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Disclaimer: Still not mine, still no money ... sigh ...

Disclaimer: Still not mine, still no money ... sigh ...

Anyway, sorry this is short, but I'm in the midst of a longer project with one of the best PR authors out there; that thing took on a life of its own so fast it's incredible. Hopefully, we'll be able to post at least the first few chapters before Christmas...

Enough teasing you, on with the story. I hope you enjoy the bit I've managed, and as usual, comments are welcome! DB





Times Present, Times Past

Chapter 4: As Time Goes By





Angel Grove, The Past

Kat finished braiding the last scrap of leather into the string she was fashioning and knotted off the ends. Testing the strength of the narrow strap by tugging at it sharply a time or two, she nodded with satisfaction and went off in search for Jason.

She found him a few hundred yards away from their camp, testing the winter-dry branches of a few trees. One of them seemed to be of the right consistency, and he braced himself, pulling with all his strength until it snapped off the trunk with a resounding 'crack'. Panting a little, he held it upright and took up the sharp-edged stone he'd found and, using it as a wedge, began chopping off the bigger twigs. Kat waited a short distance away, not wanting to startle him; they both had incurred their fair share of cuts and bruises because the other interrupted them in some task or other without warning. When he paused for breath, she stepped forward and called his name.

"Hi, Jason."

He turned with a small smile. "Hey, Kat. What's up?"

"Nothing much," she replied. "Dinner's cooking and should be ready in an hour or so; while I was waiting, I made something for you." She held out the leather braid.

Curious, Jason took it from her and turned it over in his hands. "What's it for? It's not long enough for a belt ..."

Both their jeans were worn and sported assorted tears; over the past few months, they'd taken to foraging not only for food, but also for any animal carcasses they could find. They had scrounged up enough so that sewing them together had provided them with a serviceable blanket to huddle under while at camp, and Kat was industriously scraping and softening smaller, fresh skins in the hope that once the weather got warmer again, she might be able to somehow make some clothes for both of them. Already she had a few ideas of how to do that, even if Jason was cracking jokes about their Tarzan/Jane outfits.

"No, not a belt, silly," she shook her head. "It's a headband."

"What?"

"Aren't you getting sick of brushing your hair back every couple of minutes?" she asked reasonably. "Take it from someone who has worn her hair long for most of her life - this helps."

"Well, yes, but ... I dunno," he said dubiously. Looking down on the narrow braid, his left hand came up automatically to shove a dark strand out of his eyes. Almost immediately, he became aware of what he was doing and stopped in mid-motion, blushing sheepishly when Kat just grinned at him. He couldn't have found a better way to prove her point.

"Stop laughing," he grumbled, but couldn't quite suppress a responding grin.

"Okay," Kat replied amiably. "Now shall I tie your hair back, or do you want to try it yourself?"

With a mock frown, he thrust the braid at her. "You're the expert."

Giving him a sweet smile, she pointed to a nearby tree trunk. "Then sit. It's easier if I don't have to pop my arms out of the sockets."

Secretly grateful for the breather, Jason obeyed. Kat stepped behind him, deftly finger-brushed his outgrown hair back from his forehead and tied the leather band around his head.

"There you go." To herself, she had to admit that the unusual style looked good on Jason, with his now-full beard and bulging muscles; months of hardship and strenuous physical labour had hardened his body to the point where every sinew stood out in bold relief whenever he moved.

Experimentally, he moved his head. "It's too tight," he complained, trying to insert a finger under the band. However, Kat stopped him.

"No, it's not," she explained patiently. "Leather stretches with body warmth; it'll be comfortable before you know it."

"If you say so," Jason sighed. He hated having long hair - that was Tommy and Adam's style, not his. Also, although he wouldn't have thought it possible, he missed shaving. He was just thankful that despite his dark colouring he didn't have an excess of body hair; his beard stayed conveniently short. And the small scissors from Kat's sewing kit took care of keeping his mouth free at least, so he didn't have to chew hair along with his food.

"Haven't you made one for yourself?" Jason wondered, seeing that Kat had tucked her hair behind her ears again.

"Not yet; I won't need as much length, but as soon as we get a few more scraps, I'll do it. Until then, I'll manage."

"Okay." He looked over at the long branch he'd been working on. "The trees here are really great for branches," he commented idly, grateful for some company. By necessity, their respective chores kept them apart most of the day, and both missed having people to talk to. "I guess I can get three or four more done until dinner."

"Will that be enough for the shelter?"

"One wall at least," Jason nodded. "If we can find enough bark to fill the gaps, we should be able to keep the east wind out at least day after tomorrow."

"Oh, good," Kat sighed. "I'm getting so tired of freezing my backside every night ..."

"I'm sorry ..." he began, but she raised her hand and smiled apologetically.

"It's not your fault. The overhang just isn't deep enough, and I know we can't risk sleeping closer to the fire. Still, it's going to be a relief."

"Yeah," he agreed. Stretching his aching muscles, Jason once more frowned at the slight pressure the headband was exerting around his head. Plus, the dangling ends were tickling his neck. "Are you sure this is a good idea? How do you girls stand having things in your hair all day, anyway? Clips, barrettes, scrunchies ...it'd drive me nuts," he admitted.

"You don't have to wear it," Kat shrugged, slightly peeved that Jason didn't seem to appreciate her gift properly. "If you prefer going half blind instead ..."

"No, I'll keep it," he said. "You were right, having to brush my hair back was irritating."

It wasn't exactly a glowing thanks, but ... Better than nothing, I suppose.

On impulse, Kat ruffled Jason's longish locks just as he was about to get up from his perch.

"You look so cute wearing it," she teased in an exaggeratedly gushing tone, then yelped when he caught her wrist.

"What did you say?" he rumbled, glaring at her.

Kat gulped, then recognized the laughter lurking in the dark depths of his eyes. An irrepressible imp took hold of her tongue.

"You look ... adorable," she simpered, batting her eyelids at him.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrr," Jason growled, rising to his full height and with a deft movement, turned the snickering blonde around so that her back was towards him. "You're gonna pay for that, woman," he threatened, and placed a well-earned (in his opinion) smack on her buttocks.

"Ow," Kat complained, jerking away from that large hand. The blow hadn't really hurt, she knew Jason was only playing, but she was not going to stand the indignity of being spanked like a small child!

"You deserved that," he said smugly.

"Did not!"

"Yes, you did."

"Oh yeah? Then you deserve /this/!" And in a surprise move, Kat kicked out and swiped Jason's legs from under him.

He went down with a bellow of surprise, but trained fighter that he was, caught Kat's ankle before she could run away. Bringing her down through superior strength, he tried to pin her, but she fought like a wildcat, giving as good as she got as the two tussled on the mossy ground.

Kat 'won' only because by the time they were done, Jason was laughing too hard to be serious about the whole thing. He'd been teaching Kat to fight almost every night for several months now, and it pleased him to see how well she'd learned her lessons. He wasn't sure his own dancing technique had improved to quite the same extent - that was Kat's gift to him. Jason found himself on his back eventually, his companion sitting on his midsection and pinning down his shoulders with a firm grip.

"Uncle," he grinned. "Or would that be aunt?"

"Whatever," Kat chuckled, releasing him. She knew that if Jason ever exerted his full strength against her, she wouldn't stand a chance - he was just too strong, and had years of experience on her. But it was nice to know that by now she could take him by surprise, at least for a few minutes. "As long as I win."

"For today," Jason conceded, getting to his feet then helping Kat up. "You're getting pretty good at this," he complimented her.

"Thanks."

He brushed himself off. Dead leaves and twigs clung to both of them, but he knew better than to offer help with that to Katherine. Their enforced-by-circumstances intimacy was close enough; no need to add to it unnecessarily.

"Guess it's back to work for both of us, huh?"

"Yes - I wouldn't want the stew to burn," Kat agreed. She, too, had enjoyed the moment of fun. "See you when it gets dark?"

"Sure. And Kat?"

In the process of leaving, she looked over her shoulder. "Yes?"

Jason tipped a finger against his headband in a tiny salute. "Thank you for making this," he said softly. "I appreciate it."

A warm, gratified smile spread over her face. So he did remember his manners!

"You're welcome." With a spring in her step, she walked back to camp.

~*~



/Angel Grove, The Present /

"Dammit!" Justin kicked the computer console he was working on in frustration, cursing fluently in a language Tommy was pretty sure the thirteen-year-old shouldn't be knowing, much less using.

"Justin!" Cassie admonished him, sounding much less shocked than she should be, in Tommy's opinion. "What has that console done to you?"

"It's not cooperating," the barely-teenaged genius replied, frustratedly shoving his mop of hair out of his eyes. "I've put in all the data we have several times over, but all I get is total gibberish!"

"Haven't you managed to get anything at all out of the records Billy left after Kim was transported to the past?" Adam wanted to know. "I mean, Billy always was so meticulous about his research ..."

Justin sighed. "Well ... yes, I have, but ... the problem is, Billy obviously had a far deeper knowledge of temporal physics than I have. Zordon alerted him to scan for chronoton particles, but the parameters were fed into his instruments by Alpha 5, and obviously Billy added a few modifications of his own, in addition to being able to scan for Kimberly's communicator. They send out a traceable subspace signal ..."

"Weren't they based on microwaves?" Zack interrupted. "I think that's how Trini translated his explanation back when he invented them ..."

"An oversimplification, I'm afraid." Justin shook his head. "In any case, even if that was what he'd based the prototypes on, he's modified them so much over time that the ones we're using now - or even the ones you guys had at the time - have very little resemblance to the originals anymore."

"So what does that mean here and now?" Tommy asked, a little desperate because the discussion was getting way too technical for his liking. He was a decent enough mechanic as far as nuts and bolts - like a car engine, for example - were concerned, but the theory behind it was just a tad beyond him.

"It means that without access to notes or something - which don't exist; it was an emergency situation, after all, and the way I see it, Billy did a lot of quick, on-the-spot calculations in his head at the time and never bothered to write them down - I can't retrace his steps," Justin admitted, looking very put out about that.

"No ..." Tommy whispered, feeling the blood drain from his face. If Justin, a certified genius with all the advanced technology of the Power Chamber at his disposal, was unable to detect where in the timestream Jason and Kat were ... how could they ever get them back?

The young Blue Ranger sent a compassionate glance at his former leader. He really wished he could help his friends, more so because the missing pair had always shown him nothing but kindness, but ...

"I'm really sorry, Tommy. I probably could learn how to scan for Kat and Jason, but I'd need a few weeks of uninterrupted time with a good tutor and access to a university library to catch up on the theory I /have /to know in order to do any good. And what with school and fighting Divatox ..."

"...you don't have that time," Trini sighed. "We understand, Justin. We may not like it, but we do understand."

Even Tommy had to nod grudgingly. Still, he couldn't hold back a plaintive question. "Is there no way, no way at all that you could find them?"

Sadly, the boy shook his head.

"Sorry. The way things stand now, there's a chance that I might cobble together a scanner and pinpoint their approximate position in the past, but I have no idea at all how to recreate a time hole. And even if I did, I wouldn't know whether it's working the way it's supposed to. Even if we manage to get that far eventually, it's going to be very draining on our energy resources."

"We can't risk a serious power shortage, not without a reasonable chance at success," TJ said quietly, his voice regretful but firm. "Not with Divatox attacking the Earth on almost a daily basis."

"Would you say that if it were your friends trapped in the past?" Tommy whirled on his successor, eyes blazing with helpless anger. He knew he was being unreasonable, that if it were still him wearing the red uniform he'd take the same stand as the current Red Turbo Ranger, but that did nothing to calm him. It took Kimberly's hand on his arm to hold him back.

"Tommy, don't," she implored softly. "You're being unfair."

He felt his shoulders slump. Drawing a few deep breaths, he threw up his hand in a gesture of resignation. "I'm sorry," he sighed. "I was out of line there. It's just ... I'm about ready to climb the wall!"

"No sweat, man," TJ accepted the apology graciously. "I wouldn't want to be in your shoes."

"There's another thing," Justin spoke up again diffidently. "I think we're only going to get a single shot at this, if at all, and I want to be as sure as I can possibly be that it's going to be reasonably correct, and most of all safe to open a time hole. Temporal mechanics are iffy at best, and I don't want to risk Jason and Kat's lives, nor do I want to endanger the Power Chamber."

"Yeah, that'd be a bad idea all round," Zack gulped. He hadn't even considered that aspect so far.

"No kidding," Carlos agreed.

"Is there nothing at all you can do, Justin?" Ashley wanted to know.

"Not on my own, no."

"We'll all help," Adam offered quietly. "Trini and I are pretty good at operating the equipment here, and I know Carlos and Tommy know how to use a screwdriver ..."

"So do I," Ashley agreed.

"I'm not worried about the purely mechanical part; I know you guys are competent enough," the Blue Ranger replied. "Unfortunately, it's still the theory behind it all and our lack of knowledge about it that's the problem."

A brief silence settled over the Power Chamber; not even Alpha Six, who usually offered comments on everything had something to say. At last Tanya, practical as ever, turned towards the plasma tube housing the Rangers' mentor.

"Is there nothing, or nobody, that can help us, Dimitria?" she asked. "If I understand Justin correctly, he needs someone to work on the temporal aspect of constructing a scanner or whatever; we seem to have enough mechanics to do the actual grunt work."

The Inquirian considered the question for a moment. Then, she lifted her veiled face. "Is that your assessment as well, Justin?"

"Yeah," the boy nodded decisively. "If I had help with that, I could build a device to get them back. I know I could!"

"Are you certain about this?"

"As positive as I can be," he replied.

"In that case, do you have any suggestion who might render such assistance?"

The current and former Rangers looked at each other. Clearly, TJ's team was at a loss. However, Tommy, Adam, Rocky and Aisha were hit by the same thought almost immediately.

"If there was a way to get Billy back," Aisha mused. "After all, he was the one who did the original work ..."

"He's on Aquitar, remember?" Rocky reminded her unhappily.

"And we don't even know if he's recovered enough from his accelerated aging to come back," Adam sighed. "What if he's still not well?"

"Would it hurt to ask?" Tommy said, desperation warring with hope in his voice. "Jase and Kat are his friends, too ..."

"I'm sure that if he can, he would want to help them," Trini added, her tone ringing with conviction.

"Yes - Billy wouldn't let anything happen to his friends. Ever," Kim declared staunchly. "He got me back that once, after all."

Tommy raised his eyes to Dimitria. "Please, Dimitria," he begged, "can't we at least contact Aquitar and ask him? Even if he won't be able to come in person, he just might be able to tell Justin what he needs to know ..."

"You are aware that communication with Aquitar is not easily accomplished, are you not, Tommy?"

He nodded mutely.

"Also, may there not be a chance that William is unavailable for a variety of reasons?"

"It wouldn't hurt to try, though, wouldn't it?" Kimberly asked back. "I mean, if it won't hurt the Rangers too much ... and if you guys are okay with this," she added, graciously acknowledging the Turbo Rangers' greater right to use the Power Chamber's resources for their fight against the Space Pirate.

TJ consulted his teammates with a glance, then grinned wryly. "There's no sense in stopping halfway. We agreed yesterday to help you as much as possible, and that hasn't changed. I say we contact Aquitar."

"Is that a unanimous decision, Rangers?" Dimitria wanted to know.

"Yes." All four Turbos gave their consent, Justin looking decidedly relieved at the prospect of having his burden shared.

"In that case, will you wait while Alpha tries to establish a communications link with Delphine?"

The little android bustled towards the appropriate console, shooing Rocky out of the way who'd used it as a back rest. "Yo yo yo, Rocky, get your butt off the sensor array!"

"I'm going, I'm going," Rocky muttered, exchanging a glance with Zack. Both were of one mind - if their Alpha had talked to them like this sorry excuse for a robot, they'd have dismantled him a long time ago!

"Feeding in coordinates now," Alpha announced, oblivious to the former Rangers' androidicidal tendencies. "Ready when you are, Dimitria!"

As the Inquirian did whatever she needed to do to send a message through space, Tommy sent her a grateful look. He knew that this was no guarantee for success, but in his bones he felt that, if they could only get Billy's help, the chances for getting Jason and Kat back where they belonged were much better than without him. Besides, he'd missed his studious friend more than he thought he would, and it would be good to hear from him again, however briefly.

He swallowed the lump in his throat which always seemed to take up residence there whenever he thought about Billy's last months with them. He hadn't had it easy. Giving up the Zeo Powers, being relegated to the sidelines, getting unceremoniously kicked out of school, losing a chance at taking up the Gold Powers if only temporarily ... then nearly dying from the influence of negative protons he'd been exposed to because he'd saved the rest of them ... it was a lot to be heaped on just one person. But Billy had weathered it all, finally fulfilling his most secret ambition of going to another planet. It took a strong character to do all that.

And I'm sure that that strength - which we all never really appreciated while he was still here - will make him want to help. He'll never abandon a friend in need!

Outwardly, the former leader of the Rangers let nothing/ /of his thoughts show. He just inclined his head in a gesture of gratitude towards both TJ and Dimitria.

.

"Thanks."







To Be Continued ...