By N. E. Shaw
"What are you packing with you?" Karone asked.
"Not much, I won't be traveling more than a few days at a time."
Andros was chewing a bland ration bar as he packed his bag that evening. Karone sat on his mattress with the letter in her hands.
"How long do you expect to be?"
Her brother stopped rifling through his clothes crate. "I dunno."
"And you're sure you'll be safe with the Yugathi right?"
"Positive. They're friendly to the Rangers."
"What about food? What are you going to eat on the way?"
He looked at her strangely for a moment, then began to transfer some socks to his dufflebag. "I'll eat whatever the Yugathi eat. And you should know, you are reminding me of Mom now more than ever."
She just gave him a little sneer but kept her mouth shut while he worked. Finally, she decided to get her real concerns out in the open.
"Andros, its November there now. Seven months is a long time to wait, you know. Even for someone as in love as Ashley was. How can you be sure she hasn't gone on to someone new?"
Andros's face darkened, but he kept matter-of-fact. "I can't be sure. All I can do is go and find out. If I wasn't meant to do this, that letter wouldn't have made it all the way here like it did."
"Do you think it's wise to just show up out of the blue like this?"
"Would it be better to wait seven more months until another letter found its way to her? Which would you prefer, hearing back from me seven months late or over a year late? I'm going to see for myself what the story is, and if it's not good I'll just come home. I've got nothing to lose trying."
Karone looked at him levelly. "You have more to lose than you'll admit."
This froze him, and made him stand up and glare at her. Did she have to make this as difficult as possible? Never mind the truth.
The sound of another skysled was followed moments later by Zhane entering the room. "Your ride's here," he said solemnly, his usual bright grin nowhere to be seen. He too shared Karone's concern about the feelings being trifled with. "You know Andros, it's not too late to change your mind. The guy in the skysled'll understand."
Andros simply hoisted his duffle and grabbed his personal communications kit from the mattress. "Don't start with me."
"Come on man, this will not yield good results. I know you want to find out if Ashley's still yours, but you're rushing into this too fast."
"Too much time's been wasted already." Andros took the letter from Karone and tucked in his jacket. Zhane was in the doorway, and Andros realized he would have to get past the taller, blonder one.
"Look," he said. "You all think I'm too emotionally fragile to handle a breakup, and your opinions aren't for me to change...but I've got something I need to do for my peace of mind, and neither of you are gonna keep me out here in the middle of nowhere till its done. I'm going back into space to figure my life out."
He brushed past Zhane out of the room. Karone and Zhane heard the front door slam, and then the roar of the skysled as it took Andros away to the spaceport to meet his transport to Earth. They looked at each other sadly, wondering what heartbreak--or fulfillment--he might find.
The Yugathi ship was dank, dark, and fragrant with alien body odor. Andros's disgust had to be kept hidden though, since these aliens were doing him a great favor. Admitting non-Yugathi onboard their vessels wasn't an everyday practice for them.
He and the Commander walked side-by-side towards the crew quarters. "So Earth is where you're going eh?" asked the fat Commander in a gravelly voice. "That's a bit out of our way."
Andros nodded, choosing his words carefully. "Your trouble is greatly appreciated, Commander. And it's an added privilege to be aboard your fine ship for the journey."
The Yugathi shipman liked having his ego stroked. "And we are in turn honored to have a former Power Ranger on board. But all that aside, you were less than clear about your reasons for this trip. What does a galactic citizen want on little Earth?"
"I've been separated from my significant other." This caused the Commander to halt, and grasp Andros's arm in concern. "How unfortunate. I did not realize the importance of this journey for you."
They walked on, Andros chewing his cheek to hide a smile. The Yugathi race had only one weakness: they were hopeless romantics.
The trip was slow, their speed never reaching HyperRush velocity because of the number of stops along the way. Andros was soon used to the smell, but other things kept him quite uncomfortable...like the food for instance. Karone had been right to worry, the food was all but unpalatable for a human. Andros survived on the small percentage of fruit and greens the Yugathi served, but the rest of it was pretty much out of the question if he wanted to keep it down. Soon enough though, the constellations began to look right. They were nearing Sol, and Andros would be at the end of his journey soon.
Stepping off the landing ship onto the green grass of Earth was like stepping into the cool shower after a day of work in the garden. Andros inhaled deeply of the fresh coastal air, feeling his stomach settle for the first time in over a week. He thanked the Yugathi pilot profusely and went on his way. The Yugathi had landed him near the deep woods area of Angel Grove park, so he had a bit of walking to do to reach the city. A mental list ran through his mind as to where Ashley might be at this time of day; it was nearing the supper hour, so she would probably be at home.
The sights and sounds of California were distracting him. It had been almost a year since he left, but everything was still freshly familiar. He neared the part of the park where the Surf Spot had been, and found it still standing, as busy as ever. Memories of that place came back with a vengeance, but his better judgement told him not to go in; he would have time to see Adelle and his friends another day. Locating Ashley was his first priority.
As he found his way into the suburbs, his mind ran in circles around the things he wanted to say, and at the same time he was steeling himself to find out that he had been replaced. It was dark when he arrived at the Hammonds' front door. November brought the night time early to North America. His jacket kept him from feeling the chill, but chills of his own set him to shivering anyway. Walking up the path to the concrete stoop was a blur. When he pressed the door chime, the hollow sound within the house froze everything around him, and he prepared for the moment of truth to come.
But Ashley's father answered the door.
"Andros! Long time no see, son!" said Daniel Hammond with enthusiasm.
"It's been a while," Andros replied, forcing a smile.
"Off to college in Europe were you? How is Dublin?"
"Just fine, I like it there..." Andros was listening for footsteps within the house.
"Well do come in, have a coffee with me and tell me all about it," said Mr. Hammond, stepping aside. But something wasn't right.
"Uh, no thanks, I really can't stay long. I was just hoping to see Ashley. Is she in?"
"Ashley?" repeated Mr. Hammond. "Why no, Andros, Ashley is at college in New York. Are you saying she never wrote to tell you?"
"Uh, no....college in New York....?" he repeated.
"That's right, NYU, on an arts scholarship. She's designing clothes again. I still can't believe she didn't let you know..."
"Well I'm hard to reach in Dublin. The letter probably couldn't find me."
"Well that's a darned shame..." Hammond tsked. "She's been gone a good two months now. Busy as heck over there, too; she just emailed me tonight to say how tired she's been."
"College keeps you busy," Andros heard himself say.
Daniel Hammond suddenly got an idea and wrote down the information about where Ashley was staying. He gave the piece of paper to Andros, but it would be useless unless Andros somehow made it to New York.
"Well I'm glad you stopped by son, it's good to see you again. Call if you need anything while you're in town, alright?"
"I will. Goodnight."
The next thing he knew, the door was closed, Mr. Hammond's footsteps were gone, and Andros had been standing there a full minute on the doorstep, his heart floundering in a puddle after the long fall.
Ashley was in New York--that was on the other side of the country! How could he possibly reach her now with no money or means of transportation available? He walked back down the path, stopping at the foot of the driveway, and realized he had been counting on Ashley for a place to stay; but he couldn't stand the thought of asking Mr. Hammond for a guest room. Just being in the house would be torture.
His eyes traveled up and down the quiet street, coming to rest on the distant neon sign of a restaurant. It gave him an idea...
"Well sonovagun, there's a face I haven't seen in a long time!" Adelle Ferguson cried.