The light flooding into the bathroom was suddenly reduced as a familiar shadow darkened the bedroom doorway. Cassie held up her hand and wiggled her fingers over her shoulder as she bent down to spit out the rinse that cleaned her teeth. Saryn was watching her in the mirror when she straightened up, and she smiled back at him.

"Good morning," he mumbled, and the sleep that clouded his voice was so unusual that her smile faded a little.

"Morning," she answered, tilting her head for a kiss as though she had noticed nothing amiss.

He obliged, but the silent calm that teased the edges of her awareness told her he was blocking. That he could successfully shield his emotions this early in the morning was testament to his steadily increasing control, but it didn't give her any clue as to what might be troubling him.

Saryn ran a thumb across her cheek tenderly before slipping past her to take her place at the sink, and she smiled involuntarily. As she watched him ignore his reflection, though, not to mention hers, she wondered, "Did you sleep all right?"

He stilled at the question, and she tried not to frown. He hadn't had nightmares for some time now, and she'd finally grown used to sleeping through the night without them. If the old ghosts were haunting him again, she wasn't sure whether that or the fact that she hadn't woken disturbed her more.

"My dreams..." He trailed off, but he lifted his head to catch her eye in the mirror at last. There was tired confusion in his voice, but his expression was at least as thoughtful as it was disturbed. "My dreams were not entirely pleasant."

"I'm sorry," Cassie murmured, remembering how those dreams used to hurt. She cast back over the last few days, wondering what could have made them return.

He shook his head, turning away from the sink to smile reassuringly at her. "These weren't dreams of the past; you would have known. These were different."

She couldn't help but feel relieved. "What did you dream about, then?" she wanted to know. "And more than once?"

"More than once," he agreed, a frown settling on his face. "I saw... our children. They were in trouble--"

The sound of a muffled crash reached them through the closed door, and Jetson's bark followed almost immediately. She shot an apologetic glance in Saryn's direction as she caught the door and tugged it open, and she pretended not to see him roll his eyes. She didn't mean to interrupt, but with the amount of hard copy in the living area they couldn't afford to ignore the disturbance.

Leaning around the doorframe, the scene outside made her smile. For once it wasn't Jetson creating the havoc, though he had a familiar accomplice. Waif-thin and as innocent looking as they came, little Shei sat amid a pile of coats and blankets with a bewildered expression on her face. She looked as though she was trying to decide whether to cry or giggle, and crying was rapidly winning out.

"Shei!" It was part greeting and part distraction, and she hurried out to scoop the little girl up in her arms. "I'm sure we've told you not to climb on the coat rack. Are you okay? Thanks, Jetson," she added over her shoulder, as the yellow lab came wagging up behind her.

"Cassie, have you seen--" Raine's voice was distracted, but she broke off abruptly as Cassie turned to face the open courtyard doorway. Shei squirmed in her arms, and the Green Ranger relaxed visibly at the sight of her errant daughter.

"Zela. Shei," she said sternly. It was one name, but the girl's mother managed to make it sound like two. "What kind of mayhem are you causing this time?"

"The same sort of mayhem that's usually caused by our dog," Saryn offered, from where he was lounging in the bathroom doorway. "We almost didn't notice she was here."

Cassie gave him a dirty look, and, more awake now, he smirked at her.

"I'm sorry if she woke you," Raine apologized, taking in Saryn's appearance for the first time. Shirtless and still a bit tired looking, he didn't look like someone who'd gotten quite enough sleep the night before. "The door was open, and she likes to wander..."

"I opened it when I got up," Cassie said quickly. "It's fine; you know we like seeing her."

The Green Elisian Ranger sighed, shaking her head fondly at her daughter as Cassie handed her over. "She'll be better company once she grows out of this destructive phase," she promised. "At least," she added, catching Cassie's eye, "I hope she will."

Cassie laughed. "She's good company now," she assured the other Ranger. "Are you coming to breakfast?"

Raine bounced her daughter a little higher in her arms with a smile. "We'll be there. Azmuth just got back from Calijyt, so it'll be the whole family this morning."

"Good," Cassie said with an answering smile. "We'll see you there, then."

Shei, who had quieted as soon as she found herself in her mother's arms, started to squirm again. Raine nuzzled her cheek and nodded toward Cassie. "Wave to Aunt Cassie, Shei... go ahead, wave goodbye!"

Cassie grinned and waved to the little girl, who tentatively lifted her hand before reaching around to grab her mother's fingers and wave them energetically. Raine laughed, waving to both Cassie and Saryn on her way out. "Thanks for watching her," she called over her shoulder.

"Thanks for disturbing our peace," Saryn answered, quietly enough that it wouldn't carry to Raine's ears. "We appreciate the intrusion, truly."

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Grouch," she accused. "You must have an allergic reaction to nightmares. Now I know why it used to be so hard to be around you."

"Possibly because there were quantrons kidnapping us, beating us, or shooting at us every time we turned around," Saryn suggested.

"That might have been part of it," she admitted, trying not to smile as she advanced on him. He hadn't moved from his position in the doorway, but he was watching her through half-closed eyes. "But I think it was the insomnia. I never seemed to get any sleep around you."

"With good reason," he retorted, a lazy smile playing over his lips.

"Oh, we never got over *that*," she said with a giggle, letting him pull her into his arms. "I meant the nightmares. What's all this about children and bad things happening to them?"

His smug expression faltered, and for a moment he looked worried. Then he shook his head and that too started to fade. "I'm... I'm not sure," he said at last. "I don't remember. We had children, I think, and they were--something was threatening them, but that's all I remember."

"All good nightmares fade," Cassie murmured, hugging him reassuringly. "Children, though... more than one, huh? If you remember anything else about them, let me know," she teased, turning her face toward his for a kiss.

He smiled, and this time she could feel some of what he felt when their mouths met. He was content in her presence, amused in spite of his words by Shei's visit, hungry, and a little irritable because of it. She knew the sharing wasn't an accident; he had intentionally let his shields slip and she was glad.

He was kissing her again when the comm chimed, and for an instant she considered ignoring it. She knew from past experience that he would if she did; sometimes she wondered how people got in touch with him at all when she wasn't around. But of course, he would remind her, that was what voice recorders were for.

"I'll get that," she murmured, stepping out of his embrace.

"No," he protested immediately, though he hadn't given any indication he cared a moment ago. "I don't mind."

She trailed her fingers across his bare chest as she moved past him into the living area. "Find a shirt first," she suggested with a small smile.

The seal of the Frontier Defense flashed across the comm screen the moment she activated it, and Cassie did her best not to roll her eyes. They hadn't even had breakfast and Tobin already wanted something. Someday, the man was going to get a life and she was going to find a way to interrupt it. Early. Late, too. And as often as possible.

"Good morning, Tobin," she said aloud, as the expected image appeared on the screen. Behind her, she felt more than heard Saryn disappearing into the bathroom again.

"Cassie," he replied. His tone was even, but there was a friendliness in his eyes that made her flash a smile in return for his brief greeting. "How's life on Elisia?"

"Couldn't get much better," she answered promptly. She noticed with satisfaction that he had almost smiled back. Neither of the former Eltaran Rangers that shared governing power of the Frontier Defense with Saryn had liked her on sight, but they were finally learning to work together. Tobin was far more tolerant of her than Linnse was, history or no. "How about you?"

His eyes sobered at the question, though little else in his expression changed. It was funny how much he communicated without seeming to... funny how alike he and Saryn were in that respect. "I'm afraid there is--room for improvement," he said at last. "You may agree, when you hear what I have to tell Saryn."

They were both maddeningly cryptic, too, she thought. That was one quality she could have lived without. "He's on his way," she promised. "He's just--"

"I'm here," Saryn interrupted, and she turned in time to see him emerging from the bathroom. He was pulling a short-sleeve tunic over his shoulders as he came, and she watched fondly as he flipped his hair over the collar before tugging the shirt closed.

He caught her eye as he lifted his head, and Cassie made little snipping motions with her fingers. Saryn gave her a dark look and she tried not to grin. She'd been threatening to cut his hair for weeks now, but she hadn't gotten around to it yet. She couldn't tell if it was the actual threat or the anticipation that made him glare whenever she mentioned it.

"Saryn." Tobin's greeting for his friend of five years was almost as noncommittal as the one he'd given her. "The Defense will have to convene," he informed the other. Then again, Cassie reflected, the Eltaran wasn't one for small talk.

There was a sharp rap on the door behind her, and she turned to see Mirine swing inside without invitation. "Have you seen my helmet?" she demanded. "I know it's--"

Cassie put a finger to her lips and Mirine clapped a hand over her mouth as she caught a glimpse of the lit comm screen. Saryn was, to all outward appearances, ignoring them, but Cassie had caught a mental flare of chagrin at the mention of his sister's jetcycle helmet. She hid a grin and gestured Mirine toward the back door.

"I am not available until later today," Saryn was telling Tobin as they slipped out onto the shaded promenade that surrounded the compound. Cassie closed the door behind them, cutting off the conversation with some amount of disappointment. Tobin wasn't an alarmist and she wondered at something that he felt the need to warn her about, however indirectly.

"Thanks," Mirine said dryly, breaking into her musing. "You'd think if someone were going to snatch my helmet they could at least put it back where they found it."

Saryn's sister gave her a pointed look, and Cassie had to wince. "Sorry," she apologized, picking up the two helmets from the bench beside the back door. She handed the Pink Ranger's helmet back to her and keyed open the entrance to the recessed garage between their apartments. "We were in kind of a hurry last night. I meant to come back out and get them later, but..."

She trailed off at Mirine's knowing look, trying not to blush. "Well, I did mean to," she murmured. She was trying not to smile as she braced her weight behind the jetcycle and flipped the stabilizer off.

"Sure you did," Mirine grumbled good-naturedly. She went around to the other side to help push, and together the two of them wheeled Saryn's jetcycle back into the garage. "What happened to your helmet?" she wanted to know.

"I wish I knew," Cassie admitted, turning the stabilizer back on before letting go. She settled Saryn's helmet on top of the cycle and glanced around, as though hers would magically appear when she looked for it. "I haven't been able to find it for a few days now."

Mirine just rolled her eyes. "Saryn probably hid it so he'd have another excuse to swipe mine. You'd think he'd have outgrown that by now."

"Yeah, speaking of that," Cassie remarked, her lips twitching. "He's missing his blue jacket again. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

The Pink Ranger grinned, unrepentant. "It's not his color anyway," she said. If it was an excuse, she conveniently overlooked the fact that it wasn't hers either. "Breakfast?"

Cassie hesitated, but Saryn would no doubt relate Tobin's message to the entire community center when he arrived. "Sounds good," she agreed, following Mirine toward the courtyard door.

Tossing her helmet in the direction of her own jetcycle, Mirine didn't even watch to see where it landed before tugging the door open. They stepped out into the bright sunlight of a desert dawn, the courtyard filled with sharp shadows as the nearly horizontal rays touched the compound for the first time since nightfall. Zelashei was still playing, though Raine was giving her the "come here or else" speech from the door of the community center and Azmuth was nowhere to be seen.

"Want some help?" Mirine called to Raine, and when the other grimaced in resigned acceptance she swooped down on the little girl and swept her off her feet. Ignoring the child's shrieks, she carried her across the courtyard to her mother.

Cassie followed more slowly, glancing back toward the still-open door of the place she shared with Saryn. He might have left it open when he went to breakfast, but more likely he was still inside setting up the conference with Tobin. She had almost convinced herself to go back and check when Nen ducked out of a doorway across the compound and called her name.

"Morning, Cassie!" he shouted cheerfully, and his good humor was so infectious that she found herself smiling again. "I like that color on you; you should wear it more often!"

She had to laugh. "I wear it every day, Nen," she reminded him as he caught up to her.

"That shade in particular," he insisted, bending over to sift sand through his fingers. "Here," he added, straightening and holding out a handful to her. "Feel how cold the sand is this morning!"

She giggled, but she accepted the handful of sand. "It is cool. Funny how that happens at night."

"Isn't it?" He gave her a look of delight and she wondered, not for the first time, what it was like to be inside his mind. He was as intelligent as any of them--more, she sometimes suspected--yet he let himself be amused by the smallest things. Was he ever bored? Or angry, or sarcastic?

*Would we know if he was?* she wondered.

"Good morning, Mirine," Nen said lightly, putting a hand on her shoulder and slipping around her before she could get out of the doorway. "You look well-rested.

"It's Zelashei!" he exclaimed, before she could answer. "My favorite almost-daughter!" He picked the little girl up and swung her around, finally tossing her over his shoulder and heading over to the table. "Well," he announced to no one in particular, "I've got my breakfast. What's everyone else having?"

"Nen," Raine scolded, and Mirine grinned at Cassie.

"I'd forgotten how much I missed having him around," Mirine confessed under her breath. "There's just no one else who'd threaten to eat Shei."

"And you think this is a good thing," Cassie teased, taking her arm and moving toward the kitchen side of the room. "Jealous?"

Mirine let out a breath of exasperation, a mannerism that reminded Cassie of her brother. "Can you imagine me with a kid? I'd either lock it up or throw it out the window--and that would just be the first day. Definitely no envy here."

"I won't be serving you breakfast simply because you're restraining our wayward daughter," Azmuth was informing Nen. "I hope you're aware of that."

"My darling Azmuth!" Nen's eyes were wide. "I would never presume upon your convenience in such a manner! Besides," he added, letting his imitation of her accent drop, "your 'wayward daughter' is unrestrainable, and we wouldn't have her any other way."

Cassie didn't question the sense that made her look over her shoulder just in time to see Saryn appear in the doorway. He said nothing to call attention to himself, not even bothering to step inside, but somehow he made his presence known. Mirine was the first to follow Cassie's gaze, and Shei, having wriggled free from Nen's arms, failed to distract either Nen or his brother Kyril from the shadow by the door.

Azmuth had probably noticed the moment Saryn arrived, her warrior instinct never failing to note the presence of another in close proximity, but Raine took a little longer. By the time she had gotten hold of Shei again and turned her attention toward the door, Cassie wondered what Tobin could possibly have said to warrant this kind of silence.

They waited expectantly until Saryn sighed and stepped out of the doorway, allowing the sun to spill into the common room again. "May I assume that I was in charge of breakfast this morning and someone forgot to tell me?"

"You can assume that if you don't tell us what's going on you're going to wish you'd only forgotten breakfast," Cassie informed him.

"You're projecting all over the place," Mirine agreed, staring at him. "What happened?"

Saryn didn't answer right away, though whether he was trying to shield his thoughts or find the words, it was impossible to tell. "It's the Kerovan Council," he said at last. His gaze met Cassie's, and she found herself holding her breath. "They want to disband the Astro Rangers."

***

"What!" Andros stared at the comm in disbelief. "He can't be serious!"

He felt Zhane shift uneasily behind him. "He's just talking about making it official, Andros. Calm down."

Andros spun, ignoring the rest of the recorded message to pin Zhane with his stare. "Did you know this was going to happen? Is this why you didn't want me at the council meeting this morning?"

"No!" Zhane's eyes were wide with surprise. "I swear I had no idea! I thought it was going to be another dull policy discussion."

Andros turned back to the comm with a muttered curse. "I'm calling Kinwon. I don't know how he could even think of going along with this."

"Andros..." Zhane's hand on his wrist kept him from activating the screen. "The Council just wants what's best for Kerova."

"And they're going to get it by breaking up the team that defends them?" Andros demanded. "What kind of warped logic is that?"

"The Astro Rangers aren't a team anymore," Zhane said, not letting go of his arm. His statement was outrageous, but he said it in such a matter-of-fact way that the import of the words was dulled. "And the team that we were never defended KO-35, let alone our sister planet."

Andros just stared at him, too shocked to formulate a reply.

Zhane let his hand fall, but his gaze didn't waver. "You know this was coming, Andros. You just didn't want to see it."

"How can you say that?" Andros sputtered. He jerked away, taking a few steps toward the other side of the room before turning to face Zhane again. He was too angry at this second betrayal to muster more than a token argument. "How can you say they're right?"

Zhane gave a half-shrug, but the tension in his stance belied his casual attitude. "I'm not saying they're right. I'm just saying that we haven't been a real team since before the Psychos, and you know it. The Council knows it too. It's not surprising they'd want to do something about it."

"Disbanding the Astro Rangers isn't going to fix their problem!"

"You know that's not what they really want," Zhane said quietly. His blue eyes wandered a little, and Andros was aware of his own clenched fists and hunched shoulders. He probably looked furious, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

"Then tell me what they really want," he suggested, struggling to keep his tone even. His voice was as quiet as Zhane's, but it was a dangerous kind of quiet and Zhane's expression said he knew it.

"They want a new team."

"They have a team already!" Andros exploded. "They have seven people who'd give their lives for this planet and its people! What more do they want!"

"People who could get here in time to do some good if we were attacked," Zhane told him. "Let's face it, Andros, the Astro Rangers don't even have a base of operations anymore. We have nowhere to assemble, nowhere to coordinate, and half of us can't even get in touch with the other half if there's an emergency!"

Andros glared at him. "We've never had an ops base! The Megaship goes wherever it's needed; that's always been good enough!"

"We were living on a battleship, Andros! The entire team, all of the Astro Rangers and then some!" Zhane stopped abruptly, as if realizing he was shouting. He took a calming breath and went on, "The only reason it worked was because it had to. We had nowhere else to go, and most of the known universe was at war. But we haven't done that since the fighting stopped, and barring another Dark Spectre we'll never have to do it again."

Caught without words for the second time in as many minutes, Andros just looked at him. At last he said wonderingly, "You make it sound like it was the worst thing you ever did."

Zhane ran a hand through his hair, his gaze sliding away. "Of course it wasn't," he muttered, and the weariness in his voice caught Andros by surprise. "It was great, but it's over now. The universe has changed, and we can't go back to the way it was. We have to change with it."

Something in the way Zhane had looked away made Andros hesitate. "You think we should let them break the team up, then."

Zhane's eyes snapped back to his and Andros flinched at the unconcealed anger in that sharp gaze. "There is no team! There's you and there's me and there's Astrea! Maybe someone forgot to tell you, but Dark Spectre's gone. KO-35 is free. The war is over, Andros! When are you going to stop fighting it?"

"I'm not fighting," Andros said with a frown. He fought the urge to take a step back at the bitterness that flashed across Zhane's face.

"All you do is fight! For Kerone, for the colony, for Earth, and now for... for--" Zhane gestured wildly, turning as if to leave and then aborting the motion. "I don't even know what you're fighting for now! When is it enough?"

Unsettled, Andros fell back on the first remark that sprang to mind. "'If we all settled for good enough, would anything ever be good enough?'"

"'If we can't find happiness in ourselves, how can we expect to find it in anyone else?'" Zhane shot back. "Don't quote philosophy to me, Andros! This is about you and me and everyone else you've ignored for the sake of your own private war!"

Andros gaped at him. "*My* war? Since when did this become my war?"

"Since the rest of the universe got over it! Since Dark Spectre died and Eltare came back and the Border declared an end to martial law! Do you know what the last Ranger conference was like?

"No," Zhane answered his own question, "of course you don't, because you were too busy holding the Council's hand to go. It was like a nursery! There wasn't a quiet moment; every time you turned around there was another baby crying or chirping or photosynthesizing or something! No one else is at war anymore, Andros--no one but you!"

"I'm not at war with anyone!" Andros exclaimed. "Just because I don't want the Council to take morphers away from people I swore would have access to them for as long as they wanted doesn't mean I'm stuck in the past!"

With unusual venom, Zhane reminded him, "They don't belong to you."

"No," Andros agreed numbly. When was the last time Zhane had consciously tried to hurt him, even with words? "They belong to TJ and Ashley and Cassie and Carlos. You weren't there; you don't know... the Power chose them, Zhane. Those morphers belong to them."

"No, I wasn't there." Zhane folded his arms across his chest. "And for all you care, I might as well not be here now. I didn't mean the morphers, you know, I meant the Rangers. Does TJ even want his morpher anymore? Does Cassie? Would you know if they did?

"Even if they do," Zhane added, when Andros didn't answer. "Who are you to deny the Kerovan system a team--a *resident* team--so that people in another galaxy can have Power to play with?"

Andros glared at him. "They're not 'people'; they're our friends!"

"So why don't you ask them!" Zhane shouted. "Why don't you ask them what they think about it before you call up the Council and yell at them for daring to question your perfect wisdom!"

They just stared at each other for a moment, eyes narrowed, defenses at the ready. When Andros realized what they were doing, he dropped his gaze and shifted uncomfortably. "What did you mean," he muttered at last, his mind latching on to one of Zhane's comments and refusing to let go. "About me not caring that you're here. You know that's not true."

Zhane was silent, not moving as he considered the almost-apology. Slowly, his fighting stance started to relax and he lifted one hand to his already tousled hair. "Nothing," he said with a sigh. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"No," Andros insisted, catching his friend's eye again. "You did." Uncertain, he looked a little closer at Zhane, trying to see past the façade. "You said something this morning, too. You--you called KO-35 my home, not yours."

"My home is with you," Zhane said steadily. "I told you that when I woke up. I never lost that, Andros."

"Until now?" He felt like they weren't really his words; he was just giving form to the thoughts hanging in the air between them. "Is that why you're so upset?" he asked, more quietly. "Because I'm ignoring everyone that matters?"

Zhane just shrugged, but the answer was there on his face. "It's up to you to decide who matters," he said at last, and the declaration sent chills up Andros' spine.

"You," he said fiercely. "You matter. Zhane..." He swallowed, but he owed his friend the truth. "I lost you once. I don't think I could do it again."

"Hell, Andros, you can't lose me." Zhane gave him a rueful grin, though whether for the choice of words or the sentiment it was hard to tell. "You know I'd follow you anywhere."

With that, Andros made up his mind. "We'd better get to Earth, then." Reaching for his communicator, he felt a weight slide off of his heart as he saw Zhane do the same. "We have some friends to see."

***

"Flitter Amaron 3547 has been removed from the planetary traffic grid pending investigation," the terminal informed her. There was no video feed, only a still image of the Coralside Transport Authority logo and a text version of the message to which she found herself listening. "The registered pilot may report for re-education or be summoned for license inspection."

A timestamp hovered in the bottom corner of the screen even after the transmission concluded, and she frowned at it thoughtfully. She ought to have downloaded her flitter data earlier, but it hadn't occurred to her that there could be anything time-sensitive in the little vehicle's computer. Someone at the CTA didn't like her, it seemed... or perhaps it was a new and unusually obtuse employee that had forgotten to filter the latest reprimands.

"Moving violation?" Carlos drawled, not moving from his place on her bed. Lying on his back, he held a datapad over his head and a forgotten stylus in the other hand. He was staring at the pad with a single-minded determination that she had thought might preclude his eavesdropping.

"So it would seem," she agreed, allowing the amusement to creep into her voice. "I wonder what the reaction would be if I chose to attend re-education."

"Someone forget to run the tickets past their Ranger scanner?" Carlos suggested. He lifted the stylus and did something to the display, but she couldn't tell if he was actually correcting something or just doodling. "Since when do you guys get busted for bad driving, anyway?"

Aura turned to regard him. "My flitting skills are not at issue here," she reminded him. "I am an excellent pilot."

He didn't look at her, but she could hear the smirk in his voice when he remarked, "Yeah, that's why the cops are leaving you voice mail. In California, you have to be pretty delinquent before the police actually call your house."

"This message was attached to my flit, not to me." He knew that perfectly well; she didn't know why she was letting him bait her like this. "If they had known the pilot was a Ranger--"

"Yeah, like they don't have every flit registration in the history of the world on record," Carlos interrupted. "They knew it was you. They're probably just tired of seeing your numbers come up every other week.

"You know," he added, rolling over onto his stomach to catch her eye. "Back home we call what you do 'driving to endanger'."

She bristled. She couldn't help it. "There was no one at risk!"

"I'm not talking about the rest of the city," he said with a grin. "I'm talking about me. You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

Her lips twitched involuntarily. "There is nothing substandard about my ability," she insisted. "If my adherence to law leaves something to be desired, it is certainly no reflection on my skill."

Carlos rolled his eyes. "Tell that to the CTA, then," he advised, glancing down at the datapad again. "They can make that their new motto. 'Who needs laws when you have pride?'"

She watched him play with the stylus for a moment before turning back to the messages she'd retrieved. "It is not the spirit of the law so much as the specifics that I take issue with," she murmured, calling up the next transmission.

She saw Carlos lift his head out of the corner of her eye and felt his dark gaze studying her as she watched the symbol of the Falls flow across her screen. She spared another glance in his direction, wondering what indiscretion he would remind her of now. But he looked down again even as she glanced at him, a small smile on his face as he returned to the fuel conversion ratios.

Cestria's voice distracted her enough that she didn't ask, but it didn't keep her from wondering as she looked back at the screen. Her teammate was dressed in teal and gold, her Keeper clothes accented by only the faintest trace of yellow. What was he smiling about?

"Greetings, Aura." Cestria's countenance was serene, yet familiar in a way that the Keeper-turned-Ranger reserved for her closest friends. "I must tell you that I will not see you in Control this afternoon. A parasite has infested one of the pools, and it must be taken care of before the infection spreads."

Aura saw Carlos look up again, but he didn't say anything until Cestria wished her a good day and signed off. "Does she need help?" he asked then, real concern in his voice. "With the flow between those pools, it wouldn't take long for something like that to get out of control."

She contemplated the screen as though the Keeper of the Falls might reappear and answer herself, but finally she shook her head. A human mannerism, a part of her mind noted distantly. "She would have asked for assistance if she needed it," she said at last. "She must have enough visitors that it's unnecessary." Anyone already at the Eternal Falls would help without complaint, she knew.

She could feel his eyes on her, and she looked over at him questioningly.

"You're sure," he said, searching her expression.

Touched by his concern, she smiled a little. "Cestria is not one to ignore the truth, as you know. If she needs us, she will say so."

He nodded, gaze flicking to the screen before he went back to the conversions on the pad in front of him. This time, she allowed herself to watch him for more than just a moment. His dark hair had been cut short--he said it dried faster--and he was, if possible, a fraction taller than he'd been when they first met. His demeanor had changed, too... he was as intense as ever, but it was a focus that that had been tempered by perspective.

He wasn't the heedless, humanocentric Earther who had once been shocked by the idea that an alien could fall for him. She doubted if he even thought of her as alien anymore. He certainly wasn't to her. "Earther" didn't even apply to him now, not really. The semi-derogatory term for their nearest and most oblivious League neighbors was something she could no longer hear without wincing, though she knew he was aware of the term and had mockingly applied it to himself on more than one occasion.

Carlos looked up, catching her eye and raising an eyebrow. "What?" he asked, that lurking smile back in his expression. "Reading my mind again?"

"Should I have been?" she countered, and his smile widened into a grin.

"Probably." He held the datapad out to her and added, "Here, check my calculations. I think I've got it."

She took one look at the pad and frowned. "It's in English."

He crossed his arms on the bed and rested his chin on them. "So? You can read numbers as well as the next person."

"Numbers, yes," she agreed, handing it back to him. "Your handwriting, no. Translate."

With an exaggerated sigh, he sat up and took the pad from her hand. "Be that way," he muttered, but there was a fondness in his tone that gave the lie to his words.

She let the last message on her terminal run, and the Ranger logo flashed onto the screen. "Aura," Cetaci's voice said, not bothering with pleasantries. "Where's Carlos? The Border's about to make trouble. The Defense's newest member has demands; there's a message from Saryn on the Control log."

The screen winked out, leaving only the logo and a timestamp before they too faded into nothingness. Her terminal log replaced the blank screen, indicating that all waiting transmissions had been viewed, but she could only gaze at it in surprise. Cetaci rarely inquired after Carlos, and incident's uniqueness was second only to the idea of the Border "making trouble". For whom? And over what?

"What was that about?" Carlos asked, sounding as puzzled as she felt. "The Defense's newest member?"

"I can only assume she refers to the Kerovan system." The idea that the twin colony worlds of Kerova would be responsible for political dissent, especially in an organization as decentralized as the Frontier Defense, was almost laughable. KO-35 and RS-42 were introverted to the point of isolationism, and she couldn't imagine them making any "demands" that their new allies were not fully prepared to meet.

"Why'd she ask about me?" Carlos wanted to know. "This isn't a new habit of hers, is it?"

Aura had to smile a little at the wariness in his tone. "Not to my knowledge."

"Good," he said, with obvious relief. "She must think I have something to do with this, then. Too bad she's not right," he added, as an afterthought. "Then I might have some idea what's going on."

Reaching a decision, Aura stood. "We can find out," she reminded him. "Let us review Saryn's message before we begin second-guessing Cetaci."

"But it's so easy," he said with a grin. At her look, though, he tossed the datapad and stylus down on the bed and clambered to his feet. "Right; Control, check. Let's go."

***

"They're not really supposed to be in the dorm at all," Ashley remarked, leading the way up the stairs toward the third floor. "Even visiting. But since the RA on our floor has a ferret, she can't really say anything."

"A ferret?" Kerone repeated. She sounded as though she was trying the word out. "I don't think I know what a ferret is."

"It's a cute furry thing," Ashley said over her shoulder, stopping at the water fountain on the second floor before continuing. "Kind of like a cross between a really short cat and a long mouse. I'll ask Kihrti if you can see her."

"We could bring the kittens with us and introduce them." Kerone's voice had that mild neutrality about it that was impossible to read. She could have been joking or deadly serious and it would have sounded exactly the same.

Ashley giggled, trying to picture such an encounter. "That's probably not a good idea. Kihrti thinks anything bigger than a ferret is a wild animal. I don't think she'd buy the whole mind control thing."

"It's not mind control," Kerone objected indignantly. "I just ask them to do something, and sometimes they do it. It's communication, that's all."

"Like when you told them to go to sleep, earlier?" Ashley looked back to catch her friend's expression as they stepped onto the third floor landing. The kittens had returned to DECA's supervision after an early morning playtime in the out of doors, but they had come up again in conversation when Kerone and Ashley came back to the dorm hours later.

"They were tired," the sorceress said defensively. "Besides, they had to calm down or DECA would have locked them up."

Ashley paused outside her door, staring at the laminated wrapping paper that served as her and Missy's message board. It had been blank when she left, but now it looked like someone had used it as scratch paper for the Great American Novel. Several someones.

Ashley, the message in the center of the board read. We need to talk. Weird things are happening at home, and I want to know what you think about them. Zhane and I are downstairs whenever you get back.

As if she wouldn't recognize Andros' handwriting with her eyes closed, he had signed the note with large, unmistakable letters and a little sun beside an X. She smiled to herself, reaching out to touch the "XO" with her fingers. She had taught him the shorthand for "kiss and hug" last spring, but he had always made the hug into a sun and it was as endearing as it was inexplicable.

"It's like a convention," Kerone observed, breaking into her reverie. She was scanning the rest of the board, and Ashley followed her gaze. There was an almost illegible message in the upper left, and it took a moment to decipher Carlos' words.

There was a scribble beneath that had to be his signature, and a darker squiggle beside it that made Ashley squint her eyes until she realized it wasn't the same language. Aura had signed her name next to his, and Ashley's smile widened as she saw Tessa's precise lettering directly beneath their names. Was there anyone who hadn't been by today?

Hi, Tessa's message read. What's going on? Can I help? TJ's on campus till five, but I'll tell him to stay after work if you want.

That was all; no excuse for stopping by and no instruction to return the visit. The other note on the door was for Missy, and Ashley wondered briefly what her roommate had thought of the flurry of messages. If she'd even seen them... It was entirely possible Missy had gone out for the day; she'd forgotten to ask when she left that morning.

Kerone was staring at her, and after a few seconds she realized that she was staring back. In that gaze they managed to communicate amusement, worry, and mutual lack of information about whatever situation had come up while they were gone. Ashley reached for the doorknob and punched her combination into the lock, pushing the door open without another word.

The first thing she did was pick up the phone, and sure enough, the dial tone was stuttering. "Voice mail," she said for Kerone's benefit as she dialed the system number. "I'll see who it's from and then we can go find them."

"Message received 12:37," the synthesized voice informed her when she logged in. "Twenty seconds. Return path unknown."

Off campus, she thought, and a moment later her father's voice confirmed it. "Hi, Ash," she said aloud, repeating the words as she heard them. "It's Dad. You got a message from Cassie this morning, and it sounds important. She says--well, I'm not exactly sure what she says, but you'd better give it a listen when you have the chance."

Letting the phone drop, she added, "I hope you're having a good day, see you soon, bye." Setting it back in the cradle she complained half-heartedly, "My *dad* knows something's going on before I do. This is bad."

"Then why didn't he tell you?" Kerone demanded, her tone full of exasperation. "Why didn't he relay Cassie's message?"

Ashley made a face. "We don't have private voice mail. Missy and I log into the same account, so we both hear each other's messages."

Kerone gave her an impatient look, the word "so?" clear in her eyes.

"Secret identities?" Ashley reminded her. "Trying not to spread the whole Ranger thing around?"

"Still?" Kerone gave every impression of rolling her eyes without actually doing it. "I truly don't understand how you've managed to do it this long." Then she frowned. "And Aura?"

"Friend of Carlos'," Ashley said with a shrug. "Met while the Aquitians were defending Earth last fall, fell in love, stopped hiding from the cameras. Alien girlfriend, yes, but Power Ranger? No more than any of the rest of us."

"No more than the rest of you, indeed," Kerone muttered, glancing toward the door. "That explains why the notes on the door are so cryptic, then."

"Yeah." Ashley frowned, wishing she had the slightest clue what could have happened. Wishing the thought of seeing Andros didn't completely overshadow her curiosity. "We'd better go find them."

The main doors opened onto the first floor lounge, and Ashley assumed that was what Andros meant by "downstairs". As good as he was, even Andros probably couldn't hang around a narrow hallway indefinitely without looking conspicuous. And he certainly couldn't do it with Zhane in tow. They must have seen the common area when they came in--never having been there before, they wouldn't have known to use the side doors for faster access to the stairs--and correctly pegged it as a good lurking spot.

Despite the logic, though, the lounge was deserted when she and Kerone arrived. They exchanged bemused glances, and Ashley was about to go in just to convince herself that it was really empty when Kerone cocked her head meaningfully. Ashley paused, listening more closely... and then she heard it. The click and bang of plastic on wood across the hall was punctuated by the more familiar sound of Andros' voice.

"--being a Ranger, I mean," he was saying. There was a moment where the only noise was the clicking and something that sounded like a couple of punches being thrown at a hollow wall. "Did you really think it was great?"

Ashley froze, and when she dared to look at Kerone again she found the other girl's eyes wide. The voices were coming from the dorm's makeshift kitchen. Ashley had inspected it the day before and found it to contain only a sink, toaster, and microwave. It was used more as a place to store the foosball table than for cooking, but it did give the illusion of privacy for those who wanted to be out of the mainstream.

"I thought being with you was great," Zhane's voice answered at last. "But you know I was never really Ranger material."

She hadn't really thought about moving toward the kitchenette, but she found herself just outside the door with no desire to announce her presence just yet. Kerone was right beside her, just as silent, and somehow that made it seem less wrong. It did occur to her that there might be a fundamental problem with using the former princess of evil as her moral compass, but she decided not to dwell on it.

"My point," Zhane was saying, in the sudden absence of clicks and bangs.

"You can't believe that, Zhane." Andros sounded troubled. "Of course you're meant to be a Ranger. The Power chose you."

There was another hollow sound, and the clicking started again. "It chose me because I'm loyal," Zhane said, a distracted note in his voice. "Because I needed it, not because I'm a warrior. You know that."

"Stop telling me what I know," Andros retorted. There was the sound of spinning metal and another bang, and he added, "Rangers aren't just chosen for their fighting skills. Loyalty, courage, intelligence--"

"You don't have to boost my ego." There was a familiar smirk in Zhane's voice, and the spun metal sound came again. "There are parts of being a Ranger that I'm good at, and I know it."

There was another bang, and he sounded even more smug as he repeated, "My point."

The noise had paused again, and Zhane continued, "I'm a Ranger, and I know I earned it. But I didn't earn it because I wanted it, or because it was my destiny. I earned it because of you."

"Boo." The whisper in Ashley's ear made her jump, and she saw Kerone whirl. One of them must have made a sound, because the door to the kitchenette swung open the rest of the way and Andros peered out at them in confusion.

"Hi," Ashley said sheepishly. She heard TJ chuckle, but she couldn't take her eyes away from Andros'. As comprehension settled over his features, she was relieved that he looked more amused than angry.

"I heard there was a party," TJ drawled, ignoring the uncomfortable looks she and Kerone gave each other when Zhane joined his best friend in the doorway. "I assumed I was invited."

Ashley fidgeted a little, wondering how long he'd been watching them eavesdrop. "I thought you didn't get out of work till five!"

"I left early," he said with a shrug. "Tessa called me and said something was up. I was on my way to find her when I saw you two huddled over here."

"We were, um--" She couldn't help glancing at Kerone, and she was sure she looked exactly as guilty as she felt. "We were watching Andros and Zhane play foosball," she managed at last. It wasn't totally a lie.

TJ raised an eyebrow, but his reply wasn't quite what she'd expected. "Who taught you to play foosball?" he asked, directing the question at the Kerovan Rangers.

Andros gave him the Look, a patented Andros expression of exasperation tinged with disgust and resignation. "It's not like it's hard," he pointed out. "Two goals, four sticks. We didn't need an instruction manual to figure it out."

"Excuse me," Kerone interjected. "Could someone at least give me a situation synopsis before the dissertation on cultural simplicity instead of after? It's just a matter of personal priorities."

That stopped them, and Andros looked around, gathering them up with his eyes as he had a thousand times before. He was their leader, and all it took was a familiar, wordless gesture to know that truth remained. Whether they were across the hall or in different galaxies, some things didn't change.

"We'd better go upstairs," he said simply.