"Cestria?" TJ couldn't help asking. She had turned away from the comm console as soon as they teleported into the control room, and there was an unmistakable tinge of exhaustion to her dark eyes. "Are you all right?"

"I am fine," she replied, pressing her fingertips together in the Aquitian gesture of greeting. "I hope the morning finds you well, Astro Rangers."

Andros returned the gesture, and the greeting, and TJ frowned a little. Across the room, Cetaci was working on something and did not look up. She had yet to even acknowledge their presence in the control room.

"Are you sure everything's all right?" Andros was asking, and TJ figured he couldn't be imagining things if even Andros noticed something amiss. "If there's anything we can do--"

"I appreciate your offer," Cestria said. "But there is nothing you can do. There was--a minor crisis last night, and none of the team has had as much sleep as they should have. That is all."

Andros shifted a little, and TJ saw him glance at Cetaci. The White Ranger still had not looked up, and she and Cestria almost seemed to be... ignoring each other. "There's no way to postpone the operation without losing our advantage," he said, addressing Cestria again. "But if this is going to be a liability to you, we'd better do it."

Cestria tilted her head to the side. "It will not be a liability, but I thank you for your concern. If you will wait, I will go see what's keeping the others."

He nodded, and Cestria turned to leave the control room through the open door on the opposite side. As soon as she was gone, he turned to the White Ranger. "Cetaci, we're going to need to coordinate the timing of our attacks. Do you have an ETA for the Parikat system?"

Cetaci finally lifted her head, but she did not turn to look at them. "You will have to discuss the execution of tactics and team movements with Cestria."

TJ could almost hear the frown in Andros' voice. "Coordination of the team is the responsibility of the team leader."

"Yes," Cetaci agreed, her stare apparently fixed on the blank wall in front of her. "Cestria is acting team leader of the Aquitian Rangers now."

"What?" Andros exchanged glances with Ashley, and TJ saw her give him a startled look and a small shrug before he turned to rake his gaze across the rest of the team. His eyes came to rest on Kerone, and they stared at each other for a silent moment before a distant crash interrupted their exchange.

TJ spun instinctively as a shriek echoed from the hallway that Cestria had vanished down, and he caught Carlos' worried gaze briefly. The other strode after Cestria without a word, and TJ followed quickly.

"Kerone, Zhane, Cassie, Saryn--stay here," Andros snapped from somewhere behind him, and he heard footsteps that had to be Andros and Ashley behind him.

Carlos came to an abrupt halt at the end of the hallway, and TJ almost ran into him. Carlos, to his surprise, took one look into what appeared to be a buffet-style dining area and chuckled.

TJ relaxed a little, but he still couldn't see what was going on. Carlos stepped into the room, giving the rest of them space to move forward, and TJ raised an eyebrow as he stepped through the doorway.

One of the large tables had been tipped onto its side, and the trays that must have been on top of it lay scattered across the floor. Telltale splotches on the walls coincided rather conveniently with the fruit lying on the floor, and TJ could only conclude that someone's aim needed work. There was something that looked like cereal everywhere, and he couldn't help thinking that this was exactly the kind of stunt his own team would pull, under the right circumstances.

Behind him, he heard Ashley giggle as she got her first unobstructed view of the chaos inside the room. "Food fight?" she suggested, sounding amused.

Billy, huddled on their side of the overturned table, grinned sheepishly at her words. "Truce?" he called, looking up as though he could see over top of the table from where he was.

From behind the counter on the other side of the room, Aura stood up, her expression perfectly calm. She gave her head a quick shake, dislodging small pieces of cereal from her dark ponytail. "Truce," she agreed warily, glancing down and to her right.

Delphinius stood up beside her, and TJ did his level best not to laugh. The Black Aquitian Ranger had always struck him as the most dignified of his team, and there he was, brushing cereal flakes off of his otherwise impeccable uniform tunic. He exchanged glances with his teammate, and Aura reluctantly put down the object in her hand.

It was brought home to TJ for only perhaps the second time that the Aquitians were not so much older than he was. They were still--kids, really, like the Astro Rangers, just trying to cope with things any way they could. No matter their reserve, the stress was getting to them, too.

Neither Delphinius nor Aura smiled, but Aura's eyes glittered with amusement as she fixed her gaze on the overturned table. "Do you not trust us, Billy?"

"I trust Delphinius," Billy shot back, daring to peer over the edge of the table. "I don't trust you, no."

She held up her empty hands, and Billy stood up slowly. When Aura made a move to come out from behind the counter, Billy held out his hand to his girlfriend and unwitting participant in the madness. Cestria took it, rising gracefully to her feet and looking as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened.

"Are we ready to leave?" Delphinius asked, joining his teammates in the middle of the room.

"We were waiting on you," Cestria informed him.

TJ stepped to the side as she came forward, Billy right behind her--it was only as they passed that he realized the two were still handfast. Delphinius and Aura followed quickly, and TJ shot a look at Andros as the Astro Rangers fell into step behind them.

Andros said nothing, but Ashley was smiling to herself. When she saw TJ watching her, her smile widened into a grin and she tilted her head at the Rangers ahead of them as if to say, "Can you believe that?"

He started to grin back when he heard Cestria's voice, sharper than usual and directed at some unknown source. "You will not teleport into this dome without permission," she was telling someone TJ couldn't see. "Previously established restrictions are not lifted simply because leadership has changed."

As TJ made his way back into the control room, he saw Cestria facing down a woman he only vaguely recognized. *Linnse,* he thought, remembering her argument with Cetaci the morning before. Cassie had told him enough about her that he would have disliked her on sight even without Cestria's obvious animosity.

"I was told to report to you before departure," the woman retorted. "You didn't answer my comm signal."

Cestria looked over at her former leader. Cetaci was standing with her back to the console she had been at earlier, arms crossed over her chest and an expression on her face that TJ would have labeled "sullen" on anyone else. "I told her you were unavailable and asked her to wait. She did not."

"Perhaps you have forgotten how chain of command functions when it comes to Rangers," Cestria said quietly, turning back to Linnse. "It has, after all, been a long time since you were one of us. In the future, however, you will obey active Rangers over any other orders you have received."

Linnse's eyes narrowed, but she accepted the censure without comment.

TJ tried not to smirk as Cestria visibly dismissed Linnse and turned to Saryn. "I apologize for the delay," she said calmly. "There was a minor disturbance in the mess hall. On behalf of my teammates, I thank you for your patience."

TJ glanced around at the other Aquitians, hearing the subtle reproof in her words. Delphinius didn't so much as blink, although Billy looked a little chagrinned. TJ wondered if he had been the one to start the "minor disturbance"--it didn't seem like usual Aquitian behavior.

"It was no trouble," Saryn assured her, as TJ looked around for Aura. She was standing beside Carlos, apparently paying no attention to the conversation as he brushed something off of her shoulder. She looked up and caught Carlos' eye, and the Black Ranger smiled at her.

TJ tried not to roll his eyes. *Since when does Carlos flirt with aliens?* he wondered wryly.

"We are only glad there was no trouble," Saryn added, and TJ's eye was drawn back to him by the words. Saryn's hand rested possessively on Cassie's shoulder as he turned to stare directly at TJ.

TJ blinked, seeing Cestria nod out of the corner of his eye but not really registering it. Saryn was looking at him as though he too had seen Carlos and Aura, and as though he knew exactly what TJ thought of the exchange. Cassie looked up suddenly, looking first at Saryn and then following his gaze to TJ. She smiled distractedly at him as Cestria spoke again, and shifted her focus to the Yellow Aquitian Ranger before he could return it.

He shook his head at his own paranoia. *Just because half the team can read each other's minds doesn't mean anyone knows what you're thinking,* he reminded himself. *Saryn can only pick up on Cassie's feelings, anyway.*

"Why can't it be resolved now?" Cetaci demanded, startling him out of his thoughts. He had missed whatever Cestria had tried to say, but Cetaci's next words made it perfectly clear what she was talking about. "Who started this disturbance?"

Before Cestria could answer, Aura spoke up. "I did," she said. "I must apologize for my behavior."

"I started it," Billy corrected. "Aura didn't do anything."

"That is misleading," Delphinius said, as soon as Billy finished. "The blame was mine."

"There is no blame involved." Cestria looked as though she was trying to hide a smile, and TJ couldn't really blame her. "I do not know who started it, but it is not your responsibility to find out, Cetaci. This matter will be taken care of later."

Cetaci positively glared at her former Second, but Linnse interrupted before anything else could be said. "Excuse me, but I'd like to get under way as soon as possible. Let's try to keep personal feelings out of this mission, shall we?"

"Your comments are unnecessary," Cetaci said, turning on her. "You have no jurisdiction here."

"I do not appreciate that remark," Saryn added, his tone strangely angry. "Perhaps if you would keep *your* feelings out of this mission, Linnse, we would all be better off."

TJ gave him a startled look. Clearly, something had blown wide open among the Aquitian Rangers, but he didn't understand what Saryn had to do with any of it. The only thing all of them seemed to agree on was that they didn't like Linnse, and although TJ had heard a lot of bad things about her, he didn't see how she could have offended *everyone*.

"My feelings aren't interfering with my ability to do my job!" Linnse retorted, and TJ wondered if he should reconsider. She did seem more than willing to strike back, which wasn't exactly the sign of a great diplomat.

Across the room, Cetaci stiffened, but Cestria intervened before she could. "Excuse me," she said, her tone as cold as TJ had ever heard it. "This infighting serves no purpose. We are Rangers--most of us--and the forces of evil will not wait for us to resolve our petty problems. I suggest we put aside any disputes we may have with each other and concentrate on the mission."

No one looked very remorseful, TJ noticed, but neither did anyone challenge her. For a brief moment, the room was silent, and he saw Andros and Zhane exchange glances. Andros looked impatient, but Zhane just shrugged.

"Good," Andros said at last. "As long as we can agree on something. Linnse," he added, turning toward the Eltaran with more courtesy than anyone had shown her probably since she had arrived. "Will you join us on the Megaship, or would you rather be in your starfighter?"

"If your hangar deck can accommodate my starfighter," she said slowly, her eyes flickering toward Saryn and then away again, "I will join you on your ship."

"Right," Andros said, shifting his focus to Cestria. "Do you have an ETA for the Parikat system? We're going to need to run on radio silence once we leave Aquitar."

"Sixteen and a half minutes at hyperrush nine," Cestria replied, without consulting the computer.

Andros nodded. "Good," he repeated. "It's twenty-four to the Rysian system, and Kerone estimates another seven or eight to get aboard Dark Spectre's ship. As soon as you see movement in the Parikat invasion force, you'll know we're at Rysia. Any damage you do to them is fewer reinforcements for us to contend with, and the longer all of us can distract them the easier it will be for Kerone and Saryn."

"Understood," Cestria said, pressing her fingertips together and inclining her head. Her teammates echoed her gesture, even Cetaci, and Andros gathered up the Astro team with a glance.

"Good luck, then," he said, as the Astro Rangers gathered around him.

"To us all," Cestria agreed.

TJ reached for his morpher. He heard Andros ask Linnse if she could teleport, and then the world faded away into sapphire blue around him.

***

"You're cleared for approach," Andros told the comm from the hangar bay's control booth. "At two kilometers, cut your thrusters and DECA will bring you the rest of the way in."

"No one pilots this ship but me," Linnse's voice warned.

Ashley rolled her eyes, and beside her she heard Saryn shift irritably. "Standard hangar procedure," Andros told the Defense commander calmly. "As you must know. Surrender control of your starfighter at two kilometers or don't board; it's as simple as that."

There was no reply, and Ashley glanced sideways at Andros. He was watching the control panel intently, seeming to pay no attention to either of them. She watched over his shoulder as Linnse's starfighter loomed closer and closer, until the proximity alert went off at five kilometers.

Linnse's thrusters fired once more, slowing her ship to a more manageable speed and then blinking out entirely. The starfighter coasted up to the two-kilometer mark, and DECA latched onto it, drawing it slowly into the hangar bay.

As soon as the starfighter cleared the bay doors they started to close, and Linnse's antigravs came on automatically. DECA let the ship go, and it settled carefully to the deck as the doors slammed shut behind her. It was strange to see the massive doors impact against each other and hear nothing--Ashley knew, intuitively, that the noise had to be tremendous, but she had never heard it happen inside an atmosphere.

"You're taking *those*?" Linnse's voice demanded over the comm. Her ship had set down beside the launching booth that had always held NASADA's shuttle, but the only other occupants of the hangar bay, two "velocifighters", were not exactly inconspicuous nearby. The disgust in her tone was unmistakable.

"The disguise is necessary," Saryn answered coldly, before Andros could respond.

"Defense ships have cloaks for a reason," Linnse shot back. "You'd be a lot safer in your starfighter."

Ashley looked at Saryn in time to see the amusement flicker across his face. "That *is* my starfighter."

"What?" Linnse's startled tone turned scornful in a heartbeat. "Of course. Your pet princess of evil."

Andros stiffened, but it was Saryn who snapped, "You will not refer to her in that fashion. Her name is Kerone, and I expect you to treat her with at least some semblance of courtesy."

"First that girl, and now Astronema. Whose side are you on, Phantom?"

DECA broke in at last to announce, "The hangar bay has been repressurized."

"*We're* all on the same side," Andros told the comm sternly. "That's why we're here, in case you've forgotten. I hate to waste atmosphere, but if you're not going to be able to cooperate, I'll open the bay doors again and you can take your starfighter off this ship."

"*I* know how to get the job done," Linnse answered, her voice stony.

"Fine. Stay where you are. We'll be there in a minute to escort you to the Bridge."

Andros hit something on the console and the comm cut off before she could reply. He turned toward the door, but Saryn stopped him without even looking up.

"I will go," Saryn told him, sounding perfectly composed. "I will show her to the Bridge."

Andros hesitated by the blinking green door seal. "We'll all go. There's no need for anyone to be alone with that woman."

"I *prefer* to be alone with her for a few moments." When Saryn lifted his head Ashley almost took a step back. His voice might be calm, but anger smoldered in his eyes, and she knew suddenly that *she* didn't want to hear what he meant to say to Linnse.

"Saryn, it isn't worth it," Andros said quietly. "Believe me, I know."

"You do not," he countered, though he kept his tone even. "This is not about Kerone, Andros, or even about the Astro Rangers. It is private matter between Linnse and I."

"I know you've been through a lot," Andros began, "but we don't have time--"

"Andros." Saryn's eyes were dark, and Ashley folded her arms across her chest nervously. He looked about two seconds from pushing Andros out of the way and storming out of the control booth. "Linnse got me through the months after Elisia. She's the first thing I saw when I woke up, and she would often be the last thing I saw before I slept. I hated her for it sometimes, but she was always there--she *forced* me to live, and it is only because of her that I am here now."

Andros frowned, and Ashley couldn't blame him. But he didn't say anything, and she didn't dare interrupt.

Saryn glanced over at her, then back at Andros. "This isn't about the Astro Rangers," he repeated. "Imagine how you would feel if Zhane turned against you... because of Ashley."

Her eyes widened and she looked at Andros before she thought. He was staring back at her, and she wondered if Saryn had just implied what she thought he had. *It would explain why Linnse hates Cassie so much...*

Andros caught Saryn's eye again, and, without a word, he stepped away from the door. Saryn strode through without a backward glance.

"I have no idea what's going on anymore," Andros said abruptly. He sounded almost conversational. "Do you think that's a bad thing?"

"You've never known what was going on," she answered, mustering a small smile. "It's only bothering you now?"

He gave her the muted version of the Look that he'd been turning on her lately, as though he couldn't bring himself to do it full force, and she giggled. "Very funny," he muttered, and she couldn't resist.

Putting her arms around him, she kissed him gently and tried not to smile at his wordless murmur of surprise. But he responded, hands sliding around her waist as he kissed her in return. She leaned into him, not realizing how hard until he took a step back. The door slid open in response to the motion, and he let her pull away a little.

"What was that for?" he asked softly, wrapping one arm more tightly around her waist.

She was about to say, "Just because," when she remembered their conversation a couple of nights before. "Practice," she suggested impishly.

She could see that he remembered too, and she leaned in to kiss him again. "We don't have time," he began, but she pressed her lips to his and had the satisfaction of seeing him completely distracted.

"Some things don't wait," she murmured breathlessly, letting him go at last. "If we're going to keep this team together, Andros, we have to make time for each other."

He looked a little confused. "What do you mean? Is something wrong?"

"No," she said quickly, smiling at him in reassurance. "Of course not. Not with us. But you have to let the rest of the team have time to themselves, too. We're not the only couple, and the others--especially Carlos and TJ--need to be able to have time that's just for them, not the team."

"We have time apart," he said carefully, obviously not sure where she was going with this.

She turned to look out over the now-empty hangar bay. He turned too, keeping his arm around her waist and following her gaze curiously.

"I was thinking of Saryn and Linnse," she admitted. "You almost told Saryn to forget it just now, to wait till after the mission to talk to Linnse, even though all he wanted was to walk her to the Bridge alone."

She looked over at him, and he frowned. "I don't like telling him what to do, but someone has to coordinate this mission, and somehow it ended up being me."

She let out her breath in exasperated amusement. "That's not what I'm saying, Andros. I'm just saying that sometimes we have to come first--us, individual people. Sometimes you have to put the Rangers before the team. Or we'll end up just like the Aquitian team."

He gave her a sharp look. "What do you know about that?"

"What do *you* know about it?" she answered indignantly.

"Not as much as I'd like to," he admitted. "Kerone woke me up last night to tell me that Cetaci had quit. She said Cestria told Cetaci that someone else could do a better job of leading the team, and Cetaci walked out. Delphinius was going to try and make her come back. That's all I knew until we teleported down this morning."

Ashley stared at him. "And you didn't tell us?"

Andros shrugged uncomfortably. "The Aquitians like to keep things to themselves. I figured they'd get everything worked out, and by today we wouldn't even know something had happened. I would have told you after this morning, obviously, but we haven't had time."

She nodded, mollified by the "obviously" as much as anything. "Well, like I said. Let's not end up like them."

Andros turned his head toward her and raised an eyebrow. "Are you threatening to fire me?"

She stared at him in surprise until she saw the corner of his mouth quirk. "Very funny!" She rocked against him, the closest she could come to a shove while they were standing so close, and he responded by tightening his arm around her.

"Just checking," he said lightly, as he guided her toward the door. It was too narrow for them to pass through together, and he let go of her reluctantly and gestured her forward. "After you."

***

"You are cleared for departure, Megaship." The voice emanated from the console at Ashley's station, and Andros nodded to her.

"Acknowledged, Aquitar," Ashley answered, doing something to the control panel. "We'll be back soon, Tideus."

"I do not doubt it," the former Aquitian Ranger replied over the comm. "May the Power protect its Rangers, and those who support them."

Andros glanced over at Linnse, seated at the auxiliary comm console. She was exchanging quiet words with the Defense wing, and apparently oblivious to the conversation going on at the forward stations.

"Thank you," Andros said for her. "May the Power protect us all."

"Good hunting," Tideus replied, and a moment later only the multi-colored swirls of the Aquitian logo flashed across the readout at Ashley's station.

She looked up and caught his eye, and she winked at him. He smiled a little, grateful for her silent support, and he lifted his gaze to the main screen. "Let's go. Ash, Linnse--signal the others."

The large battleship swept out of Aquitian orbit in a lengthening arc that sent it cruising toward the edge of the star system. Five zords followed, the yellow Lissan at the head of a smooth point formation that was mirrored above and below by a wing of silver starfighters.

***

She sat against the base of one of the park's oak trees, staring up through the branches at the clear blue sky beyond. She wondered how far she would have to see to catch a glimpse of the strike teams leaving Aquitar--or perhaps arriving at their destinations even now. Maybe they had already engaged Dark Spectre. Maybe the outcome was already decided...

She didn't like not knowing. She didn't like the waiting, especially when her brother's life--and possibly the life of everyone in the universe--hung in the balance. A little bit of information really was a dangerous thing, for never before had it been so hard to sit still and do nothing.

He had done this before, she knew, but she had been blissfully ignorant of the details. This time, she knew the entire plan ahead of time, she knew the consequences if he failed, and she knew what he was risking just to be a part of this.

But she didn't know how it was going. She wouldn't know anything more until he either returned, triumphant, or a call came from Aquitar saying that he would never return again...

"Hey." Jeff sat down beside her without waiting for her response, leaning back against the same tree she was sitting beneath and following her gaze. "I guess it would be silly to ask what you're thinking about, huh?"

She smiled a little and looked down, staring at the device in her hand. "Yeah." She flipped the phone-like mechanism open, gazing at it for a moment before pushing it shut again.

He glanced over his shoulder to watch her play with it. "Weird, isn't it? I mean, how many times have I wished I could help her somehow; have powers like hers so I could look out for her when she was out there fighting bad guys. And now, I have the Power, and I can't do a thing with it but sit here and wait for news."

"Yeah," Ali repeated, flipping the digimorpher open and shut again. "I know exactly what you mean. I can't decide whether to be flattered that they trusted us, or annoyed that I'm stuck as a standby. Backup reinforcements."

He didn't answer right away. Finally, he said, "I think that's redundant. Reinforcements *are* backup, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

There was a smile in his voice as he said, "I know. But flattered is the way to go, if you have to choose. They could have gotten someone from Aquitar or something."

"Nope." Ali tipped the morpher to one side and watched the dappled sunlight sparkle off it. "They didn't want to tell anyone where they got the information, so they had to ask us."

"Oh, that's not true," Jeff objected. "There are plenty of other people they could have trusted with this, and they picked us. I'm flattered, myself."

She rested her chin in her hand and stared down at Zhane's morpher. "Just flattered?" she asked thoughtfully.

She saw Ashley's brother glance over at her. "Flattered... and scared out of my mind. You?"

"Terrified is more like it," she admitted with a rueful grin. "And the thing is, I don't even know who to be more scared for--them, or us."

"Yeah," he agreed, looking back up at the sky. "I know what you mean."

***

"Fire!"

DECA overrode the weapons' console and momentarily took control of the Megalasers. Zhane saw Cassie throw up her hands in exasperation as the computer responded to Andros' order.

"Def-3, reinforce blue group," Linnse told the comm on the other side of the Bridge.

"Andros, stop that," Cassie said irritably. "I had a target lock."

The ship rocked abruptly, and Zhane's hands clenched on the auxiliary nav console. *Are you okay?*

*I'd be better if you'd stop asking me that,* Astrea replied curtly. *We're fine. Tell Cassie to watch where she's aiming.*

"New round of velocifighters, coming in at 40 by 70," Ashley announced, and the stars on the main screen wheeled crazily as the Megaship swung around.

*That was Andros,* Zhane said.

*Then tell him to let Cassie shoot! Andros just blew my wing leader out of the sky!*

"Forward shields are down 30 percent," TJ reported.

"Andros, Kerone says to let Cassie shoot," Zhane told his friend, deadpan.

"Tell her to get aboard Dark Spectre's ship," Andros retorted.

Zhane grinned, but Carlos interrupted before he could relay the message. "Come on, Andros, their ships are green! What else do you want, a big sign that says 'don't hit me'?"

"Red group, break off attack." Linnse's sharp order was a deliberate counterpoint to their tense banter. "Converge on the first wave."

"What are you doing?" TJ demanded.

"Linnse!" Cassie's exclamation overlaid TJ's, and Zhane bit back his own comment. The first wave was the one Astrea and Saryn had slipped into as soon as the second launched.

"I'm helping them," Linnse replied, her tone completely unreadable. She didn't take her eyes off the tactical screen in front of her as five Defense ships ducked out from underneath the Megaship and swarmed after the velocifighters.

*Astrea, you've got incoming from the Defense,* Zhane warned.

*I can see that. What are they *doing*?*

*She says she's helping you,* he answered dryly.

*The next time I see her I'll show her "help"! Tell her to get those ships out of there!*

"Kerone wants to know how that's going to help," Zhane said aloud, trying to stay calm as the Defense ships burst through the first round of velocifighters and took out six of them on the first pass. The two green-tagged velocifighters sailed on, unchallenged.

"Def-10 and 11, break off," Linnse snapped. "Red group, finish off the first wave."

*Astrea, watch out!*

He heard her swear as the remaining four velocifighters were demolished. One of the Defense fighters turned on her, chasing her away from Saryn's ship, and suddenly another velocifighter wave was upon them. It swallowed up the two disguised starfighters, and the Defense ships found themselves fighting their way out of more than a dozen enemy vessels.

"Red group, retreat," Linnse ordered, and Zhane stared in amazement as the entire velocifighter round vanished from his tactical screen--taking the green-tagged ships with it.

"What happened?" Andros demanded, and Zhane reached out instinctively.

*Astrea?*

There was no answer. In front of the main screen, he saw Ashley punching the scanners up to maximum gain as she tried to locate the two ships.

Zhane glared across the Bridge at Linnse. "What did you do?"

"Dark Spectre's personal velocifighter squadrons can be teleported in and out of battle," Linnse answered, without looking up. "He can recall entire waves when they're threatened, and then put them back somewhere else, to give them the advantage of surprise."

TJ whistled. "Why doesn't he just use that all the time? Forward shields down 35 percent," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"It takes too much power," Linnse answered absently.

"Sixth wave is launching," Ashley cut in. "And--damn!"

Zhane looked at his tactical map, trying to see what Ashley had seen. "A seventh wave just *appeared*!" she exclaimed. "Dead starboard by sixty degrees!"

"That should be the squadron that just vanished," Linnse said, turning around in her chair. "The two starfighters will be with them. If your--if Kerone was quick enough, they should be unmanned and we can grab them and tow them in."

"Do it," Andros said, and TJ nodded once.

*Astrea?* Zhane tried again. He wasn't going to believe it until she answered him.

Her voice sounded annoyed when the reply finally came, but it filled him with relief. *What?* she demanded.

*You're all right.* He could almost see her roll her eyes and tilt her head back in that exasperated way she had, but it was all he could think of to say.

"Lowering aft shields," TJ reported, right on top of Ashley's warning of incoming fighters.

*We're on board,* she said, finally taking pity on him. *The wing went through some sort of shipboard transfer point, and I teleported Saryn and I out. The whole wing's gone now, though.*

The Megaship lurched as Andros threw it out of the way, trying to keep the velocifighters away from the brief gap in the shields. TJ didn't protest, though his task wasn't made any easier by the sudden gyration. "The starfighters are inside the shields," he said, one tense moment later.

*We've got your starfighters,* Zhane told her.

"DECA, bring them into the hangar bay," Andros said.

"What the--"

Zhane spun around at the panic in TJ's normally calm voice--but there was no one there. A wide-eyed Carlos met his gaze across the empty status station.

Without asking questions, Zhane jumped up and took over the abandoned station. "What *happened*?" Ashley asked, yanking her startled gaze back to the scanners.

"TJ's--gone," Carlos said, as though he couldn't quite believe it.

"What?!" Cassie still hadn't looked up from her display. She and Andros were the only two people on the Bridge who simply couldn't afford to. "Carlos, what are you talking about?"

This time, Zhane saw the shimmer from the corner of his eye. He saw Carlos lift his hands in front of his face, but even as he turned his head to get a better look the Black Ranger's form wavered, warping in some way he couldn't quite see before vanishing entirely.

"Carlos?" Cassie repeated, and Ashley looked up again.

"Dark Spectre must be teleporting us somehow," Zhane said, catching her eye. "Ash, see if you can detect some sort of residual energy--it's strong enough to get through the shields, so it must be leaving a trace."

"Right," she said, looking as scared as he'd ever seen her. But she turned back to her console and started entering commands.

"Run it against this," Linnse said suddenly. She must have pulled something from the scanner databanks, because Ashley exclaimed a moment later.

"It's the same as--"

Zhane saw Andros' head jerk up. "Ashley!" He grabbed for her arm as her form fluctuated. The shimmer drew him in, and they were gone.

*Andros!* Zhane cried.

Cassie slid into the pilot's seat. "The same as what?" she demanded of the air, and the whole world started to blur unsteadily. He heard Linnse's voice, not clearly enough to make out her answer, and then the Bridge disappeared.