks. Unable to keep from groaning, he slowly began to roll over onto his side, freezing cold when he felt unforgiving metal pressing against his neck.

"Know that I will find whatever it is that you're protecting," Darkonda vowed, and Andros gulped.

Zhane had been willing to die for him and now it was Andros's turn. No matter what torture Darkonda forced upon him, Andros would never help him find the Megaship. The healing chamber was well hidden but Andros didn't doubt that Darkonda would eventually find it, and Darkonda with that much firepower at his dispense would be nearly invincible.

"You have two choices, Red Ranger," Darkonda warned. "You do exactly as I say--or you die. Which will it be?"

Andros had chosen to obey, and in the end, he'd escaped with his life--or so it seemed--but it been at a high price. His body would always bear the scars. His self-respect was all but gone, half of him still believing that he should have defied Darkonda and chosen death.

Maybe he should have. Andros didn't know and truth be told, he didn't care any longer. All that mattered now was that he made it somewhere safe. Just where that was, however, he didn't know. Eltare was still under siege; Darkonda had been under the impression that Dark Spectre had plans to settle there permanently, adding one more insult to a long list of injuries. KO-35 was out of the question; even if Darkonda didn't think to search for him there, Andros didn't think he could bear setting foot on his now-abandoned homeworld.

Aquitar, he mused as his eyes strayed over the dimly lit instrument panel. Aquitar was still free, and Andros thought he could make it there with the amount of fuel he had left. The Aquitian Rangers were his allies; Andros knew that they would aid him.

He spared another glance at the fuel gauge and sighed. Earth was much closer, and his chances of arriving alive therefore much better. However, he couldn't be sure that Earth was still free, and even if it was--a big if--even if it was, Andros wasn't so sure that the Earthen Rangers would be eager to help him. Shame colored his face at the memory of how he had just... abandoned them.

They were waving to him. He might have been totally unfamiliar with the traditional handshake of Earth, but he did know that waving was one way to say goodbye. For one moment, his hands stalled on the controls, and Andros merely gazed at the viewing screen showing him the four Earth-humans with their hands raised to him in farewell.

They had wanted to remain with him, to help him in his mission. He hesitated then, wondering if maybe he should have taken the time to consider their offer more seriously, instead of dismissing them with ill-concealed scorn. His eyes closed and sighed, shaking his head forcefully.

No. He worked alone. Satisfied that he was making the right decision, Andros grasped the accelerator resolutely and thrust it forward, taking the Megaship into the sky and leaving the first humans he had seen in two years behind.

"Okay, Deca, let's get going." Andros paused to shake off the last vestige of doubt. "Mega-Accelerator to Hyperrush Three."

"Hyperrush Three initiating now," Deca replied, and Andros tried not to sigh. He knew that she didn't approve one bit what he had just done, and she was going to express that the way she always did: She'd feed him wilted vegetables for three days and all the hot water would mysteriously disappear.

The blur of motion he caught from the corner of his eye had his head snapping to the side, and he did a double take as he realized what--who?--he was looking at. "Alpha, what are you doing here?"

"Listen to me, Andros," the robot pleaded. "You're making a big mistake. Can't you see that the five of you have the same mission? You're supposed to be a team."

"I believe that Alpha has a valid point, Andros," Deca spoke up.

"Quiet," he ordered before he thought better of it. No, she wasn't happy with him at all. "Look, I work alone," he continued. "I don't need them."

"If you're going to rescue Zordon, you'll need to take all the help that you can get."

Andros paused, weighing the truth of Alpha's words against his own fears. "Deca--" He stopped, closed his eyes briefly, and then shook his head. "Deca, Hyperrush Nine."

Alpha left the bridge soon after, and Andros was left alone with Deca, who for the time being appeared content with being uncooperative. Andros glanced up at the camera mounted over the viewing screen, and sighed.

"You think I should have gone back for them," he stated accusingly.

"It does seem to be the wisest option," Deca agreed.

"No, it doesn't," Andros said sharply. "You saw what happened on KO-35, Deca. I've been fine on my own for two years now. I don't need their help."

"You said the same to Reya," Deca reminded him, reproof clear in her voice. "You do remember the outcome of your decision?"

As long as he lived, he would never forget that day. Andros almost changed his mind right then. "This is different," he almost whispered. "This is the right thing to do."

If the alarm hadn't shrilled, Andros was fairly confident that Deca would have argued otherwise. His head snapped up as Deca quickly silenced the noise, bringing the viewscreen to life.

He knew that ship. Andros swore softly under his breath, bathed in cold sweat. He knew that ship, he knew its commander, he knew that he was in deep trouble.

"Arm the Megalasers," he ordered, his hands clenching over the controls. "Evasive action, and fire on my command."

"The Megalasers cannot be charged."

Andros swore more loudly this time. They must have been damaged during the crash-landing. You should have checked them, he rebuked himself, but it was too late for that now.

Another false signal. He blew out his breath in frustration, knowing that his superiors on Eltare, or rather Meisia, would be most displeased with this news. And, of course, he would take the heat for this latest failure, never mind that Tan was the one who had compiled the information that had lead him to this desolate system, empty of light and life.

Arietis shook his head with a sigh, surpressing the bitterness that washed over him. Regardless of his less than flattering opinion of the Red Eltaran Ranger, he had a job to do. With his patience long gone, he turned his attention back to the console before him and studied the readout.

He had plenty of fuel and could easily check out the next closest signal, still arriving back on Meisia by the planet's nightfall. He might as well, knowing that he'd be dispatched to that same location in a day or two anyhow. Arietis sighed again and shifted into hyperspace.

The lasers weren't a memory this time. Andros jerked to attention as light streaked across the viewing screen. So he'd been missed after all. Cursing, he grabbed ahold of the controls and held on tight, wondering why escape pods weren't equipped with weapons. He could have used one.

The pod was in such poor condition that forcing it into hyperspace would likely tear it apart. Andros could only push forward as much as he dared and watch helplessly as the ship he had just fled slowly gained on him. It would only be a few moments more before he was captured yet again and this time, he wouldn't be so lucky.

He was clenching the controls hard enough to turn his knuckles white. There was no way he would survive if they chose to fire on him, but he doubted that they would. Darkonda would be most upset if he were killed, and Andros knew that the bounty hunter would act quickly.

The engine sputtered. The one working control panel, which just so happened to be the back-up console, lit up like crazy as the engine's stalling took its toll on most other crucial functions. The tiny pod shuddered forcefully, tossing Andros forward into the control panel.

He picked himself up with a groan, simply too exhausted to pay any attention to what he suspected were his rapidly bruising ribs. Life support was unstable now, but it didn't seem so important with himself about to be captured yet again...

More laser fire streaked across the viewing screen, and Andros's head snapped up. This was a different ship. The firing pattern, the color, it was all different. His heart pounded wildly as he caught a glimpse of the ship--could it really be? The viewing screen went dark before he could get a good look at it, but he knew that ship.

His hands trembled with exhaustion and excitement as Andros went to work trying to repair the damage done. If he was right, and he just had to be, he wasn't about to suffocate before being rescued.

Andros had no idea how much time passed before he heard a quiet rasping sound on the outside of the pod. He backed up to the corner of the pod, arms raised to fight if necessary, but then the hatch was pried open and he almost cried to see who stood in the airlock.

The figure paused, staring at him. "Andros?"

He nodded weakly, exhaustion crashing down on him now that he knew he was safe. "Please," he rasped. "Help me."