Disclaimer: Travler was like the domino effect on this story. She inspired the premise and then just kept coming up with details. Thanks to Adri and Kat for additional discussion, most notably on hangar design, Ryse, and evil Ty. Buena Vista owns the Power Rangers.
by Starhawk
*Andros!*
He recognized the voice, and his dazed brain informed him that he should respond in some way. He even registered, somewhere far back in the recesses of his conscious mind, the edge of panic in the call. The person trying to get his attention didn't panic easily.
But this really wasn't a good time, and his body didn't care much about what his brain wanted right now. He made a token effort to analyze the situation, decided no one who really needed to talk to him would be doing it mind to mind, and bit back a groan as fire flared along nerve endings he hadn't known existed. Zhane's breath was hot on his neck, and no one was going to convince him that there was anything more important in the world.
*Andros.* Kerone managed to sound exactly like their mother, and her voice startled him in a way Ashley's hadn't. *We need you at the hangar.*
He broke away from Zhane with a gasp, and the frustrated look on Zhane's face said that he had heard her too. "Their timing sucks," he muttered. Andros couldn't help but agree, though he took some guilty pleasure in making Zhane shudder with a hand against his chest as they helped each other to their feet.
*We're on our way,* he told Kerone. Zhane stepped up too close behind him, pressing his body against Andros' as he reached for his morpher.
*You can't teleport,* Kerone told them, just as he was about to try it. *Come up on the front of the hangar from the north-west if you can. Morph before you get here and have your blasters out.*
Andros froze, feeling Zhane's hands on his waist fall away. *What's going on?*
*Just come.*
He exchanged alarmed glances with Zhane, and they snapped their digimorphers open at the same time. The rush of energy washed away most of the ache, and it brought with it an overwhelming sense of shame--as though the Power itself were chiding them for being distracted. Breaking into a run, both Rangers covered the distance to the hangar in a matter of seconds.
The view from Kerone's suggested direction explained both her urgency and Ashley's panic better than any words could have. The hangar was under siege, the zords were nowhere in sight, and the bay doors were wide open. *Kerone, get those doors shut!*
"DECA," he said aloud. He grabbed Zhane's arm just as the Silver Ranger would have charged down the hillside, clenching his fingers until the other relaxed minutely. They had an advantage he wouldn't give away so easily.
*We can't,* Kerone responded. *They're not responding to audio or mechanical input.*
"DECA!" Andros exclaimed again. Why wasn't the Megaship's computer responding? *I can't contact DECA.*
*Neither can we. I don't know why.*
He caught the flash of violet even from this distance when she let loose with one of her quantron-killing volleys, but it made little impact on the swarming ranks that were closing on the hangar from every direction. There was more fire from the open bay doors, and that had to be Ashley and Ty. They were holding the quantrons off, but they were losing ground. Rapidly.
*Who's inside?* he demanded. *Get someone on the comm to Marsie: we need a planetary assessment, Megaship transport, and as much fighter interference as she can spare.*
*Saryn's trying,* Kerone answered. *The hangar comm is down; he's trying to reach the PD from the shuttle.*
How could the comm be down? And where were the zords? There wasn't time to ask those questions, but there wasn't any way to win without the answers. *Are the zords with you?*
Another brilliant flare of violet made him wince. *They're hunting.*
"Andros!" He followed Zhane's gesture toward the opposite hillside, where two of the cats were crouched above the hangar--completely immobile.
*Yours and Zhane's are above the hangar,* he told Kerone. *They're just sitting there.*
She didn't answer, but he saw another magical explosion among the quantrons' ranks and he wondered how long she could keep that up. "Go around to the zords," he told Zhane, scanning the hills for the fastest and least conspicuous route. "See if you can figure out what's wrong with them--I'll cover you on the way down."
A piercing screech from overhead announced the arrival of an immense bird of prey, and as the shadow darkened the ground below Andros recognized Kyril's zord. It looked a lot more menacing in the daylight. At least they would have some air support.
There was a roar from the opposite hillside, and he looked up in surprise. The violet-tinted cat was launching itself into the air, crashing down toward the hangar with what looked like uncontrollable speed. But it stopped just short of doing damage, lifting its head with another roar that made Zhane duck, covering his ears instinctively.
The bird of prey screamed in reply, and Kerone's zord swung its tail around and started smashing quantrons right and left. The silver cat remained behind, still frozen in the same position it had been in before. Zhane shot him a questioning look, and Andros nodded.
He drew his blaster and headed down the hill as soon as Zhane took off, careful not to open fire until he was sure the Silver Ranger was out of sight. Then he let loose with a barrage that did more to get their attention than anything else, and he saw Kerone clear another space in the middle of the seething metal mass. The quantrons had reached the hangar doors by now--
The battle engulfed him. His blaster vanished, and he took a fierce pride in the weapon that replaced it. He was still adjusting to the balance of a real saber in practice, but when the Power sang through his veins the weapon whipped and parried as though it was part of him. The unbreakable metal alloy sparked against quantron armor and Q-blades alike, slicing straight through them when he concentrated hard enough and deflecting them when he didn't.
The brilliance of another magic-enhanced explosion was close enough to make his visor dim in response, and for a brief moment he was operating entirely on instinct and adrenaline. Then the scene cleared again, and he found Kerone at his side. She had her staff in one hand and the glow of magic wrapped around the other, an expression of utter calm on her face as she faced off against an army that had fought for her not so long ago.
*Saryn has the PD on the comm,* she told him, somehow managing to keep her focus as the quantrons swirled and lunged around them. *We're not the only ones. The PD is overwhelmed. There's nothing they can do without abandoning other people under attack.*
Unspoken was the message that they would, if Andros told them to. If he decided that the hangar was more important, the entire strength of the Planetary Defense could be summoned to their aid. But of course it wasn't, and it never would be.
*Can you control your zord?* he asked abruptly. Catching a Q-blade on his saber, he wrenched it down and shattered the grip without a second thought. Kerone lobbed another magical grenade into a knot of quantrons and he spun away to avoid the blinding explosion.
*I think so.* With her words, the violet-tinted zord lifted its head and howled, a drawn-out and uninterpretable cry that nonetheless sent shivers down his spine. Whatever was wrong with them, they weren't happy about it either.
Then the cat turned inexorably toward Kerone, crushing multiple quantrons with every step as it plowed toward her through the melee. Its movements were sluggish but determined, as though it was fighting more than just the physical battle to make it to her side. Kyril's zord wheeled overhead, making the ground shake with every blast and putting the cat's reluctant gait to shame.
*Yes,* Kerone amended. *I can.*
Experimentally, Andros put out another call to his own zord, but he received no more response than before. *I want you and Kyril to pull out,* he told her. *Take your zords and reinforce the Planetary Defense. Before you go, send Saryn up to the Megaship--DECA should still recognize him as an Astro Ranger.*
*He'll be able to teleport on.* It was hard to tell whether the instructions surprised her or not. *What about you?*
Another roar echoed across the battlefield outside the hangar bay, and he looked up in time to see the silver cat charging down the hillside toward them. *We'll be fine,* he told her. *But we need the Megaship.*
*Saryn's on his way,* she promised. She tossed another magical explosion at the quantrons, but it was growing less effective every time. Not, he thought, because the force was diminishing, but because their ranks were actually thinning.
*If you need us,* Kerone added, drawing her staff in close to her body, *Call.*
Then she was gone, violet energy making a transparent outline around her body before she disappeared entirely. Her cat let out a distinctly un-zordlike snarl, and suddenly it seemed to shake off whatever had been slowing it down. Whirling, it tucked its legs in close and leapt into the sky, seeming to defy gravity as it reformed and kept on climbing.
Kyril's zord released one more volley, picking off quantrons with disconcerting accuracy before it soared off in pursuit of Kerone's cat. Andros' saber whirled, humming as he tried to compensate for the loss of his battle partner. It was both harder and easier to be alone in the middle of a fight: harder, because there was no one to watch his back, and easier because he didn't have to restrain the violence inside of him.
As though the thought had been a summons he felt a zord looming behind him, and Zhane's cat started to cut him a path to the hangar. He took the opening without question, remembering only distantly his concerns from the day before that the zords didn't have the finesse to pick out single targets in a ground fight. Zhane wouldn't hit him, and the Power wouldn't let him care.
The hangar was already overrun by the time he reached it, but Zhane's cat swung around neatly and started laying down cover fire in front of the doors. No more quantrons would be coming in that way--at least not intact--until the silver zord backed down. Inside, though, was another story.
Andros kept running as he hit the zord bay, drawn toward the flash of yellow taking cover by the far side of the doors, and he poured all his concentration into his blade so he wouldn't have to stop. The saber could have been glowing by the time he reached Ashley; he barely noticed. Her sais flickered in the shadow of the doors, dispatching one quantron and then another before coming to rest against her arms.
"We have to help Cassie," she told him, her focused tone a far cry from the panic he had half-heard in his mind before. He agreed before it dawned on him what that meant, and as they spun toward the other side of the doors he saw the former Pink Ranger ensconced in the comm alcove, holding off quantrons from the inside and out alike.
"Where's Ty?" he demanded, sticking as close to Ashley's side as he could with sporadic fire coming from above. There must be quantrons on the catwalk, but he didn't have the attention to spare.
"He's working on the doors," Ashley answered. Her stride faltered for just a moment, and he saw a sai flash in front of his face. It planted itself in a quantron not five strides away, and he couldn't help a flicker of surprise. Those things weren't designed for throwing.
She paused only long enough to yank the sai free, and he kicked a quantron away from Cassie's hiding place and turned to offer her a hand. Ashley was there a moment later, sais gone and a blaster in her hand as she sited up at the catwalk. There was a crash, and Andros wondered distantly what kind of impact it would take to make a quantron explode.
"Thanks," Cassie said breathlessly. "I'd forgotten how hard that is without the Power."
"You can't use Saryn's?" Ashley asked over her shoulder. She didn't turn, though she did leap backwards a step, bumping into Andros when one of the quantrons on the catwalk located her and started to return fire. "Sorry!"
"He's too far away." Cassie gulped another breath of air and lifted her own blaster, firing at something deeper inside the bay. "Can Zhane hold the doors? Ty's got his back to the fight in there."
Suddenly Cassie staggered, knees apparently giving way underneath her and only Andros' grip on her arm keeping her up. "Saryn," she gasped, her eyes wide and unseeing as Ashley helped him lower her to the floor.
"That's really not helpful," Ashley muttered under her breath. "Remind me never to empathically bond with anyone. Ever."
*Zhane,* Andros asked silently. *Are you having any luck with the comm?*
*Are you kidding?* the Silver Ranger shot back. *Zip can't even contact the other zords through the network!*
*Kerone.* He hated to jump into her mind in the middle of a battle, but she had proven she could do several things at once. *Saryn's in trouble. Cassie just collapsed.*
*I'm on it,* she answered instantly. She didn't bother to ask where he was any more than she waited for instructions. He could only trust that she hadn't ditched her fighter wing in the middle of something drastic.
"Ty's coming!" Ashley shouted over the sound of her blaster fire, and Andros figured that at least that was one more person they didn't have to hunt down and defend. He felt Cassie's fingers clench on his hand, and he dropped down beside her while Ashley watched their backs.
"Cassie?" She was still breathing hard, but her eyes were focused on him again and even as he watched they flicked toward Ashley. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," she managed. To his surprise, she grabbed his hand and let him help her up. She still held her blaster in her free hand. Ranger instincts didn't fade. "I'm fine--Saryn's unconscious."
"How?" Andros demanded.
"I don't know." She didn't look at all happy about it, but she was peering past Ashley and rearming her blaster at the same time. "The Bridge controls were all locked down, and that's the last I knew. I think he was heading for the Engine Room."
"Kerone's gone after him," Andros told her, as Ty skidded to a halt in front of them. Ashley shoved the Black Ranger out of the way and retaliated as an ambitious quantron tried to follow in Ty's tracks. "Ty, what's wrong with the doors?"
"They've been sabotaged," the other Ranger panted. "Along with the comms, the zord network, and the Megaship's mainframe."
"That's crazy," Ashley exclaimed over her shoulder. "No one outside of the team could have done all that!"
"At least not overnight," Andros said grimly.
"Who said it was someone outside of the team?" Ty demanded. A sharp pain slammed into Andros' wrist as Ty kicked his saber loose and he felt the horrible drain of Power as the other Ranger wrenched his digimorpher away from him.
The world dissolved into a wash of teleportation, and it hurt, physically hurt, to feel the Power abandon him so quickly. Withdrawal kicked in immediately, making his vision blur and his thoughts begin to slow. He pressed his hands to his temples instinctively as his head started to pound.
He staggered as someone shoved him, and it dawned on him sluggishly that Ty had pushed him into a chair. He felt the sharp prick of a hypo against his shoulder. "What--" the muscles in his arm were already going numb, and he tried to push himself to his feet.
"Don't," Ty warned. The steel in his voice was new, and Andros found himself staring dumbly down the barrel of a blaster. The numbness was spreading into his chest now, and panic edged out some of the haze that was clouding his mind.
*Kerone!* There was no connection, no clear feeling of another's thoughts pressed up against his, as though his mind was too unfocused to reach outside of itself.
"Ty?" His tongue struggled with the words, but he forced them past the numbness even as he saw the other Ranger turn away. "What're you... doing?"
He was going to black out. He was still breathing normally, at least as far as he could tell, but he could hear the telltale roar in his ears. The corners of his vision were already going grey, and no matter how he struggled against the sensation there was no Power to help him fight. Ty said something he couldn't hear and his skin flashed hot then cold as the world retreated down a rapidly darkening tunnel.
The next thing he knew, a rope was cutting into his wrists and there was an all-too-familiar face on the screen. He was still on the Bridge, but he couldn't tell whether that was a good or bad thing. His shoulders ached from being twisted around behind him, and the withdrawal-induced headache was slamming against the inside of his brain.
"Make sure the Rangers' computer remains inaccessible," Dark Spectre's voice rumbled, probably repeating instructions he had given a dozen times before. "They must not be allowed to undo your work."
"They won't," Ty said, with an arrogant certainty that infuriated Andros. "As you see, the Red Ranger is my prisoner and their computer is completely under my control."
"You have done well, Black Ranger." Dark Spectre's tone made the words a mockery. "As your reward, you will be allowed to speak to the one you desire."
A human face replaced Dark Spectre's on the screen, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Ty lift his head. The man on the screen looked like he'd been through a war, but Ty seemed to stare right through the bruises and dirt to the person below--a person Andros had never seen before. For a long moment, the two of them just gazed at each other.
"Ryse?" Ty managed at last. He sounded like he might choke on the word, and the man on the screen made an abortive motion toward him.
"I'm okay, Ty." He didn't look okay, but it was the same thing any of them would have said in those circumstances. "Don't let them make you do anything for me."
Ty just shook his head, maybe in denial, maybe something else. "All I care about is you," he said fiercely. The strength in his tone had vanished, replaced by something raw and frightening in its intensity. "I'm going to get you back."
Then Ryse's image was gone and Dark Spectre glowered out of the screen at him. "Keep working, Black Ranger."
Ty bowed his head, and the picture winked out. He stood there like that for a long time, unmoving. Immovable. His motives were suddenly and horrifyingly clear. Andros didn't know whether to pity or despise a weakness that he knew was inside each of them.
Ty turned abruptly, and their eyes met. There was nothing Andros could say. Ty made his way to the status console, switching his blaster from one hand to the other and calling up something Andros couldn't see. As he was scrolling through the data, Andros glanced up at DECA's cameras. They were all dark.
"Where's Saryn?" he asked, the question finally coalescing out of the murkiness that composed his thoughts right now. Only after it was out did he realize he would compromise Kerone by asking.
Ty didn't answer.
"Ty," Andros tried again. If only his head would stop throbbing for a moment. "This isn't the way to do it. We can get Ryse back without sacrificing the entire planet."
Ty came around the second row of consoles to plant himself in front of the weapons' station. His back was to Andros, and it didn't take Andros long to realize that Ty was far too experienced with knots for his own good. He doubted he could even move his wrists without dislocating his shoulder.
"You could have told us, Ty," he said, more quietly. "The strength of a Ranger is the team."
Ty snorted at that but didn't look up. "Yeah, like the team has always been your first priority."
The bitterness took Andros by surprise. Narrowing his eyes at Ty's back, he told him sharply, "I'd do anything for my teammates."
Ty turned away from the console and headed for the doors at the back of the Bridge, both of which had been locked open. "Sure you would," he tossed over his shoulder.
A forcefield rippled behind him as he passed through the portal, visible only when disturbed, but it didn't seem to have any effect on him. He was gone down the hallway before Andros could come up with a reply. But gone where?
Andros shifted carefully, trying once more to find a position that would allow him to tug on the ropes that held him without breaking bones. So far, it seemed a futile task. Ty must have done this before. That was a disturbing thought, but then, so was the idea of one of their own teammates turning on them without warning.
*Zhane?* he thought. He still couldn't seem to get a clear sense of anything through the shadows in his mind, but this time something came back anyway. The first thing he heard was Zhane swearing, which didn't seem particularly productive.
*Are you all right?* the Silver Ranger demanded. *We're frantic down here! Kerone has Saryn but she can't get to you and if Ty realizes he's gone he's going to take it out on you...*
The thoughts dissolved, either because Zhane was incoherent or Andros was too tired to keep them straight, he couldn't tell. *I'm all right,* he thought with an effort. *Ty... he's doing this for Ryse. Dark Spectre has Ryse.*
He thought for a moment that he wouldn't be able to hear anything else, and then he caught the end of another desperate thought. *You have to hang on,* Zhane was telling him. *We're coming for you, but we need the rest of the zords...*
He could still hear Zhane, but he wasn't talking about the zords anymore. He was just a kid, a playmate at school, a camping partner his parents trusted in the Keyota hills... a prisoner of Dark Spectre. A refugee in a dimension overcome by war. He was the only thing Andros knew as a wave of numbness dulled the pain and stifled any communication he was still capable of.
"They're loyal to the pack," she insisted. "You have the Red Power, and he'll follow the others if they fight. He just needs a pilot."
"Kerone," Saryn muttered, "I'm hallucinating. I'm the last person you need in the middle of combat right now."
"The Power will fight it better if you morph," she told him, crossing her fingers that it was true. "And who else is there? They won't go into battle alone, and their loyalty to each other is the only thing that brought them back."
"To each other," Saryn repeated, pushing himself to his feet, "and to you. You underestimate yourself yet again."
She chose not to answer that. He would do it. "I'll get through to DECA," she promised, fighting the urge to steady him when he wavered. "One way or another, the Megaship will be there to back you up."
"Take Kyril." He was already reaching for his communicator, ready to ignore any argument she made. "He is not trained to lead a fighter wing, but I am. My impaired physical ability will no doubt handicap me to his level."
She was too distracted to smile, but she didn't miss the joke. "We'll have to abandon the hangar," she observed, glancing over at Cassie. The Pink Ranger was at the shuttle controls, apparently engrossed in the nav display. "Will you be all right here?"
"I'm going with you," Cassie said, without looking up. "I figure the shuttle will distract Ty enough to give you and Kyril a head start."
"You will do no such thing." There was no conviction in Saryn's tone, as though he knew he had already lost this fight. "You will set down at the nearest skyport and take cover until the fighting is over."
"I'm not going to open fire on the Megaship," Cassie retorted. "I'm just going to try and dock. Maybe even get into the hangar, depending on how many of the automatic controls Ty has overridden."
Saryn exchanged helpless glances with Kerone. She only shook her head, offering no sympathy. He had to have known Cassie would never agree to stay out of a fight, and her plan was no more dangerous than any of theirs. It might even help--she did know the Megaship better than either of them.
"I'm going," Cassie added, speaking to the console in front of her. "Get out of here before you two end up going with me."
Saryn took two steps toward the front of the shuttle, laying his hand gently on top of her head. She turned slightly, not looking away from the nav console, and he pressed a kiss to her temple. Kerone heard him whisper, "I love you," before he caught the ruby he wore around his neck and disappeared.
"Love you too," Cassie murmured into the silence. She did turn, then, catching Kerone's eye with a teary smile she hadn't let Saryn see. "Good luck."
"You too," Kerone answered, calling an image of Kyril's cockpit to mind. "See you on board."
Stepping through a violet curtain, the shuttle rippled and reformed in the shape of a zord interior she had seen only once before. Kyril whirled, weapon in hand before she could draw breath, and she held up her hands defensively. "It's me!"
He turned back to the pilot's display without a word, pulling the visor back into place as though nothing had happened. "What?" he asked tersely. The curt tone took her aback, but he was in the middle of a battle, after all.
"Saryn sent me," she said anyway, passing the responsibility with only the slightest twinge of guilt. Always better to blame someone who wasn't present. "I need you on the Megaship."
"Kind of busy, here," he pointed out. "What do you expect me to do?"
"Saryn's coming to take your place," she told him. "He said I should take you, but if you'd rather stay and fight I'll go on my own."
"Wait just a minute," he objected instantly. "Who said anything about going alone!" He was triggering round after round of laser fire, and she had to avoid looking at the screen to keep from getting dizzy as the zord spun.
Suddenly she realized they were heading out of the fray, not deeper into it. "We can't take your zord," she said quickly. "He'll see it coming."
"Who?" Kyril demanded.
"Ty's taken control of the Megaship," Kerone offered, looking away from the screen yet again. "He sabotaged the hangar and the zords, and he grabbed Andros before he disappeared--to the Megaship, as far as we can tell."
"Ty, your teammate?" Kyril repeated incredulously. "Or Ty, your teammate's evil clone?"
"Andros said something about Ty's husband when Zhane finally got through to him," Kerone said, frowning as Kyril sent his zord freewheeling back into the atmosphere. "What are you doing?"
"Shutting off the manual controls," Kyril said, as though it was a perfectly logical explanation. Getting to his feet, he added, "Let's go. I assume you're doing the teleporting?"
She shook her gaze away from the alarmingly out of control tilt to the forward screen. "Ready?"
"When you are," he responded without hesitation.
She walked back into the magic, stepping out on deck six with a wash of violet that she didn't let fade. *How comfortable are you with telepathy?* she asked, wishing she'd thought to ask before.
*You'd be surprised,* he replied wryly. *Open invitation.*
*Thanks. We're as invisible as I can make us--don't make any noise, and don't try to go through any of the doorways. Ty's got some kind of forcefield on them.*
*How invisible can you make us?* Kyril wanted to know.
*Not invisible enough to hide our movements,* she thought after a moment's consideration. *If you see anyone, hold still.*
*Got it.* There was a brief pause. *Can you contact Andros this way?*
*I could, if he was conscious,* she said, peering into the Engine Room. She was careful not to actually put any part of her body through the doorway--she had seen what it did to Saryn, and he was still feeling the effects.
*I see. The Bridge?*
*Probably. It's shielded from any kind of teleportation we could test it on, so it's the logical place. But--*
*You can't teleport in, either,* Kyril finished for her.
*No.* It irked her that Saryn, who had never truly been an Astro Ranger, was still recognized by safeties Ty couldn't shut down, while she was denied. DECA allowed her control over every function the ship had, but in DECA's absence... she didn't hold the Power.
*I bet I can do it,* Kyril said unexpectedly. *Which way?*
She pointed down the corridor, pacing him as they concentrated on walking as quietly as they could. Or she did. His footsteps were silent, as always. He couldn't really think he could teleport onto the Bridge when she couldn't, but she couldn't imagine what else he was planning to do.
*Ty.*
She froze, and not a moment too soon. The Black Ranger strode off the Bridge just as they came around the corner, the forcefield flickering in the doorway behind him. He looked grim but not gleeful, as she would have expected if he was being influenced by some sort of evil spell. She wondered what exactly Andros had been trying to tell Zhane.
*Cassie,* she realized suddenly, and she felt Kyril agree. Ty must have noticed the shuttle's approach. Or maybe it was trying to board--might have already done so, even. It was impossible to know with the computer interface locked down.
They got as close to the door as they dared. She had told herself that nothing Ty could do would surprise her; she had been in his position before, after all. But it was harder than she had expected to see her brother slumped unconscious at the back of the Bridge, bound so tightly that she could see the harsh burns cut into his skin from where they stood.
She swallowed hard. She felt Kyril's hand on her shoulder, and wondered when she had become so transparent that total strangers could read her reactions. Then he stepped away from her, walking up to the bulkhead and straight through it.
Kerone stared in surprise as he emerged on the other side, making his way rapidly across the Bridge to Andros' side. No wonder Saryn had wanted her to take him. *You can walk through walls!*
Kyril dropped down beside Andros, touching the Red Ranger's face and then his neck, checking his pulse or maybe just seeing if he would wake. *Wouldn't be much of a ghost if I couldn't,* he answered, but she caught the tinge of amusement to his words.
*Can you untie him?* She forced her gaze away from Andros, glancing down the hall to make sure Ty hadn't changed his mind about leaving.
*Yes.* Kyril hesitated. *The bad news is, I can't take him back through the bulkhead with me. I'll have to find a way to shut down the forcefield from this side.*
*Wait.* She weighed the chances of either plan succeeding, then decided he might as well make the choice himself. *DECA has a manual interface over by the Ops console. I don't know if she'll recognize you as friendly, but she should. If she does, someone with the Power can override the lockdown from the inside.*
*And if she doesn't?* Kyril wanted to know. He was already heading for the Ops console.
*I don't know,* Kerone admitted. *You might not be able to get in at all. Or you might get trapped inside... I really don't know.*
*How do I trigger the interface?* he asked, staring down at the panel in front of him. *Key codes?*
*No. Anyone can use it: status bar at the top, palmprint underneath."
He touched the appropriate sections and she saw him stiffen as the interface flashed up his nerve endings and along his neural pathways. He crumpled, hand sliding away from the panel, but the connection had been made. She really should have warned him to sit down.
She waited, but nothing happened. If DECA didn't recognize him, Ty was going to find an extra prisoner when he returned from dealing with Cassie's shuttle. What had she done, anyway? Kerone wanted to just reach out and ask her, but if Ty and Cassie were face to face Ty might see her attention flicker.
Or he might not... Cassie must be used to Saryn's mental touch by now. She was debating with herself when a subtle hum from the Bridge caught her attention. One of DECA's cameras had swung around, red light flashing as she recorded Kerone's image in the doorway and then tracked toward Kyril. The other, out of site from her vantage point, was probably trained on Andros.
The forcefield in front of her sparked briefly and vanished. She heard Kyril gasp as she darted on to the Bridge, and he was pulling himself to his feet just as she reached Andros' side. *That was strange,* Kyril remarked, turning his head to assess the situation. *Can your computer see us?*
"DECA?" Kerone asked quietly, letting her invisibility drop. The computer had to know she was there, at least. *Don't move,* she told Kyril. If something had gone wrong--
"I was locked out of the mainframe by a Ranger," DECA said at last. She sounded, if anything, amazed. "What a novel experience."
Kerone almost sighed in relief. "Does he know you're back in yet?"
She gestured at Kyril as an afterthought, and his invisibility vanished as well. She saw him blink once when the violet tint to his vision disappeared and she wondered, suddenly, that she had been able to cloak him at all. Her magic had never worked on him before.
"If by 'he' you mean Tixe," the computer replied, sounding more pensive than Kerone had ever heard her, "No. I see no reason to inform him of my presence at this time."
"Is Cassie on board?" Kyril wanted to know. "She was going to try and distract him."
She was going to get Ty to teach her something about knots. These were the most ridiculously complicated things she had ever seen, and she was afraid to pull too hard in case she hurt Andros somehow. He was still unconscious, at least as far as she could tell, and that worried her. He must have run into something stronger than the door forcefields.
"Cassie's shuttle is currently located on the hangar deck," DECA answered, and if Kerone wasn't imagining things, the computer sounded decidedly amused. "She is attempting to explain to Ty exactly how much he has done wrong, and he seems quite reluctant to stop her."
"You can't let him hurt her," Kyril interjected. "She's had enough problems with this pregnancy as it is."
"If you believe harm will ever come to one of my Rangers while I am in control of the Megaship," DECA responded coldly, "You are gravely mistaken."
Kerone held her left hand out to one side and clenched her fist. An insubstantial knife appeared between her fingers, crackling with more than enough magic to make up for its lack of solidity. She pressed it carefully against Andros' wrist, slid it through the ropes and yanked it free.
His wrists were actually bloody when the bindings fell away, and she narrowed her eyes. Someone would answer for that. Ty, or Ty's clone, or whoever was pulling Ty's strings. She didn't much care, as long as someone understood that they wouldn't cross the Kerovan Rangers again.
"Ty is now unconscious," DECA remarked, as though it were little more than an afterthought. "He had a weapon, of which Cassie is now in possession. I have asked her to join us on the Bridge."
"Thanks, DECA," Kerone said absently. She had managed to cut away the knots holding the rest of Andros' restraints, and she was unwinding them as carefully as she could. She was amazed he had been able to breathe.
"Sorry for doubting you," Kyril added, and the genuinely self-deprecating tone seemed to mollify DECA a little. "Can you get a planetary scan up on the main screen?"
DECA complied without a word, and Kerone spared a glance for the display. There were three sites flashing red, indicating no defenses at all, and five more highlighted in orange, meaning the defense was inadequate or outnumbered. One of the red sites, she noted, was the hangar... but it shouldn't have come up as a priority unless there was someone actually present at the location.
Kyril, now over at the status console, asked before she could. "Who's at the hangar?"
A realtime scan of the hangar grounds appeared on the screen, and Kerone sighed aloud. "DECA, can you teleport her out of there?"
"And where would you like me to send her?" DECA inquired. Her tone of voice made it sound as though the next star system might not be far enough away.
"Bring her here," Kerone grumbled. "If she starts to annoy you, tell Andros I said you could shoot her."
DECA sounded mildly speculative. "As you wish."
Cricket appeared on the Bridge at the same moment Cassie did. The latter gave the reporter a single glance before hurrying to Kerone's side. "Is he all right? The doors got him too, huh? You guys better get back out there. DECA and I can take the Megaship; we'll follow you in."
"It wasn't the doors," Kerone muttered, frowning down at Andros. "I think he's been drugged. DECA?" she added, glancing up at the nearest camera.
"Bridge logs seem to indicate that you are correct," DECA replied. "Perhaps your friend will transport him to the Medical Bay while you rejoin the battle."
Kerone gave Cricket a brief look, then shook her head. "I'll do it," she said firmly, cradling Andros in her arms and letting the magic envelop them as they were. She struggled a little to get him onto the patient bed, but DECA's camera light was bright and reassuring when she looked up.
"I do not believe he has suffered any permanent damage," DECA told her gently. "I will make sure he is cared for."
Kerone straightened, forcing herself to step back. "Thank you," she murmured. The Bridge reappeared around her and she caught Kyril's eye. "Thank you," she repeated.
He nodded once, and she pulled her digimorpher free. "Saryn," she said, letting her gaze slide to Cassie. "We have DECA back. The comms are working, Ty is out, and we're on our way."
"I relinquish command to you," his voice replied immediately. He sounded far more confident than he had when she left him, and she offered silent thanks that the Power had indeed helped.
The Power. She turned wide eyes on Cassie. "Andros," she said quickly. "He's not wearing red. Take care of him?"
Cassie got it immediately. "I will," she promised. "Go."
Kyril was waiting for her order, and she memorized the screen with a single glance. "Northern continent," she told him. "125 by 270; I'll bring a fighter wing to back you up.
"Saryn," she added, aware that he was still listening. "How are you doing with the fighters?" She saw Kyril vanish out of the corner of her eye, and her fingers clenched instinctively on her digimorpher.
"Well enough that my presence is an asset," Saryn replied. "You see that we have split up. Marsie assures me that secondary wings are even now being scrambled."
"They'll be dispatched separately," Kerone agreed. "You should have reinforcements as fast as they can assemble." She pointed silently at Cassie, then at the second flashing red location on the tactical map. Kyril was already en route to the first one, and the third one had disappeared when Cricket did.
Cassie nodded her understanding, already coming around the second row of consoles to take the pilot's chair.
In an eerie echo of her gesture Saryn's voice replied, "Acknowleged."
Kerone reached out to her zord, felt Magic rumble in response on some subauditory level, and followed her mind's image to a cockpit on the other side of the world.
"DECA, we need to be closer to the surface!"
"The atmospheric disturbance caused by our passage will not improve the situation on the ground," the Megaship's computer warned. "And the Megalasers are not designed for planetary bombardment."
"What if we use the Megazord?" Cassie demanded. They couldn't let the strafing runs go unpunished, and yet the Megaship would inevitably cause more damage if it opened fire on the velocifighters from above.
"The Megazord will have a severe mobility disadvantage in a velocifighter battle," DECA pointed out. "I suggest drawing the enemy fighters away from the surface with calculated strikes to the ground below."
"You can't open fire on a civilian population!" Kristet burst out. "The Rangers are supposed to defend, not destroy!"
Cassie ignored her. "Bring up a list of possible targets," she told DECA. "Make sure the evac order is going out, and only pinpoint the ones without biosigns. Pull up--see if we can get some of them to follow us without provocation."
"No," a voice slurred from the doorway. "We need to... need to be closer to the surface."
If Cassie could have leapt out of her chair, she would have. As it was, she could barely glance over her shoulder before the target sites started to drift. "Andros, you shouldn't even be up!"
"DECA," Andros said, more strongly. "Take us in."
"The atmospheric disturbance," DECA began, but Andros overrode her.
"Just do it," he ordered, stumbling a little when he let go of the doorframe and staggered toward the nav console. "Shields to maximum. Cassie, get on the Megalasers."
"Andros..." Cassie hesitated, concentrating on the tactical map in front of her. "We can't use the lasers that close to the ground."
"We're not going to," he muttered. "DECA, status of the evac."
DECA wouldn't countermand an order from Andros, no matter what she thought of it. Cassie had seen her follow more questionable commands before--but Andros had never been this out of it when giving them. It all came down to who Cassie trusted more: the battleship's artificial intelligence, or Andros on sedatives and suffering from color withdrawal.
She slid over to the weapons' console, giving her braid a harsh yank as she went. "Kristet, come here." The ribbon clung stubbornly in her hair, but she combed out the bottom of the braid as much as she could and pulled again.
This time the ribbon slid free, and she pushed it into Kristet's hand. "Give this to Andros," she told the reporter, already turning back to the tactical display she was most familiar with. They might not be able to fire at the planet with the Megalasers, but if Andros kept up this descent they would be able to fire upward before too long.
"Cricket." Andros interrupted DECA's recitation of open targets and fighter response to snarl at the reporter. That seemed to be all it took, and Kristet's presence was gone from her side.
"Proximity alert," DECA announced. "Port 60 by 30. Ventral approach exceeding recommended--"
The warning cut off as the Megaship ran the velocifighter down and just kept going. The inertial dampers didn't so much as flinch, and Cassie wouldn't have even known they'd hit something if she hadn't seen an orange light flicker and vanish on her tactical display. The explosion had appeared on the edge of the Megaship's outline, but damage wouldn't disappear so quickly. It had to have been an enemy ship.
"Proximity alert," DECA repeated. "Starboard 15 by 40. Ventral approach--"
"DECA." Andros' voice was stronger now, and Cassie saw another explosion flare on the right side of the Megaship's outline. "Discontinue proximity alerts."
"Acknowledged," the computer replied primly. Cassie couldn't tell whether she was startled or amused, but Andros' plan was clear. If he couldn't shoot the ships down, he was going to smash them to pieces.
"Megaship," Kerone's voice interrupted. "I'm redeploying the secondary fighter wings; what's your status?"
"Non-critical," Andros answered for her.
Another velocifighter crashed into the shields, and the others were starting to converge as they recognized the very real threat of being picked off one by one. Andros wouldn't be able to play chicken with an entire wing--would he? The velocifighters obviously didn't think so. Cassie wasn't so sure.
"Cassie," Kerone snapped.
"He's all right," she told the console, bringing the lasers to bear as Andros dove under the reforming wing and gave her the best shot she'd had yet. "I couldn't keep him down."
That was all they heard from her for the next several minutes. Kerone's attention was clearly diverted, but DECA began to route the zord network at low volume throughout the Bridge. She overlooked the fighter chatter, though Cassie did catch the occasional response from Saryn to the rest of Andros' wing.
It didn't take the velocifighters long to realize their mistake, and soon there weren't any left to wonder what had hit them. As soon as DECA reported the sectors clear, Cassie slumped back for a moment and swiveled toward Andros. He was clutching the edges of the console, head bowed in reaction or fatigue.
"V leader," he said, before she could say anything to him. He didn't lift his head. "We're clear over sectors 12 and 13."
"Standby." Cassie heard Kerone requesting status updates from two of the secondary wings that had apparently been deployed without zord support. DECA's network filter didn't allow her to hear the answer, but Kerone's voice came back a moment later. "Megaship, reinforce Gold wing in sector 56."
She didn't bother to give coordinates, and DECA supplied them without being prompted. Andros let go of the console to bring the Megaship about, setting his shoulders as he lifted his gaze to the main screen. He caught her eye instead, and she gave him a worried look. He tried to smile.
"How are you doing?" she asked, quietly enough that the comm wouldn't pick it up.
He closed his eyes momentarily, then shook his head. "We didn't even see it coming," he murmured. "The attacks, Ty's sabotage... none of it. How many people will die today because I wasn't paying attention?"
"Not as many as will live because you did your job," Cassie said firmly. "You can't save everyone, Andros. Sometimes evil is stronger and faster than we are."
He stared at the forward screen, gaze blank as the Megaship tore through the atmosphere toward Ashley's position. "It shouldn't be," he said softly.
fin