Chapter 1

Zhane fought hard, but he was no match for the overwhelming number of quantrons. He hadn't heard a thing from the other rangers so he had no idea how they were faring, though he could guess given his own circumstances. Only Andros remained within his sights standing nearby.

Wait, standing?

"Andros, come on! Give me a hand!" he called.

The red ranger turned to face him slowly, almost casually before staring at him for a moment. Then he threw his helmeted head back and laughed. Laughed! Andros laughed.

"Andros? Wha-what?"

"Ah, Zhane. I can't tell you how amusing this is," came Andros' voice from within the red helmet. Zhane heard warning bells clanging loudly in his head when Andros de-morphed and smirked at him.

Moments later, a blaze of purple light revealed a beautiful woman with pale purple hair hanging in long curls around her shoulders. Black lipstick lined her soft, full lips and her slim perfect body was sheathed in a black leather suit that accentuated her every curve. Even in the heat of battle, Zhane couldn't help but admire her beauty. Until he saw Andros stride calmly over to the woman, lift her hand to his lips, and place a soft kiss on her knuckles drawing a contented smile from the recipient.

"Silver Ranger," Andros called, his eyes cold and empty of everything but hatred, "I'd like to introduce you to Astronema, my sister and Princess of Evil." Cold hazel eyes twinkled as Zhane stood there in shock.

"I've taken care of the other rangers, Dark Prince," the beauty said in a powerful voice that command attention. "Leave this one to the quantrons and come with me. Dark Spectre may have finally found Zordon."

The Dark Prince narrowed his eyes, a sly smile tugging at his lips. "Good. Maybe we can get there first. I think Empress of Evil would suit you much better than that ridiculous prima donna and her fish-face friends."

"Wait," Zhane called. Andros ignored him and accompanied his sister through the rubble. Only now did Zhane notice how the quantrons avoided him. "Wait," he called louder to be heard over the din. "What about the mor-"

The last thing he saw was the Dark Prince whirling on him and blasting him with energy, fury and fear in his eyes, then he woke up. Of course, he had to wake up just as he was falling off the bed onto the floor. The force of the impact jarred his shoulder. There would definitely be a bruise there later on. Groaning, the silver Astro ranger untangled himself from the blanket and got to his feet.

The digital clock read 5:30 in the morning. Another inadvertent early morning. It was always like that. Every time he dreamed of that day on KO-35 he would wake up early without fail. A part of him ached at the betrayal of his friend, or the person whom he thought was his friend and demanded vengeance. But another part of him recognized the fear in those hazel eyes just before their owner blasted him; just before he said the word "morpher."

The morpher itself was another dilemma. The Power would never deliberately choose a person with a truly evil heart to become the holder of a morpher, especially the Red morpher. But if that was true, and he had to believe it was, then why did the Power not reject the Dark Prince? It was because of him that Zhane had accepted the Silver morpher to begin with. He never would have dreamed that Andros, the person he thought of as his best friend, was the Dark Prince and would turn on him. Just the thought of it hurt, the memory of it burned.

But the fear reflected in those hazel eyes was the same fear he saw gleaming brightly the day the Dark Prince took the shot meant for him. Why had the Dark Prince protected him against Darkonda's attack? If he truly was evil as he claimed, as all the evidence suggested, then why did he protect a Power Ranger? That question was the only thing that kept him from leaving the crumbled Prince on the ground where he fell. It was the only reason he saved him.

Well, that and he saw the Red morpher on the ground nearby. The Dark Prince had kept it and that had to mean something. Those two incidents combined were what forced his hand. There was no way a true Ranger would leave a potential fellow alone with the enemy in such a situation.

Zhane ran a hand through his platinum blonde hair in exhaustion when voices reached him. Why in the world would anyone be up at this hour? Excluding himself of course. He poked his head into the mess hall curiously and saw Carlos and TJ talking.

"What are you two here for?" he asked.

Both Rangers looked up and grinned sheepishly.

"Hungry," TJ shrugged. "Wunna join us?"

And that was how to other Rangers found them later that morning.

"Hey guys," Ashley chirped, ever happy. "Ready to dig up some plants?"

Zhane groaned. "I'm not exactly known for my, uh," he waved his hand as he searched for the right phrase, "what's that phrase you Earthlings use? Green finger?"

"Green thumb," Cassie answered laughing. "Don't worry. I'm sure we can find something for you to do."

"Yeah," Carlos added. "Dirt is brown after all. I bet you can dig."

Zhane whined and looked at TJ for support. The Blue raised his hands in mocked affront. "Don't look at me. I know better than to try to get out of work."


The planet they were currently on was dusty and brown with the occasional plant life. Most of the green were cacti or other succulent type plants. Judging by the current heat and dry wind the Rangers felt burning their skin, it made sense why there was so little. It looked completely harmless, so naturally it was not.

The group was not gone more than three hours before they were racing back onto the Megaship with these strange, featureless creatures chasing them. Not the best way to start a new day.

"DECA get us outta here!" Zhane called to the Megaship A.I. When the group reached the bridge, Zhane took the controls and tried to fly the ship but for some reason the ship's response was sluggish.

"Damage report!" TJ commanded.

"Electrical malfunctions on Megadecks 4, 6, and 2," she responded. "Stablizers offline. Accelerators overheating."

"That explains the slow response," Zhane muttered. "Cassie, Carlos, Ashley get to the engine room. See if you can figure out how to fix it. TJ help control the ship."

TJ grabbed the nearest control lever and pulled. "Got it."

Together the two friends fought the controls and were able to wrangle the heavy ship into a somewhat stable flight path. It was not easy. How Andros managed to fly the Astro Megaship all by himself for the short time he had access to it was remarkable. Then there was rumble that grew to a roar and it felt like the ship received a punch from below.

"Thrusters back online," DECA announced in a deceptively calm voice.

"DECA, how are the others?"

"They are unharmed."

Both Zhane and TJ gave a sigh of relief. "Had me goin' there for a minute," TJ said. Once they worked the ship into a steady, level flight path, TJ flipped the switch to autopilot and sat back in his chair. "That was a little too close for comfort. Any idea what those thing were?"

"Nope. No idea, although I'm going with creepy-flaily-things at the moment."

TJ tilted his head back and laughed. "I like that. I gotta admit, hearing Earth slang from you is kinda hilarious."

"Really?" Zhane preened. "Thanks. I try." A joined his Blue in laughter before standing. "Come on, let's go check on the others."


The engine room door slid open and just as Carlos was about to walk out, TJ appeared in front of him. "Woah," he cried when they almost walked into each other. "Easy bro, the fire's out."

"Aw, but I wanted to be the hero fireman," TJ mocked.

"Fireman?" Zhane chimed in curiously.

Cassie flipped her hair over her shoulder so it was out of her face. "A fireman is a person who puts out fires and rescues people."

The Silver Ranger nodded and noticed a soft glow coming from a dark corner of the room. Immediately, his heart fell and he felt clammy. Did anyone else see it? Should he should them or should he not? It would probably be best if-

"Zhane? Zhane!"

"What?" he blurted, jolted from his thoughts. "What, sorry what?"

Ashley was looking at him oddly. "Are you okay?"

She began to turn as if to follow his line of sight and however much Zhane did not like hiding things from his teammates, some things were better left hidden, at least for now. "Yeah," he said quickly, drawing his Yellow's attention back on himself and away from the door. "Sorry just a little adrenaline rush. You know."

He grinned and though it was obvious she did not believe his story, at least she was willing to let it rest. He rushed his fellow Rangers out of the engine room and, after casting one last glance over his shoulder at the door that should not be open, followed. He kept his strides slower than the others until finally pausing in front of one of DECA's many eyes.

"Is he alright?" he asked her quietly.

She did not reply right away which sent thrills of nervous energy racing up his spine. When her voice finally came, it was soft. "All systems are normal."

"Is that a yes?" Zhane pressed.

"Affirmative."

The Silver let out a deep breath he had known he had been holding and ran a hand through his hair. "Good. Thanks. If the others ask, tell them I'll be on the bridge."

"Affirmative. Will you be on the bridge?" she asked. Zhane gave her a look as he turned on his heel and returned to the bridge. "I will inform you if anyone enters the room."


It was Ashley who first noticed Zhane was no longer with the group. "Hey, anyone notice where Zhane went?" The others seemed just as surprised as she was so she turned the question to DECA. "DECA, where'd Zhane go?"

"Zhane is on the bridge."

"Oh, well why didn't he say so?"

Cassie shrugged. "Maybe he forgot something."

"Maybe," Ashley said.

"You don't seem so sure. What's up Ash?" TJ asked.

The Astro Yellow shook her head. "It's probably nothing. I'll go check the bridge then meet you in the mess hall."

Carlos watched her leave with curious eyes. His own senses were tingling, something was not right. "Hey, I think I'll go with her. Meet up with you later." He did not bother to wait for his friends' to confirm they heard him, instead he ran off down the hall after Ashley.


Cold.

That was the first fully formed thought he had in what felt like a long time. There was something niggling at him, some cold, something evil. It was close, so close he could almost taste it. It called to him. If only he could warm up and open his eyes.

Open his eyes.

Was this a dream?

He had to wake up.

Sister.


A/N: Sorry about the delay in updating. College is hateful, so is summer school. I promise to update sooner from now on.