Voyage Part II
Disclaimer: If you're reading this, then you know that this is a work of fiction. Any lawsuits filed against me will be ignored. I don't own anything in the story but the plot.
Warning: If you haven't found Part 1 of this story, it's because I haven't posted it yet. I wanted to try something different. You see, this story will be separated into 3 parts, and I've decided that I want to release this part first, and then slowly begin to release Part 1. Hope you like the story coming this way, if you don't please tell me in your reviews. So on to the story.
Despite everyone's best efforts, Andros found himself staring moodily out to space, sitting on the bridge of the Astromega Ship. Ashley would probably be telling him off for spending so much time by himself, but she wasn't here right now. It wasn't that he didn't want to socialize; it was that he felt that he had nothing in common with anyone.
They'd been traveling to Eltar for about 2 weeks, and had at least another week to go. He had seen the wonder in the eyes of the younger generations of rangers fade, leaving in its wake an aura of nearly absolute boredom.
After discovering that their newly reacquired morphers didn't work, both Billy and Trini were currently working on a solution as to how to activate them. Cam, on the other hand, appeared to be studying the systems that allowed DECA to run. All 3 techies appeared to be in their elements, and seemed quite content at the moment. Tori, Kira, Conner, Zack, and Jason were on the simulator deck, having spent most of the flight sparring. Originally Hayley had been with Billy and Trini, but had disappeared after a while. The only one whose moods were at least as indiscernible as his was the one ranger that he could relate to the most, Tommy. While Andros was sitting on the bridge, Tommy was standing on the viewing deck just staring into the darkness of space. From what he had gathered of this mission, this was very personal to Tommy. Kimberly was probably the sole reason that Tommy could even be considered the greatest ranger ever. Even he could see the strong front that Tommy was displaying as the front that it was.
After a while he saw everyone file out of the simulator deck, and as he looked at the clock set on the bridge he realized that it was getting awfully close to dinner, and it would be his and Tommy's turn to cook. He quickly jumped to his feet and hurried to the galley. Originally there had been a machine, which would have created the meals, but during the construction of this new Astromega Ship, the workers had decided that it would be too expensive to put another one in, so now they were stuck doing things the old fashioned way. Andros arrived in the galley, and was surprised to find Tommy already there chopping carrots. Working together, Tommy and Andros made a stew and were just beginning to serve it as everybody began to file in.
Dinner was an amusing one as nearly everyone managed to pick on Conner. Even Andros couldn't resist a guarded laugh at the expense of the new red ranger. They were making fun of how Kira had managed to beat him during an earlier spar. Only 2 people spared Conner; Tommy, who spent most of the meal silently eating, and surprisingly enough, Kira herself, who spent most of the time defending him, until Zack asked Conner why he let his girlfriend argue for him. Both Kira and Conner turned extremely red at the question. Kira studiously started to pick her food, while Conner excused himself from the table and walked away. Andros quickly changed the subject by inquiring about the status of the morphers, but he did manage to catch the concerned glance in the direction that Conner had walked off in. The rest of the meal was uncomfortably quiet.
After everyone had finished, he asked Hayley to cover the dishes for him as he went in search of Conner. It took him a while, but he managed to find him staring moodily out the bridge, in the seat that he, himself had vacated not too long ago. When Conner finally noticed his presence, he quickly vacated the chair, all the while apologizing profusely. Andros held out his hand in an effort to stop Conner's rambling apology. "Conner," Andros said, "it's okay, I just wanted to talk to you."
Both men stared out to space, wondering which of them would be the one to start the conversation. It quickly became apparent that it would be up to Andros to begin. Interestingly enough though, it was Conner that started. "You're going to ask me if I like her, aren't you?" Conner asked. Andros nodded. Conner appeared to consider whether or not telling Andros would help his situation, as it dawned on Andros how uncomfortable he was probably making Conner feel. "Look, it's obvious that you do like her, probably even to her, I'm just not sure why you haven't told her yet." Andros got up to leave, but Conner grabbed his arm before he could get far. Conner let out a long sigh, as he decided to tell him.
"It's not as easy as you think it is." Conner began. "She means a lot to me, there are nights where I don't even sleep because I have an image of that girl constantly running through my mind. I find myself laying in bed just thinking of the little things she does, how she eats, how she laughs, even how she breaths. I constantly have to keep my guard up because I'm afraid that if I don't I could ruin my relationship with the one person I care for the most." Conner took a deep breath to try to calm himself down. "And she can never know," he said sadly. "Why?" Andros asked. Conner sighed in frustration "because she can never love me the way that she loves Trent Fernandez" he said subdued. "No matter how much I want to tell her how I feel; I know I can't because Trent will always be her first priority.
Andros stood rooted to the spot, not knowing what to say. His one and only experience with love had ended in a disaster, so Andros had no clue on how to advise the young man that stood in front of him. Just as he was about to speak, Kira revealed her presence by clearing her throat. "Conner?" she asked. "Did you really mean all of those things?" Conner looked like he was about to deny them, but with a nervous gulp nodded his head instead. "Wow," Kira said. "I don't know what to say Conner, but I think you're right. We're just way to differ…"
Kira was suddenly cut off by the alarms, which had begun to sound throughout the ship. Conner looked about in confusion, then looked to Andros for answers. From the moment the alarms sounded, Andros knew what was happening, although he really hoped that he was mistaken. Andros went over to one of the monitors and begun studying the readings closely. After a moment, he nodded his head grimly as he confirmed his fears. Both Conner and Kira turned to Andros for instructions, not knowing the problem, but willing to follow whatever orders that he would give. In that moment of chaos, Andros smiled as he saw that the spirit of the power rangers still lived on, even 10 years after its birth.
"Make sure everyone is accounted for, and tell them to come to the bridge." Both teens immediately sprinted off the bridge in search of their fellow ranger's. Once more Andros looked at the monitor and shook his head. An evil presence had been detected onboard, he sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to blows, but he knew that it would eventually. Andros allowed himself to marvel at the courage that he had witnessed then shook off the nostalgic feeling as he readied himself for battle.
Just as Conner was about to head to the bridge he heard arguing emanating from the engine room. Curiously Conner rounded the corner and found himself looking at trouble. Kira was being held captive by what appeared to be 2 giant spiders and a masked woman with brown hair wearing black armor. Kira was struggling to break the hold of her captors, but then appeared to give up. Suddenly she spit on the woman. The woman appeared to stare intently at Kira. Out of nowhere her hand shot out landing a resounding slap, which would send Kira reeling, and Conner into a blinding rage. He didn't even hear the woman say "Master, our mission is accomplished, get us out of here." A column of red light surrounded the four of them as they prepared to leave the ship. Conner used his dino speed and pushed Kira out of the column, and in a flash of red light they disappeared. Kira watched in shock as Conner, the woman, and the 2 spiders disappeared. Then her whole world exploded.