Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers.
Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow: He is and they should.
TrueRomantic: Carlos was a little of a jerk, but some of it was probably Andros... He's starting to annoy me, and I'm writing it!
Mel: Carlos sees Ashley mostly as a friend/sister, but he does have a tiny crush on her. That wasn't what made him go off on Andros, though. He didn't want Andros making any moves on her the same day she broke up with her boyfriend.
Star Fata: Ashley wasn't saying no to shopping; she just was a little surprised at being dragged off before she even had the chance to say good morning to everyone.
Sasja: He does like her a little more than 'just friends,' but there really isn't anything between them.
Slytherin-Angel44: Party's not until Part 2, sorry.
Tal: No, he won't get killed. Sorry it was a little shorter than normal, there didn't seem to be anything in dragging that conversation out much longer.
the-power-of-love: Here's more.
C.C.C: Birthday present is a surprise. :P I don't think it's really wrong to have new boyfriend two weeks later, maybe a little fast? I wouldn't know, and everyone seems to have a different answer. :P
hmmart: Thanks. Andros realizing he's in love with Ashley is so much fun--since she has no clue. :D
JDPhoenix: He'll get her a present... but his ill-fated attempt to retrieve his morpher either got slightly more or less ill-fated, depending on how you look at it.
Jenny: I'll have lots of fun writing the birthday party! Maybe switching bodies, and yeah, it would be very freaky.
Mz. Daydream: Andros being a little paranoid and Carlos being a little overprotective was surprisingly fun to write... A little bit of a struggle between the two, but there's nothing that will ever set them against each other.
Funky In Fishnet: The birthday won't be until Part 2; some things need to happen before then.
Mita427: Almost.
Chapter 32
Andros headed straight for the bridge upon leaving Carlos, his mind set on taking advantage of the absence of two rangers to begin all the preparations he needed to make before heading off in search of Cosmos. TJ, he knew, slept almost as late as Zhane, and Karone would most likely eat and then head for the Simudeck, giving him at least an hour before she thought to stop by and say good morning. He only hoped that Carlos would head down to Earth after he finished his oatmeal, or at least back to his room.
"Deca, can you get a lock on the Dark Fortress?"
"Negative," she replied calmly. "The Dark Fortress has not shown up on radar for some time now."
"How long?" he asked absently, tapping his fingers against the main console.
"Two weeks."
"Two weeks?" he repeated as a frown crossed his face. That was a setback--the Dark Fortress was unlikely to have remained in one place for so long unless there was a place to dock the ship, which as far as he knew, there wasn't. When not in orbit, the Megaship was in her hangar on the moon, and he was positive that it was the only one.
"They have to be somewhere," he reasoned aloud, and glanced up at Deca for confirmation. "They've been around in the last two weeks--Cosmos was here yesterday."
Deca didn't reply, and Andros blew out his breath in frustration, wondering what he was supposed to do now.
"Do another long-range scan, Deca," he ordered with a sigh. "See if you can... pinpoint where the Velocifighters are headed."
Deca blinked once at him in silent acknowledgment and Andros sat back in seat, fidgeting impatiently while he waited. It shouldn't be this difficult; he was sure that Cosmos and Lyra were expecting him to go after them, and he was equally sure that they wanted him to. He knew full well that there would be a trap set for him, and while he had every intention of going after them, he was determined that he wasn't going to walk straight into it.
"Anything?" he asked finally, glancing up hopefully.
Deca didn't reply right away, and he narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously, wondering if she had deliberately withheld information from him. She had always been more mother than computer to them all, and Andros had a strong hunch that his mother wouldn't have approved of his plan. His expression darkened angrily as he remembered that his brother had killed his own mother. He had to go after them; he couldn't let that go unpunished.
"Sector nine," she informed him finally. "An analysis of the Velocifighter flight patterns from the past few days reveals that they are more prominently situated there than any other sector of the Sol system."
"Thanks," he said distractedly, frowning as he considered that bit of information.
If he didn't run into any major setbacks, he estimated that he could leave the Megaship and arrive at the Dark Fortress in less than two hours if he traveled in realspace. Hyperspace would be much, much quicker, but he was more likely to fly straight past the Dark Fortress without her ever registering on his scanner if he opted for hyperspace.
It was settled, then. He'd leave the Megaship as soon as the other rangers were all in their rooms asleep, take his glider out into space and start scanning for the Dark Fortress, hopefully avoiding showing up on their radar or being spotted by Velocifighters. Once there, he would sneak aboard and head for the control room to start his search for Cosmos and Lyra, unless he ran into them sooner. He would hide his glider in a convenient location that was close by, knowing that he was likely to be making a quick escape.
Even he knew that it wasn't a very strong plan. There were too many things that could, and probably would go wrong. Still, it was the only plan he had, and no one else seemed very bothered by the fact that Cosmos was currently in possession of the red Astromorpher. Not even Zhane and Karone had proposed any sort of idea whatsoever.
"Where are Zhane and Karone, anyway?" he wondered aloud.
"They are currently on the Simudeck with Carlos," Deca replied.
"Thanks," he said again, and stood, heading for the Megalift. He might as well join them. The doors opened and shut with a soft hiss, and then he felt the familiar sensation that wasn't quite falling as the Megalift hummed into motion.
Andros knew that something was off the moment he entered the Simudeck. Karone was stretching her legs, but Zhane lay flat on his stomach and Carlos sat cross-legged alongside of him. All three were dressed in their warm-up suits, yet they formed a close circle on the ground, their heads bent together. He paused in the doorway, curious as to what they were talking about, but not wanting to barge in.
He was still hesitating when Carlos happened to glance up and take notice of him. "Andros!"
"What's going on?" He dropped to his knees between Carlos and Karone, glancing at each of them quizzically when no one made a move to answer. "What?"
"It's not important," Carlos said finally, and his casual tone would have been convincing if he hadn't waited a full minute to speak. "Just, you know, strategy sessions."
"Yeah," Karone agreed, straightening up and tucking her legs beneath her. "We were thinking about tag-teaming them."
"The monsters on the training sims, you mean?" Andros raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what you always do?"
"Well, yeah, but since we do it all the time in battle anyway..." Karone floundered and shot a desperate glance at Zhane, who took over for her cheerfully.
"What she meant was that we're just trying to see how effective our strategies really are," Zhane said smoothly. "You know, compare and contrast."
Andros felt his a smile tug at his lips despite himself. "How do you do that?" he demanded of a grinning Zhane, before rolling his eyes and asking again, "What's going on?"
"It's really nothing," Karone insisted. "We were just... talking."
"About me," Andros concluded, and sighed. He should have expected it, should have seen it when they wouldn't include him in the conversation.
"Guess again," Zhane said brightly. "I can honestly say that we weren't talking about you."
"Cosmos, then," Andros said with another sigh. "Lyra. The morpher."
There was a silence, and then Zhane admitted grudgingly, "Okay, so you got some of it right."
"What's going on?" He repeated the question a third time, clearly irritated now. "The Power's mine. Just tell me!"
"Will you calm down?" Karone snapped, as annoyed as he. "Nothing's going on. We were just talking."
"Oh." Andros sighed and sat back, running his fingers through his hair. "Sorry."
"You should be," Karone told him, unapologetic. "If we had anything productive to say, we'd want you around for it."
"Sorry," he repeated a bit sheepishly. "So what were you thinking?"
"We either set a trap or storm the Dark Fortress." Carlos shook his head. "Both have too many potential setbacks."
"Yeah," he agreed uneasily. "What kind of trap were you thinking?"
"Dunno." Zhane shrugged. "But if we go with that, then we need bait, and that's risky. Besides, they'll probably be expecting something like that."
"I'm not so sure that they are," Andros countered, and sighed. He was so sure that they were expecting him, and he was going to plan around that. "But I don't want all of you sneaking onto the Dark Fortress. It isn't worth your lives."
"I say it is," Zhane disagreed. "Who has that power could make all the difference. It's not just our lives, Andros; it's everything."
"When you put it like that," Andros muttered. He hadn't thought of it that way. Just another reason to go, then, he decided firmly. "It can't wait, then."
"We'll have to plan first," Karone reasoned. "But I agree. The sooner, the better."
Andros could only hope that they didn't set off on this mission before he had his chance. He just couldn't lose anyone else that he loved, and it would kill him if they lost their lives because of the choices he had made. His own death wouldn't destroy anyone. They would mourn for him and then move on, eventually forgetting him completely. He frowned at the bleak picture his thoughts painted, but he knew it was true. They would have each other, while he would have no one.
"Andros?" A hand smacked his knee, and his head snapped up surprise. He glanced around to glare at the culprit, but Karone only smiled sweetly at him.
"What was that for?"
"You weren't listening."
"Oh." He sighed. "Sorry... What were you saying?"
"Never mind." Karone shook her head. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," he muttered. "I was just thinking."
"Ecliptor is attacking Angel Grove," Deca broke in. "The other rangers have been alerted."
"Let's go." Zhane jumped to his feet, Karone and Carlos only a split second behind them. "Let's rocket!"
Then they were gone, and Andros flopped down onto his back, drawing his knees up. As relieved as he was to find that they were worried after all, it only made his going alone more urgent. He couldn't take a chance with their lives.
His plan, while far from foolproof, would keep them safe. The only thing that truly made him uneasy was that for him to pull this off, he was essentially stealing his best friend's powers. If he was absolutely certain that he was coming back, he wouldn't feel so guilty, but while it was perfectly acceptable that he took a chance with his own life, he couldn't risk the team losing another ranger.
With a silent sigh, he pushed himself up, trying to think. He needed another way to get onto the Dark Fortress... Using a morpher had been the only plan he'd thought of so far, but he couldn't be that selfish, as he had realized the moment the rangers had teleported out...
He brightened. "Deca?"
"Yes, Andros?"
"If we were close enough, could you lock onto the teleportation signal on the Dark Fortress?"
"Such a signal is likely to be encrypted," Deca warned him. "Even if I could lock onto it, breaking in would be another matter entirely."
"Could you do it?" he demanded. "If you had the time?"
"It depends on the level of encryption--"
"Yes or no, Deca?"
A pause. "Yes."
"Good," he said, speaking more to himself now.
"Andros, I do not think--"
"I have to do this, Deca," he insisted, not giving her the chance to explain to him exactly why he shouldn't be doing this. "It's the only way I can get my morpher away from them without losing anyone else."
"I do not think you are making a wise decision," she finished.
"I don't care," he said simply. "Oh, and Deca? You don't know any of what I'm planning, understood?"
Deca made no reply, and satisfied that she wouldn't turn him in to any of the others, Andros leapt to his feet and headed out of the Simudeck. He had some more work to do.
