"Full fathom five thy father lies,
Of his bones are coral made;
Those are pearls that were his eyes:
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell:
Hark, now I hear them - ding-dong bell."
--Ariel, The Tempest, I.ii

Full Fathom Five
by Amanda Ohlin

It was driving him crazy.

Jack O'Neill pulled his eye away from the telescope, staring blankly up at the night sky. Two days had gone by, and there was still no sign of Lieutenant Scott. It was as if the kid had dropped off the face of the earth. Jack didn't understand it; if Scott had managed to vanish by his own means, he should have figured by now that he was out of Maybourne's reach. Of course, if the disappearance was a setup...

He let the thought end there. Jack didn't put it past Maybourne to pull that kind of stunt, but now it didn't seem so likely. Maybourne was not much of an actor, and his frustration and disgust when he was collared could not have been faked. It was too satisfying not to have been the real thing. Jack was starting to wonder if something even worse hadn't happened.

His thoughts kept drifting back to the Lieutenant's account, to the young man's halting description of being implanted by that snake. Jack cringed just thinking about it. He remembered all too well what that was like, to have one of those things inside his head, squirming, trying to take control. Were it not for Carter and that Tok'ra, Hathor may have succeeded. All right, Makepeace and his men had something to do with it. But it was SG-1 and Hammond who had really come through for him. He was one lucky son of a bitch.

"No news yet?"

Jack glanced up as Daniel flopped down beside him. "Nope. Not a thing."

Daniel shook his head. "You're really letting this get to you."

"Am I that obvious?" Jack demanded, and his friend nodded. "Yeah, well, it's just bugging me. I can't shake the feeling that something bad's going to happen, and Scott's in the middle of it. I like the kid, don't get me wrong," he added. "Just have this feeling."

"He's not even under your command, Jack."

"Yeah. Poor bastard has to answer to Makepeace." Daniel had to chuckle at that, and Jack grinned. "But come on. He managed to fight off a snake all on his own."

"We don't know that."

"Danny, you were there. You saw it. It sure as hell looked like he did."

"I suppose so. Don't want to jump to conclusions, though."

"I'm not jumping to conclusions. I know what I saw."

Wisely, Daniel did not argue the point. The two men stared up at the night sky for several minutes before the Egyptologist spoke. "So how do you think he did it?"

"I don't know." Jack leaned back. "But I'm gonna find out."

"Rangers," Delphine said, "you are always welcome on Aquitar."

Even filtered through the communications link and Delphine's stoic facade, the sincerity in that statement was clear. Andros' shoulders sagged ever so slightly with relief to hear it. The two days' journey into Aquitian space had been surprisingly uneventful; the Megaship hadn't even encountered petty criminals, much less any of Dark Specter's minions. Consequently, Andros had been harboring the suspicion that something was just waiting to go wrong. Sitting at a nearby console, Ashley caught Andros' eye and smiled.

"It is fortuitous that you chose this time to arrive," Delphine added. "We were planning to contact you when we received your transmission."

The six young people on the bridge started in surprise at that. "Contact us?" Cassie echoed. "About what?"

Delphine stepped to the side to let another Aquitian, wearing a blue uniform, step into the frame. "Our scientists have recently unearthed an important artifact," Cestro informed them. "We believe that the Rangers of Earth should be informed of its presence."

The four Earth Rangers glanced at each other, equally confused as to what this could mean. Jason looked perplexed as well, but also thoughtful. "What does that have to do with us?" T.J. finally asked.

"It would be best if we discussed this in private," Delphine replied. "There is no guarantee that our communications are secure."

"Very well," Andros decided after a moment. "We will be in orbit in roughly two hours."

Delphine nodded. "I will notify the patrols that you are to be escorted. Until then, Rangers, peace be with you."

Andros smiled, bringing up his hand in the formal salute. "And with you."

With that, the Aquitians' faces faded from the screen to be replaced with the familiar star field. "What was that all about?" Cassie wondered.

"I have no idea," Alpha replied. "Ay-yi-yi-yi--"

Carlos groaned. "Alpha. Please."

The little robot became silent, and Andros smiled. "You heard Delphine. Set a course for Aquitar.

Sitting behind the navigational console, Jason punched in a series of coordinates. "Course laid in."

Andros opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. "What is it again?"

"Engage," the other four Rangers all said at once. Jason chuckled and obeyed.

"That's what you get for having a crew full of Trekkers," Ashley informed Andros. "You up to checking those repairs now?"

Andros sighed and nodded. "Lead the way." He turned back to Jason and Cassie, who were manning navigation and tactical respectively. "Notify us as soon as we reach Aquitar."

"Aye, Keptin!" Carlos replied in his best Walter Koenig impression, saluting. Andros shook his head and followed Ashley off the bridge as the others burst out laughing.

The dull space journey had left Jason feeling useless, so T.J. and Carlos had showed him the basics of how to read the consoles and help pilot the ship. As it turned out, Jason's experience with piloting Zords had proved useful. He and Carlos often took turns navigating, and Andros was grateful for an extra pair of hands. T.J. and Carlos had just been grateful for another Earth male to goof off with and trade jokes that they could understand.

Right now, T.J. noticed that Jason wasn't in the mood for joking. His mirth faded abruptly, and he seemed awfully preoccupied as he punched numbers into the navigational computer. Leaving Carlos to handle the sensor array, T.J. moved over to check on the former Ranger. "Hey, Jase. What's bugging you?"

"I don't know," Jason replied quietly. "I just can't shake this feeling there's more going on here than just an artifact."

"Yeah? Like what?"

Jason shrugged. "It's just a hunch. You know, that feeling you get just before all hell breaks loose?"

T.J. snorted. "Trust me. I get that plenty of times."

"Well, I've got it, but I don't know what it means."

"Don't worry about it." T.J. patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "Besides, we'll find out when we get there."

He turned away too late to catch Jason's murmured reply. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"This is interesting," Major Samantha Carter murmured as she leaned over Harriman's shoulder. "Are you sure these are the correct coordinates?" she asked the technician.

Harriman nodded. "The very same."

"What's so interesting?" Daniel asked as he entered the control room and sat down beside Teal'c. Jack was still outside contemplating the night sky.

"The coordinates for P5X163," Sam replied, moving so that he could see the monitor. "According to the computer, the Gate on the other side is apparently active!"

Daniel stared at her blankly for a few seconds. "Um, Sam, what's the punchline?"

"When the coordinates were attempted earlier, there was no active Stargate on the other side," Teal'c replied. "The planet in question lies within a neutral zone as well."

"Neutral zone?" Daniel echoed. "I'm assuming that's not a Star Trek reference."

Teal'c looked at him quizzically before explaining. "There are certain regions of space that the System Lords have either signed treaties to avoid or that would not be wise to encroach upon."

Daniel nodded, understanding. "The people who live there already are too tough for the Goa'uld to tangle with."

"That is correct, Daniel Jackson," the Jaffa agreed.

"Earth was in one of these 'neutral zones' for a while," Sam added. "And P5X163 is one of the closest planets to Earth in the Gate network. It's actually closer than Abydos. The only reason we didn't pick up on it when we were first running permutations is because the Gate was probably buried."

"Well, it's not now," Daniel pointed out. "Going to send a probe through?"

"I have to submit the report to General Hammond first," Harriman answered. "But I'd be willing to bet that you may be visiting P5X163 in the near future."

At that, Daniel stood up. "Where are you going?" Sam asked, confused by his sudden haste to leave.

"Outside," was the reply. "Might as well let Jack know about this."

Aquitar, T.J. had to admit, was really something to behold. As the six visitors were escorted down the corridors of the capital city, the Blue Ranger couldn't help but glance out the windows at the sea life outside the city's protective domes. He'd been to Sea World a couple times as a child, and Aquitar's undersea scenery put Sea World to shame.

He suddenly realized he was lagging behind the group and hurried to catch up. Jason saw him and grinned. The others were also hard pressed not to become wrapped up in their surroundings; Carlos had become so mesmerized by the sight of a creature called a Kae'tal that he had found himself an entire corridor behind the group. Jason had caught up to them three times already. Andros was on the verge of pretending he didn't know them.

Cassie was the only one not particularly interested in the sights of Aquitar. She was staring into space, so lost in her thoughts that it was a miracle she hadn't walked into a wall yet T.J. nudged her. "Cass?" No response, so he nudged her a bit harder. "Cassie. Reality to Cassie." She blinked and looked at him then, and he chuckled. "What's up?"

"Did you see it in the docking bay?" she asked, and he shook his head in puzzlement. "That one-man craft. I'd know it anywhere. It's the Phantom Ranger's ship!"

T.J. stifled a groan. Not this again. "Easy, Cass. Are you positive that was his ship? Because if it wasn't, you don't want to get worked up over nothing."

Indignant, she opened her mouth to say something, but closed it abruptly as she saw the concern in his eyes. "I know," Cassie admitted. "I just - I have this hunch. He's here, T.J. I can feel it."

T.J. sighed heavily, intentionally overplaying it. Cassie caught the melodrama and smiled. "All right. But let's just put that below this artifact on our priority list, okay?"

"I'll behave," she assured him as the final set of doors to the Aquitian Rangers' headquarters slid open. "I promise."

Delphine led them into a circular conference room, its walls bedecked with monitors. The white conference table was horseshoe-shaped, following the contours of the room. There was a skylight in the ceiling, through which artificial sunlight shone. It could only be artificial; the headquarters was deep in the heart of the city and several kilometers below sea level.

What caught Jason's immediate attention was not the sunlight but the current occupants of the room, one Aquitian, the other obviously human judging by the head of light brown hair. They were turned with their backs to the door, engrossed in whatever they were doing at one of the consoles and conversing with each other in unintelligible tones.

"Cestro, Billy," Delphine said loudly, "this is not an appropriate time to examine the surface scans."

Hearing her voice, Billy jumped slightly while Cestro merely straightened up. They turned to face the visitors, trying to hide the looks of guilt at being caught unawares. The Aquitian was faring better at the task than the human, who took a moment to recover his composure. "Our apologies," Cestro replied calmly. "The research coordinator insisted that we attend to the most recent sampling analysis."

As Cestro went through the formal introductions, Jason couldn't help but grin at Billy knowingly. "Sampling analysis? Somehow I'm not surprised."

"It's great to see you too, Jase," Billy answered wryly as the two friends hugged and slapped each other on the back, pretty much throwing the Aquitian formality out the window. Being accustomed to human displays of friendship by now, Delphine and Cestro took no notice.

"You look good, man," Jason said sincerely. Billy looked just like his old self, seemingly untouched by the rapid aging that had prompted him to leave for Aquitar in the first place.

It was Billy's turn to grin. "Wish I could say the same for you." Jason was slightly thinner than he'd been when they'd last met, and he had the look of someone who had been aged by experience. There was a haunted glimmer behind the smiling dark eyes, and fatigue etched in the familiar face. It was much the way Tommy had looked when he'd beaten himself to death with guilt a number of times.

Jason sighed. "Yeah, well, that's why I'm here."

Andros cleared his throat, bringing them back to the present. "What I'd like to know is why we are here," he said, indicating the current Ranger team. "I think this qualifies as a secure location."

"Indeed." Delphine nodded, gesturing for them to take their places at the table while she moved to the center. "Two days ago, our scientists discovered an artifact buried on the surface."

"On the surface?" Ashley asked in confusion. "I thought the only thing above water here were the docking bays."

"Not precisely," Cestro replied. "Approximately 99.58 percent of Aquitar's surface is submerged."

Billy saw the puzzled expressions on some of the others' faces. "Compared to Earth's surface is 71 percent ocean," he clarified. "The amount of dry land on Aquitar is negligible, and is manifest in a dozen scattered islands, many of which are too small to serve as habitation."

Delphine pressed a button, and a holographic image appeared in the center of the room, a rotating sphere meant to represent Aquitar. The surface docking bays were indicated in yellow while the actual scattered land masses showed up as white. Delphine pointed out two islands situated relatively close to one another. "The artifact was uncovered here," she continued, pointing to one, "but we believe it was originally located here. The research team that unearthed it has been hasty in returning it to its original location and retrieving its power source. Perhaps too hasty."

"So you know what it does," Andros concluded.

"Yes. We have been aware of its existence and its purpose for many years," Cestro replied. "It has not been recovered in full until now, and the device is in proper working order. Despite the reservations of some of our scientists, it has been decided that the device should be restored." The Aquitian's tone implied that he was among the naysayers.

Carlos blinked. "So it works, you can use it, and you're going to use it. What's this got to do with us?"

"We figured that the Earth Rangers should know about its presence," Billy answered, "since there was once one of these on Earth."

"What is it?" Cassie demanded, getting irritated with the evasiveness of this meeting.

"According to our data," Cestro replied, "your people called it a chaapa'ai. It serves as--"

A sneaking suspicion had been stealing over Jason as the explanation wore on, and it all fell into place at that moment. "You've got a Stargate?" he blurted out, jumping to his feet.

Delphine, Cestro, and Billy stared at Jason in mild astonishment, while the Astro Rangers blinked in realization. "Okay," Billy said after several seconds of stunned silence. "Maybe this isn't going to be quite so difficult to explain after all. Jase? How do you know about Stargates?"

Jason groaned softly, mentally kicking himself. "Because one was unearthed at Giza a few years back. The Pentagon's been funding a project to keep the Earth Gate running - to try to explore and stay prepared in case of Goa'uld attacks - since '97." He paused, letting this sink in. "I was assigned to the Stargate program a few months ago when my commander referred me. Which is kind of what I'm doing here."

"Explain." There was a hard edge to Delphine's tone.

"I - I had a run-in with a Goa'uld parasite," Jason replied in a low voice, easing back down into his chair. "It didn't take - because I was a Ranger, I think. Some of the higher-ups at R&D decided they wanted to use me as a lab rat."

"You were implanted?" Cestro asked, astonished.

Jason nodded, not bothering to elaborate as he rubbed the back of his neck. It was an almost automatic gesture by now.

"I don't understand," Billy said. "Why come to Aquitar?"

"Well, I--" Jason stopped, thinking. Why had he come here? Why not stay on Earth? The answer came to him the same moment it passed his lips. "I'm requesting asylum. I can't just go back and get trapped in a lab, but I need to know what happened."

"That would require some research," Cestro said thoughtfully. "As well as extensive testing."

"I don't care," Jason sighed. "It's better than the alternative." He glanced over at Delphine, almost pleadingly. "I'd be willing to share what I know about the Goa'uld. It's not much, but it's something."

Delphine looked at Andros. "You concur with this?" The Red Ranger nodded. "I will take that into consideration."

"There's also other matters to discuss," Andros added. "The Dark Fortress hasn't been sighted in this sector for several days. We've had several leads, but no luck. It's as if Astronema has vanished."

"Which means they're probably up to no good," T.J. said.

Delphine's gaze flickered briefly over to Cestro and Billy before she answered. "We have retrieved some intelligence on UAE activity in the Eris system. One of our contacts arrived two days ago with the information."

"It's the Phantom Ranger, isn't it?" Cassie suddenly asked Delphine. T.J. covered his eyes and stifled a groan. "I'm sorry. I saw his ship in the docking bay, and I thought--"

But the question did not seem to bother Delphine. "It is no trouble. The Phantom Ranger has been instrumental in providing us with information in the search for Zordon." On the other side of the table, Jason thought he saw Billy twitch.

She didn't offer any more information, and Cassie's shoulders slumped. "Oh. I was hoping to see him."

"I will inform him of your presence," Delphine assured her. Billy twitched again, and this time Jason was sure it wasn't his eyes playing tricks on him. He made a mental note to talk to Billy later.

The others paid no notice to Billy's body language. "We might want to talk to him as well," Carlos added, glancing at Cassie suggestively and flinching at the glare she shot him. "To, uh, compare notes."

"Perhaps later," Cestro replied. "The Phantom Ranger is currently otherwise occupied."

"In the meantime," Andros said impatiently, "we'd like to see what you've collected on UAE activity in this sector." Ashley rolled her eyes, but Delphine was typically unfazed.

"Very well," Delphine said, concealing any irritation she might have had with the impatience of humans. "Cestro, please inform the Phantom Ranger of the Astro Rangers' arrival."

Cestro nodded. "Immediately." Billy became suddenly preoccupied with his shoes.

"The intelligence records are stored elsewhere," Delphine told Andros. "If you will come with me?"

The others at the table got up, sensing that the meeting was over. Jason sat there, perplexed. He was about to ask something when Delphine opened the doors and paused, turning back to him. "Jason?"

"Yes?"

The smile on her face was almost smug. "Your request is granted."

Not everyone was as eager as Andros to get right down to business. When Billy suggested that he and Cestro show Jason around, T.J. and Carlos had immediately asked to tag along. Surprisingly enough, Ashley joined them instead of going wherever Andros went for a change. Cassie declined the invitation for a tour, deciding to go with Delphine and Andros instead.

As Billy and Cestro were rapidly discovering, the Yellow Ranger's curiosity and propensity to ask questions were unmatched.

"What are those panels for?" Ashley wondered, pointing to a slide-away panel in the wall nearby. It was the third one they'd passed in their travels, and there seemed to be a transparent tube extending through the water.

"Emergency access tunnels," Cestro explained. "They connect certain domes directly." He pressed a button beside the panel, and it slid open to reveal water on the other side. Amazingly enough, the water did not flood the room, but simply stayed where it was. "The water pressure in the tunnels is much lower than the pressure at these depths."

"Cool," T.J. said, poking at the surface of the water. It rippled, but did not budge. "Like an emergency exit for Aquitians."

Billy smirked. "Or anyone who can hold their breath long enough to get to the other side."

"Where do these go?" Ashley wondered.

"Most of them go to other domes," Billy replied. "There are some that lead to the island nearest here - that's the one the Stargate is housed on," he added.

T.J. frowned. "How do you know which is which? Just guess and hope you're lucky?"

"You see the symbol to the left of the panel?" Billy asked. "That indicates where the tunnel leads. For example, this red double triangle indicates a land mass, so this tunnel should lead to the surface."

Carlos felt a tap on his shoulder. Surprised, he turned to see that Jason had fallen into step with him at the back of the group. Billy and Cestro were too busy trying to fend off the barrage of questions to notice the two stragglers. "What's up?"

Jason looked thoughtful. "I need a favor."

"As long as it doesn't involve Cassie, Ashley, and anything sticky, sure."

"What?" Jason stared at him, trying not to laugh.

Carlos sighed. "Teej and I learned the hard way not to prank those two. Seriously, what's the favor?"

Jason glanced over at Billy. The young genius was too busy trying to explain the meanings of several symbols to Ashley to notice their conversation. "Tell me what you know about the Phantom Ranger."

The Phantom Ranger did not make an appearance until later that evening, when they were gathered in a small tactical lab. Cestro and Billy were conspicuously absent. According to Delphine, they were tending to Zord repairs and would be occupied for several hours. Jason didn't buy that for a second.

Jason was stationed in the corner of the room, preferring to remain an inconspicuous observer. His presence wasn't necessary anyway, but he'd insisted that he had a right to any news about Zordon. So he simply stayed out of the way and was content to watch and listen.

While there was no way to tell behind the dark visor, Jason could have sworn that the dark-armored figure saw him upon entering, hesitating for the briefest moment before returning to the task at hand. It was obvious that he took great pains to conceal his identity.

Jason studied the Phantom Ranger's mannerisms, the pauses and the slight hand motions when he talked. It was impossible to identify the voice since there was obviously a filter built into the suit, so Jason listened to what was said. He noticed the ease with which the Phantom Ranger explained the technical details of the outpost that the UAE - or possibly, just Darkonda - had established in the Eris sector. He heard the determination to save Zordon; not even a voice filter could conceal that.

He also noticed the look in Cassie's eyes as the Phantom Ranger talked, expectant and just bordering on dreamy. Man, Carlos wasn't kidding! He saw Phantom hesitate from time to time as if he was aware of the look the Pink Ranger was giving him. It was obvious that he was aware of her affection, but probably didn't know what to do about it.

It reminded Jason of a certain friend of his who'd never been quite sure how to deal with female attention.

He excused himself quietly with the intent to head back to the quarters that Billy and Cestro had shown him earlier. Halfway there, however, he turned around and took a different route back to the tactical lab, waiting for the group to emerge.

As he had expected, the Phantom Ranger was the first to leave. Jason followed him through a series of corridors moving deeper and deeper into the Aquitian Rangers' base. Within a few minutes, it was apparent that Phantom knew he was being followed, but Jason kept on his trail. He followed the dark figure around the corner and stopped short as he found himself alone at a dead end.

His first impulse was to turn and retrace his steps. But then he remembered something else that Carlos had told him. "I know you're here," he told the empty air. There was no reply. "I know it's you, man. Might as well talk to me now."

A few seconds passed. Jason stood at attention, muscles tensed in case something tried to brush past. The corridor was narrow, and even an invisible person would not get past him unnoticed.

"How long?"

The disembodied voice confirmed his suspicions. "Since I saw you twitching like a maniac," Jason answered, trying to hide a smile. "Come on, I've known you too long. You would have found me out in a heartbeat, too."

A dark shape shimmered into existence, and then shimmered again as the human beneath the armor demorphed. "All right, all right," Billy relented. "But not here. Let's get something to eat first."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Jason said, but then hesitated. "Um... they do have Earth food here, right?"

"Don't worry about it," Billy assured him. "I, ah, hot-wired a Synthetron or two to take care of that."

Jason chuckled. "I've said it before, but Billy, you're a genius."

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

Surprisingly enough, the hot-wired Synthetron produced fairly decent food. It wasn't as good as homemade cooking, but it was definitely an improvement over the Megaship's Synthetron. Which was probably why, five minutes after Billy had replicated a steaming bowl of soup, T.J. came running with Cassie right behind him. Billy looked uncomfortable when she appeared, but Carlos and Ashley showed up seconds later with Andros in tow. After several cracks about T.J. following his nose and several uses of the Synthetron, Billy told them to get the hell out in the nicest way possible. Fortunately, they obeyed, although Carlos tried to talk Billy into letting them take his Synthetron with them.

Once the stampede was gone, Billy sagged into the nearest chair with relief, a glass of soda in his hand. Jason laughed. "Hey, I spent a week with them."

"I can't imagine. Were we ever that bad?"

"Are you kidding? We were worse, bro. Far worse." Jason smiled, remembering. "Now that they're gone, you want to start explaining?"

"Might as well," Billy admitted, going to the door and setting the security lock before taking his seat again. "It didn't take as long for the Eternal Falls to reverse the process as I'd thought, and Cestro also managed to keep the opposite extreme from occurring. So I was suddenly back to normal, and didn't know where to go.

"Delphine invited me to remain on Aquitar, and while the sea life has never been my passion - don't even say it, Jase," he added as Jason let out a snort at the understatement, "--the technology here was. Besides, there were rumors of a certain member of the United Alliance of Evil coming to power and centralizing power."

"Dark Specter," Jason finished.

"Exactly. So I made a brief stop at home just to see Dad and to explain everything to him. He had the right to know."

Jason flinched. "How'd he take it?"

"Quite well, actually. In fact, he wasn't all that surprised." Billy smiled into his glass at that. "I think he'd suspected something on that scale for a while.

"We received a transmission from Eltare a short time later; their scientists were developing Ranger powers and stealth technology in case of Dark Specter becoming a real threat. Zordon invited me to take part."

"Let me guess," Jason surmised. "The Phantom Ranger powers."

Billy nodded. He reached into his gray shirt and pulled out a large ruby suspended on a chain around its neck. He'd kept the pendant concealed beneath his shirt until now. "One thing led to another, I suppose, and I ended up with the powers. I was here on Aquitar when Zordon was abducted," he added bitterly, frowning. "Sometimes I think that if I had been on Eltar--"

"Bill," Jason interrupted. "Stop. You sound like Tommy now."

Billy stared at his friend. "You're kidding." Jason shook his head. "Didn't know I was getting that bad." He finished off the last of his drink. "So what else do you want to know?"

Only one question sprang to Jason's mind. "Why?"

Billy shrugged. "Zordon wanted someone he could trust with the Phantom Ranger powers. And, well, I - I missed it. Being a Ranger, that is."

Jason smiled. "I know how you feel, bro. I really do. But that's not what I was asking."

"What?"

"Why hide it?"

"Oh, come on, Jase. Having the villains know who the Rangers were, even if the people didn't, was really becoming a drawback. You remember all the stunts Rita and Zedd tried to mess up our lives!"

"Do I ever. Remember the 'magic trick' we pulled on Bulk and Skull to get out of detention?"

Billy nodded, smiling. "I'm still amazed they fell for it." He toyed with the ruby around his neck thoughtfully. "Zordon decided that the identity of the Phantom Ranger had to remain a secret from the UAE, and therefore from as many people as possible. It would defeat the purpose of stealth."

"Some people have to know," Jason pointed out.

"The Aquitian Rangers know," Billy admitted. "There was no way I could pretend that Billy and the Phantom Ranger were two different people without their help. And so does Zordon, but Dark Specter will never get the truth out of him - not that he cares to. Only people I know I can trust - and who Dark Specter can't touch - can know about this, Jase."

Jason was silent for a moment. "So why don't you tell her, then?"

"Who?" Billy blinked innocently.

"You know who I'm talking about, Bill. She looks at you - looks at Phantom - like Kim used to stare at Tommy."

Billy's shoulders slumped. "Cassie." He stopped toying with the ruby, frowning. "Yes, I know. I also know that it's Phantom she has eyes for. If she's that enamored with the illusion, the reality might not thrill her much."

"What are you talking about?"

"If she's in love with anything, she's in love with the idea of the Phantom Ranger. I've seen it before." A slight smile played at the corners of Billy's mouth. "Did you know Kat had a crush on Trey for a while?"

Jason gaped. "You're kidding!"

"Nope. I overheard Kat and Tanya talking. Kat apparently had this irrational crush on the Gold Ranger that was driving her up the wall - until we found out who he was." Billy chuckled. "Of course, when the mystery was gone, so was the crush. Fortunately."

"Yeah, fortunately for Tommy," Jason added.

"I just - I don't know if it's a good idea to destroy the illusion. On the other hand," Billy admitted, "it's also a bad idea to keep perpetuating it."

Something occurred to Jason. "Do you like her?"

"I don't know," Billy sighed. "When I saw her, it was so strange... she reminded me in some ways of Kim, and of Trini too. I know I was attracted to her, but I don't know if that was real or..."

He trailed off, staring into space. Or if that was because she reminded you of your first two major crushes, Jason finished silently. "So I'm guessing you and Cestria--"

Billy shook his head. "Were nothing serious. She played it up so you all wouldn't worry, so I'd have a reason to come here aside from getting back to normal."

"Nice try. Kat and Tommy took turns worrying their heads off." Billy had to smile at that, and Jason sighed. "So do you have a reason now?"

"Of course. I'm fighting the good fight. We all are."

The two friends sat in a comfortable silence for several minutes. "You're going to have to tell her, you know," Jason finally said. "They're leaving tomorrow morning."

"I will," Billy conceded. "I will. I just need time to think."

The Astro Rangers left the next morning. Andros was impatient to get to the Eris system in time to stop whatever Dark Spectre was planning, and Jason didn't blame him one bit. Whenever there was a lull in Rita and Zedd's - or, he reminded himself, the Machine Empire's - attacks, it usually preceded a major strike. While the playing field and the scale this time were different, the tactics were very much the same.

T.J. and Carlos, naturally, were a bit reluctant to head out again. While Ashley had asked most of the questions during the "tour" Cestro and Billy had given them, all that had changed when they reached the Zord launching bays. All four of the newcomers had been fascinated by the Aquitian zords, but T.J. and Carlos had finally overtaken Ashley in curious questions at that point. Besides, T.J. had confided in Jason, this was the closest thing they were going to get to a vacation before heading off after Astronema again. Ashley was just as ready to go as Andros, but if what Cassie had told Jason was correct, Ashley was always ready to go anywhere Andros was.

She was standing with him at the moment, conferring with Delphine and Aurico on their shared information and making sure nothing had been mis-communicated. Anyone who didn't know better would think that Billy had not chosen to make an appearance - he and Cestro were supposedly busy with a project - but Jason knew better the moment he saw the dark figure stepping unobtrusively out of the shadows.

Cassie had immediately headed in that direction, and the two of them were standing apart from the rest, supposedly talking. Jason couldn't hear what they were saying, and he doubted Billy was going to reveal himself to her just yet, but they were at least talking.

"Hey, Jase." Carlos nudged Jason, snapping him out of his reverie. "You sure you're going to be okay here?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah. It's a lot safer than the alternative, trust me."

"Can't stay here forever," T.J. pointed out absently, his attention focused on Cassie and Phantom.

"I know, but at least now I'll have time to figure out what to do." T.J. didn't respond, and Jason saw where he was looking. "T.J. Hello? Anyone home?"

T.J. jerked his gaze away from the pair in the corner, and Carlos chuckled. "Man, you've gotta lay off sometime."

"Hey, I'm not saying anything," T.J. muttered. "I promised I wouldn't say anything."

Jason looked at the two of them curiously. "For those who came in late..."

Carlos grinned. "He's jealous."

T.J. cuffed his friend in the shoulder. "Shut up. I'm not jealous, I'm just worried."

"Cass can take care of herself," Carlos pointed out. "She doesn't need you to play big brother all the time."

"Like you did when Ashley first fell all over Andros?"

"No, man, that was totally different." Carlos crossed his arms. "I was jealous."

The Blue Ranger started laughing. "Man, I give up."

"You've really got a problem with the Phantom Ranger?" Jason wondered, frowning. Another obstacle like this wasn't going to help Billy that much.

"No, not with him." T.J. sighed. "We barely know the guy, but he's pulled our asses out of the fire too many times now for us not to trust him. I've just got a problem with the way Cassie gets around him."

"She's almost as bad as Ashley," Carlos observed. "Her brain just shuts down."

Jason suddenly noticed that while Cassie and Phantom were still talking, Andros was now the only one conferring with Delphine and Aurico. Carlos continued, oblivious to his peril. "You should have seen it when we first met Andros. Ash just fell all over him. I swear, her tongue was hanging out the way she was drooling."

"Uh, Carlos?" T.J. asked. Jason was trying not to laugh.

"It's like the sight of him brought out the inner cheerleader in her," Carlos chuckled. "She goes into complete airhead mode. Britney Spears has nothing on Ashley when she's fawning over Andros." He paused for a beat before adding, "She's behind me, isn't she?"

Solemnly, Jason and T.J. nodded. Carlos gritted his teeth and turned to face the Yellow Ranger. "This from the Mensa candidate who bought me a fire extinguisher for my birthday," Ashley sighed.

"It wouldn't have killed you to let me know what you wanted," Carlos retorted, getting a look from her. "Shutting up now."

"Whatever," Ashley said, waving a hand dismissively. "We're going to leave orbit in a few minutes. I thought you two would like to come along."

"Ha ha," T.J. replied dryly. Glancing past Ashley, Jason noticed that Cassie and Andros had joined the group. The Phantom Ranger was nowhere to be seen.

Ashley rolled her eyes and turned back to Jason. "You're sure you'll be okay here."

"For the last time, I'll be fine," Jason groaned as she hugged him. "Get out of here, all of you."

"We'll be back in four days," Andros informed Jason as they shook hands. "Think you can stay out of trouble til then?"

Jason nodded. "I'll do my best."

To be continued...