By N. E. Shaw
In all the time he had known the Yellow Ranger, Andros had rarely taken up using her shortname, 'Ash'. But it seemed appropriate in this case, since the Ashley clone was like a smaller version of Ashley. Not smaller in form, just smaller in presence. No musical laughter came from this young woman, she simply stared silently at her world like the most good-natured of babies might do.
It took some getting used to for Andros, who at first felt alone when he was in the room with her. But he quickly realized she paid attention when he spoke. She knew not what was being said, but still listened whenever Andros opened his mouth. She gradually began to seem like a person to him. And she did eventually learn to laugh; snorting in amusement whenever Andros dropped something, or when the computer made a good noise. "You think that's funny, huh?" Andros would say, smiling. And she would smile back, warming his heart like mad.
The Wrorick delegates were dumbstruck when Andros told them about her.
"Fully sentient...?" they repeated. "Total motor control...?"
"The works," Andros shot back proudly. "She seems to have the capacity of a normal infant human, although that's changing by the hour. She said a few words today."
"Remarkable," was all they could say. "What does she eat?"
"Nothing so far. Her physiology is a little unusual, in that her stomach is a superflouous organ. The enzyme in her bloodstream seems to make her independent from the need to eat."
"Well, Andros," they said. "We have absolutely no explanation for this. It is a phenomenon we had no idea took place."
Andros lounged in the command chair while they chatted. On the screen were three scientists plus the delegate he had spoken to earlier. Andros enjoyed seeing this man caught off-guard. "I'm sending you a detailed report of what I've observed," he said. "..from the time I brought the venator onboard, to my latest observations of the offspring. Maybe you can tell me the rest of what your people know?"
"Of course," one of the scientists chirped. "Perhaps you'd come down to the surface so we can speak in person?"
Andros frowned. "I'd rather not leave the offspring alone."
The scientists looked a little sheepish. "Actually we were hoping you would bring her with you so we could take a look at her ourselves..."
So an hour later, Andros had Ash dressed in a comfortable, neutral tunic and trousers, and was leading her by the hand through the Wrorick Foreign Affairs Embassy. They went slow, and Andros made sure she saw that he wasn't afraid of anything around them. It was her first foray off the Megaship after all. He felt like a father taking his child to school for the first time.
Ash was mesmerized by everything, which was wonderful to watch. She clung to his hand but her eyes went everywhere, darting this way and that to follow noises she heard. People took little notice of her, beyond the fact that she was alien. No one suspected her true nature. If there was a chance she would have been found out, Andros wouldn't never have agreed to bring her here; his protective instincts wouldn't allow her to become a freak-show.
When they arrived at the scientific area, they were greeted by a strange entourage. Four important looking delegates were there, including the one Andros liked to see squirm. Behind them, an excited cluster of scientists in white coats buzzed amongst themselves. They shot fascinated glances at Ash, who soon realized she was being scrutinized. The delegates just looked nervous. Andros halted before they came within earshot.
Stepping in front of Ash, blocking her view of the waiting Wrorickans, he spoke to her gently. "Now you might be a little scared of these guys, but they're nothing to be afraid of. They just want to learn about you. You can trust them, okay?"
She continued to peer past him distractedly, and Andros turned her face back towards him. "Okay? We're going now...hold my hand."
She stayed one step behind him as they finally approached the welcomers. The one Andros knew was the one to greet them.
"Red Ranger, it is an honor to meet you in person," he glowed. "And a special honor to meet your young friend here..." He cast a grandfatherly smile at Ash, which she shrank from, eyes narrowed. Andros was enjoying this.
"I've started calling her 'Ash' actually, so I'd be grateful if you all helped her learn her name as well."
"Of course. Ash is our guest here. If you'll follow me, we can proceed to the lab where these ladies and gentlemen will make a few observations of her."
He extended his arm to guide them. Andros did not move. "No tests," he said authoritatively. Some of the scientists deflated.
"No tests," agreed the delegate. "I give you my word."
Andros and Ash were taken to a laboratory that seemed to be built for the study of children. The atmosphere was colorful, if sterile, and a number of toys were set out on the floor. Andros knew just by looking what each toy was meant to do, but he wondered if Ash show that same level of understanding.
The scientists made them both nervous with their whispering and clustering, and finally Andros said something to their delegate, who now had a name.
"Ambassador Leis, can we cut down on the number of people in here? I don't want her overwhelmed."
Leis was quick to comply, sending all but two of the scientists away. The others left in a sulk. Ash began to relax a little.
"I hope that will be more comfortable," said Leis in his formal manner. "Now perhaps we can discuss the history of the venator on our planet."
One scientist darted forward. "Ash, would you like to come with me?" she chirped, sticking her hand out. Ash looked at Andros in alarm, but then the play-value of those toys began to sink in. She went with the scientists willingly.
"I will tell you everything we know," said Ambassador Leis, looking for a place to sit. All he could find was a pair of tiny, red chairs with big yellow flowers on the seat. Andros smothered a grin as they sat down.
Leis began to read from a data pad in his hand. "Here we are...the venator was first discovered several years ago, when a group of young people went missing in their favorite cave. Weeks of searching turned up nothing, and then they mysteriously re-appeared with no memory of their adventure. Their last clear memories all revolved around being separated from their friends, and then attacked by a scorpion-like creature."
"Like what happened to the other Rangers and I."
"Yes, your testimony is helping us piece together the situation, for you are the only one to have survived unscathed. Before that first encounter seven years ago, no one had ever seen such a creature in those caves. When the missing youths returned, there was public outcry, and an organization was set up to exterminate the creature; but there was never any proof that their efforts worked. As far as we knew, she was still in there somewhere."
"So," Andros interrupted. "When the kids came back, were they clones like Ash, or can I expect my friends to suddenly free themselves in a little while?"
"Those youths were not clones like Ash. Specialized DNA testing assured us they were the same people who went missing before, but no one ever knew why they had gone missing. Now it appears, with the knowledge of what happened to your friends after meeting the venator, that they too were going through part of its life cycle."
"I know, you said my friends are probably going to be dinner for the venator's offspring. But the offspring is right over there and she doesn't look like she's ready to devour a human being. Besides, those other kids eventually came back..."
Leis glanced over to Ash, playing a mirror game with the scientists. "This is true. We don't yet know what role Ash and her siblings play in all of this. But the more we learn from her, the closer we will get to our answers."
Alarm bells went off in Andros's mind. "What are you saying? You want to run tests on her after all? I've performed every test I'm capable of on the Megaship, and the information is already in your computers. What more do you want?"
"We would like to study her long-term; see how she develops as a sentient being, and perhaps learn how we can protect ourselves from the venator's species."
Now Andros was fully apalled. "You can't expect me to leave her here, in your lab, with no one but those creepy scientists to stare at her! She may have had a bug for a mom, but next to that, I'm her family. Your people don't even have sex, how will she ever learn how to be a human being?"
Leis was stonefaced. "Are you going to teach her about sex, Red Ranger?"
"That's not what I meant, Ambassador..."
"What kind of life can you give her then? A life on a spaceship, with a bunch of danger-seeking youths? How will she learn to have her own identity, if one of her shipmates has the same face and name as she?"
He had a point, even though Andros could not admit it. "Ash is coming back to the Megaship with me," he said. "At this point, I decide what's best for her until she gains enough wisdom to decide for herself."
"Children sometimes make mistakes," said Leis in a poignant way.
But they were both interrupted by a loud curse from the forest of toys. One of the scientists was clutching his hand gingerly, and the other was staring at Ash in surprise. Ash had both arms crossed over her chest protectively. Andros's chair toppled when he stood.
"What are you doing??" he demanded, charging up and putting himself between Ash and the others.
"Nothing," said the woman. "We simply had her show us some bruising on her abdominal area."
"Did it ever occur to you that she wouldn't like to be touched there?"
Neither of them had an answer, and the man left to disinfect his hand. Andros drew Ash to her feet. "We're leaving Ambassador. Ash is not coming back."
"Please, consider one final offer..." Leis began.
"Make it quick."
"Will you agree to take Ash back to the caves, accompanied by an armed security detail to protect you? Seeing her in the venator's environment might provide us with clues we need."
Andros looked at the auburn-haired clone, whose eyes reflected shame from the invasion a moment ago. She was attatched to his hand again, gripping with brute force, and keeping her head low. A classic, and understandable fear response.
"I can't put her through that," he finally said.
"You are looking out for her best interests, I know, but--"
"No buts!" he shouted. "I'm taking her back to the ship to wait for those cocoons to open, then me and my friends are leaving. That's all there is to it."
And with that he turned and stalked out, hurrying the girl along with him. Leis could only watch them go, his stoic politician's face belying his frustration.
That evening, Andros sat in the Jump Bay watching Ash play. She lay on her back on the floor, twisting bits of wire into shapes she knew. Everytime he looked at her he could practically see her learning; growing and changing into a proper human being. In a very short time she would be going through all the stages of childhood. How could Andros be responsible for that? He did not want to be a father. He did not want the weight of cultivating an intellect on his shoulders. There was no place for Ash in his life, and yet he couldn't ship her off to be studied like some mutant mushroom. Her future was so close at hand, and he was nowhere near ready for it.
"Andros," she said, startling him awake.
"Yeah?"
"Can I go?"
Her skillful use of language made him blink in surprise, but he went along with it.
"Go where?"
This time she didn't have words this time to describe what she wanted, so she just got up and left. He pried himself up and followed, letting her lead him to the Infirmary where she still slept these days. She passed her bed, walked to the far end of the room, and put her hand on the speciment cabinet. The mother venator's corpse was in there.
"Open please?"
Andros couldn't believe she knew. She had been asleep when he put the little body in there. Warily he punched the code and opened the closet, and there sat the big glass container with the venator pickling inside. Ash stared expressionlessly. The curve of the glass magnified parts of the mother's corpse; legs and tail scales swelled surreally before their eyes. Ash didn't seem repulsed, but drawn to the ugly thing instead. Her hand darted for the lid...
"Hey, no!" Andros cried, catching her arm. She jerked in surprise at his tone. That was the second time today she heard him raise his voice to somebody.
"I'm sorry, but you can't open that," he explained more gently. "You don't want to smell what's in there."
She wrinkled her nose, but continued to stare at the pickled speciment with interest. Andros got an idea.
Instead of letting her play with the squishy dead body, he lead her to another room where he often watched video of fights. Calling up DECA's RAM memory, he found footage of the mother venator when she was still alive, following Andros around the ship. Ash grinned widely when she saw this.
They watched footage together for a long time, Ash quickly learning to work the controls. She would watch a minute of tape, then roll back, watch another bit, then roll further back again. Pretty soon the screen went very dark, and became DECA's sensor footage from inside the caves.
"Oh..!" shouted the girl in excitment. She pounded the screen with her fingers, trying to form a word. She seemed to recognize the caves.
"What? What do you wanna say?" he urged, watching her rack her brain for language.
"Mmmm....." she hummed as she tried to think. "Lets go...Andros, go with me!"
"You want to go to the caves?"
She nodded vigorously, but she still hadn't found her word. Andros tried to jog her memory. "You wanna go back? Back to the planet? To Wrorick?"
"Yes, yes..!" she cried in frustration. Then her eyes lit as she hit on the word to describe what she felt inside.
"Andros, lets go home," she said.
We are home... his brain insisted. But that obviously wasn't what Ash thought. "The caves are your home? The ship isn't your home?"
She nodded, then shook her head, then frowned at him and pounded the screen again. She knew he understood was she was communicating; she just didn't understand the holdup.
He took a deep breath and clutched her hands to still them. "Ash, we can't go to the caves right now, it's getting close to night time."
"Tomorrow, the caves," she ordered. Andros sighed again.
"Alright, tomorrrow we'll do the caves. But we have to take scientists with us. Understand?"
She gave him a look what said 'what-ever', and then threw her arms around his neck gratefully. Sometime over the course of her short life, she had learned to give hugs.
He nearly recoiled from her attack, but caught himself in time and let her hold him. He hadn't let himself do this until now, and thankfully Ash hadn't given him reason...hugging her was too much like holding Ashley--the real Ashley--and the thought of her was torture. Even as he grew to know this clone, he missed Ashley terribly, wishing he had her support and positive energy with him now. As close as Ash came in appearance, no one could replace the Yellow Ranger.
Andros was finally released and Ash left quickly on her own. He would find her later and make sure she went to sleep, but right now he had a call to make.
On the bridge, he waited for Ambassador Leis to appear on the screen.
"Ah, Andros, what prompts you to call at this time of the evening?" His tone was polite, but Andros knew he was getting satisfaction out of this. Andros had come crawling back.
"Ambassador, Ash has expressed interest in going to the caves after all. If you have your entourage ready in the morning, she and I will come with you."
"Splendid. I'm glad you reconsidered. We will be waiting for you tomorrow at the cave entrance, with a research team and an armed guard. If there are more venators alive in the cave, we will be well protected."
"Thanks. See you tomorrow..." Andros reached for the cutoff switch.
"I look forward to it," Leis smiled.
Andros cut the channel and chewed the inside of his cheek. "Ugly smeg," he muttered, and went to look for Ash. When he found her, she was in the Infirmary...fast asleep. Unlike most children looking forward to something, she was aware that the sooner you went to bed, the sooner morning came.