Story notes: This story will be featuring an OC and this chapter introduces her.
"No!" She shot upright in bed, short, dark brown curls a wild mess from the tossing and turning. She was breathing heavily, trembling with a thin sheen of sweat covering her brow. That was the third night in a row of that nightmare and that lingering sense of dread felt all the stronger tonight. Something was wrong. She could feel it.
Not even bothering to change into regular clothes, the Astro Megaship's resident non-ranger raced out to the bridge, bare feet thumping softly against the cold metal. The silence of the space vessel seemed deafening at the moment, but it wasn't enough to deter her from her mission.
"D.E.C.A, I need you to locate Zhane and try and make contact," There was an urgency in her voice as she reached the computer's controls.
"I'm sorry, Rina. But I'm not able to do that," The computer's feminine voice stated. "Zhane is still-"
"I don't care! Just do it!" Rina's voice quivered, trying not to imagine the worst as she typed in commands to try and trace where the silver ranger could be. She was so absorbed in what she was doing that she didn't realize anyone else had come in until the feeling of a hand on her shoulder caused her to jump.
"What are you doing?" T.J. questioned, he and the other rangers standing behind her with varying looks of concern on their faces.
"Trying to find Zhane."
T.J. took hold of Rina's shoulders and forcefully turned her to face him. "We know where he is. He's undercover."
Rina pulled herself from the blue ranger's grip, the dark circles under her eyes making her already pale complexion seem even paler.
"I'm sure Zhane's fine," Ashley piped up. "If he was in trouble, he would've contacted us."
"Yeah. He hasn't been in there all that long, either," Cassie reminded.
Seeming to only become more agitated, Rina shook her head, her blue eyes resembling storm clouds as tears appeared in the corners. She couldn't believe that the others were being so nonchalant about this. With a look of desperation, she looked at Carlos and Andros, hoping one or both of them would be on her side. The black ranger, though, just shook his head and confirmed he agreed with the others. That just left Andros, Zhane's best friend and fellow Karovian.
The red ranger's expression appeared to be conflicted. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't concerned about his friend but wondered if maybe the concern was unwarranted. His silence seemed to have gone on too long, though.
With a cry of exasperation and possibly defeat, Rina leaned against the nearest wall and slid down to the floor. Her small frame seemed, somehow, smaller as she drew her knees to her chest and buried her face against them.
"Why don't you guys head back to bed?" Andros suggested as he went over and joined the sobbing girl on the floor.
"Are you sure?" The blonde haired ranger watched as her boyfriend attempted to comfort their friend, her own worry showing on her face, plain as day. When he nodded, she offered a small smile and excused herself along with the others.
