Breaking Hearts: Chapter 4
Disclaimer: I own cookies! Well, virtual cookies... My boss owns real cookies. Saban owns Power Rangers.
A/N:If you haven't read the previous chapters, check out the "Breaking Hearts" tag below. :)
Breaking Hearts: Chapter 4Astronema walked through the empty corridors of the Astro Megaship. The Power Rangers where on Earth, fighting. She wondered absently who had gotten the assignment of distracting them.
She felt strange wandering around their ship like this, wrong. The Red Ranger had told she was free to go where she wanted on the ship. Except of course for the restricted areas, the only places she could be interested in.
Of course she wasn’t really alone, not with those cameras placed every few meters. She glanced up at one in what she hoped was a casual manner.
“Is there somewhere specific you wanted to go?” the computer asked.
Astronema almost sighed with exasperation, so much for casual. “No,” she answered, keeping her voice even. That computer was to smart. She felt a twinge in her stomach and she did sigh, “Computer, which way to the...” what was it the Red Ranger had called it? “Synthetron?”
She followed it’s directions to the room, then made her way to the machine on the back wall. She stood there, staring at it for a minute.
“Would you like instructions on operating the Synthetron?” the computer asked.
“I can figure it out myself!” Astronema snapped. She regretted it immediately. She was supposed to be Karone, she couldn’t keep breaking character like that.
Astronema glanced up at the computer’s nearest camera’s, wondering if she should apologize. Would it tell the rangers if she didn’t? The Red Ranger hadn’t told her much about the ship’s computer, but it seemed to be an AI. Astronema supposed that meant she should probably be nice to her. If she cared about the rangers, she would warn them if she acted suspiciously.
Astronema scowled, even if the computer wasn’t an AI, they probably had her programed to spy on her at all times. It was best to treat her the same way the rangers did. What did they call her?
DECA.
“I’m sorry, DECA. I- I didn’t mean that.”
“You are experiencing a difficult transition. It is understandable that you will need time to adjust to this life.”
Astronema swallowed hard. Did she have to be so nice to her? This would be a lot easier if she was just a computer. “I guess I could use some instructions,” she admitted, honestly.
“Of course. The digital control panel allows you to choose any type of food you like. There are 364 presets currently programmed into the Synthetron that include dishes from Aien, Earth, Eltar, Canya, KO-35, Triforia, and Yori. I can get you whatever you would like, or I can provide you with directions on how to do it yourself.”
“KO-35?” It probably wasn’t a good idea, Astronema knew that. But she was curious, “What’s Andros’ favorite food? From KO-35?”
“Alquin pasta.”
“Could I try that? Please?” she remembered.
“Of course,” DECA said. “Your meal is ready,” she added after just a few seconds.
Astronema opened the door to the Synthetron. She pulled out the plate and carried it over to the small table. It was orange. That was her first observation. Well, it smelled all right anyway. She picked up the fork, stirring the pasta, trying to work up the nerve to try it. It was very orange.
Before she could taste it, two streaks of light appeared in front of her. she gasped, standing quickly. The light faded to reveal the Red and Silver Rangers standing there, unmorphed.
Calm down, she told herself. “Andros, is everything all right?”
Andros nodded. “It was,” he hesitated notably, “nothing we couldn’t handle.”
She gave him an inquisitive look.
“Just some Quantrons,” Zhane said, grasping Andros’ shoulder briefly as he walked past. “We didn’t even need the others. Hey, is it lunch time?” The question was apparently rhetorical, as Zhane was already at the Synthetron by the time he had finished speaking.
Andros noticed the plate on the table, he blinked, looking at her.
“I-” Astronema followed his gaze. Calm DOWN! she commanded. “I wanted to try something from KO-35. DECA suggested that,” she waited until she had finished speaking to meet his gaze. She quite frankly didn’t trust herself to do both.
Andros smiled, “Do you like it?”
Astronema looked back at the plate, “I haven’t tried it yet.”
Zhane had gotten his own plate and come over to the table. He looked in between the two of them. His was bound to turn into an awkward silence, he thought. “Are you going to join us, or just watch us eat?” he asked Andros with a grin as he sat down.
“What? Yeah, of course. I’ll be right back,” he added.
Astronema glanced at the Silver Ranger before lowering herself back in her seat, then looked back down at the pasta. It was still orange.
***
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Andros told her.
Astronema forced herself to smile for what must have been the hundredth time that day. “Ok, goodnight,” she remembered as she stepped inside her room. The door couldn’t close fast enough for her. Immediately, she went to the small bathroom across the room and pressed the control to shut the door. As soon as it had slid shut, she let out a sigh, turning around to rest against the door.
She had never been this exhausted. She couldn’t help glancing at her reflection in the mirror. Her hand went up automatically to her neck when she saw that her locket wasn’t there. She remembered that she had put it in her pocket before she reached her neck and reached down to pull it out.
What was she doing here? It was a stupid question. One she had asked and answered a thousand times, and quite frankly, she was getting tired of thinking it. *They’re idiots,* she thought, not daring to speak out loud, not knowing how good the camera’s audio systems were. *How can they trust me?*
Of course, most of them didn’t. When the Earth Rangers had returned to the ship in the late afternoon, thinks had gone from barely tolerable, to almost hostile. The Silver and Yellow Rangers were the only ones who had made any kind of effort to ease the tension.
It was becoming obvious that that the Earth Rangers disagreed with the Red Ranger’s decision to trust her. The Silver Ranger supported him, though she wasn’t quite sure why. Perhaps it was because he had known him longer, because he trusted him more. The Yellow Ranger acted like she wanted to trust his decision.
This, of course, could work to her advantage, she thought. If they were divided, they were weakened. She started to think how she could use this against them. She knew that her best chance was to drive as large a wedge in between the Earth Rangers and the two Karoven Ranges as possible. The Earth Rangers would be weaker without their two more experienced teammates, and she could use the Red Ranger’s trust to lure the two of them to their demise.
Somewhere in her mind a voice reminded her that this was wrong. She hadn’t heard that voice in a long time, not since she was a child. When Ecliptor had first begun grooming her to become a great name in evil. She had done thing that she knew where what she was meant to do, things that would benefit her, but some part of her objected. Over time, that voice had faded, and eventually disappeared all together. She had entirely forgotten that it had ever existed, until she had come here.
It was strange, hearing it again. Having some part of herself telling her that what she was doing was wrong, for reasons she didn’t understand. She was evil. The things she did were evil. And, granted, this was somewhat less honorable than she would have liked, but it had been an order from Dark Specter himself. And when she succeeded, she squeezed the locket in her hand, finding a new kind of determination within herself, she would be rewarded immensely!
She slipped the locket back into her jeans pocket, and began working on her new plan.
A/N 2: Yes, I know I changed pronouns in how I refer to DECA half way through. Astronema thinks of the computer as a computer at first, but when she stops to consider that, and comes to believe that DECA is in fact an artificial intelligence, she changes the way she thinks about her. And yes, I put way to much thought into this.
A/N:If you haven't read the previous chapters, check out the "Breaking Hearts" tag below. :)
Breaking Hearts: Chapter 4Astronema walked through the empty corridors of the Astro Megaship. The Power Rangers where on Earth, fighting. She wondered absently who had gotten the assignment of distracting them.
She felt strange wandering around their ship like this, wrong. The Red Ranger had told she was free to go where she wanted on the ship. Except of course for the restricted areas, the only places she could be interested in.
Of course she wasn’t really alone, not with those cameras placed every few meters. She glanced up at one in what she hoped was a casual manner.
“Is there somewhere specific you wanted to go?” the computer asked.
Astronema almost sighed with exasperation, so much for casual. “No,” she answered, keeping her voice even. That computer was to smart. She felt a twinge in her stomach and she did sigh, “Computer, which way to the...” what was it the Red Ranger had called it? “Synthetron?”
She followed it’s directions to the room, then made her way to the machine on the back wall. She stood there, staring at it for a minute.
“Would you like instructions on operating the Synthetron?” the computer asked.
“I can figure it out myself!” Astronema snapped. She regretted it immediately. She was supposed to be Karone, she couldn’t keep breaking character like that.
Astronema glanced up at the computer’s nearest camera’s, wondering if she should apologize. Would it tell the rangers if she didn’t? The Red Ranger hadn’t told her much about the ship’s computer, but it seemed to be an AI. Astronema supposed that meant she should probably be nice to her. If she cared about the rangers, she would warn them if she acted suspiciously.
Astronema scowled, even if the computer wasn’t an AI, they probably had her programed to spy on her at all times. It was best to treat her the same way the rangers did. What did they call her?
DECA.
“I’m sorry, DECA. I- I didn’t mean that.”
“You are experiencing a difficult transition. It is understandable that you will need time to adjust to this life.”
Astronema swallowed hard. Did she have to be so nice to her? This would be a lot easier if she was just a computer. “I guess I could use some instructions,” she admitted, honestly.
“Of course. The digital control panel allows you to choose any type of food you like. There are 364 presets currently programmed into the Synthetron that include dishes from Aien, Earth, Eltar, Canya, KO-35, Triforia, and Yori. I can get you whatever you would like, or I can provide you with directions on how to do it yourself.”
“KO-35?” It probably wasn’t a good idea, Astronema knew that. But she was curious, “What’s Andros’ favorite food? From KO-35?”
“Alquin pasta.”
“Could I try that? Please?” she remembered.
“Of course,” DECA said. “Your meal is ready,” she added after just a few seconds.
Astronema opened the door to the Synthetron. She pulled out the plate and carried it over to the small table. It was orange. That was her first observation. Well, it smelled all right anyway. She picked up the fork, stirring the pasta, trying to work up the nerve to try it. It was very orange.
Before she could taste it, two streaks of light appeared in front of her. she gasped, standing quickly. The light faded to reveal the Red and Silver Rangers standing there, unmorphed.
Calm down, she told herself. “Andros, is everything all right?”
Andros nodded. “It was,” he hesitated notably, “nothing we couldn’t handle.”
She gave him an inquisitive look.
“Just some Quantrons,” Zhane said, grasping Andros’ shoulder briefly as he walked past. “We didn’t even need the others. Hey, is it lunch time?” The question was apparently rhetorical, as Zhane was already at the Synthetron by the time he had finished speaking.
Andros noticed the plate on the table, he blinked, looking at her.
“I-” Astronema followed his gaze. Calm DOWN! she commanded. “I wanted to try something from KO-35. DECA suggested that,” she waited until she had finished speaking to meet his gaze. She quite frankly didn’t trust herself to do both.
Andros smiled, “Do you like it?”
Astronema looked back at the plate, “I haven’t tried it yet.”
Zhane had gotten his own plate and come over to the table. He looked in between the two of them. His was bound to turn into an awkward silence, he thought. “Are you going to join us, or just watch us eat?” he asked Andros with a grin as he sat down.
“What? Yeah, of course. I’ll be right back,” he added.
Astronema glanced at the Silver Ranger before lowering herself back in her seat, then looked back down at the pasta. It was still orange.
***
“I’ll see you in the morning,” Andros told her.
Astronema forced herself to smile for what must have been the hundredth time that day. “Ok, goodnight,” she remembered as she stepped inside her room. The door couldn’t close fast enough for her. Immediately, she went to the small bathroom across the room and pressed the control to shut the door. As soon as it had slid shut, she let out a sigh, turning around to rest against the door.
She had never been this exhausted. She couldn’t help glancing at her reflection in the mirror. Her hand went up automatically to her neck when she saw that her locket wasn’t there. She remembered that she had put it in her pocket before she reached her neck and reached down to pull it out.
What was she doing here? It was a stupid question. One she had asked and answered a thousand times, and quite frankly, she was getting tired of thinking it. *They’re idiots,* she thought, not daring to speak out loud, not knowing how good the camera’s audio systems were. *How can they trust me?*
Of course, most of them didn’t. When the Earth Rangers had returned to the ship in the late afternoon, thinks had gone from barely tolerable, to almost hostile. The Silver and Yellow Rangers were the only ones who had made any kind of effort to ease the tension.
It was becoming obvious that that the Earth Rangers disagreed with the Red Ranger’s decision to trust her. The Silver Ranger supported him, though she wasn’t quite sure why. Perhaps it was because he had known him longer, because he trusted him more. The Yellow Ranger acted like she wanted to trust his decision.
This, of course, could work to her advantage, she thought. If they were divided, they were weakened. She started to think how she could use this against them. She knew that her best chance was to drive as large a wedge in between the Earth Rangers and the two Karoven Ranges as possible. The Earth Rangers would be weaker without their two more experienced teammates, and she could use the Red Ranger’s trust to lure the two of them to their demise.
Somewhere in her mind a voice reminded her that this was wrong. She hadn’t heard that voice in a long time, not since she was a child. When Ecliptor had first begun grooming her to become a great name in evil. She had done thing that she knew where what she was meant to do, things that would benefit her, but some part of her objected. Over time, that voice had faded, and eventually disappeared all together. She had entirely forgotten that it had ever existed, until she had come here.
It was strange, hearing it again. Having some part of herself telling her that what she was doing was wrong, for reasons she didn’t understand. She was evil. The things she did were evil. And, granted, this was somewhat less honorable than she would have liked, but it had been an order from Dark Specter himself. And when she succeeded, she squeezed the locket in her hand, finding a new kind of determination within herself, she would be rewarded immensely!
She slipped the locket back into her jeans pocket, and began working on her new plan.
A/N 2: Yes, I know I changed pronouns in how I refer to DECA half way through. Astronema thinks of the computer as a computer at first, but when she stops to consider that, and comes to believe that DECA is in fact an artificial intelligence, she changes the way she thinks about her. And yes, I put way to much thought into this.