Disclaimer: If I owned Power Rangers, I could pay my college tuition. But I don't, and I can't. I'd like to thank my muse, Zeke the Technospider, for the amazing inspiration that got this story done in *one night*… (Sleep was not involved)

Before the Storm
by Starhawk

Phantom stood, feeling Cassie's hand slide down his arm to rest possessively on his elbow. He smiled to himself as he bent over the scanner console. It felt right, somehow, to have her at his side, though he still didn't remember why he was here. 

The scanner controls, on the other hand, were strangely familiar--almost as though he were seeing them through someone else's eyes. *Ironic,* he thought vaguely, adjusting the frequency readings so the scanners were operating on a different wavelength. *I can't remember how I came to be on the Megaship, yet I'm able to recalibrate the scanner system.* 

"I don't like this," Carlos was saying in the background. "No matter which direction we go, we're pretty much surrounded by Divatox's army." 

"Yeah," TJ agreed. "Are you *sure* she won't suddenly decide we'd be less of a nuisance in some other form? Say, spacedust?" 

Andros must have shaken his head, because Carlos demanded, "Cassie, back us up here." 

"I don't like it either," Cassie said over her shoulder. "But those ships are just sitting out there." She turned away from the scanners at last, folding her arms across her chest. "If they were going to attack, wouldn't they have done it by now?" 

Phantom had to brace himself against the console as a wave of dizziness came over him. Even so, his vision darkened ominously, and he shook his head in a futile attempt to clear it. He cursed mentally as he felt himself stumble. 

In seconds, Cassie was there again, her hand on his arm and concern in her voice. "Phantom?" 

"I am well," he managed for the second time in the past half-hour. The world had stopped spinning, and he could concentrate again--but Cassie was not convinced. 

"Stop *saying* that," she told him. "At least until you mean it!" 

He looked up, staring into her dark brown eyes in confusion. *How does she--* 

"Scanners are offline," DECA reminded them, and Phantom glanced back at the console automatically. 

"You didn't enter search parameters yet," Cassie pointed out, leaning forward to indicate some part of the incomplete recalibration. 

This time, he felt the world start to spin as soon as she let go of him, and when he tried to follow her explanation, the scanners had become an incomprehensible blur of instrumentation. *It's her,* he realized, reaching blindly for her hand. 

She stared at him, puzzled, but she let him grab her fingers. "What's wrong?" 

He gazed back in equal bewilderment as his surroundings went sane again. Shaking his head slowly, he didn't know how to answer. 

"Guys," Andros broke in, when the silence went on too long. 

Cassie started, and Phantom's fingers tightened on hers. Somehow, she must have understood what he needed, for she nodded at him and left her hand in his. Closing his eyes, he offered silent thanks and turned back to the scanners. 

The argument over Divatox's intentions did not resume as he worked, and the Bridge was quiet until he entered the last adjustments and the "end program" code into the scanner interface. "DECA," he asked finally, looking up at the screen, "display traces of interdimensional shielding on the forward screen." 

One of the purple-encircled dots started to blink. Another began to flicker on the other side of the map, and beside it, a third joined in. The rest of the dots remained a steady, luminescent red. 

"Zordon has to be on one of those ships," TJ surmised, and Phantom nodded. 

"We'll split into teams of two," Andros decided, taking his eyes away from the screen to survey his fellow Rangers. "Each team will teleport onto one of those ships and track the source of the interdimensional distortion manually." 

"What are we going to do when we do find Zordon?" Ashley asked suddenly. "I mean, even assuming we can teleport him out of there, we're not going to be able to make a run for it afterwards." 

"Yeah," Carlos spoke up. "Divatox's ships are everywhere. They're not going to let us just leave." 

"We won't need to get far," Phantom put in, dim memories of a similar search and rescue coming to mind. "There's a Sanctuary moon about two light years from here. If we can reach it, Divatox will not be able to follow." 

"A sanctuary moon?" Cassie repeated. "What's that?" 

"It's an asteroid surrounded by an electronic damping field," Andros explained. "Some of them are natural, but most have been created as refuges by smugglers or other vagabonds that aren't under the protection of a specific Ranger team." 

"They are used by everyone, though," Phantom reproved mildly, tiredly amused by Andros's mention of 'other vagabonds'. *It is a category of which I could be considered a part,* he admitted. 

Andros did not dispute the correction. "Some hide dimensional gateways," he added, looking at Phantom questioningly. 

Phantom nodded, but didn't have the energy to elaborate. He felt Cassie move closer, and knew that she had noticed his flagging enthusiasm. 

"The gateways are leftover from a time before the League," Andros told the others. "No one knows where they came from or how they work, but they can transport an object halfway across the universe in less than a second." 

"That's convenient," Carlos remarked. 

"Only if we can reach it," Ashley said, looking apprehensively at the forward screen. "DECA, can you show us where this gateway is?" 

"The Sanctuary moon is located on the outskirts of Sector 439," DECA's voice replied, and a blue square appeared in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Quiet settled across the Bridge once more as they all considered the distance involved. 

"Let's find Zordon first," TJ declared, a much needed voice of reason. "Then we can worry about reaching this asteroid, or moon, or whatever it is." 

"Asteroid," Phantom murmured. "Sanctuary moon is simply the term applied to an object surrounded by an electronic damping field." 

TJ gave a small salute in acknowledgement, and Andros nodded once. "Right. Each team will be equipped with a handheld scanner and a homing device, so that if we lose contact with each other DECA will still be able to find us and bring us back." 

Phantom didn't miss the look Cassie gave Andros, but he pretended to ignore it, even when Cassie rather obviously cocked her head in his direction. Right now, he was too drained to do anything but jeopardize the others' safety on a mission such as this, and he knew it. 

"We should be safe here for the time being," Andros said, getting the hint. "We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning." 

Phantom nodded in acknowledgement, and felt Cassie tug on his arm. "You're going back to the Medical bay," she told him firmly. "I know you won't let us leave you behind tomorrow, so you'd better get some sleep in the meantime." 

"And *you'd* better eat," TJ added, shooting her a look Phantom couldn't interpret.

Surprised, he glanced over at Cassie. "You are not eating?" 

She shrugged, giving TJ an annoyed look. "I'm not hungry." 

*She's hiding something,* he thought, though he didn't know how he could be so certain. Struggling to stay coherent, Phantom let Cassie lead him to the lift. "You're--you're not telling the truth," he told her, as the doors slid open for them. Her presence no longer seemed to help him focus, and finally he gave up trying to figure it out and asked her, "How did I know that?" 

She drew him into the lift, her expression worried. "DECA, take us to Megadeck four," she told the computer, and he saw her glance out at someone on the Bridge just before the doors closed. 

"Cassie?" he asked, listening to the hum of the lift. "Where are we going?" He didn't really care, but it seemed important to her. 

She had both hands on his arm now, and was leaning against him--or was he leaning on her? He couldn't tell, but it felt nice either way. From a distance, he thought he heard her answer, "The Medical bay." There was a pause, and her voice came again, "Don't you remember?" 

The doors slid open onto an empty corridor before he could think of a suitable reply. He just stood there, looking at it, until he felt Cassie move. "Phantom," she prompted softly. 

He stepped forward, now leaning heavily on her shoulder. His vision tunneled--just for a moment, he thought, but when the darkness receded again, he was in the Medical bay, gazing up at Cassie's frightened face. 

"What's wrong?" he mumbled, groping for her hand. "Don't look like that." 

She tried to smile. "Then stop fainting on me." 

"I didn't faint," he protested, finding her hand and squeezing it gently. "My crystal's overtaxed… can't keep me going…" 

"What?" A frown marred her charming expression, and he wanted nothing more than to make it go away. "What do you mean?" 

"Did I ever tell you," he asked drowsily, "how much I love you?" 

He heard her catch her breath as his eyes slid shut. "You should sleep," she told him, from somewhere far away, and he felt dream images overtaking him already. 

"And," he returned in a voice barely above a whisper, "you should eat." He didn't know why that was the appropriate response, but something told him it was, and he was in no condition to argue. 

"Do you want me to go?" Cassie's voice asked, and he fought to open his eyes and look at her. That was the last thing he wanted, but he couldn't force his body to return from the brink of unconsciousness. 

He wasn't even sure she heard him whisper, "Please… don't leave," before he fell into the welcoming arms of sleep. 

***

"So what's wrong with Phantom?" Ashley asked, voicing the question that was on everyone's mind. 

TJ looked up, catching Carlos's eye before turning to Andros for an explanation. The Red Ranger paused as they all stopped eating to look in his direction. He shrugged, a little uncomfortably, TJ thought, and said only, "I don't know much more than you do." 

"But you know *something*," Carlos insisted. 

Andros sighed, looking over his shoulder as though he expected Phantom to be in the doorway listening. "I know that his life energy is tied to his morphing ability," Andros told them. 

"Why?" TJ interrupted, realizing his mistake when Andros shot him an exasperated look.

"I don't know; he never told me. But…" he looked down at his plate. "I know he can't stay morphed forever. It drains his ruby, which, by extension, drains his life force." 

"I've never seen him demorph," Ashley put in, glancing at Carlos and TJ. TJ shook his head, as did Carlos. 

Andros shook his head as well. "He doesn't usually demorph around other people. And before you ask," he said, with a quick look in TJ's direction, "I don't know why that is, either. But I've known him for almost three years, and I've never seen him unmorphed." 

"So… you think he's been morphed too long?" Ashley guessed. 

Andros shrugged again. "DECA can't find anything wrong with him, aside from the fact that he's too tired to stand for more than a few minutes at a time." 

TJ raised an eyebrow. If that was true, there was something fundamentally wrong with the way Phantom was being treated. "Maybe I'm missing something, here, but--doesn't that mean that no matter how much he sleeps, he's not going to get better until he demorphs?" 

"Readings indicate that if Phantom were not morphed, he would be comatose," DECA interjected calmly. TJ looked at her camera in surprise, not sure whether to be more amazed at her statement or the simple fact that she had answered him. 

"Which he almost is anyway," Carlos remarked. "What good does that do him if he's not going to get any better?" 

"You don't understand," Andros said, looking at each of them in turn. "Phantom has the strongest sense of loyalty and honor of anyone I've ever met, and he counts the four of you as friends. He won't let you go into battle without him." 

"But we're not going into battle!" Carlos objected, and Andros gave *him* the exasperated look. 

"You know what I mean," the Red Ranger told him. 

"What about you?" Ashley wanted to know. "You're his friend too." 

Before Andros could answer, TJ realized, "That's why he gave up following Dark Spectre to come help us. He could have learned something important, but he came all the way to Earth just to tell us what Astronema was up to." 

Andros nodded. "And believe me, he's not going to stay here while we go look for Zordon tomorrow. Sleep will help to some degree; probably restore enough energy to his crystal that he can stay on his feet until we finish our mission. But…" Here, he sighed again. "I hope he doesn't have to fight." 

"Someone has to go with him," Ashley said, even though that had never been in question. Andros had said they would go in pairs--and there would be no exceptions, especially for someone as weak as Phantom was right now. 

The same thought ran through everyone's mind, and TJ said it aloud. "Cassie will go."

"We won't be able to get her away from him anyway," Carlos muttered. 

To TJ's surprise, it was who Andros defended their teammate. "If she cares for him that much, she'll keep him safer than any of us can." 

"It's true," Ashley agreed. "He's not used to working on a team, but if he'll accept anyone's help, it will be Cassie's." 

TJ saw Andros give her a startled look, and he hid a smile. *If I had to guess, I'd say that one struck a little too close to home for Andros.* 

Pushing his seat back, TJ stood. "On that note, I'm going to assume she's not joining us for lunch. And I," he added with a grin, "do not care how much Cassie and Phantom admire each other if it means she no longer eats." 

Exchanging his dishes for another lunch at the Synthetron, TJ continued unnecessarily, "I'm going to take this down to the Medical bay. I'll see you guys later." 

"Bye TJ," Ashley called, echoed by the other two as he strode out into the hallway. He waved over his shoulder before he was around the corner and out of their line of sight. 

The Medical bay was quiet when he entered, and the scene was much the same as it had been an hour or two ago when he came to find Cassie the first time. Phantom lay on the patient bed, presumably asleep--not that anyone could tell by looking at him. Cassie perched nearby on a stool, chin on her fist, watching him. 

"Cass?" TJ spoke softly, not wanting to disturb her. 

She looked up, seeming unsurprised by his presence. "Hey, Teej." 

"I brought you some lunch," he said, hefting the tray in her direction. 

She smiled, sliding off the stool to take it from him. "Thanks. I appreciate it." 

Not sure how to read her reaction, he tried to explain, "You said you weren't hungry, but…" 

Cassie made a face, glancing in Phantom's direction. "He pretty much shot that story out of the water." 

"So he was right?" TJ asked, helping her clear off one of the counters so she could set her tray down. "How *did* he know?" 

She shook her head, putting the tray on the counter and turning back toward Phantom. "I don't know," she admitted. "He said something…" 

Cassie looked at him uncertainly. "Can I tell you something? Something you can't tell the others, and something you definitely can't laugh at?" 

He would have laughed then, except for the solemn expression on her face. "You know you can," he told her. "Cross my heart." 

"Teej…" Staring intently at Phantom, she folded her arms across her chest in an automatic and instinctively defensive gesture that she had been wont to use all the time, back when she first joined the team. Her next words didn't really surprise him, other than the fact that he hadn't expected her to admit it. "I think I love him." 

"I wouldn't have guessed," TJ replied dryly. 

"Teej!" She glared at him, and he realized he was smiling. 

Sobering, TJ apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to tease you; I just meant it's been obvious ever since we met him that you'd fallen pretty hard for him." 

She sighed, accepting his explanation. "What am I going to do?" Cassie asked softly, her gaze returning to Phantom. 

TJ shifted where he stood, not sure he should ask. "Do you… do you know how he feels?" 

She nodded slowly. "I think I do. I think--I hope he feels the same way." 

"You hope?" TJ repeated gently, not wanting to upset her. 

She took a deep breath. "That's the other thing you can't tell *anyone*," she warned him. 

With one finger, he drew an "X" over his heart. Cassie smiled at him. "Thanks--I feel like I have to tell someone, or it won't be real…" 

TJ smiled back, and waited for her to continue. 

"He said--this was earlier, a little while after you guys left…" She drew in another deep breath, and looked down at Phantom. "He told me that I was more important to him than his life." 

TJ couldn't help the whistle that escaped. "I'd say that's pretty definitive." 

She nodded, but she didn't look any less uncertain. "Something else?" TJ prompted, and she shrugged. 

"He says his people bond to a person for life--they know the person they'll love as soon as they see them, and there's no changing it. What if--" She tore her eyes away from the figure on the patient bed and looked at him with worried eyes. "What if he doesn't *want* to love me, but he doesn't have any choice?" 

TJ was still wrestling with the concept of a lifelong bond, but Cassie obviously needed an answer *now*. "No one *chooses* to love someone, Cassie. It just happens. You two just knew a little sooner than most people do, that's all."

Cassie looked thoughtful for a moment, then a smile started to creep across her face. "Thanks, Teej," she said, and to his surprise, she threw her arms around him. 

He grinned, hugging her back. "Hey, what are friends for?" 

Stepping back, Cassie smiled up at him again. "I mean it, TJ. Thanks." 

"Any time," he promised, glad to see her happy again. 

Turning around, she faced the tray he had brought with something akin to enthusiasm. "You know, I really *am* hungry," she confessed, picking up the sandwich. 

"I know," TJ said cockily, and she rolled her eyes at him. 

Something occurred to him as he watched her eat. "You never did tell me how Phantom knew you weren't telling the truth." 

She raised an eyebrow at him over a mouthful of tuna sandwich, and held up one finger to indicate he should give her a second. Nodding, TJ looked over at Phantom. Remembering Andros's words, he shivered. *"He'll probably be able to stay on his feet, but I hope he doesn't have to fight…"* 

*I don't want her going into a hostile situation with a partner who can't fight,* TJ thought, knowing at the same time that there was very little he could do about it. Still--*she should at least know how much of a liability he could be.* 

Before he could say anything, though, Cassie swallowed and started to answer his first question. "I don't really understand it, either," she said, watching him with the same look she had given him just before she told him about the bond that Phantom had claimed the two of them had: doubtful of his reaction, and willing to talk about it only because he had been sworn to secrecy. 

"Phantom says," she started, and it occurred to TJ, just briefly, that Phantom could hurt her *very* badly if he so chose. The thought was gone in less time than it took to blink--their ally had proven himself countless times to be an honorable person. But the impression left by the fleeting idea was enough to make TJ promise himself that Phantom would answer to him if he ever made Cassie so much as cry. 

"There's some sort of telepathy thing," she was saying, "some kind of 'empathic bond', he called it, that lets both partners sense the other's feelings." She shrugged uncomfortably. "I didn't believe him at first, but there have been a couple of things I can't explain any other way." 

"Like what?" TJ wanted to know. 

Cassie took a deep breath. "When he showed up on the Bridge, a little while ago? I knew he was coming. *Before* the lift arrived. I knew he wasn't all right as soon as he stepped out onto the Bridge, and he knew I wasn't telling the truth about not being hungry." 

"Lucky guesses," TJ ventured, not sure how he felt about the whole ESP issue. *Of course,* he had to remind himself, *Andros moves things around without even touching them on a daily basis, and *that* doesn't bother me… anymore, at least.* 

"Maybe," Cassie said, her eyes on Phantom again. "I'm just not sure now." 

"You'll figure it out," TJ assured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "And we'll be here for you, no matter what." 

"Thanks," she said with a smile, putting a hand over his. "You know," she added, glancing at him, "I think that meeting you guys and becoming a Ranger is the best thing that ever happened to me." 

TJ grinned. "I think we all feel that way." 

She nodded, and they stood in silence for a little while, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, TJ stirred, remembering his intention to tell her what Andros had said about Phantom. 

"I hate to ruin the moment," TJ said ruefully, "but we were talking at lunch, and there's something I think you should know." 

She looked at him curiously. "Andros says Phantom's life energy and his morphing ability are linked together somehow," TJ told her. "Apparently, Phantom doesn't demorph around anyone, as a general rule, but he also can't stay morphed forever--it takes too much out of him. 

"Andros thinks that's why Phantom is so weak now. He thinks Phantom's been morphed for a long time, and it's drained his Power Ruby--and his regular energy, I guess. It sounds like he can't recover without demorphing--but if he demorphs, he'll lose what strength he has until he gets better." 

TJ was watching Cassie's face as he talked, but her expression was completely inscrutable. *Heck, for all I know, Phantom's already told her all this,* TJ thought suddenly. *Maybe *she's* seen him demorphed…* 

It was an interesting thought, but it also wasn't any of his business. He finished awkwardly, "Andros says sleep will help him temporarily; enough so he'll be able to go with us tomorrow--but he doesn't think Phantom will be well enough to fight." 

Giving her a knowing look, he added, "I know you well enough to realize we won't be able to get either of you to stay behind, but I just wanted to warn you. No matter how well he seems when he wakes up, be *careful.* Don't expect him to be full strength." 

"Good advice," mumbled a voice from the patient bed. 

Cassie rolled her eyes in fond amusement. "You'd think I'd learn," she said, her words apparently directed at TJ, yet loud enough to be overheard in the hallway. "You can *never* count on him being asleep." 

With that, she went to Phantom's side, and TJ could have sworn he heard a smile in the tired voice when Phantom replied, "I am used to sleeping with the hum of machinery, not the sound of voices." 

"I'm sorry," Cassie said, instantly contrite. "I didn't realize we were that noisy." 

"You were not," Phantom told her. "I am simply not accustomed to having people around me while I sleep… but I do not mind it." 

Unspoken was the implication that he didn't mind having *Cassie* around, and TJ wondered if now would be a good time to leave. Before he could make his escape, though, Phantom's words stopped him. 

"You were right, TJ," the prone shadow on the patient bed told him. "I can not recover completely by tomorrow morning, and sleep while morphed is a temporary measure at best. But I will not allow you to face Divatox's army alone, and I can be of no assistance if I am unconscious." 

"So sleep," Cassie told him gently, clasping his hand in both of hers. "We'll be quiet now." 

"Yes, Cassie," Phantom said, and TJ raised his eyebrows. Unless he was mistaken, Phantom was teasing his friend… 

His suspicion was confirmed when Cassie rolled her eyes again. The contented look on her face gave her away, though, and TJ knew the mock-resignation in Phantom's voice hadn't bothered her in the slightest. 

Backing up, TJ managed to slip away without drawing their attention. As he headed for the lift, he carried with him the image of Cassie kneeling beside Phantom, tenderness in her eyes as their fingers entwined. 

***

Cassie finally joined them again at dinner, entering the Glider holding bay as they were sitting down. She was warmly greeted, and Andros couldn't help asking her about Phantom. 

"He's as well as he can be, for now," she answered. That told him precisely nothing, but he supposed it was all she *could* say. Anything more definitive would be untrue, or at the very least, guesswork. 

She didn’t say much for the rest of the meal, although she didn't seem as preoccupied as she had been earlier. She followed the conversation, and laughed when someone made a joke--that alone told Andros that Phantom must be doing well enough. 

After dinner, the group broke up sooner than usual--Carlos suggested a game of basketball, and Andros wondered that they never seemed to tire of that game. TJ agreed readily enough, and, surprisingly, so did Cassie. 

"Great," TJ exclaimed, clapping her on the shoulder. "We'll switch off--unless either of you are going to join us?" 

At his inquiring look, Andros shook his head. "No thanks," he said. "I've got some work to do still." 

"I think I'll pass, too," Ashley said, when the Blue Ranger turned in her direction. "You guys have a good time, though." 

"Oh, we will," TJ said, grinning as he shot an appraising look at his teammates. 

"See you later, Ash, Andros," Carlos added, moving toward the door. 

Cassie gave TJ a friendly shove as they followed. "What was that for?" he demanded, and Cassie laughed. 

"That was just because," Andros heard her say, as the three of them disappeared into the corridor. 

He shook his head. "Just because" didn't strike him as a particularly sound answer, and, judging from the good-natured argument that ensued, TJ agreed. Their laughter echoed back to him until the lift doors closed on them, cutting off the sound. 

"Hey," Ashley said softly, coming up behind him. "What are you thinking about?" 

He couldn't help but smile a little as he turned to look at her. "You always ask me that." 

"Because you never tell me, otherwise," she countered, and he had to admit there was some truth to that. 

He shrugged. "I was just thinking that Cassie seems… different, suddenly." 

Ashley smiled. "You just never knew her when Phantom was around. She gets like this when he's with us--sort of thoughtful and dreamy." 

"He mentioned her once, I think," Andros mused aloud. 

Ashley cocked her head. "You think?" she repeated. 

"It was just before the Battle of Eltare," he said defensively. "We didn't have much time to talk. I asked him what had kept him away so long the last time--he was usually on Eltare every other week, at the least--and he said he'd been on Earth. Someone had kept him…" 

Catching her eye, he added, "I thought it was odd at the time--he never stayed anywhere for long, except maybe Aquitar--but when the fighting started, I didn't have a chance to ask him about it." 

"Why Aquitar?" Ashley asked curiously. 

He shook his head. "I don't know. You might have noticed he's not very communicative…" 

Ashley laughed, and he smiled in satisfaction. It was hard to know what she would find funny, but he was getting better at it. It pleased him no end to hear that laugh… 

"Do you really have work to do?" Ashley asked suddenly. 

Andros hesitated. In truth, there were some things he needed to go over with DECA before the team left tomorrow. Staring into Ashley's eyes, though, he couldn't convince himself that it was important enough that it had to be done right now. 

"Nothing that can't wait," he told her, and she smiled that sun-bright smile at him. 

"Shall we continue our conversation, then?" 

It took him a moment to remember what she was referring to, but when he did, his heart started to pound. Thinking back, he had no idea what had possessed him when he asked for a raincheck on the conversation they'd had on the Bridge. He hadn't wanted to let go of the closeness they had had there for a few minutes, and the question had been a way to postpone moving away from her. But he hadn't truly known what he meant by it, and he had even less idea how she'd taken it. 

She laughed again at his expression. "I don't know what you're thinking, but I'll bet it's a lot more interesting than what *I'm* thinking." 

Andros blushed, recognizing the veiled reference to teenage hormones despite his relative isolation over the past few years. "I'm just kidding, Andros," she said with a smile, taking pity on him. 

Linking her arm through his, she continued, "I just want to talk, or whatever you want to do." Making a face, she suggested, "Maybe you could even help me figure out where I’m going wrong with my telekinesis." 

Something occurred to him when she said that, and, seeing the frustration she tried to hide, he knew it was the right thing to do. *It might make her feel better, and it could even be enough to help her a little.* 

"Come on," he said impulsively. "I want to show you something." 

Surprised, Ashley let him lead her out of the Glider holding bay and down the corridor to the living quarters. He paused outside his door and tapped the keypad on the wall. The door slid open, and he stepped inside. "DECA, turn the lights up, please," he requested, already moving toward the closet. 

He hit the release, and this door opened as well. He hadn't seen it in years, since he'd moved his personal possessions onto the Megaship, but he knew exactly where it was. It took him only moments to free it from its bubble prison, and he pulled it gently out into the light and open air. It wasn't even dusty. 

Ashley had followed him into the room, and looked at the colorful bauble in surprise. "What is it?" she asked quietly, seeming to sense that it was important but not yet understanding its significance in his life. 

"It's a telekinesis ball," Andros told her, holding it out in the palm of his hand and concentrating. The multi-colored sphere expanded at his mental summons, and the ball drifted into the air without effort. 

Giving it a gentle push with his mind, he sent it floating in her direction. Ashley inhaled sharply, and he stopped the ball's movement immediately, giving her an inquisitive look. She had seen him use his telekinesis dozens of times before, so it couldn't be that… 

"It--how does it work?" she asked, her eyes wide. 

"It's activated as soon as it expands," he explained, poking one side to set the ball rotating lazily in the middle of the room. "It levitates on its own, and it's extremely sensitive to telekinetic projections. You barely have to think at it to make it move." 

"Did you…" Ashley swallowed. "Did you learn with one of those?" 

"I learned with this one," he answered quietly. "So did my sister." 

"Oh…" she said quietly, still making no move toward it. 

"Does it bother you?" he asked, confused by her reaction. "I didn't mean to--" 

"No," she assured him. "No, I think it's the coolest thing I've ever seen…" 

He waited, the ball still spinning idly between them. "It's just--" In a rush, Ashley confessed, "I feel like if I can't learn I'm letting you down. Telekinesis is obviously important to you, and I really want to be able to do it. But you've spent so much time with me, and I *still* don't understand!" 

"Ashley," Andros said slowly. "You don't have to learn telekinesis for me." 

"I'm not," she promised. "That's not why I'm doing it. But it's so easy for you--I feel like you must be exasperated when I can't learn." 

"First off," Andros said, "You *can* learn; anyone can who's as determined as you are." 

She flashed a brief smile at him, and he had to ask, "Do I really seem exasperated to you? because I'm not--I admire you for wanting something so much that you'll work at it for months without any outward sign of progress." 

Ashley wrinkled her nose at him. "Thanks. I think." 

"Ash, if there's one thing I've learned about you," he told her earnestly, "it's that you never give up. Once you set your mind to something, you do it, no matter what. This is just something else you've set your mind to, and it's taken longer than you expected. I know you'll get it eventually, just like everything else." 

She sighed, but her expression looked happier. "You give good pep talks; did you know that?" 

"Good *what*?" Andros asked. 

"Pep talks," Ashley repeated, clearly amused. "It means you know how to inspire people." 

He shrugged. "I'm just telling you what I think…" 

"I know," she said, smiling. "That's what makes it so sweet. And so is this," she added, pointing at the telekinesis ball. "So, what do I do?" 

"Hold your hands up in front of you," Andros instructed, putting his own hands up, palm out, to demonstrate. "Now, just think of giving it a push. Like you were going to throw it." 

Her brow furrowed, and her hands moved forward a little. Andros shook his head. "You don't have to actually move your hands," he said, coming over to stand behind her. "Here, let me show you." 

He reached around her and pulled her hands a little closer to her chest. "Just relax," he told her, aware of the tenseness in her upper body. "It's not going to turn and attack you." 

She giggled at that, and he smiled as he felt her relax. "That's good," he murmured. "Now close your eyes…keep your hands up," he reminded her, seeing her fingers curl forward a little. 

He put his own hands behind hers. "Picture the ball in your mind--don't think about anything else in the room. You can open your eyes to check where it is, if you want, but don't notice anything else. Just--push it." 

The ball stayed where it was, still turning with residual momentum from the push he'd given it earlier. There was, after all, nothing to slow it down except air pressure. 

"I'm going to push it for you," Andros told her, "so you know what it's like. Watch it as it moves away, and next time you try, *expect* it to do the same thing for you." 

He felt her nod. "Ready?" he asked unnecessarily, and she nodded again. 

Andros stared at the ball, giving it a light push. It flowed away from them, almost bumping into the opposite wall before he extended a hand and stopped it. With a single thought, he pulled it back toward Ashley. 

She tried again, with no better results than before. The ball just hung there, tumbling over its rotational axis. "Could you please stop it spinning?" she asked at last, sighing. "It feels like it's mocking me." 

The ball's spin slowed, and Andros looked at her, startled. "*Thank* you," Ashley said fervently. 

"I didn't do it," Andros answered, feeling a smile spread across his face. 

Ashley's hands fell, and she twisted around to look at him. Her eyes were as wide as they'd been when he'd first sent the ball spinning across the room toward her, and she searched his expression for something. "It wasn't you?" she asked, almost holding her breath. 

He shook his head. "You mean--" She seemed reluctant to take the obvious conclusional step. "*I* did it? I stopped it from spinning?" 

This time, he nodded. Her subdued inquiry left him completely unprepared for her reaction. With a delighted laugh, Ashley leaned forward and hugged him, hard--not that she had far to go, considering how close they'd been standing. "I did it, Andros! I actually did it!" 

After only a second's pause, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged back. His smile widened into a grin, but all he said was, "I knew you could, Ashley." 

***

"That was a good game," TJ announced, as he emerged with Carlos and Cassie from the Simudeck. 

"You only say that because you won," Cassie teased. 

"Not true!" TJ protested. "I also say that because I played exceptionally well." 

Cassie laughed, and Carlos shook his head at his friend's outrageously cocky attitude. TJ had been like that all evening, but it seemed to be cheering Cassie up, and Carlos suspected that was the point. 

"DECA, what's our status?" he asked, mindful of the army scattered around them. 

"There is a course correction in progress," DECA informed them. 

"What are we correcting for, DECA?" TJ queried, diverted. 

There was a brief pause, but DECA apparently couldn't come up with a suitable excuse for not answering. "A comet will intersect with our previous course in approximately six and a half minutes." 

Cassie looked up. "Will we be able to see it from our new course, DECA?" 

"The comet will be visible in three minutes," DECA replied "It will pass out of range seven minutes later." 

"Cool!" TJ exclaimed. "Let's watch it from the Bridge." 

"I'll get Ashley and Andros," Carlos volunteered, as they piled into the lift. 

"We'll come," Cassie offered, but he shook his head.  

"It'll only take a second; go ahead up. I'll be right there." 

He got no response when he knocked on Ashley's door, so he tried Andros's. "Come in," Andros's voice answered, and the door slid open. 

Ashley was there, sitting on the floor, legs curled under her as she leaned back against the sideboard of Andros's bunk. She was wearing his red sweatshirt, and as the door opened, she snatched at something in the air. It collapsed and tumbled into her hands, but not before Carlos recognized it. 

"Were you… practicing telekinesis?" he asked in surprise, looking from Ashley to Andros, who sat cross-legged on the floor across from her. Andros nodded. 

Carlos glanced back at Ashley, who ducked her head and looked at him from beneath her eyelashes. "Andros has been trying to teach me," she said shyly. 

*That's what they were talking about on the Bridge this afternoon,* he realized with a sudden flash of insight. 

"Successfully teaching," Andros corrected, and she smiled happily. 

"That's right. Successfully teaching," she repeated, clearly pleased with herself. 

The initial shock wearing off, Carlos shook his head. "Congratulations, Ash," he told her, still a little disconcerted at seeing her in red. She had *never* worn red, even before she'd become a Ranger… 

"Thanks!" she said, beaming at him. "So what's up?" 

Suddenly remembering what had brought him here, Carlos gave his head another shake. "Right--DECA found a comet. We were on our way up to see it, and thought you might want to come." 

"Sure!" Ashley exclaimed, bouncing to her feet. 

Andros followed, a little more calmly. "Comets really aren't that impressive this far out from the stars they orbit," he warned them. "They're just balls of dust and ice; it's only when they heat up that they have a tail." 

"Spoilsport," Ashley accused, taking his arm. "Let's go see."

Joining the others on the Bridge, they found that Andros was right. But, as Ashley pointed out, he was wrong as well, because as the comet crossed the Megaship's path only a few hundred kilometers behind them, something spectacular occurred.  

The residual heat of the starship's passage, lingering in the freezing void of space, vaporized enough of the outer shell to surround the "ball of dust and ice" with a silver halo. And there was enough ambient light in this corner of the star system that the free-floating water vapor sparkled and shone as it tumbled along behind the comet, making it look like a wandering star freed from the responsibilities of gravity and on course with destiny. 

Carlos stared in awe, amazed all over by the wonder of the celestial firmament through which they traveled. Gazing around at his friends, he wondered if they realized, at that moment, how lucky they truly were. 

Cassie watched a little apart from the rest of the group, her mind probably at least half occupied with the mysterious Ranger sleeping in the Medical bay. But she wasn't truly alone--TJ was nearby, watching both her and the comet like a looming guardian angel. Ashley stood shoulder to shoulder with Andros, the two of them enjoying the night together as the angelic starfarer streaked past. As Carlos watched, the Red Ranger put his arm around Ashley's shoulders, and she leaned closer to him. 

*Yes,* Carlos decided, looking back out at the silvery luminescence. *We all know exactly how lucky we are.*