Chapter 3: Lockout

"Well," said Adam with a smug grin, "It's a good thing I paid so much attention to Billy about programmer's back-doors."

"You fixed it?" Tommy questioned as she stood in the doorway of the cockpit.

"Well, I managed to prevent the hologram from locking me out. This brings up even more questions, like why it locked me out to begin with."

Adam pressed a few buttons on the console and then grabbed his gear. "I should be able to get into the engine room now. I'll be back in a few."

Heading through the very narrow passage, Adam found his way back to the door to the engine compartment. Once again he tried to use the locking arm which had not budged last time, only this time it turned without further problems.

Entering the compartment, the first thing he noticed was that it looked like a war zone. Damaged wiring and broken control panels littered the outer walls of the compartment, while in the center, what Adam assumed was the engine core looked like it had scorch marks all over it.

"What did you get yourself into Billy?" Adam wondered aloud as he began running his scanner over the core.

Power Chamber

"Alpha, is it possible that Billy's exposure to his regeneration device could have caused his aged appearance?"

"Yes Zordon, but the thing is, the tachyon particles that were left in his bloodstream are dormant. I don't believe they had anything to do with it. In addition, his blood has far more elements only available on Aquitar present considering the amount of time he was there. It's like he has been there for years."

"I believe this merits further investigation. I will contact the Rangers and see if they have come up with anything else."

Billy's Ship – Engine Compartment

"What is a chroniton?" Adam wondered aloud as he read the display on his scanner. All he knew was that whatever a chroniton was, the core was flooded with them.

His thought process was interrupted however, by the beeping of his communicator.

"Yes Zordon?"

"ADAM, ANY PROGRESS ON THE STATUS OF THE VESSEL?"

"First off, the engine room looks like a bomb went off, and also this ship has some kind of holographic interface to the computer. It's programmed to look like Kat for some reason. Oh, and I just scanned the engine core, it's flooded with some kind of particle, Chronitons."

"EXCELLENT WORK ADAM, YOU SHOULD ALL GET SOME REST. WE WILL CONTACT YOU IF ANYTHING ELSE COMES UP."

"Um, shouldn't we keep going? I mean we don't know what happened to Billy yet."

"YOU NEED NOT OVERWORK YOURSELF. ALPHA CAN TAKE THINGS FROM HERE."

Power Chamber

"ALPHA, THE PRESENCE OF CHRONITON PARTICLES IN THE REACTOR OF THE SHIP CONFIRMS MY SUSPICIONS. THIS SHIP AND THIS VERSION OF BILLY ARE FROM THE FUTURE. THE RANGERS CANNOT BECOME FURTHER INVOLVED WITH THIS MATTER."

"Yes Zordon, they could cause a paradox if they tell our Billy anything later on." Alpha agreed with the Eltarian's decision.

"RANGERS, THIS IS ZORDON. IT IS LATE, RETURN TO YOUR HOMES. ALPHA CAN HANDLE THE SCANS ON THE SHIP FROM HERE. WE WILL CONTACT YOU IF BILLY'S CONDITION CHANGES."

Zord Holding Bay

"What? Zordon, shouldn't we find out as much as possible?" Tommy asked, a touch confused about being told to basically leave.

"ALPHA CAN MAKE THE NECESSARY SCANS. I AM UNSURE OF HOW THE CHRONITON PARTICLES ADAM DISCOVERED WILL AFFECT YOU, WE WILL AIR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION. ZORDON OUT."

Tommy looked to his teammates who all shared a confused look. "Why do I get the feeling that he isn't telling us everything?"

"I haven't eaten anything since this morning, how about we meet back up at my place and we can figure out what is going on." Adam suggested.

"Sounds good, something doesn't feel right about this." Tanya agreed, a look of confusion and a touch of irritation on her face.

Outside of Power Chamber

"Kat, I finished some of the scans, it looks like Billy was exposed to some kind of radiation. Zordon and I will keep an eye on him. We don't know what the effects may be on you. Return home and we will contact you if there is a change." Alpha explained to the Pink Ranger who was stood at a window where she was getting some air.

"But Alpha... I should be here, I can help" Kat protested, but Alpha continued.

"Zordon does not want to put you at risk, and I am inclined to agree. I promise to call you if there is a change." Alpha told her before pausing for a second. "I have to get back inside."

Kat looked on as he teleported back to the main chamber, totally confused about the little robot's actions. Something didn't feel right and she was determined to figure out what it was.

Adam's House: Later that night

"They're keeping something from us. I don't like it." Kat mumbled as the five Zeo Rangers sat in the basement living room of Adam's house, discussing the sudden change in attitude by Zordon and Alpha.

"What can we do about it?" Rocky asked, not sure that they really would have much say in it

"Do you think Billy is ok?" Tommy asked with nervousness apparent in his expressions.

"I'm not really sure. He is stable as far as Alpha and I could get him."

"And what was up with that hologram?" Rocky cut in, before getting a shoulder jabbed into his side by Tanya.

"What hologram?"

"Um... there was nothing really odd about it. The ship had a holographic assistant. That's all." Tanya told her friend, hoping it would sufficiently sate her curiosity. While the others were unsure about why it looked like Kat, Tanya had her suspicions and wasn't about to spill the beans.

Kat knew when her friend was covering up for something, but decided to play along for the moment. She would find out later anyways.

"Oh, okay… Anyways, do you think we'd really be at risk if we went back?" Kat replied, trying to mask her annoyance that the others were hiding something as well.

"I don't know for certain, but the ship was flooded with those particles. We may be safer letting them handle it."

"I don't like it, but I think you're right." Tommy agreed. "We let Zordon tell us when it's safe."

The other four Rangers nodded in agreement, although one had little intent of honoring it.

Zord Holding Bay, 2 AM

A pink flash of light marked Kat's entrance into the dark holding bay. Armed with a flashlight, she made her way towards the ship.

"I don't know what they're hiding, but I aim to find out what it is."

Climbing through the hatch that they had used earlier, she found herself in the main corridor of the ship.

"Let's hope curiosity is asleep…" Kat mumbled as she headed for the cockpit.

Opening the door she scanned the room with the flashlight before coming across with the console that Adam's portable supply was keeping active.

"Let's see this hologram…"

Pressing a few keys on the console, she was rewarded by the crackle of light appearing to her side, forming into a human form. Her eyes went wide as the image solidified into her own image.

"What the… it's me." Kat was now really confused.

"Identify yourself." The holographic image demanded.

"Katherine Hillard, Pink Zeo Ranger."

"Voice print match… I figured you would show up eventually." The hologram's speech pattern rather suddenly became more human.

"What do you mean, and why do you look like me?"

"I have determined that the chronotron leak in the reaction chamber brought us here. The current year is 1996, therefore Katherine Hillard, basis for my appearance is still alive."

The pink ranger let out a gasp at the response to her question. "Still alive?"

"Katherine Hillard was killed in the line of duty in 1997."

To Be Continued…