She tapped the lightglobe with her fingernail and it brightened obediently, illuminating the inside of the small domed tent with a gentle white glow. Rolling over onto her stomach on the sleeping bags, she peered over his shoulder. "Anything?"

"Astro Rangers," he said, pointing to the small screen on his portable datafeed. "They are a group of five Power Rangers; a single team defending two inhabited planets in the Kerova system."

"Never heard of it." She watching the working light appear as he tried to download the Rangers' profiles. "Network's busy tonight."

"So it would seem," he agreed. "Kerova is the outermost star system to which the League lays claim. The two habitable planets, KO-35 and RS-42, are colony worlds that have only the most minor of diplomatic ties to Eltare. They are self-sufficient and prefer to be left out of galactic politics."

"Weird names," Cassie commented.

The screen flashed a "network traffic overload" error at them, and Saryn grimaced. "You would think we could get the satellite system upgraded," he muttered. "It is not as though it would require extensive effort on Eltare's part."

She grinned. "Tell them no more immigrants until the system is upgraded. Say they're overburdening our resources."

"I might," he said darkly. "It may be the most expedient way to remedy the problem." He reset the connection and made his request again.

"The Kerovan planets are named for their founders," he continued after a moment, apparently talking to the datafeed as it once more displayed a working light. "Kinwon Obekai led a group of thirty-five to petition for colonization rights in the Kerova system, and he was joined by Rayna Selmir and an independent group of forty-two colony hopefuls."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You just knew that off the top of your head?"

He smiled. "No, of course not. I looked it up while you were retrieving the lightglobe."

She leaned over and kissed his temple. "Sneak."

"Am not," he replied automatically, just as the working light disappeared and the profiles of the five Kerovan Rangers appeared on the screen.

She gasped. "Saryn..."

She felt him stiffen beside her. "That's him."

The leader of the Kerovan team was a boy they had never met, yet recognized instantly. Andros of KO-35 smiled out of the screen at them, his Red Astro Ranger insignia visible on the corner of his grey flightsuit.

"What are you two lovebirds up to?" a new voice demanded, and the domed tent shook as Lyris grabbed one of the supports from the outside and shook it playfully. "It's too early to be in bed, even for you!"

"Nothing," Saryn said, scrolling through the other profiles quickly. He glanced at her, and she shook her head. None of them were familiar.

A second light illuminated the tent; Lyris' flashlight, from the silhouette that appeared on the wall. He shone the light on his blaster so that the weapon made a menacing shadow on the colored tent panels. "Tell me," he said, in a deep, mock-threatening voice. "Or I will be forced to enter and--"

A yelp ended his recitation and the light from outside flickered wildly before disappearing altogether with a quiet thud. "I hope you're going to pick that up, Jenna!" the Blue Ranger shouted. "Hey--" From the sounds of the scuffle that followed, the flashlight wasn't the only thing on the ground.

"Get him Jenna!" Kris' voice came from right outside their tent as well. Saryn cut the network link from his datafeed and was about to shove it under his pillow when the tent flap was flung wide open. "And what *are* you--Saryn! You're not supposed to have that here; you know the rules!"

They exchanged glances, and both turned to face Kris reluctantly. "He was just looking something up for me," Cassie said, but Saryn shook his head.

"For both of us," he corrected firmly. "It was important, Kris."

"Yeah?" she challenged, grinning. "Convince me."

"What's going on?" Jenna wanted to know, peering over Kris' shoulder. "Saryn... when are we going to convince you to leave that stupid datafeed at home?"

He sighed. "It was important," he repeated.

"We saw something," Cassie interjected, knowing they wouldn't get a moment's peace until they let the rest of the team in on it. "A place neither of us recognized, and people we've never met."

"What, telepathically?" Lyris' voice asked from the other side of the tent.

Saryn turned his head in his friend's direction, despite the fact that the tent's walls prevented them from seeing each other. "I'm not sure. Maybe."

"When?" Kris wanted to know. "And who?"

Saryn glanced at her again, and Cassie gave the datafeed a significant look. He called up the network link without a word and displayed the cached image of the Red Astro Ranger. "Him, for one. Earlier today, on our way here, we both were suddenly--somewhere else. I can not explain it properly; I only know that I felt as though I was... living someone else's life. And I knew this person, though I am sure I have never met him before."

"Me too," Cassie put in. "His name's Andros, and he loves someone named Ashley. Ashley and someone else were hurt, and we were all worried about them--us and Andros and... TJ."

Saryn gave her a startled look. "You remember more clearly than I."

She frowned. "I didn't, not until I started to say it. I think--I think maybe we should try to find these people."

He looked relieved. "I hoped you might say that. I would like to locate them as well, if only to find out what meaning there is to this... vision that we had."

"Wait just a minute here," Kris said, crouching down in the semi-darkness outside. "You're not going anywhere without us."

"No way," Lyris seconded from his position of invisibility on the other side of the tent. "No member of this team is taking off on some dream hunt without backup."

"It is not your responsibility," Saryn protested, though she could feel his gratitude for their unquestioning support. "I would be remiss in my duty if I asked you to accompany us."

"We'd be remiss in our friendship if we didn't insist," Timmin retorted. He was somewhere near Lyris, if the sound of his voice was anything to go by. The prankster of the group, Cassie was always surprised to hear Timmin speak seriously. But there was no joking in his voice now.

"Where we go one, we go all," Jenna reminded them, and Cassie saw Saryn smile a little.

"Very well," he agreed at last. "We will leave for KO-35 in the morning."

***

"Hey, Andros!"

Chin on his arms, Andros continued to stare straight ahead. Zhane pulled up a chair and sat down next to him in the nearly deserted cafeteria. "Come on, the exam couldn't have been that bad."

Andros looked up, a little surprised. "What? Oh... no, it wasn't." He returned to contemplating the wall on the other side of the table.

"Well?" Zhane demanded. "How did it go?"

Andros shrugged. "Fine."

"Andros, what's going on?" Zhane put his arms on the table and rested his chin on them, mimicking Andros' position. "That wall do something to offend you?"

Andros shook his head.

"Then what?" Zhane insisted. "Kerone said you were dull and broody all night. I tried to tell her that you're just naturally like that, but she wouldn't listen. Guess she was right."

Andros sighed silently. "She usually is."

"So what's wrong?" Zhane repeated. "Are you going to make me run through a list of all possible problems, starting with 'DECA reprogrammed her voice to sound like your mom' and ending with 'an evil monarch is threatening the entire universe and the Kerova system is first on his hit list'?"

Andros had to smile slightly at that. "It's that girl."

"It usually is a girl," Zhane agreed. "We're perfectly fine and then BANG! One word from a girl and it's mope-city for days."

Andros let out a breath of amusement. "No, it's that other girl. The one you say doesn't exist."

Zhane rearranged his arms, putting one fist on top of the other and resting his chin on them in his favorite thinking position. "Still wondering about that A-girl, huh?"

"Ashley," Andros told him, not moving.

"Right, Ashley." Zhane considered for a moment. "You say you saw her?"

"I didn't see her. But I know she was there."

"Right," Zhane repeated skeptically. "Okay. Say you're right. What are you going to do about it?"

Andros' morpher beeped, saving him from having to answer. He answered without lifting his chin, tapping the device with one finger and still staring straight ahead at the wall. "This is Andros."

"DECA's receiving a transmission that's coded only for you," Leigh's voice answered. "She won't let the rest of us listen to it. Do you want me to route it through your morpher?"

He sat up, staring at his morpher and then at Zhane. It couldn't be... "No," he said quickly, getting to his feet. "I'll be right there. Is Kerone with you?"

"She's in the lab," Zhane said quietly, and Andros nodded.

"I'll contact her if you want," Leigh answered, sounding curious.

"That would be great," Andros told her. He looked over at Zhane again. "Coming?"

Zhane scrambled up. "You bet."

They clasped hands, and he offered his right arm. Zhane triggered Andros' morpher, and swirls of red and white obscured his vision for a brief moment. It was funny, but teleporting with Zhane was the only time he saw a color other than red in the teleportation stream.

The Bridge of the Megaship reformed around them, empty except for Leigh. Her Pink Astro Ranger insignia flashed in the bright lighting as she turned to greet them. "The signal's coming from the Elisian Rangers," she told them. "They're coming here."

"Here?" Andros stared at her, disappointed and startled at the same time. "What do they want with *us*?"

She shook her head, her spiked blond hair lending an air of confidence even in her uncertainty. Or maybe the confidence was always there, and it was the cause of her rebellious appearance rather than the result of it. Andros was never quite sure, but she had given up on conformity when they were still children playing on the swings and she had never seemed to want it back. "I don't know," she admitted. "But they sure want to talk to you."

"DECA," he said, glancing up at the ship's nearest camera. "Let's hear their transmission."

The viewscreen sprang to life, the blue-green sphere that was KO-35 replaced by the face of the Red Elisian Ranger. Andros frowned a little, suddenly wondering if that face was more familiar than it ought to be. Everyone knew Saryn of Elisia, but he felt he had seen it--recently. More recently than he could account for.

"This is Saryn, Red Ranger of Elisia," the screen intoned. The voice, too, sounded different, as though it had the ring of familiarity to it. "I seek an audience with the leader of the Kerovan Rangers."

Andros gestured impatiently. "Do it, DECA."

DECA's camera flashed in acknowledgement, but he was too intent on the screen to notice. The image froze momentarily as the recorded play was interrupted by a live video feed, and then flowed into motion again. Saryn of Elisia looked up, regarding Andros through the intervening vacuum of space with a completely inscrutable expression.

"Andros of KO-35," he said at last, as though making a concession by pronouncing the other Ranger's name. "I am honored to finally make your acquaintance."

Andros straightened and gave a single nod, well aware of Zhane's and Leigh's eyes on him. The leader of the Elisian Rangers could have gone a lifetime without meeting him, and they all knew it. What could have brought Saryn of Elisia here, to the farthest reaches of the border? Why Andros? And why now?

"The honor is mine," he replied formally. That, at least, ought to be true. "What can the Kerova system do for Elisia?"

"I do not come on behalf of Elisia," the other Ranger answered slowly. "I come for myself, and... for my companion." He gestured to someone offscreen, and a dark-haired girl stepped up to his side. She tossed her head back defiantly, the expression of someone who had oft been told she did not belong where she was. The expression of someone who didn't care.

Andros' eyes widened, for he knew that girl. He had never met her before, but he *knew* her. "Cassie?" The name was out before he could consider whom he was addressing.

The girl exchanged glances with the Red Elisian Ranger before returning Andros' startled stare. "Hello, Andros."