For explainations on the Ninjetti Rangers, see the end of this chapter. Also, no one has missed Nathan or Chrin; they're from Fade to Darkness: Darkness Calling, and I haven't gotten to them yet.

Also, I always thought the name for the Lost Galaxy Rangers was stupid, excluding the season title. They use Quasar Sabres, and they weren't even in the lost galaxy until halfway through the series. So I'm calling them Quasar Rangers.

T.J.'s Grief

His eyes hurt from too many hours of staring at tactical maps. Amazing to think paper could create the urge to actually rip the eyeballs from his head. Absently he found himself missing D.E.C.A.'s calm, occasionally sarcastic input. Losing the Astro Megaship had been more than a loss for the Light side, but for the Astro Rangers themselves. They never knew how much a part of their lives she was until she wasn't there anymore.

He rubbed at his aching eyes, wincing. Thinking about D.E.C.A.? He must be tired. He hadn't thought about her in...how long ago was she shot down? Eight, nine months ago?

"Here."

He barely glanced up as Ashley set a cup of coffee beside him. "Thanks." he murmured absently.

There was a long moment of silence, then a sigh. "If you're not going to bed, you could actually try drinking it, you know."

He rolled his eyes as he reached for the cup, then paused as he stared skeptically at its contents. "Where'd you get it?"

"Heryl made it from what's left of the supplies. Don't worry, it's Lynest, not Kerovian." Annoyance colored the tone of her voice. "I'm not trying to kill you."

He silently gave a prayer of thanks as he took a sip. Not that Lynest was much better, but at least it wasn't Kerovian. Kerovian coffee could easily be used as a substitute for engine oil. He'd been disturbed to find out much later that Chrin hadn't been joking when he'd told them that. Then again, it was hard to be picky anymore. It was liquid after all. Sort of.

"Looking over bases?"

"Updating." he answered distractedly. "There were new reports this morning, so I've been trying to adjust the maps."

He watched her stare at the map he was working on, surveying how many marks he'd had to black out. Unlike him she had actually demorphed for awhile, dressed in the dingy, tattered uniform the civilians wore. She was thin, too thin, but considering the lack of supplies they had these days, it couldn't be helped. She was probably giving most of her share to Marinda, to make sure she wasn't underfed like the rest of them.

But then, Marinda was the reason behind a lot of things Ashley did now. She was the reason she hadn't followed Andros into the Grid when he'd fallen in battle. She was the reason that unlike most of The Rebellion, Ashley refused to just cut her hair instead of trying to tie it up everyday. She was the reason Ashley forced herself to smile everytime the little girl was in the room, even if it never truly reached her eyes. She was the reason Ashley refused to admit what everyone else had realized long ago: they were fighting a losing battle.

"Marinda asleep?" he asked at last.

She nodded, frowning at the map. "Yeah, I put her down a couple hours ago. Saes is gone?"

He sighed, nodding. "Last week. No one even knew until a few days ago."

"Coms are faultering all over the place." a new voice commented. They both looked up as Rael joined them. The Kerovian was still as calm and unaffected as ever as she tossed her blond bangs out of her eyes and back with the rest of her cropped brown hair. She was still morphed as well, and even now it hurt to see her in the Black Astro uniform. She set her helmet down on the table, leaning over to cast a quick glance at the map. "Nickolas and Chrin have been trying to set up something to stop them from jamming our frequencies, but they haven't gotten anywhere yet."

"Anymore news?" he asked wearily.

She shrugged slightly. "The Aquitian Rangers are still on Hvaenal. No word back yet, but that could mean anything."

"They're fine." Ashley spoke up, her voice insistent.

He and Rael exchanged glances. While they understood Ashley's forced optimism, it wasn't necessary when it was only the three of them. They were all too realistic for that.

"Ash..." he said slowly. "You know...we haven't heard from them for over a month. Even with the coms acting up-"

"That doesn't mean anything." she interrupted, glaring at him. "They're fine. They're one of the strongest teams we have."

Though she didn't say it, the word 'left' echoed through all their minds.

"They were one of the strongest teams we have." Rael told her. Rael, unlike Ashley, was realistic to the point of pessimism. "They were already weakened when Kimberly was destroyed. When Billy was attacked, it shattered their full team. You know they won't find a new Blue."

He nodded reluctantly in agreement. When Delphine had been the only remaining Aquitian Ranger, she had still offered the other four Morphers she had to Jason, Zack, Trini, and Billy to give them a new team. While they had never said anything, everyone had noticed that no one had offered the Blue Aquitian Morpher again. It seemed that losing another team member had finally been enough for them all. "She's right, Ash."

She stared at him, tears beginning to shine in her eyes. "Then what do you want me to say, T.J.?" she demanded. "Do you want me to tell my daughter that she lost her father for nothing? That she'll never have the chance for a life of peace? Is that what you what!" She ran from the room before he could think of anything to say, shoulders shaking.

He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

"She shouldn't force herself to be so optimistic." Rael said at last. "Marinda isn't stupid. She and the other children play in full view of the camp. They see what's happening every day."

"That doesn't mean we need to encourage it." he shot back, his tone sharper than he'd intended. He knew she was right, but he couldn't bring himself to agree aloud. There weren't exactly many innocents left these days. To see Ashley's four year old daughter lose that bright smile would hurt. Just as it had hurt when they'd managed to repair Chrin and been forced to tell him they hadn't found the rest of his team, only to watch as that cheerful innocence he'd always had was gone forever. The same way it had hurt to see that light die in Yasta's eyes the day they found her mourning over Carlos' body.

When he finally look up, Rael was staring at him. "I'll be doing inventory if you need me." she said shortly. She stalked out much the same way Ashley had, but with shoulders tensed in anger.

He closed his eyes again, pinching his temples. Distantly, he could remember how jealous he'd been when he first became the Blue Astro Ranger and Andros had taken over leadership of the team. He'd felt like it was a silent accusation that he hadn't been a good enough leader, and now he was being replaced because of his mistakes.

"You can have it back now, Andros." he whispered. A wave of grief swept over him. "Please, take it back."

Of course there was no answer. The dead couldn't speak to him, after all. He wasn't a White.

So many losses over the years... There were no more Pink or Silver Rangers. Anywhere. The empathic Pinks had all destroyed themselves when the Dark Rangers had finally made the rest of the universe realize they weren't going away, and they weren't being stopped. He could still remember finding Cassie's body with the laser pistol still in her hand near the burned temple, could still hear Ashley screaming her denial for hours on end. The rise in Dark energy had slowly destroyed all the Silvers. Zhane, Rosemarie, and finally Kat had all died slowly, each one still trying to smile for the remaining Light Rangers at the end.

Andros had fallen in battle as a hero, taking out the Dark Fortress mere hours before Ashley had found out she was pregnant with his child. Carlos had been the same, taking Yasta's innocence and bright smiles with him. Ko-lin had joined them soon after, and while he had no proof, he was fairly certain it was something she could have prevented if she cared anymore. He'd protected Ashley and Marinda the best he could on his own, and Rael had joined them when they found her fleeing the destruction of KO-35 as its only survivor. Another secret Andros had apparently 'forgotten' to tell them: she was the Black Astro Ranger before Andros had taken the Morphers and left for space on his own. None of them had been able to bring themselves to give the Red Astro Morpher to anyone else, and to offer Pink or Silver would be giving someone up as a sacrifice.

He sighed once more and headed out, leaving the maps behind. He needed something in his stomach. Not that he'd call the rations they ate food, but it was something.

He found his gaze sweeping through the camp automatically as he walked, out of habit more than anything. People were everywhere, working on weapons, trying to stay warm, slowly munching on food that was far beyond out of date. The atmosphere was anything but cheerful as a deep, dark gloom seemed to have settled over them all. No one had any hope to win this war. That had died a long time ago.

"Get back here!"

He spun instinctively, a hand starting to draw his Astro Blaster.

The Green Ninjetti Ranger sprinted past-Hunter, that was his name. He was chasing after the Red one, Leo, by the looks of it. He shook his head as he forced himself to relax. He couldn't imagine having that much energy anymore. The Ninjetti hadn't been part of the war long enough yet to feel as worn out as the rest of them did. They'd only been Chosen roughly a year and a half ago, and eventually discovered on Phaedos. They had really only been with The Rebellion for a few months.

A girl ran up to him, her expression anxious. Black Ninjetti. Carrie...Kari...Kira! That was it. She tossed up a half-hearted salute, a habit she'd probably picked up from the civilians. He hated when they did that. "Did you see-"

"They ran that way." he interrupted, pointing.

"Thanks, Sir." She was gone before he could blink.

Man, he missed that energy...

The Blue, Yellow, and Purple Ninjetti were heading towards him now. Wordlessly he pointed as he tried to remember their names. Kirk, Kev, Kai...Kai. May? And the one always following her around. Kelly, or something. Kendrix? No, that had been the Pink one. She was long gone now, poor thing. Hadn't even realized what she was getting herself into.

"Sorry about that, Sir. They didn't run you over or anything, did they?"

He turned to the appologetic voice, frowning at his salute. "Stop that, Mike. You know I hate it."

He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, Sir." The tone implied reminding him not to call him 'Sir' was a lost cause.

"So what happened this time?" He nodded after the rest of the rapidly disappearing Ninjetti.

Mike rolled his eyes. "Leo and Hunter were arguing about who could best the other, and Leo told him his 'little hide-and-seek ninja skills' wouldn't save him. Hunter tried to pin him, and Leo ran for it. Kira's trying to calm Hunter down, and Kai, Maya, and Kelsey just want to see who'll win."

Maya and Kelsey, that was it. They were practically attached at the hip. The fight wasn't anything new; Leo and Hunter were always arguing over something. Sometimes he found it hard to believe that it was actually Mike and Leo that were related, rather than the two hot-headed young boys.

He shook his head, suddenly wishing for a cigarette, or at least something to help relieve the tension in his body. Not that the Power would allow him to smoke. That particular little incident wasn't something he planned on repeating. "I don't see how you can keep up with them. Just looking at them makes me tired."

Mike laughed. "The Power helps." he admitted with a grin. "Not to mention I've been chasing after Leo pretty much since he was born."

There was a paniced yell and a shriek somewhere in the distance, and the White Ninjetti paled slightly. "E-excuse me, Sir." he managed, bolting off in a streak of white.

T.J. watched him in mild amusement. He certainly had his hands full with that team. It was good, to be honest. It was rare to see anyone so open and friendly anymore.

He headed towards the ration distribution area again, nodding slightly at the Green and Blue Quasar Rangers as he passed them. Chrin barely glanced up, only flashing an absent wave when Nickolas nudged him. He almost smiled at that, even as much as it made his heart ache at the familiarity. Chrin always had his head in some project or another.

The Quasar Rangers were a team no one had expected, and had yet to stop surprising them. It had started when they found Chrin; the former Blue Eltarian Ranger was all that remained of the Robot Rangers. The rest had been dismantled, leaving only their smaller teammate alive. The irony of Justin's robotic clone being the only survivor of his team wasn't lost on him. Shortly after they'd lost Luc, Nickolas had found them. He was the only survivor for the Cartock Rangers. Their other team members were even more shocking; just before Earth had been officially attacked, apparently two people had been rescued by the Dark Rangers. Instead of joining them however, they'd defected to the Light side. They grouped together with Chrin and Nickolas, and the four of them had somehow managed to track down another Power source: The Quasar Sabers of Miranoi.

"T.J." a voice greeted, sounding just as tired as he was.

He nodded to Nathan, not bothering to smile as it wouldn't be returned. Not that he could blame him. Who wanted to finally be reunited with their brother after years of separation, only to find out he was trying to take over the universe? It sounded like something out of a bad soap opera.

He'd gotten over the disturbing visual of Justin's twin a lot faster than he'd been able to get used to Chrin, but most of that was because unlike Chrin, Nathan was still growing. Now the Red Quasar Ranger was almost taller than he was, and more solidly built than his brother. He never smiled, though. While even Chrin still lit up, just a little, when he made a new invention or discovery, Nathan's face was worn and serious. He'd commented once that he'd never exactly had the nicest life to begin with, but Ashley had always been positive that learning about Zeus had finally broken his spirit. Secretly, T.J. agreed.

"Hi, guys." Her voice wasn't overly bright, but Penelope DeSantos still managed to smile at them both as they came to the ration table. Penelope was one of the few people that refused to let themselves be completely destroyed by the war. He'd always found that odd, considering that she was well known for her foresight. Even more odd, being that she was the Yellow Quasar Ranger. But then, he supposed that was more because they didn't have a Sabre for White. Almost as odd as seeing Chrin in Green; apparently the Quasar Power either wasn't Morphin Philosophy, or had to chose between Nickolas and Chrin for Blue, and Chrin lost.

He gave his head a slight shake. Definately more tired than he thought. His mind was wandering far too much.

"What garbage do we get today?" Nathan asked, raising an eyebrow.

She frowned at him, handing a plate of... T.J. didn't think he wanted to even try and identify it. "Just for that, I shouldn't give you anything." she retorted.

Nathan humphed, eyeing the tan pile of something skeptically. "You can't afford to not try and poison me."

She scowled as she served up another plate, pausing as T.J. reached for it. "Sir..." she began hesitantly.

He rolled his eyes. Whoever had gotten the younger Rangers into that habit needed to be punished. Severely. "Stop calling me sir, Penelope. I'm not any higher ranked than you are. We don't even have a ranking system." he reminded her, trying to keep his temper from making him snap at her. He really needed to find a place to crash after he finished trying to swallow this stuff.

"You shouldn't open it." she said softly, ignoring him.

He blinked, taking his plate. "What?"

She looked down, sadness written across her face. "When you get it, you shouldn't open it." she repeated. Then she turned her attention to the next person in line with a forced smile before he could question her, and he had no choice but to follow Nathan to a table.

He glanced around the tent as Nathan poked warily at his food with a plastic spork. In one corner he could see Cadet 84-he could never remember his full name-nearly comatose as he leaned on General 77. Poor kid; he was always sick from something or other, and always trying to hide it. The General had one arm wrapped around the younger boy, fingers slightly entangled in his hair. It was one of the few signs of kindness he ever showed, and only to Cadet 84. Lavender was at a table near them, yawning as she poked idly at the insides of a com unit with her free hand. That had been another surprise once upon a time. Sadly they had met the Purple Bavari Ranger long after Zhane's death, and had never been able to tell him that his little sister was still alive. Qero and Heryl, the Green and Blue Taeo Rangers, were involved in some sort of quiet discussion that had Qero waving his hands for emphasis at another table. A handful of civilians had grouped together here and there.

The sounds of a louder argument made him look up at the doorway. Ligel Lee Scott, Garrett Hillard, Hawk Oliver, Casey Lee Scott, and Siren had all wandered in at last. It was far past Casey's bedtime; she trailed after her older sister with half-closed eyes, gripping Ligel's hand tightly. Hawk and Garrett were the ones arguing, while Siren looked at them in amusement. War orphans, all of them but Ligel and Casey. No one was quite sure where Siren came from; her planet was long gone when they'd found the silver-haired, white-skinned child. The Rangers' children had adopted her almost immediately. The only thing missing from their usual group was Marinda Hammond. The six of them were constantly together, always looking out for one another. It hadn't escaped him how close they all were, or that they were already starting to show signs of Color Bonds. The thought of what that could mean, what it could lead to, absolutely terrified him.

"What's the news?"

He turned back to Nathan, blinking. "New updates on lost bases." he said after a moment. "Coms are down...but you already knew that."

The younger boy nodded, swallowing a sporkful with a grimace. "Chrin's taking it as some sort of personal attack, since he set up the system." He rolled his eyes. "He and Nickolas are determined to fix it."

He spared a slight smile for that, but it faded quickly. "Still no news on the Aquitian Rangers, either."

Nathan shook his head ruefully, looking slightly amused. "I'm never going to get used to them." he murmured.

That really did did make him smile. "You're not the only one." he assured him. It was hard for the younger Rangers to get over the shock of seeing both the original Earth team, and the 'Alien Rangers' that had once protected Earth, let alone resolve them as being the same people. Meeting your childhood heroes face to face and then being asked to fight with them was an eye-opening experience.

"Blue Astro Ranger, Sir!"

He rolled his eyes again, setting down his spork with a sigh. "We're not a military here, Randy. You don't need to call me sir."

"Yes, Sir." the boy returned. "Sir, a package arrived for you. It's been put in your tent."

He sighed, flashing Nathan a weary smile. "Back to work."

Nathan nodded. "Make sure to get some sleep before you fall over. We don't have any room in the med area."

He nodded back. It wasn't a joke; there were so many injured and sick these days they truly couldn't afford any more. That was one of the reasons why the Green Ignis Ranger had managed to convince his partner not to keep him there. There was simply not enough beds to take care of him.

He walked to his tent silently, nodding greetings to people he recognised. He dredged up attempts at smiles for children and civilians, not bothering for any Rangers he happened across. Not that there were many of them left, anyway. Four Aquitian Rangers on Hvaenal, three Astro, two Gold Star and two Silver Star stationed on what was left of Gannos, Yellow Kishnal on Lusrendurda, the four Quasar Rangers, five Taeo Rangers, three Bavari, two Ignis, and the seven Ninjetti. The remainder of thousands, on planets in galaxies he'd never been to. That was all that was left.

On bad days, it was a struggle to keep from breaking down into tears.

The package was waiting for him as expected. It was simply a box, tied with string, and set on the table on top of his maps. He went over, checking it swiftly for magic and explosives. It would have already been scanned before it even reached him, but it was better to be cautious. There was no sign of who it had come from, which made him even more suspicious. When he deemed it safe, he removed the lid.

The head of Jason Lee Scott stared back at him.

He stumbled back, whirling to throw up in a corner. He collapsed to his knees when he finished, dimly whiping his mouth. He was shaking, he realized distantly.

Jason was a good leader, and a good friend. When the war began, he had always treated T.J. as an equal despite his youth and Color, always valued and respected his opinions. He was kind, and cared so deeply it was obvious that the war was slowly tearing him apart. And yet somehow he still managed to hide it in the presence of his daughters, giving them the loving and caring father they deserved. He was a good man, and T.J. had always felt honored to count him among his friends.

He stood slowly, taking a quick swig of the leftover coffee to rinse out his mouth, and covered the box. He needed to find Chrin and Nickolas and get the coms working again now. The rest of The Rebellion had to be informed of the loss of the Aquitian Rangers. There was no time to grieve.

After all, there was a war going on.

Okay, before anyone gets the wrong idea, I have nothing against Damon. I chose the Lost Galaxy Rangers for the Ninjetti Rangers because for one, it's a team I actually know fairly well, and two, I can actually see them stranded on a planet without any civilization and being mostly okay with that. Damon on the other hand, I never could really identify with, and I really can't see him living on Phaedos.

I don't know why Kelsey's here. She just seemed like a good choice. And she fits in pretty well with the atmosphere. Kira, again I have no idea why. I was looking for a Black Ninjetti and she wouldn't leave me alone. I figured she's a musician, so hey, why not. Hunter strikes me as a good Green, and I can totally see him, Leo, and Kira driving each other insane. That's it.

I will be bringing them into the Fade to Darkness Trilogy, so never fear, you will see more of the insanity. That, and Kendrix won't be dead next time. Fair warning though, they're, uh...a little different from cannon. -Giggles nervously-