Andros was just sitting down to lunch when he saw three of his teachers converge on Zhane, who seemed to be just finishing up. "How many teams did you work with?" Jason Scott asked as they sat down across from him.
"Regularly or at all?" Zhane asked. Andros moved his tray a little closer to hear better, trying to be quiet about it. He had the feeling this was a conversation he wouldn't want to miss.
"All together," Kimberly Hart clarified.
"Two. One before the cryo-sleep, and one after. Why?"
"We need you to observe someone for us," Adam Park said.
"Why?"
"I asked Tom Oliver into observe her, and only succeeded in giving him nightmares," Jason said with a rueful wince. "I recognize a little of what she's doing, but we think you might be able to tell us more about it."
"Each team we've sent out has had the option of a sixth man," Kimberly jumped in, "but few of them have wanted or needed one. And, it can feel like an invasion of the team, especially when you've been put together as a five man team," she added. Jason and Adam nodded, both looking a little uncomfortable.
"So, what do you need me for?" Zhane asked. He looked interested, and Andros closed his eyes in despair. Now he was off after this....
"One of the cadets is acting like a sixth man," Jason said.
"To what team? I didn't think we'd split them into permanent teams yet," Zhane protested.
"We haven't," Kim said, echoing Andros' amazed thoughts. "But it doesn't matter. She still does it."
"We split the cadets into random five- or six-man teams, and she shines in the six man position," Jason explained. "And she seems to love it. She doesn't care which team she's on. She'll take orders from who ever is in charge, most of the time, unless they don't make sense. At which point, she launches her own plan." He shook his head.
"There have been times that she made it a four man team, with her as an auxiliary. It's worked, too," Adam added.
"All right," Zhane said, and grinned at them. "Who is it?"
"Cadet Larson," Adam said.
"Vie?" Zhane said, incredulous, then sighed. "Who else," he muttered, and Andros just stared; he couldn't help it. He knew Zhane tried not to get too close to the cadets because it was too hard on him when they had to go, but he knew this one, and that was odd. "Yes, I'll watch her. But what will that do?"
"You're the only real sixth man we have," Kim said. "Tom and Jason don't really count. We want to know if she is a true one, or just doesn't work well with teams. If it's the latter, she'll have to go."
A shadow crossed Zhane's face, and his shoulders slumped. "I can't help you, then."
Andros blinked, nearly missing the confusion that filled the teachers. He couldn't help them?
"Why not?" Jason asked.
"I'd love to, I would," Zhane protested. "But I know her; she was involved with both me and with Karone during the invasion. Anything I said in reference to her could be biased, and anyone who found out could use that against us." He sighed. "I'm really sorry, guys, but there is nothing I can do." He stood up and walked away from them, leaving the three teachers slumped dejectedly at the table he'd been at. Andros watched him go. Since when had that ever been a concern?
"There's got to be someone," Jason muttered, jerking his attention back to the teachers.
"But who?" Kim asked, and pillowed her head on her folded arms. "My head hurts just trying to figure this out."
"Hey, Jase? What about Trey?" Adam asked, and Andros almost smiled as life filled them again, and Kimberly sat up.
"That is a great idea," Jason said. "Let's see if we can get permission to ask him to come."
"Andros is right there," Kim pointed out, and the three converged on him. In spite of the fact that he was older and their employer, he realized then how much of an intimidation force these people had been as Rangers. He straightened slightly. "We have a question," Kim said with a smile as they settled down around him.
"Which is?"
"We need to call Trey and invite him here, to observe a cadet," Jason explained.
"Why?" Maybe he could get more information out of them.
"You heard us talking to Zhane, didn't you?" Adam asked. Andros sighed.
"Yes, I think."
Jason launched into a description of the cadet, and Andros found himself nodding. "Yes," he said, interrupting him. "You will need an unbiased opinion. Zhane told you about her connection to us?"
"Yes," Jason said.
"Good. Don't tell Trey that. He's been called in before, so it shouldn't be a problem." He paused. "Unless he can't get away. I'll make the call."
"Thanks," Jason said, and the three stood up to leave.
An urgent beeping at his belt startled Andros, and he jumped to his feet in surprise, his hand going to the irritating noise. "I hate these... what are they? Pagers?" He took it off, read what was on the screen, and his eyes widened. Something was wrong with Ashley. "Jason, have Zhane call Trey." He dashed out of the Commissary without any explanation.
Justin was there before he was, and he and Cassie hovered around Ashley, who looked pale. Stepping up closer, he took her hand. "What's wrong?"
"False alarm," Cassie said, looking up at him. There were way too many shadows in her eyes. "Apparently, the baby still isn't getting enough nutrients." She turned away and washed her hands in the sink. "We'll keep her under tighter surveillance, now, and see if we can do any better. We may have to resort to injections."
"We'll have to keep a closer eye on you," Justin confirmed. "I know, I know." He patted Ashley's arm at her frustrated expression. "But this is when it gets tricky. Your body is being perfectly human, and the baby isn't. You're going to have to let us monitor you pretty closely, if you want to keep this baby."
Ashley sighed. "All right." Andros helped her sit up, and she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. He held her, his whole attention focused on her.
"I can't believe this," Ashley muttered softly. "I'm already about to go crazy, and this happens." She took a deep breath. "But we knew this would happen."
"Do you have to stay in bed?" he asked softly.
"I don't think so. Cassie or Justin would have said something."
"Good. I'm going to see about letting you out far enough to go to the park; if not that, will you settle for a trip up to the Simudeck?"
"Yes," she breathed softly, "anything to get out of here."
"Okay." He kissed her gently, and was surprised when he looked up to ask a question and found they had all left the room "You get dressed, and I'll chase the medical staff down."
It took him about two days to realize he wasn't up to both the Academy and Ashley, and promptly dumped the Academy in Zhane's lap. Zhane wasn't surprised or happy, but turned the security forces over to TJ and basically picked up where Andros had left off. Or so Andros assumed from the briefings he got each evening. Things were progressing well.
"She what?" Andros asked, surprised, staring at Zhane.
Zhane grinned, and Andros got the impression this was some kind of revenge for him. "She's definitely the ‘sixth man' the teachers thought she was. She can lead, but only in certain crises, and she'd rather not even then. Trey is helping out a little, with her and a couple of the other cadets, to give them more training in that area. In fact, I thought you'd like to see what happened today." He touched the monitor in the wall, and requested a file from DECA. "Trey set this up. We had two teams against each other, and left Cadet Larson as neutral. That meant she could switch sides."
"Did she?"
"Watch." The smile on Zhane's face was definitely vengeance. The requested file began to play, and Andros stared as the battle went on for nearly half an hour with no obvious winners, which had to be some kind of record. Then suddenly it was over. "Freeze image."
"What happened?"
"Cadet Shaw proposed they neutralize her, and the next attack did that. They actually learned to fight against a non-standard sixth man." He smiled proudly. "I didn't even think of that angle."
Andros sighed and leaned back. "Do we need to develop that as part of the curriculum, too?" he asked. "Both the sixth man program, and how to fight against one?"
Zhane blinked at him. "I don't know. Well, the later, definitely. It was an educational experience for all involved, including me and Trey. About the sixth man program, I wondered that, too, but I don't think so. I mean, this, so far, has been something so different from anything else we've seen. Maybe we won't see it again...." He drifted off. "But the chances of that are really slim. On the other hand, I can have someone...." He scowled. "No, I'm going to have to do it, aren't I? Because I'm the only one qualified." He stood up to pace. "We could offer an alternate class, though," he said, and Andros grinned. He liked watching his friend think. "Especially if I work it up when this semester is through, so I'm ready if something like this does happen. May be unfair to the cadet that's stuck with me, but it could be the only thing that keeps them alive. And we could combine it with this exercise." He waved at the frozen image.
Andros watched him pace a little longer. "What would this class consist of?"
"How to work with an alternate Zord, so to speak. Timing, too, I think." He flashed Andros a grin, and Andros grinned back. He knew exactly what Zhane was talking about.
"What about dealing with a close knit team?" he asked.
Zhane slowed down. "I can't do that one. You guys always welcomed me, and that first team.... wasn't close knit."
Andros grimaced. "Yeah. Well. Maybe Tom Oliver? I don't know how the others reacted to him. And talk to Jason. He might give some insights in that, although they knew him."
"Trey as well. I bet he's worked with a few other teams than the Zeos," Zhane said.
Andros nodded. "Okay. For right now, I guess we'd better leave this all as it is, since Trey is helping out. He's probably the best we've got for this." He scowled at Zhane, remembering why Trey was there at all. "So, how do you know this Cadet?"
The expression on Zhane's face defied description. Andros stared at him in disbelief as he opened his mouth to answer two or three times before grabbing a chair and plopping down in it. "Do me a favor," he said after a minute. "Promise me you will not look into her or anything?"
Andros blinked, then nodded. "Okay."
"Your word on it?"
He blinked again; this was serious. "My word."
"I can't tell you. I promised her I wouldn't."
Andros stared at him, rendered speechless, then shook his head. "All right, but you will sometime, right?"
A smirk played around Zhane's lips. "Oh, you'll find out. Believe me, you'll find out."
"Three months of avoiding this," Andros muttered to himself, seated at his desk, "and I get pulled into it all of a sudden." His mind was not on the paperwork, it was on Ashley, and he hoped, when he thought about it, that they would understand if some of the things he signed or wrote made no sense at all.
A beep on his desk communications signified someone trying to get hold of him, and he turned it on, anything to keep his mind occupied. "Yes?"
"You might want to be up here for this," Cassie told him, her tired brown eyes twinkling at him.
"Now?" he demanded.
"Yes, now, and hurry, okay?" She signed off. Andros left the screen on and left his office at a run.
When he got to medical, Justin and Cassie were hovering around Ashley, who looked exhausted already. He moved to stand next to her, and she took his hand, gripping it tightly as the pain of a contraction ripped a cry out of her. "You know," she said when she'd gotten her breath back, "this isn't much worse than some of the injuries...." Another contraction made her squeeze tighter. "... I've had in this occupation," she finished. "Just a different kind."
"Okay, Ash, concentrate. You're about done," Justin told her, and her grip on Andros' hand tightened even more. He wouldn't have believed she could do that. Then, with a strange gasp from Ashley, it was done. Cassie wrapped the crying child in a blanket as Justin took a look at the instruments Ashley was hooked up to.
"Congratulations, Andros. It's a boy," Cassie said from right beside him, and he turned to look at her, astonished. She elbowed him aside with a smile on her face, and lay the baby next to Ashley. It quieted immediately.
"Did you hear? A boy," Ashley whispered, and Andros looked at her. Her face was pale, but she seemed okay - and more beautiful to him than he'd ever imagined.
"I heard," he finally choked out, and Cassie chuckled next to him.
"No to intrude on your bliss," she said softly, "but I'm taking two weeks off, and I'm going to sleep the whole time."
"Go, and welcome to it," Andros said automatically, somewhat surprised that his brain was still working.
"Not yet you aren't, Cass," Justin said, and the Asian girl took the child from Ashley and gave him to Andros to hold.
"Go out there," she said, pointing to the waiting room. "We'll let you back in as soon as she's feeling a little stronger."
He went, confused and suddenly worried, barely aware of the small miracle he held in his arms. At least, until it moved and gave a soft, hungry sounding cry. "Oh. Oh, wait, Justin? Cassie? What...." Someone stuck a bottle in his hand and showed him how to feed the child; he found himself a place and sat down, watching the boy suck down what ever had been in it. Then he gave a satisfied little burp - Andros reminded himself to never let the child near Carlos or Bulk - and fell asleep.
About that time, Justin returned, grinning. "Okay, she's doing great. How's he?"
"Sleeping. I thought of something, though. Her milk isn't going to be enough, either, is it?"
Justin sighed. "No. But there's a shipment of stuff coming out from KO-35 for him. He'll be okay."
"And she's okay?"
Justin paused. "Yes. She bled a little too much, so we got some blood back into her, got the bleeding stopped... she's asking for you."
Andros blinked to get the worry away from him. "She's okay?"
"She's fine. She'd like to see you."
"Me, or the baby?" he asked wryly, and Justin grinned and gestured him into the other room.
Go on to Next Chapter | "I Wonder What it's Like...."