A teen girl with long black hair entered her house slowly, noticing people in her kitchen. She slipped behind one and held a kunai to them, "What are you doing in my house?"

She then heard her sister, "Let him go Daka."

Andy pulled the kunai away and went to look at the speaker, "You're back?"

"What's it look like?" Hammy smiled softly.

Andy looked around at the small group in confusion and gave the one she held a kunai to an apologetic smile.

He raised an eyebrow at Hammy. "She always like this?"

Hammy frowned, "Not really.." She looked around for a moment then asked Andy, "Where is everyone?"

Andy looked down quietly, "Hammy..."

Hammy froze, "No.. you aren't telling me..?"

Andy nodded, refusing to make eye contact.

"And you've been all by yourself?" Hammy went to hug her as tears started streaming down her face. As soon as Hammy released her, Andy stepped away, considering running from the house.

The others exchanged glances but remained silent until one of them in an orange coat spoke up. "You still staying, Hammy? We need to get back before Shou starts yelling at me."

"You know I want to be a teacher. I'm staying." She looked at them before looking at Andy. She then looked back at the one in the orange coat, "Can I talk to you a moment?"

He glanced at the girl, then nodded.

Hammy went back to a different room and waited for him, "I'm sensing she's going to be trouble for me if she stays here. I know she wants to travel but would never just ask for it. Is there any chance you could take her with you guys?"

"Trying to pawn your problems on us?" He chuckled, then grew serious. "I've already got my hands full trying to train these idiots. She doesn't even have a kyutama. And if we get into trouble, she can't exactly decide she wants her big sister and goes home." He sighed. "Screw it. I just hope she helps us more than she hinders."

"She's a trained ninja who's been living on her own for god knows how long now. Plus I know she's training to be a medic, and since Raptor isn't there most of the time, you'll need someone," Hammy answered. "I just hope she doesn't cause you any problems."

He nodded, then gave Hammy a hug. "Go kick ass. Make sure those kids don't become the next Armage."

Hammy nodded, "I will. You be safe." She sighed, "I'll go talk to Andy."

Stinger turned to the men. "Head back to the Orion. I want you guys practicing those moves from training by the time I get there."

The men gave the kyuranger salute and filed out, leaving just Andy.

"Daka," Hammy looked at her sister, "I know you want to travel.. Do you want to go with them?"

Andy's eyes lit up slightly, "really?"

"Yeah," Hammy smiled. "But I'm not making you. If you'd rather stay here with me, that's alright too."

Andy shook her head, "I'll go. Gives me a chance to learn medicine for different species, right?"

Hammy nodded and hugged her sister, "Go get a bag ready." A few minutes later Andy returned. "This here is Stinger. He'll be your commanding officer, so listen to what he tells you, alright?"

Andy nodded and looked over at Stinger quietly.

"Just follow orders and you'll be fine. I'm betting you'll do better than the band of idiots you saw."

Andy gave him a small smile, "Well lead the way then."

He waved at Hammy, then headed out to Sasori Voyager. "We'll get you a voyager when you get your kyutama. For now, we'll share. Get in."

Andy did as instructed, looking around in silent amazement.

He stifled a chuckle, lifting off and heading for the Orion. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. "How much medical training have you completed?"

"A few years. I know a lot of healing jutsus and have helped perform surgeries."

"Good. Hopefully, the worst you'll have to deal with is training injuries." He began the docking procedures as the Orion loomed closer.

Andy watched out the window, a little worried about what her new home would be like.

They emerged from the Voyager and headed for the bridge. "I'll check for a room away from the others if you want." Stinger looked at her as they walked. "Don't want you getting hassled."

Andy shrugged, "Wherever you find space is fine."

He gave her a half smile as they entered. "Alright." He checked the computer, then turned and handed her a key card. "I put you a few doors down from my room. The others are around the corner."

Andy nodded and took the card, looking around the bridge.

"Go ahead and wander around. Kitchen is on deck 2. Right now, it's whatever you can make. Meal times will get sorted after everyone gets used to each other. If you need anything, just comm. I'll be in the training room near the infirmary on deck 4." He headed for the door.

Andy headed to her new room and unpacked her little bit of stuff. She then wandered a bit until she found the infirmary. She looked around, checking out the different equipment to see what they had.

The door slid open, one of the men entering. He was dark complected, his eyes a bright blue. "Oops. Didn't know anyone was in here."

"It's alright. Just looking around to see what I have to work with," she gave him a small smile. "I'm Andy."

"You're the medic?" He gave her a look of surprise, then shook his head. "Sorry. I'm Kiba."

"Nice to meet you."

He gave her a grin, then winced. He massaged his shoulder as he scanned a nearby shelf for painkillers. "Find everything okay so far?" He gingerly reached for a bottle as he asked the question.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Want me to help you with your shoulder?"

"I'd be stupid to turn down free medical from a pretty medic. One too many times of having it dislocated leaves it prone to popping out at bad times." He sat down in a chair.

Andy rolled her eyes before approaching him. Her hands started glowing blue as she used one of her healing jutsus.

Kiba's eyes closed in relief. "You're amazing."

She chuckled softly, "Just doing my job."

He grinned as another man came in. His white hair complemented his white jacket and dark pants.

"Are you alright?" The man looked worried, his gold eyes glittering in the light.

Andy looked up at him a moment, "Him? He'll be fine." She finished and the glowing faded away. "How's that feel now?"

Kiba tested his shoulder, his eyes wide. "Feels like I never injured it. You are good." He looked at the other man. "Stop being so worried, Ryon. It wasn't your fault."

Ryon's lips quirked. "I never said it was. Just didn't want Stinger bitching at me if you were down again."

Andy watched them in silence before deciding to head back to her room. "Let me know if you need any more help."

"Thanks Doc." Kiba stood and left, his arm slung around Ryon's shoulders.

Andy headed back to her room for a while, going through her supplies and making sure she had everything she'd need if they went on a mission.

"Andy? Come to my office, if you would?" Stinger's voice came over the comm.

Andy got up and headed out to find his office. She looked in slowly once she found it.

Stinger was sitting at his desk, several kyutamas in front of him.

"You wanted to see me?"

His face lit up as a blue kyutama levitated into the air and began glowing. "Take it."

Andy raised an eyebrow and approached slowly, grabbing it from the air.

"Welcome to the Kyurangers." Stinger leaned back, studying her. "You getting settled in?"

"I think so. The infirmary is really nice."

"Only the best for the saviors of the universe." Stinger chuckled. "Met any of the guys yet?"

"I met Kiba, helped his shoulder."

"Bet he was grateful. That shoulder has been a problem since he joined." The Sasori ranger stood and came around his desk. "I know you're probably nervous. But I don't think you have anything to worry about."

"A little nervous, I'll admit. But it's like going into battle, I guess. Have to throw the nervousness aside or it'll distract you."

He nodded. "Been in alot of battles?"

"We've had a few attacks from Jark Matter. And we have a lot of rival ninja villages that attack," she admitted.

He pursed his lips. "I guess I won't have to train you as much as I thought. That's a relief, because the rest of the team need as much help as they can get."

Andy chuckled, "I'm sure I can still learn quite a bit. Everyone has different fighting styles."

"Now you're just trying to sweet talk me." Stinger's eyes twinkled. "Hungry? I'm not the best cook, but my food is edible."

"I can cook if you want? I go cook for large crowds a lot. Though most of them are the kids at the orphanage and they'll eat anything."

Stinger raised his eyebrows. "Interesting. You helped out there a lot?"

"Well, I helped there a bit before but after my family... I didn't really have anything to do in my free time. Better hanging out with the kids than alone in the house."

Stinger winced and dropped his eyes. "Sorry. Shouldn't have asked that. Let's go to the kitchen."

"It's alright. It's the past, I can't really change what happened so I just have to accept it," she gave a small smile before heading out of his office.

"Still, I should know better than to ask things like that." Stinger stuffed his hands in his pockets as they walked. "I know I sure didn't like it when Hammy and the others asked stuff like that."

Andy nodded, "Hammy's a little extra nosy though, isn't she?"

"And bossy as hell. Though it never worked on Lucky." He chuckled softly. "Then again her standard procedure was just to threaten to throw him out the airlock and leave him."

Andy laughed, "Sounds like her."

"What's worse is I wanted to throw our boss out next to Lucky." Stinger opened the door to the kitchen for her. "I said yes to the promotion just to get away from him."

Andy chuckled, "Not like him that much?"

"Two words: Dance practice." Stinger gave her a deadpan look.

"Dance practice..? For fighting..?"

"Yeah. So we'd work better as a team. I told him hell no. He wisely didn't push the issue." He began to look through their supplies.

Andy chuckled softly and glanced in the fridge.

"Late night snacking, cousin? You'll lose that trim physique and start looking like Kiba." A man bearing an uncanny resemblance to Stinger leaned against the door with a faint smile.

"Shut up." The words were annoyed, but had no real heat to them.

Andy looked over at him for a moment before grabbing a couple things from the fridge and starting to cook.

The man laughed, then sat down at the table and watched as Stinger pulled a few cans out. "So you're the one Kiba is singing praises about?"

Andy shrugged, "I'm Andy, nice to meet you."

"I'm Tet. Stinger's cousin. Anything weird he gets from his dad's side of the family, not ours." He grinned unapologetically as Stinger hissed at him. "Did you learn that from Naga or Kei?"

Stinger pointedly ignored him as Ryon entered with another stranger. The man was tall, his red hair standing out against his sea green jacket.

"Stop teasing Stinger unless you want to be his paperwork boy." The man lightly cuffed the back of Tet's head, earning him an eye roll.

"I'd never take your job, Kei. You deserve it so much more." Tet retorted with a grin.

"Anyone mind if I bite him?" Kei flashed a pair of fangs.

"Andy does not need the extra work. Did you guys come in here to eat or annoy me?" Stinger grumbled as he stirred something on the stove. He gave Andy an apologetic smile. "I did warn you they were hopeless."

Andy chuckled and stirred the thing she was making.

"Both." Tet caught the dishcloth Stinger threw at him with a chuckle. "We have to have some kind of recreation."

Stinger raised his eyes to the ceiling, appearing to be silently pleading with the gods.

Andy finished up what she made and got herself a bowl full.

Stinger turned off what he'd made, then looked at her. "Should we feed them? Or make them open the rations?"

Andy chuckled, "I'm sure rations are probably overkill on punishment."

He gave an exaggerated sigh. "Alright. Serve yourself, boys." He got two bowls, one for his food and one for Andy's after he tasted it. "Maybe you should have more duties.." He sat down, eagerly devouring what she'd made as the others began serving themselves.

A few minutes later, all of them were singing her praises.

"I take it you want me to be the official cook?" Andy chuckled.

"Please save us from his cooking!" All the men begged as Stinger scowled. "I should have done the rations."

Andy laughed in response as she finished her food. She got up and started washing dishes.

The men handed her their dishes as they finished, then filed out under Stinger's dark eyes.

He joined her at the sink, drying as she washed. "Turncoats." He grumbled.

Andy finished up the dishes, "So is there a training schedule or anything I'm supposed to show up to?"

"Not really. We've been training just because we haven't been assigned any missions yet. So you can come train or just get comfortable. I'm hoping the hardest thing you'll have to do for the foreseeable future is keeping those idiots fed."

"What time do you want me to make breakfast?"

"Whatever time is convenient for you. No set mealtimes with Spada gone." He leaned against the sink and sighed. "I guess I should warn you.." He hesitated, his hands folding and unfolding the dishcloth repeatedly.

"About what?"

"Nightmares. Several of us have them. I assigned rooms separately instead of shared for that reason."

Andy nodded, "Alright."

He forced a smile. "Enjoy your night." He left silently.

Andy headed off to her room, hoping her own nightmares didn't bother anyone.

Later that night, screaming erupted down the hall.

Andy woke quickly, wondering if she should go try to wake them.

"Andy? Can you bring a sedative to the Commander's quarters please?" Ryon's voice was calm.

Andy got up and grabbed a vial before heading down the hall. She knocked for a moment.

The door slid open, Ryon's voice coming from the bedroom. "Please hurry. His vitals are quite high and I am worried."

Andy entered and filled a syringe before injecting it.

The white haired ranger sighed as he released the stinger at the end of the scorpion's tail. "I couldn't wake him this time. Thank you." He gently laid the man down on the bed, covering him with a blanket.

Andy nodded, "Let me know if you need anymore help."

"I don't want to keep you up." Ryon answered quietly.

Andy shrugged, "I don't sleep much anyway."

He hesitated, then nodded. "Help me with Kiba? His nightmares run in cycles and the next one is about to start."

"Alright. Do you always help them with their nightmares?"

The ranger nodded as they exited, turning down the hall toward the other quarters. "I am empathic and sleep lightly. I wish to help more than fighting." He paused before Kiba's door.

"I must warn you. He gets violent towards himself often. We've tried to keep weapons away, but he somehow always manages to have one. You may need to help medically as well."

She nodded, "Okay."

He opened the door using the override, then entered and headed for the bedroom ahead of her. A minute later, he called her name.

She entered, unsure what to expect.

Ryon was holding Kiba's wrist tightly, blood coating his fingers from the deep slash. With his other hand, he was trying to keep Kiba still as the other man struggled. A blood stained knife lay on the floor nearby.

"Let me go! I have to atone for my disobedience!"

Andy quickly injected Kiba with some sedative before her hands started glowing. She worked on closing the wound and then cleaning up the blood.

Ryon released the wrist as Andy worked. He carded his fingers through Kiba's hair gently. "He is so tortured. I wish I could find a way to help him."

Andy nodded, "At least he has someone like you watching out for him."

Ryon gave her a small smile. "It's not enough. Jark Matter destroyed so many lives."

Andy nodded again, "So, anyone else have nightmares?"

He nodded. "Kei has occasional nightmares." His gold eyes shifted to the wall and he went silent for a moment. "I believe this is one of his good nights. I have never felt Tet in distress, though it is possible he is hiding it." After a moment, he bowed. "I believe you can go back to bed now. Thank you for helping me."

"Anytime. And if you feel me having a nightmare, just feel free to ignore it or just knock on my door to wake me."

"I can not ignore something like that, but I will knock." He bowed again before departing.

Andy headed back to bed, staring at the ceiling for a while. She couldn't manage to get back to sleep so she wandered the halls for a bit, finding an open room with a large window and staring out at the stars. When she realized it was normally her time to wake up, she went and made breakfast. She sat and ate silently before going to one of the training rooms, quickly throwing kunai into the targets.

"Someone on your shit list?" Stinger asked quietly as he entered.

She shook her head, "No, I do this every morning."

He gave her a smile. "Good to know. You look like you could have slept more though. Were you woken last night?"

"Yeah. Have trouble sleeping anyway though," she admitted before pulling the kunai out of the targets.

He winced. "I'm sorry. I thought I had them under control. I'll try not to wake you anymore." His eyes looked haunted. "I should probably leave you alone." He started to leave.

"It's alright. And I get nightmares too, I understand."

"I doubt you have injured people during yours." He leaned on the wall, his face resigned.

"No one in my house to injure, other than myself, and thankfully I don't tend to hurt myself while having them," she answered before throwing more kunai.

"Good to know, I guess. Still, this is not exactly what you agreed to."

Andy shrugged, "Not like I had any real idea what I was agreeing to. It's okay though."

"True enough. Just worried about you breaking down before we get any real trouble." He pushed himself up and swayed.

There was a fresh bloodstain on the wall and he scowled. "Dammit. Should have gone easy this morning."

"I don't break down that easily," she answered. "Want some help?"

He opened his mouth, but before he could reply, his eyes rolled up and he began to fall backwards.

She quickly caught him, lowering him to the ground. She analyzed where the blood was coming from and her hands started glowing as she healed it. When she was done, she lifted him and took him to the infirmary.

"What happened?" Tet followed them in, his eyes worried.

"He had an injury, was bleeding, and passed out."

"Where the hell did he get an injury from?"

"Probably that raid we fought off before picking up Hammy." Kei scowled. "I thought he was favoring one side yesterday. He told me to mind my own business when I pointed it out."

"Well, I fixed it up, so he should be alright once he wakes."

"He's going to be pissed and embarrassed. I think we should make ourselves scarce before he starts assigning chores." Tet looked at her.

She shrugged, "I'm going to keep an eye on him a bit longer to make sure he's fully better."

"Good luck. We were warned by Raptor that he tends to hide injuries and can get touchy about questions." Kei looked annoyed. "Maybe you can knock some sense into him before he drops dead on us."

Andy gave a small chuckle, "Good to know. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Better you than us." Both men left, shaking their heads.

Stinger gave a low moan as he covered his eyes. "What happened?"

"You passed out, probably from the bleeding."

He dropped his hand, his eyes wary as he looked at her. "I'm getting a lecture, aren't I?"

Andy shrugged, "I mean, you shouldn't ignore your injuries, especially when there's someone here who can heal them, but it's not like I'm going to yell at you for doing it."

"Much nicer than Raptor. You haven't threatened to restrain me for life yet." He sat up slowly. "I wasn't really ignoring it. I had stitched it, but I guess everything yesterday loosened them and my workout earlier broke them." He winced, gingerly examining his side.

"Well, I can normally do a bit better than stitches. And maybe after a while I will threaten to restrain you, but hopefully it won't get to that point."

He gave a low chuckle. "You're optimistic." His Seiza blaster chimed with an incoming message. "Excuse me. Duty calls." He slid off the bed and left the room.

Andy went back to the training room she'd been in earlier and cleaned up the blood before going back to throwing kunai.

Stinger's voice came over the comm as the battle alert sounded. "Battlestations! Report to the bridge for briefing."

Andy quickly pulled her kunai down before heading to the bridge.

Stinger waited until everyone was assembled before beginning. "AC-141. A resettlement project the Rebellion is working on has sent out an SOS. The message mentioned a Morimarz along with enough Indavers to take over. That was fifteen minutes ago. They have a head start on us, but we have warp drive. Hopefully we'll get there before the morimarz."

Andy listened intently then asked, "What's the plan then? Just take them all out?"

"I'll take on the morimarz with Ryon and Kei. The rest of you take out the Indavers and protect the settlement."

Andy nodded quietly.

The team checked their weapons, then waited to come out of warp. Stinger approached Andy, handing her a seiza blaster and showing her how to use it.

As they did, Stinger looked at them. "Try not to die. Let's do this." He morphed quickly, the rest of the guys doing the same and heading for the voyager bay.

Andy morphed, looking down at herself a moment before following behind them. She went to the voyager bay and did what Stinger said to call her voyager.

The team went down to the planet, Kyuren-oh quickly forming to fight the morimarz robot. Stinger led the robot battle away from the settlement.

Andy landed and quickly spotted the indavers, rushing forward to attack.

Kiba and Tet fought back to back, making quick work of their enemies.

Soon the indavers were gone.

Suddenly Kyuren -oh came apart, the three voyagers blasted away. Seconds later, two of the three were back, but there was no sign of Sasori.

Tet cursed, calling his voyager and connecting with Ryon and Kei. They made quick work of the enemy robot, turning away as it finally exploded.

"Someone find Stinger." Tet's voice was tight.

Andy called her voyager back and flew off in the direction the Sasori voyager had gone. Eventually she spotted it.

It didn't look badly damaged, but there was no response to her hails.

She landed nearby and approached slowly.

No sign of movement inside, though she could dimly see a slumped form.

She rushed toward him, lifting her hands to scan for the damage.

Concussion from the crash, cracked ribs were visible to her, but nothing else.

She called the team, "I found him," before beginning to heal up some of the damage.

Tet landed first, jogging to their side. "How bad?"

The rest of the team soon followed behind him, their faces worried.

"Concussion and cracked ribs," she answered. "I'm working on healing some of it before we move him."

Tet nodded, then turned. "Get back to the Orion. I want a continuous scan for any more visitors until we leave orbit."

The rest of the team acknowledged and soon they were alone.

Tet watched her work, his lips a tight line. "At least it wasn't worse."

Andy nodded, "His ribs should be alright in a day or two, and I helped a bit with the concussion."

Tet nodded. "I'll remote pilot Sasori. We better get back." He climbed into his voyager and waited.

Andy headed to her voyager and lifted off, heading back to the Orion.

Once both voyagers had landed, Tet gently removed the unconscious Stinger. The half scorpion tried to relax, but seeing his cousin unresponsive still worried him. He looked up to see Andy approaching. "Why hasn't he woken yet?"

"Sometimes concussions and head injuries can do that. I'll keep an eye on him to make sure it's nothing worse."

"Alright." He took the injured ranger to the infirmary, then glanced her over. "You okay?"

She nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"If anyone else got hurt, I'll send them down." Tet quickly left.

She checked Stinger over again before busying herself making an inventory list for the infirmary. She kept glancing over at Stinger though to check on him.

An hour later, he groaned and blinked his eyes open. "The fight?"

"We won. Just relax," she said softly as she approached.

He grimaced. "Some leader. I got my ass handed to me in our first team fight." His tail twitched as he sulked.

"It's alright. Not every battle will go perfectly. At least everyone is alive, right?"

"You'd know better than I would at the moment." He gave her a shaky grin before attempting to sit up and failing. "My head hurts."

"It's still in one piece though." Tet chuckled. "More than I can say for that robot."

Andy went to Stinger and her hands glowed light blue as she focused on his head. She tried to heal him a bit more, "You got a concussion. You also had broken ribs so you should rest for a couple days."

He nodded sleepily. "Not surprised. Was anyone else hurt?"

"Not that I know of," Andy answered.

Tet shook his head. "I made sure to check too. Everyone is fine."

Stinger let his eyes close.

Andy went back to her inventory list when she was done healing him a bit more.

Tet left quietly after watching Stinger fall asleep after warning her "He won't sleep long if I know him. You might want to prepare if he attacks you."

She nodded, "Alright."

Twenty minute later, Tet was proven right as Stinger jumped off the bed and started swinging his tail at invisible opponents.

Andy watched him for a moment, pulling a kunai to block if he came after her. "Stinger? You need to wake up," she said gently.

He paused for a moment, but then resumed his attack. He began coming closer, his eyes unfocused as he growled under his breath. His tail swung at her.

She easily blocked it with the kunai, "Stinger, wake up."

He let out a guttural cry, the only word audible being "Aniki!" His tail whipped around and headed straight for Andy's chest.

She used her speed to dodge, just barely. She then grabbed onto his tail so he couldn't sting her. "Stinger, wake up!"

He jerked, his eyes focusing. He gasped, then began to hyperventilate and shake. "Sorry...sorry..didn't mean to.."

"It's alright," she said softly, pocketing the kunai. "Calm down, deep breaths. Everything is alright."

He struggled for a few minutes, then finally dragged in a breath. When he was semi calm, he sunk to his knees. "This isn't going to work. I can't do this."

"What's wrong?" Andy crouched in front of him.

"I can't lead you guys. If something happens, I could end up killing one of you or worse.. I have to quit. I was kidding myself.." He hung his head in despair. "I should go home and hide."

"It's alright. I'm sure you wouldn't have been offered the position if they didn't think you could do it. Just because you have some issues doesn't mean you can't lead."

"Shou only gave me the job because I was the only one who wanted to still fight." He raised his eyes to hers. "I can't get you killed, Hammy would never forgive me."

"It seemed like she was trying to send me away, so it's not like she doesn't know I'm in danger. Plus, I've been fighting my whole life, it's not like you will cause my death. I can defend myself, obviously." She looked at him, "I'm pretty sure the others probably feel the same."

He shook his head. "She was just worried about you. I don't want to bury anyone else…" He sagged against her as he yawned. "I need coffee."

"You should probably get more rest instead of getting coffee," she said softly.

"What if this happens again?" He looked panicked, his eyes wide.

"Then I'll dodge until I can wake you again," she smiled. "It's alright."

He gave her a disbelieving look. "You shouldn't have to do that."

Andy shrugged, "It's either that or restraining you, and I don't think you want to be restrained."

"Might be a better idea. If you don't dodge fast enough, you will really hate me in the morning. Ask your sister." He slowly rose to lean on the bed shakily.

"Just let me worry about that, get some sleep."

He rolled onto the bed, his eyes closing immediately.

Andy sighed and watched him for a few minutes before going back to organizing her list.

The door slid open to admit Ryon supporting Tet. The Kurasu ranger was semi conscious, blood streaming from a gash on his temple.

"What happened?" Andy helped get Tet into a bed and started healing him.

"Kiba." Ryon's answer was quiet.

Andy nodded and continued her work.

Ryon sighed. "I don't understand why he's so violent against himself."

"I'm sure something happened to traumatize him. I think the only way to understand is if he told us," Andy shrugged. "Not my business to know, just my job to heal what I can."

"He's the last of his planet. Jark Matter wiped them out. He believes it happened because he joined the rebellion." Stinger's voice was soft.

"That's terrible."

"The ruler was offered a choice, to allow Jark Matter to take over or fight. They wanted to protect their people, so they allowed it. Kiba fought back, caused a lot of trouble for Jark. When he was finally caught, they made him watch the destruction before throwing him in a lab. He was rescued after Armage's defeat."

"No wonder he has nightmares," Andy assessed.

Ryon looked about to cry. "I knew his pain was deep, but that.."

Andy finished cleaning up the blood off Tet before looking over at Ryon, "At least now you know." She sighed, "I can't imagine how hard that must be."

Stinger nodded. "Even I'm not completely alone."

"At least he has people here looking out for him."

"Something has to give though. He can't keep doing this. He's sleeping less than the Commander does. Sooner or later he's either going to collapse or get someone killed from being distracted." Ryon began pacing.

"We had a lot of people with nightmares at home but most dealt with hurting others or were non violent. Not sure how to help with it other than keeping him sedated."

Ryon nodded sadly, then glanced at Tet.

The ranger was fully conscious, his eyes downcast. "Can I leave?"

"Yeah, you're good to go," Andy nodded.

He practically ran out of the infirmary, causing Ryon to stare wonderingly after him.

Andy raised an eyebrow but stayed silent.

Ryon bowed, then disappeared.

Stinger kept stealing glances at Andy, his eyes distant.

Andy went back to work, occasionally glancing over at Stinger. When she finished her list, she sat down at the desk, silently rereading it.

Suddenly Stinger was at her side, his face nervous.

"You okay?" Andy looked over at him.

He nodded wordlessly, then kissed her.

Andy was surprised for a second before kissing him back.

When they parted, Stinger was shaking. Before she could say anything, he ran out of the infirmary.

Andy stood there for a minute, trying to figure out what just happened. She had enjoyed the kiss and definitely felt sparks, but was confused at his directness and the fact that they'd only met a few days before. She was also confused at him running. She shook her head and left the infirmary, heading to her room to try to sleep.

The next few days, she barely saw him. The few times she had, he'd avoided her, even fleeing a training exercise when she'd been paired with him.

He cautiously poked his head into the kitchen and sighed in relief. He could do this, just grab something and hide in his quarters again. He headed for the fridge, freezing as he heard her voice behind him.

"If you wait just a bit, I'll have something fresh made," she said quietly.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then replied "Don't trouble yourself on my account."

"I was going to be cooking anyway."

"Oh." He mentally swore. He sounded like a moron. What the hell was wrong with him?

She stayed silent, getting the ingredients out and starting the stove.

He moved to the table, staring down at it as he tried to unscramble his brain. He was an adult, for the gods' sake. He could take a little rejection. He took a deep breath and spoke. "About the other day.."

She looked over, "You've been avoiding me ever since.."

He cringed. "Sorry. I just didn't know how you would take it.."

"You could have just asked," she said softly. "I was surprised, but after you ran I worried maybe I did something wrong.."

"I'm an idiot. How is it I'm more scared right now than when we faced Armage?" He began shredding a napkin in his anxiety.

"I guess the question now is, why did you kiss me?"

"Would you believe I'm falling for you?" He somehow managed to get the words out and mentally praised his voice for remaining calm.

"You only just met me," she commented before stirring something on the stove.

"I know that. My head does anyway.. My heart? Not so much." He dropped the napkin into a trash can. "I'll understand if you don't feel the same. And if I've overstepped, please let me know. You can hit me if you want."

She filled a plate and brought it over to him, kissing his cheek, "I hadn't really thought of it before, I'm still taking in all this new stuff and trying to get settled, but since we kissed.. It's been hard to take my mind off you."

He blushed a deep red, swallowing hard as he asked softly "Really?"

She nodded before going to get her own plate. She sat down across from him.

He hadn't dared to look at her, afraid he might be dreaming. He slowly took a bite of the food, his mind jumbled. Then he spoke. "So you're not mad?"

"No, I'm not mad," she gave a small chuckle.

His lips quirked up slightly as he continued to eat. When he was done, he looked at her. "If you want me to stop, we can just act like it didn't happen."

She looked at him a moment, "What part of 'hard to take my mind off you' would make you think I want you to stop?"

He ruffled his hair nervously. "I'm kind of new to this.." After a minute, he leaned across the table and kissed her softly.

Andy kissed back, a smile spreading on her face as they parted.

He watched her, then gave her a smile of his own. "What are we now?"

Andy looked thoughtful, "What do you want to be?"

"Married." The moment the words came out, he paled. Something was definitely wrong with him. He tried to laugh, but nothing came out.

Andy let out a small chuckle, "How about boyfriend and girlfriend first?"

"That's probably much better." He exhaled sharply. "I can't believe I said married."

She laughed, "It's okay."

He gave a small chuckle. "I am an idiot."

She smiled before taking their plates to the sink to wash them.

He was still shaking his head as the ship shook. "What the hell?"

The comm went off, Tet's voice hurried. "Jark is taking the offensive. We have several ships firing on us. Stinger, you better get up here."

"What can I do to help?" Andy looked at him worriedly.

"Pray." He touched the comm. "On my way." He gave her cheek a kiss as he left.

Andy took a deep breath, hoping they'd take care of the ships quickly.

Stinger entered the bridge. "Report!"

Tet and Kiba answered in unison. "Three ships. Standard Jark. They're aiming at our weapons and engines. Warp drive is down."

"Trying to bring us down? That's new." Stinger's eyes took in the scans. "I want you two here. Tell Kei and Ryon to meet me in the Bay. We'll run interference until you get warp back up."

Andy looked out one of the windows, seeing the ships firing.

Sasori voyager appeared, firing at one ship until the ship exploded. It started toward another when a lucky hit caused several explosions and it began tumbling away.

Umihebi voyager attempted to stop it, but was also fired upon and began falling in the other direction.

Kouma finally took the ships out, then Ryon commed the ship. "I need some assistance. I will go after Kei."

Tet answered him. "I'll find Stinger. Andy, be prepared in the infirmary."

Andy headed to the infirmary and paced as she waited for them.

Ten minutes later, Ryon was helping a shaken Kei in. The snake ranger was pale, but had no visible injuries.

"Found him unconscious. His life support was fried, so I decided to err on the side of safety and bring him here." He looked around, his eyes worried. "Tet has not returned with Stinger?"

Andy shook her head, trying to not worry. She focused on Kei, getting him sitting on a bed before checking his vitals.

Kei shook his head at her. "I'm fine. Just need to remember how to breathe. Think my air went out and that's why I blacked out."

She continued to check his vitals anyway to double check he was alright. "Just take it easy for a bit to make sure there's no damage from oxygen loss."

He nodded and lay back.

"Coming in with Stinger." Tet's voice was grim. "It's not good."

Andy waited for him next to a bed, ready to check Stinger over.

Fifteen minutes passed, then Tet was carrying the Sasori ranger in. He'd done preliminary first aid, bandaging the worst injuries.

Stinger was pale, far too much blood staining the bandages wrapped around his head and abdomen.

"Apparently he managed to get out of his voyager, but then ran into indavers." Tet's voice was quiet. "He was still fighting when I found him."

Andy nodded, quickly getting a transfusion set up before working on closing the wounds. Her hands glowed as she worked, spending the next couple hours doing what she could. She cleaned him up and rebandaged anything she hadn't fully healed before sitting in the chair next to him.

The others were gone, save Kei who was watching Stinger worriedly. "How is he?"

"I've healed most of his injuries, especially the worst ones. The transfusion is helping with the blood loss. Now he just needs rest."

"Are the battles going to get worse?" He sighed and fiddled with his jacket. "I've never seen him this bad."

"I don't know," she said quietly. "How long have you known him?"

"About six months. That's when we graduated Rebellion training and were assigned here. Was really worried if I'd live up to expectations from one of the legendary saviors. But he just accepted us and has tried his best to get us easy battles."

Andy nodded, "Just because Armage is gone, doesn't mean the battles are going to be easier. I figure it'll get worse before it gets better."

"I haven't been this scared since Jark attacked my planet.."

Andy sighed, "War can be scary, but if you focus on your fear and emotions too much, it'll distract you from the important things."

He took a deep breath and nodded, then looked over as Stinger's eyes cracked open.

"Everyone okay?"

"Yeah, everyone is fine," Andy answered.

"Good.." His voice faded as he lost consciousness again.

Kei watched him, affection in his eyes. "He doesn't care about himself much does he? Always worried about us."

Andy looked at Stinger with a soft smile, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest.

Kei gave her a wry smile, then headed for the door.

She looked up at the movement, "You feeling back to normal?"

He nodded. "Just tired now. Keep an eye on him. Hammy told us he has a tendency to sneak out of the infirmary if something happens and he feels the need to fight." He disappeared.

Andy went back to watching Stinger, losing track of the time.

His eyes began to flutter, then opened. He narrowed his eyes at Andy. "Why aren't you in bed?"

She raised an eyebrow then looked over at the clock, "Didn't realize it was that late."

"You should get some sleep. Stop fretting over me." He began to rise, grimacing as he did. "I'll get out of your hair."

"It's my job to take care of whoever's in the infirmary," she answered. "And you need to rest more."

"I'm..fine." He panted through waves of pain. "I should go to the bridge."

"Just lay back down before I make you. I'm sure the others have the bridge handled."

He gave her a weak glare when the pain had receded some. "I'm the Commander here."

"You can command from the bed. If you really want to go, I guess I won't stop you. But you'll just pass out and end up back here anyway."

He scowled and his tail twitched. "I don't like you right now. What if something happens?"

"I'm sure the others can handle it. Isn't that what being a team is? Trusting the others?" She sighed, "And you don't have to like me right now. My job is to try to take care of the team, and since you're injured, it's my job to care about you even if you want to be a stubborn ass about it."

"I do trust them. I don't trust Jark Matter." He slowly laid back with a chuckle. "I am a stubborn ass aren't I?"

Andy gave him a small smile, "Only a little."

"How badly am I hurt anyway?" He winced as he touched the bandages.

"I healed the majority of the wounds. You had a lot of blood loss, head injury, multiple wounds. You're a lot better now than you were. I can work on healing you some more now that I've sat and rested a bit."

"Don't wear yourself out. If something happens, you need to be ready." Stinger let his eyes close briefly.

"I'll be fine," she answered before raising her hands above him and beginning to focus on healing.