From The Ashes
by Cheryl Roberts

Chapter 10

"A life support pod?" Jamie reiterated when Tommy filled him in on the latest developments. The two were in the family quarters having a bite to eat.

"That's what the others said."

Jamie sighed. "This becomes more and more confusing. What is Norzod up to? First the asteroid did he not consider that I would realize it could not have been the actual site of the last battle?"

"I think he did," Tommy said. "You weren't supposed to be here when the asteroid arrived, remember? Someone tried to kidnap you."

"Good point," Jamie murmured thoughtfully. "Then why continue with the plan whatever it may be?"

"Maybe it's running on auto-pilot or something," Tommy speculated.

"That seems unusually haphazard for Norzod. He was always meticulous in the execution of his schemes."

"Maybe Norzod isn't running the show yet. His flunkies could be acting on his set orders and don't know how to change the script."

"Could the Rangers determine if anyone was in the pod?"

"They were pretty sure someone was, but they're not going to open it until they know exactly what's in there."

"I wonder if we have any record of Norzod's bio patterns," Jamie pondered.

"That's all we'd need is to have Norzod come jumping out of that tube in the middle of the Command Center," Tommy grimaced.

"Perhaps Marg would know," the one-time Imbera said.

"She's still with Jax, isn't she?" Tommy asked.

"She should be. When we left, Jax was out of immediate danger, but Marg wasn't satisfied with his condition." As Jamie pushed his chair away from the table, he paused. "Tommy, I think it is time to tell the others about your warning."

"I think you're right."

~*~

By unspoken agreement, they proceeded to Jax's room in the infirmary in search of the healer to ask their question; however, when they arrived, they discovered that Marg had been called away. The only one at Jax's bedside was a sorely depleted Prist.

Jamie favored her with a kind smile. "You should rest; you wore yourself out trying to hold his spirit here."

"He did not wish to remain with us. He fought and fought to return to my sister," the Pink Ranger sighed exhaustedly. "I am not certain I did the right thing in keeping him here."

"Trust me, young one, you did. Jax may not think so at the moment, but you did the right thing for Threa. Now, go...."

"I cannot. Marg said he is not to be left alone," she protested in spite of her exhaustion and strain.

That was something Tommy could relate to, and he found himself giving the advice his friends had always given to him in such situations. "You're not going to do him any good if you're worn out. Jamie and I will sit with him, and if anything should change, we'll call you."

Reluctantly, Prist gave in and took her leave. Tommy and Jamie took up seats on either side of the bed.

"He doesn't look like he's been hurt at all," Tommy marveled. "Your healers are amazing. Even with our accelerated recuperative abilities as Rangers, we still had to struggle with recovering from our injuries."

"Threans had their healers long before we had medicine. We developed science when our ancestors went through generations without the healers and shapers," Jamie explained.

"The healers seem to be able to fix just about anything; why couldn't they fix whatever's wrong with Twyn?"

"I am not certain. To be honest, I have always thought that the physical damage had been repaired."

"You mean that Twyn's telepathic abilities are gone because of some sort of mental block?" Tommy wondered.

"Knowing now about Vlar, it makes sense," Jamie said. "Without her capacity to maintain a bond, Twyn would be able to free Vlar so he could turn to Beys."

"But Vlar said he was still lifebound to Twyn...."

"Which would be impossible if Twyn's telepathic abilities were truly gone!" Jamie concluded, then sighed sadly. "Poor confused child!"

"Is Twyn strong-willed enough to keep up the pretense for this long?"

"Oh, yes," Tommy's son said without even having to consider. "You have to admit, she comes from a family of very strong-willed individuals. I have it on good authority that her paternal grandfather was exceptionally stubborn."

The affectionate jibe made Tommy smile. "So was her paternal grandmother, for that matter."

"So what is it that holds Jax so strongly that he would rather cling to death than to life?" Jamie mused. "I know that when one loses a lifebond, it is enough to make you want to die as well. Only the strong survive the death of their other selves. Jax should have been strong enough the fact that he was able to assume the Imbera powers is proof of his mental fortitude."

Tommy didn't answer right away; he was distracted by a faint sound from Jax. Observing his great-grandson more closely, he noticed small movements, and he smiled. Jax was awake and feigning sleep. Tommy wondered how long he'd been conscious.

The other reason he remained silent was because he had a lot more in common with Jax than Jamie could realize. Wasn't he as guilty of clinging to a lost love as Jax? Kim was dead, yet he could not let her go; he was still hoping against hope that there would be some way for her to come back to him.

"I think it's different when you haven't had a chance to really be with the one you love," Tommy essayed at last. "You had a lifetime with Ayn; you had time to love and laugh and live and build memories to get you through when she was gone. When you've only been together a short time, you don't have those things. The emptiness seems greater because there's nothing to help fill it. Some memories, sure, but mostly regrets and hopeless wishes —wondering and longing and thinking of what could have been, fearing that you'll never feel ever again the way you did with the one you loved."

"I can understand that, Tommy, but if you do not continue to live, then your lifebond is truly gone. Your love and memories keep her spirit alive after the body is gone. There are many left behind who love and remember her, but she was a part of you."

"What if you feel guilty about going on without her? What if you feel like you're betraying the one you loved by carrying on and maybe finding someone new?" Tommy had to pause to consider whether he was thinking of Jax and Prist here or was he thinking of himself, Kim and Kat?

"It would be a very selfish lifebond indeed who would begrudge you another chance at happiness," Jamie replied. "I know that Ayn rejoices that I have someone in my life again. She knows I will never cease to love her, but she will take comfort in knowing I am not alone, that there is someone who can hold me and love me as she cannot. The heart has room to hold all the loves in one's life."

There was wisdom in Jamie's words, but Tommy found it hard to accept to believe....

"Of course, it has taken me a very long time to realize this and even longer to accept it," Jamie concluded with a wry smile.

Which wasn't very reassuring in his case or Jax's. Especially Jax's. Time was something Jax didn't have right now.

Before they could pursue the topic further, Jamie went rigid in his chair, and his eyes rolled back as if he was going to pass out.

"Jamie!" Tommy yelped in alarm, bolting out of his seat to help his son.

"I am all right. Just out of practice," Jamie waved him away. "Vlar just contacted me. They want me to come to the lab."

Tommy was torn; he wanted to go to the lab, but he needed to talk to his great grandson, too.

"Go on," he decided. "I'll stay with Jax until you can send someone to take over."

With a nod, Jamie hurried from the room.

Tommy resumed his seat next to Jax and said, "You can stop pretending now; your grandfather's gone."

For a moment, the current Imbera didn't move. Then, one eye opened and regarded Tommy suspiciously.

"How did you know when grandfather did not?" Jax demanded, his meaning obvious to his ancestor.

"I'm still young enough to be pulling this on my mom," Tommy said with a laugh. He saw so much of himself in this descendant of his! "How long had you been listening?"

"The full extent of your conversation."

Which meant he had to have been awake when Prist was here.

"As much as I hate to admit it, your grandfather is right. You can't stop living even though you've lost someone," Tommy said gently, feeling an inner pang of discomfort for doing so.

"Grandfather says he understands what it is like, but there is no way he can. His lifebond was not kidnaped and murdered!" Jax blurted out bitterly.

"Maybe not, but the only family he had ever known was," Tommy pointed out, "His mother, his aunts and uncles... and he could do nothing to save them." He could see that the thought had never occurred to the young Imbera. He decided to cut to the chase. "Tell me something. Which is stronger: your grief at losing Trin or your guilt?"

"Guilt?"

"Guilt for not being able to save her. Guilt for betraying her with another."

His words made Jamie sit up. "How did you know...?"

"Because I've been through a lot of the same things you have or things very similar. I loved Kimberly more than anything and at seventeen, that's a pretty scary realization. When Lord Zedd kidnaped her and drained her powers, I felt as if I'd failed to protect her that it was my fault she 'died.' Don't let anyone tell you different losing your powers is a kind of death.

"I lost her again when Atir brought her here I never even knew...."

"Atir brought her...? Your Kimberly was you are my...?" Jax gasped as he realized he was talking to a man who had been more legend than reality to him.

Tommy nodded. "Kim tried to sever our bond—because she knew we could never be together ever again. When she did that, it felt like someone had ripped out my heart and soul. I wasn't sure I could go on without her. And later, when I learned the reason for that letter, it killed me to know that one afternoon was all I'd ever be able to have. Then I lost her a final time when Norzod killed her. Once again, I couldn't be there to protect her to save her. Sound familiar?"

"What about betrayal?" Jax challenged mutinously.

"My lifebond was still alive but I turned to another woman Kat, a dear friend of hers when I'd thought I'd lost her. And all the time I was with Kat, a part of me felt like I was betraying Kim even after Kim told me it was all right to find someone else." When his great-grandson made no comment, Tommy prodded. "You feel like you betrayed Trin because you were called to matebond with Prist."

"How...? We have told no one...." Jax sputtered.

"A little voice told me." A wry smile accompanied that admission.

"The call hit the night Trin vanished," Jax confessed anguishedly. "At first, I thought that Trin was the source; we had been hoping for so long. Of all the things Trin and I shared, a child was what she wanted most.

"My senses were blinded by my body's urges. I did not feel Trin's fear and pain until it was too late." Tears streamed down his cheeks, releasing the pain he had buried inside him. "It was only after I felt Trin's death that I realized that it had not been her I had been drawn to but to her sister."

"You know, there is someone who knows exactly how you feel," Tommy said kindly. Jax's disbelieving gaze prompted him to elucidate. "Prist."

"Prist?"

"Siblings share some kind of bond, don't they? She was mate-called to her sister's lifebond, and then her sister was murdered."

"I had not considered...."

"Like you, she's struggling with her loss and pain and guilt and a bond denied."

"How can we consummate the bond? How can we both dishonor Trin so?" was the anguished demand.

"As I understand it, you can't not consummate the bond. Jamie says resisting makes you sick. As for dishonoring Trin, how would she have reacted had she lived? Would she have been angry? Understanding? She loved you both, didn't she?"

"Very much so. The reason Prist was chosen as the new Pink Ranger was because those were Trin's wishes. She always said the only person she trusted after herself to see to my well being was her sister."

"And Trin was a healer; she'd understand better than anyone why you and Prist were called together. I don't know what forces control matebondings, but for some reason nature decided Prist was a better mother for the next Imbera. I think Trin would have accepted that. She may have been relieved that if it couldn't be her, it was her sister.

"Jax, all your feelings are important here, but you've got another thing to think about: your duty. Unlike the other Rangers, your powers can only go to your child. You have to have a kid. Also, the team needs its Imbera right now. There's some strange stuff going on with that asteroid. Someone's been attacking Imberas. And I'm here because Norzod might not be as dead as you believe. You're needed, White Ranger."

"Then Threa is doomed," Jax declared gloomily.

"Why?" Tommy was unable to keep the incredulity out of his strangled exclamation.

"Because I do not know how to use my powers."

~*~

How could he not know how to use his powers? Tommy wondered as he made his way to the laboratory. Prist had returned after a too-brief nap, and knowing the two had a lot to discuss, he decided to go find Jamie and Vlar. However, the Imbera's last statement haunted him.

Jax had spent his entire life training as a Ranger; he'd always known he was destined to be the next Imbera. Tommy and his friends had none of those advantages when they first received their Power Coins, yet the first time they morphed, they had known instinctively how to use their powers.

"That's because the Morphin' Grid holds not only the Power but the knowledge of how to use it," the Presence spoke up. "The Imbera powers aren't like that. There is no power grid; those powers were pulled directly from the cosmos. Whoever holds them at any given moment is the respository, not just the conduit.

"Twyn must not have been able to finish the transfer before her mind was shut down," Tommy reasoned a transfer she wouldn't be able to complete unless her telepathic abilities resurfaced, and there was no telling if Jamie's speculations had any merit. "Could Twyn train Jax the 'old fashioned way?'"

"It could be done; it's how the first Imbera learned to use them, but that takes time."

"Which seems to be in short supply around here," Tommy groused. Then another idea occurred to him. "What about Jamie?"

"It's hard to say. He doesn't have natural Threan telepathic abilites."

"He can still receive telepathic messages."

"But can he send them especially to someone he doesn't have direct bond with?"

"I don't know, but couldn't Jax link his mind to Jamie's and then Jamie gives him the information?"

"Jamie would not have the knowledge and experience Twyn had earned, but his own experiences were considerable," the Presence mused speculatively. "It could work."

Tommy felt rather pleased with himself. It finally felt as if he had contributed something concrete to the present situation.

"You've given more than you know," the Presence assured him. "You saved Jamie's life; you roused Twyn out of her depression, and back there with Jax, you were great. You knew just what to say to get through to him."

"We have Trini to thank for that; she was always really good at figuring out how to reach people. I kept thinking, 'how would Trini handle this?'" he admitted. "But, I felt like such a hypocrite telling Jax to let Trin go and move on when I haven't done any of those things."

"It's different for you, Tommy. For one thing, you're not trying to hold back Mother Nature. For another, the fate of a world isn't resting on your shoulders. As Jamie said, acceptance takes time. You will be able to move on one day," said the Presence kindly. "What you did wasn't so much getting Jax to move on as it was giving him an out he could accept which will get him on the road to healing his heart."

"What was that?"

"You reminded him of his duty. If nothing else, Jax knows Trin would never allow him to shirk his duty to Threa, to the Rangers or to her sister."

~*~

Tommy rubbed his temples as he entered the observation deck above Zol's lab; this last mental conversation had given him a killer headache, and he had the feeling that wasn't a good thing for his companion. It was almost like it was more difficult for him/her to get through to him, so he/she had to 'push' harder.

He found Jamie and Vlar seated at the control console monitoring the data coming in from the lab proper. He noted that the four Rangers not in the infirmary were busy down below.

"How is Jax?" Jamie asked anxiously.

"Better, I think," Tommy reported as he joined the duo. "I got him to talk to me a little."

"No small accomplishment; he is as reluctant to share his feelings and concerns as his mother," Vlar snorted.

And his great-grandfather! Tommy reflected. Kim had a full-time job getting him not to keep things bottled up during their Ranger careers. "Are they having any luck?"

"No," Jamie sighed in frustration. "The pod's shielding is impenetrable. Zol cannot pick up any readings."

"Synn has been attempting to repair the reactivation mechanism," Vlar added, "but he is having difficulty isolating the damage."

"I thought we didn't want to open the pod without knowing what's inside first," Tommy said.

"He is repairing the computer so we can see what data it contains. It has to have all the vital information on the occupant in order to revive him," Jamie explained.

"And maybe repairing the controls will disengage the shield," Vlar speculated.

"What are Emd and Brath doing?" Tommy asked. The Green and Red Rangers were spraying the black capsule with a silver mist.

"That is an experimental concoction of Zol's. Theoretically, it breaks down the opacity of any object, rendering it transparent," the security chief related.

"I believe I have been able to access the computer's data base," Synn announced. "I will begin downloading the information then start work on the shield."

"Are life support pods usually this heavily shielded?" Tommy queried.

"The ones installed on the zords are. They are designed to get us home from just about anywhere in space," Jamie said.

"The data is coming up now," Vlar announced, and the three men turned their attention to the computer screen.

"These do not look like Threan bio-patterns," Jamie noted, frowing.

"I am running a search to see if we can find a correlating pattern in our database," Zol radioed, her puzzlement equally evident. It took a few moments, but the Blue Ranger soon reported, "We have a match. Whoever is in the pod is human."

"Human? But how?" Tommy murmured. "There are only a handful of humans who know about this dimension, and they're all former Rangers."

"And this pod is of our technology, not your Eltarian brand," Vlar added.

"Synn, check the frequency on the shield; see if you can isolate a life support field similar to the one Tommy is using," Jamie recommended. To Tommy and Vlar, he added, "If the occupant is human, he would need such a shield to survive once the pod is opened.

"Good suggestion, but no shield resembling Tommy's; however, I am detecting an unusual form of radiation... it appears that is what has infiltrated and augmented the pod's shields. Zol, run another comparison...."

"Are you sure it could not be another visitor from Earth?" Jamie asked.

"It's not likely. With the Power Chamber destroyed, Earth doesn't have the technology, but there are other human settlements in our dimension," Tommy said, thinking of Andros, the Red Ranger from KO-35.

"I'm finding an exact bio-pattern match in our database!" Zol exclaimed.

"Have you guys had human visitors besides me and Kim?" Tommy wondered.

"To our knowledge, no other humans have been to Threa," Jamie replied. "We have other neighbors in our galaxy, but we do not know if they have had any contact with your dimension."

"Threans believed we were alone in the universe until Norzod came and Atir recruited the first team of Rangers," Vlar added.

"Much like with us on Earth," Tommy commented.

"It is possible that Atir had contacted other humans before reaching Mother," Jamie mused.

"Synn, we have to have that shield down," Zol's voice came over the speakers; the Blue Ranger sounded rather strained. "Because if we believe the data in the pod's computer...."

"Zol, look! Your spray is working!" Brath interrupted excitedly.

All eyes turned to the life pod. The obsidian capsule had been thoroughly coated in the silvery substance. Now the metallic sheen appeared to be melting away like ice on a summer's day, all the color trickling away, revealing a web of circuitry encasing the now-transparent construct. And beneath the intertwined strands was a body a small, slender shape criss-crossed with angry red lacerations and patches of charred clothing and burned flesh.

"No... it can't be...." Jamie gasped even before the camera tightened its focus on the fact of the occupant.

Tommy sank numbly into a chair.

It was the face of an old woman marred by wounds and bruises, but it was unmistakably....

"Kim!"

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Epilogue