Isn't Life Strange

Part IV

by LadyNiko

"The AtmosphereOn the streets tonight
Is the driving beatOf the world
The word down hereOn the streets tonight
Is the truest musicYou've heard"
The Other Side of Life, The Moody Blues

On the other side of the galaxy heading for Tortuna in Ranger-Two, Shane Gooseman used the time in transit from Granna to truly become one dangerous looking outlaw. He had not shaved since he had left Granna and had three days beard-growth on his face. His normally full blond hair was slicked back, giving his face a harsh look. His black "renegade" outfit, hanging up next to his bunk in the back of the ship was rumpled and worn looking, his black hat with its red trim around the crown was hanging on the peg with his black outfit.
"Goose, we're approaching Tortuna." Alma's pink and blue oblong eyeball shape appeared on the screen by Goose's right arm.
"Get ready to drop out of hyperspace while I go change, then get me an encrypted line to Commander Walsh." Goose got up from the seat and went to the back of the ship. The easy part was over-- getting to Tortuna. Now came the difficult part-- finding Daisy. He knew she was too smart to stay on Tortuna with the Queen hot on her tail.
He changed into his renegade outfit and returned to the bridge as Alma dropped the ship from hyperspace some distance out from Tortuna.
"All systems ready, Goose. Encrypted line to Commander Walsh now open."
"Thanks, Alma," Goose answered, sitting down in his seat.
Alma's shape disappeared from the monitor and was replaced by Commander Walsh's face.
"Commander, I'm at Tortuna. Any word from Daisy O'Mega?"
"None yet. I expect to hear from her tomorrow." Commander Walsh answered, looking closely at Goose's image. He could look downright dangerous when he chose, and this was one of those times.
"I'm going down to the city see if I can get a fix on her whereabouts. I seriously doubt she's anywhere near here." Goose said, tipping his hat back off his brow.
"Be careful, Gooseman, Tortuna is bound to be crawling with the Queen's agents," Commander Walsh cautioned.
"Isn't it always?" Goose answered.
"Gooseman," the commander said in closing, "Watch your back."
"I will, Commander. Keep me informed if you hear from Daisy," Goose answered.
Commander Walsh nodded and cut the transmission.
Goose sat up in the seat and said, "Alma, power up the engines, and get me Geezie the Pedulant."
"Right away, Goose," Alma answered, powering the drives back up.
Geezie's face appeared on the monitor seconds later. "Galaxy Ranger Humming! What do you want?"
Goose said, "I'm going to be landing shortly here out in the bad lands and need a lift into Tortuna City." Triton, his cyberhorse was just too noticeable to bring along this time. Goose finished to himself.
"Not a good time for Hummings to be in Tortuna City. Especially not Galaxy Ranger Hummings," Geezie protested.
"When is there a good time for 'Galaxy Ranger Hummings' to be in Tortuna City?" Shane remarked. "Geezie, I need a lift into the city, what can you do for me?"
"Very well, Humming, you must have a longing for the Queen's Psychocrypt," Geezie said resignedly. "I will have my cousin, Deezie come get you, Galaxy Ranger."
"I'll be landing at these coordinates-" Goose gave him the coordinates. "Have him meet me there."
He paused a second and said, "Oh, and Geezie? Don't even think about pulling any tricks."
Geezie was affronted, "I wouldn't think of it, Ranger Humming!"
"Just making sure, Geezie," Goose said before he cut the transmission. He sat back in his seat and relaxed for a moment. The easy part was over. Now he had to find out if Daisy's information was true, and he had to track down the beautiful and dangerous outlaw gun-slinger.
By the time Goose had landed Ranger Two out in the bad lands, Geezie's cousin, Deezie was waiting at the designated pick-up point. He almost bolted when he saw the black clad Goose come out of the ship. Goose approached the young Pendulant slowly, and asked, "Deezie?"
The youngster nodded. He was in awe of the Humming. This was one of the Galaxy Rangers his cousin had talked about? He found his voice and asked, "You're a Galaxy Ranger?"
Goose grinned and answered, "Yeah, Deezie, I'm a Galaxy Ranger. But, don't spread it around. I don't want anyone to know that a Ranger is here."
Deezie's eyes went wide as Goose showed him his badge, hidden under a flap of cloth on the black renegade outfit he wore. This Humming was definitely a Galaxy Ranger.
Goose rebuttoned the flap of cloth that hid his badge and said, "Come on Deezie. Let's get going before someone or something finds us."
"R-right, Humming." Deezie stuttered. He knew what creatures crawled in the badlands and knew he didn't want to run into any of them. He opened the hatchway on the enclosed green wagon.
Goose climbed in and then they were off, heading for Tortuna City.
Deezie went back in the same way he'd come out-- through the Pendulant smugglers' tunnels, and he dropped Goose off below Geezie's shop.
Geezie stood there waiting apprehensively for the Ranger. It was rarely anything 'light' that brought the Rangers to Tortuna. It was siesta-time in Tortuna City, a mid-afternoon period when everything shut down for a couple of hours. Geezie could leave the shop unattended for a short period of time and not be noticed.
"Galaxy Ranger, what brings you to Tortuna?" Geezie asked. The Humming was almost more dangerous looking than any of the criminals who resided on Tortuna.
"I'm looking for Daisy O'Mega," Goose said. "You haven't heard anything have you?"
Geezie trumpeted nervously through his trunk. This was what had brought the Ranger to Tortuna. He should have known. "That's the Humming the Queen is very angry with. Queen's offered huge reward for Humming's capture, alive or dead. Preferably alive." Geezie answered.
"Now why is the Queen so upset with Daisy of all people? Daisy never did business with the Queen before," Goose questioned.
"I don't know. The Queen's said nothing about why. At least not that I've been able to find out," Geezie answered, wringing his hands.
"What else do you know, Geezie?"
"The Black Hole Gang is looking to collect the Queen's reward. They blasted out of here three days ago hot on Daisy's tail." Geezie shook his head. "I'm afraid that that Humming is in big trouble."
Goose growled at the mention of the Black Hole Gang. They were the worst bunch of outlaws he had ever had the misfortune to cross paths with. "Daisy blasted out of here three days ago? Do you know where she was heading?"
"No, Ranger Humming, I don't know. She stole a ship and blasted her way out of the spaceport. How did you know about Daisy O'Mega, Ranger Humming?"
Goose gave a short explanation, "She contacted BETA Mountain, looking for help."
Geezie looked a little puzzled, but didn't press.
"Geezie, where does the Black Hole Gang hang out when they're on Tortuna these days?"
"The Sunset Bar over in Sorry End," Geezie answered promptly.
"Good, then that's where I'm headed," Goose stated, and headed for the steps leading up to Geezie's shop.
"But, Ranger Humming! If the Black Hole Gang isn't here, what are you going to do?" Geezie questioned, hurrying to keep up with Goose.
"Then I'll wait. They're bound to return here sooner or later, and if anyone would know where Daisy was headed, then they would." Goose answered, striding through the shop.
Geezie trumpeted through his trunk again. The Ranger Humming must have a longing for the Queen's Psychochamber.
Goose left Geezie's shop and walked down the nearly deserted street, his hat pulled low down on his brow, shading his eyes. He made one stop before going into Sorry End at a borderline rooming house, that was almost a brothel. He signed in under an alias and paid for the room up front in Crowns.
The innkeeper handed him a key to the room and asked, trying to decipher the illegible scrawl in the ledger, "How long you gonna' by stayin' Mister--?"
"Indefinitely. Depends on how long my business takes."
"What'd you say your business was?" The innkeeper was getting down right nosy.
"I didn't. Now, if you'll excuse, I'd like to go up to my room now," Goose said in a frigid voice, giving the alien behind the counter a hard stare.
The innkeeper swallowed nervously, and said, "Sure, sure, whatever you say Mister!"
Goose narrowed his eyes and growled under his breath before turning to go. The innkeeper wasn't worth his effort.
He found his room and quickly checked for any electronic bugs. He found more than a few and decided to leave them in place because he wouldn't be staying there long. Not more than a day, either way.
He removed his gun belt and hung it on a bedpost within easy reach should he have some uninvited visitors. He stretched out on the bed and tried to relax, but memories of the team's stint as "Renegade Rangers" and their recent run-in with the Scarecrow kept after him.
Daisy putting herself in the line of MaCross' fire to keep him from being hit, the walkway being shot out literally right out from under their feet, Niko using her telekinetic abilities to keep them from smashing into the floor, and then his asking Daisy not to run when they were outside Ranger-One as she was about to thrust off and try and escape the Rangers. The scenes changed without warning and one second he would be in the middle of the Burning Nebula, the next he would be on Granna, facing down Scarecrow, or holding a severely injured Niko in his arms. More often than not Niko was the prominent figure in the warped scenes. That and his confused feelings for her.
Just what was he thinking? Why had he kissed her back on Granna? Oh man, he thought, you are really in over your head here...
Finally, after about an hour of tossing and turning and failing to get any real sleep, he gave up on trying to sleep at the moment.
Goose got up and buckled his gun belt back on. His mood had not improved any for his abortive attempt to get some real sleep, and he put his hat back on before leaving the room. He settled it low on his brow, putting his eyes in shadow and shut the door behind him. He walked through the lobby of the hotel, avoiding the drunk who came stumbling in from the street. The street was starting to fill up again as the city began to stir from its "siesta time."
He walked down the street, heading for Sorry End and the Sunset Bar. He would stake the place out until either the Black Hole Gang returned to Tortuna and he found out if they knew where she had gone, or he heard from Commander Walsh on where to meet Daisy. He hoped that she was all right, wherever she was....

* * * *

Back on board the Black Hole Gang's ship, Daisy O'Mega came to once more. Except that this time she was shivering with cold, yet burning with fever at the same time, and every muscle still ached abominably, everything was knotted and cramped.
Wonderful, she thought, maybe I won't live to see the Queen's Psychocrypt after all. She didn't know whether to be happy or frightened that she was running a high temperature. Damn, she cursed weakly, MaCross must have hurt her worse than she thought if she was burning up with a fever now. She hoped that her beacon had made it to the shipping lanes, and that Commander Walsh had gotten her message. The last thing she felt before lapsing back into the blessed nothingness of unconsciousness, was the ship dropping out of hyperspace. That could only mean that they had made it back to Tortuna.... and then, Daisy was beyond caring once more.

* * * *

In Commander Walsh's office, things were not going so well. He had not heard from Daisy O'Mega, and Goose had failed to turn anything up yet, and now, he had a commercial freighter calling about an emergency beacon that was encrypted. All the captain of the freighter could get out of it was that it was to be delivered to Commander Walsh at BETA Mountain. Walsh ordered an interceptor to meet up with the freighter and bring the beacon back to Earth. The interceptor pilot should return to BETA by late morning on the following day with the beacon. He hoped that Goose would turn up something on Daisy O'Mega, but his practical nature told him that he more than likely would not have any luck.
The day passed on, and Commander Walsh still received no word from Daisy O'Mega. When contacted by Goose, he was told that he had had no luck locating Daisy either. As far as he knew, she had made it off-planet, but beyond that, no one knew where she had gone.
Finally, the encoded beacon message was delivered to Commander Walsh the following morning. He inserted the data chip into the computer and got the first SOS message. The next part of the message required a password and Daisy had programmed the beacon with the question, "What was the name of the ship I stole during the Quadrant Four Wargames?" Walsh typed in "SS Cheyenne."
The computer acknowledged the password and said, "Password accepted. Playing message."
"Commander Walsh, if you're hearing this message, then I've been captured, and more than likely it's the Black Hole Gang that caught me." Daisy's voice said, heavy with irony. "As much as I would hope to be rescued, Commander, I wouldn't expect you to be sending anyone after me. Not if the Queen decides to put me in her Psychocrypt..."
The voice paused for a few seconds, as if shocked by that prospect, then continued on with a small laugh, "Huh, well, I guess it's no better than I deserve, but I plan on going down fighting.
"Commander Walsh, the Queen is planning to invade one of the frontier worlds in Quadrant Three. She's going to raid the planet for humans to use as Slaverlords, and soon. She's building up her armada and is planning to attack the planet any day now.
"I may be many things, Commander Walsh, but I'm not a fan of the Queen of the Crown. Stop her before she gets to that Quadrant, Commander, before she takes all those people to her Psychocrypt."
There the message ended...

* * * *

The next day, Goose repeated his routine; he checked in at Geezie's shop and called Alma from there. She gave him the message that Commander Walsh had sent to the ship that told him Daisy had been captured. More than likely it had been by the Black Hole Gang, and that his mission was now to: One, see if he could rescue her before being turned over to the Queen. Two, to find out what the Queen was up to. Was she actually planning an invasion as Daisy had said, and if so, which planet?
With that information, he headed over to Sorry End. On his way back there, he sensed that he had picked up a tail as he walked down the street. He had probably picked it up as soon as he had left Geezie's shop. He paused to look in a shop window and spotted who was most likely his tail. He moved on down the street, deciding to ignore him for now.
When Shane looked behind him again, the alien had vanished. Maybe he'd given the creep the shake. He decided to play it careful, and do some "shopping" before he returned to his room at the boarding house.
Jikke ducked into an alleyway and activated his comlink. "MaCross, we got trouble."
"What kind of trouble?" MaCross answered.
"Ranger trouble," the alien answered. "It's that blonde guy."
MaCross muttered a curse in his native tongue. "Where's he at?"
"He's in the bazaar, right now."
"See if he goes into a building. When he does, radio us. We'll head that direction and catch up to you."
Feeling that he had shucked his shadow, Goose returned to the Sunset Bar to see if the Black Hole Gang had returned to their favorite watering hole. The bartender was cleaning glasses when the doors swung open, and a large crowd wandered in.
"Come on, boys," a gruff voice called above the chatter. "Wet yer whistles and spend your pay. Celebrate while you have the chance."
Shane perked up. Just the slimebag he was looking for. He scanned the crowd for the source. He kept his hat tipped low on his forehead, keeping his face shadowed.
The owner of the voice was MaCross, leader of the Black Hole Gang. He got his drink and headed straight for Shane.
"Well, well, look what the desert blew in," MaCross commented snidely, sitting across from Shane at the table.
Shane growled low in his throat, refusing to be baited by that piece of slime.
"Funny, I didn't think this place could get much worse," Shane returned, one hand on his blaster, the other wrapped tightly around the beer mug.
"Come here looking for Daisy, heh? Too late, Ranger Boy. I took care of her real good."
Shane stiffened in the seat, his fingers disabling the safeties on the blaster.
"Whatsamatta, Ranger boy. You sweet on her still? Well, too bad."
Shane wanted to just blast him now, but it wasn't the best time or place, and he needed information.
MaCross was still trying to provoke him. "Daisy took a real shine to you. Don't know what she saw in a freak like yourself..."
"Shut up, MaCross," Shane barked, at the end of his already-short fuse. He shoved the table out of the way, and stood up, ready to take out MaCross.
The rest of the patrons stood up. There were more of them than Shane had counted on. Shane came to the sudden realization that the odds were a little bit nastier than he had first thought. He smiled, this was going to be interesting either way...
The bartender had already cleared out of the bar, along with the rest of the "respectable" patrons. He knew when more trouble than he wanted anything to do with was coming down.
One of the gang members made the mistake of trying to jump Shane from behind. Shane caught the movement from the corner of his eye and whirled about with a roundhouse punch. He grinned, this was going to be one heck of a brawl.
The gang member hit the wall with a thud, then slid to the floor out cold. The other members clumped together and started closing in. The fight was on.
Several of the gang members were behind his back, while the majority were to his front and sides. One in front charged him, knife drawn.
He dodged easily, saying, "Here, let me help you!" He grabbed the man's knife arm and used his momentum to throw him into the gang members just behind him. He kept the knife and used it to hold the gang members off for a few moments.
A few others soon took their places, surrounding him in a trap of fists, legs, and weapons of assorted types. One android tried to swing a punch. Shane ducked, and the android took out two of Shane's attackers.
Shane grinned and lashed out with a hook kick of his own, clearing a way to the bar. He reached behind it and grabbed a bottle made of thick, dark glass.
MaCross could be heard yelling above the din, "Don't forget! The Queen is offering a huge reward for live Galaxy Rangers!"
I'll fry that creep, Goose thought as he used the bottle to take out two more members of the Black Hole Gang, and severely cut a third. It was getting a little too congested in here, he thought.
One of them made a grab for his chest. Shane jerked away and heard the tearing of fabric. No big deal. No injuries. The gang looked like it was starting to thin a little. He continued to grab bottles from behind the bar, and use them as missiles-- managing to take out two more gang members.
Another gang member got on the bar and managed to deliver a kick to Shane's back, sending him stumbling.
There were about fifteen people left in the bar, all of them Black Hole Gang members, and/or people just looking for a good brawl.
Man, this is a time when I could really use Triton, he thought, regaining his balance.
The others were starting to overwhelm him and the hits were starting to accumulate. He reached down for his chest...
OH, SHIT!
His badge was gone. That must have been... He never got the chance to finish the thought as he was hit in the back by a heavy stunbeam.
He went down heavily.
MaCross stood with an evil grin and a blaster in one hand. He carelessly blew on the barrel of the smoking gun.
"Stun that changeling again!" yelled MaCross. "Gotta make sure he doesn't cause trouble."
It was the last thing Goose heard before being hit by a second stun beam and blacking out.

* * * *

He could handle himself. After all, he was a Ranger, and he'd handled himself in dangerous situations before.
Niko pulled the covers tighter around her. She had to stop thinking about him. He would be all right. It felt drafty in her apartment, but there were no windows or doors open, and the night air was still balmy and warm. She burrowed deeper into the covers and tried to get warm.
She kept playing their parting on Granna over and over again.... That and the last time they'd run across Daisy O'Mega. Daisy had taken a real interest in Shane and, well, Daisy was an attractive woman, and Shane could be something of a rake...
Stop this! She told herself, you're going to make yourself crazy if you keep this up, Niko!
Why the hell was she so worked up over this? Why couldn't she shake the feeling that something very wrong was happening?
But, if Shane had been interested in Daisy, why did he risk the entire mission to save you? Anyone of them were expendable on a mission like that-- part of the duty of being a Ranger, A little voice prompted somewhere inside her.
She sat up in bed and pushed her hair out of her face. She had to stop thinking like this.
And the kiss on Granna... That same little voice prompted once again.
Niko, you're reading too much into friendly gestures. You confused the poor man, she told that little voice.
She wasn't going to get any sleep in her current state of mind. She decided to meditate and hope that helped.
She took a piece of quartz from her nightstand and held it in her hands. Then she sat on the floor and tried to clear her mind. Just focus on emptiness. Focus on peace...calm... By focusing on those things, she was able to begin to levitate.
Suddenly, across her mind, she saw a flash of red light, smelled blood, and tasted fear and panic... heard something cry out.
She lost her focus, and crashed heavily back against the bed.
Something was wrong! Very wrong!
But, what? She had to find out.
She quickly controlled her breathing, and tried to concentrate again... What was that? She caught her breath and put a hand over her wildly beating heart.
By concentrating on slowing her pounding heart, she put herself back into the trance.
Trying to reach out only brought her to a red light... to a pain that had faded from a scream to weeping...
She was thrown out of the trance once more, and to her surprise, found tears on her own cheeks. Was she the one who had screamed?
A familiar voice calling out her name... She thought for a brief moment. No, Niko, you're paranoid, she told herself.
Then, she had a recollection of a green tunic covered torso with an angry red centipede tattooed on one shoulder. She gasped, MaCross of the Black Hole Gang!
But, the voice.... oh Gods, she hoped it was only a dream; though she had a sinking feeling it wasn't.
Her comm unit buzzed for her attention. "You have an incoming call," the bland female voice said.
She wanted to tell the computer to tell whoever was calling that she wasn't available and to take a message, but that little voice deep inside her prompted her to take the call. She put on a robe and walked over to the terminal, and punched in her code to accept the call. She was surprised by who her caller was.
It was Geezie the Pedulant!
The Pedulant sighed in relief. "Finally, I get a Humming that can help!"
"Geezie, what is it? What's wrong?"
"It's that Blond Ranger Humming who was supposed to find Daisy O'Mega. He was supposed to come back to my shop twelve hours ago. Not like Humming to be late."
She had a sinking feeling of dread, "Geezie, what do you mean he didn't show up?"
"He's vanished. My informant said something about the Black Hole Gang getting a Ranger Humming, but he can't confirm it."
"Oh no..." She whispered. "Geezie, why did you call me? Why not Commander Walsh?"
Geezie trumpeted, "Calling something like BETA is too traceable. This is easier to scramble. No one eavesdrops on private mail unless they have a reason."
"Hold on just a second here while I get the commander on the line, Geezie."
She pressed a key on the terminal and said, "Computer, get me Commander Walsh on the line right away. Tell him it's urgent."
The screen split, with Geezie on the left, and Commander Walsh on the right. It was obvious he had been roused from a deep sleep.
"Geezie, tell Commander Walsh what's happened," she said, pushing her hair out of her face once more.
Geezie cleared his throat and said, "I have information that your Ranger was possibly captured by the Black Hole Gang."
"What?!" Walsh's eyebrows shot up. "How long ago was this?"
"My informant didn't say, but he did say that a Humming had been captured by the Black Hole Gang; and MaCross lit out of the main dome a couple of hours ago..."
Walsh turned ashen, "Then, he's no doubt headed for the Queen." He muttered a curse under his breath.
"Commander! We've got to go after him, sir!" Niko put in.
Walsh nodded, "I'm calling in Captain Foxx and Ranger Hartford from Tarkon. Meet me in my office in two hours."
"Yes, sir!" She sounded relieved. He hadn't automatically said no. Maybe he would let her go on the rescue mission, despite her still being on medical leave.
"Geezie, thank you for telling us. Ranger Gooseman is important to all of us," Commander Walsh said directly to the alien.
Geezie looked around. "Can't talk for long. The spy droid will be passing my shop at any second. Geezie out."
The Pendulant cut the connection, and Niko turned to face her commander.
"Commander, Goose is really in trouble. I know it. I had a vision..."
Walsh's eyebrows shot up again. She was rarely wrong when it came to "seeing things," even if so little was known about her gifts.
He took in for the first time her ragged appearance. His gruff voice softened a little as he said, "You can handle it, Niko. Remember, you're a Galaxy Ranger."
She nodded, "Yes, sir."
"Remember, be in my office in two hours," the gruffness was back in his voice. "Walsh out."
The terminal flickered off, and she went to her closet, pulling out her white and blue jumpsuit uniform. She got her badge out from a drawer in her nightstand. She had a bad feeling about the whole thing. A premonition that if things didn't go well, she could wind up in deep trouble like Shane, or worse...
She sat down heavily on her bed and rubbed absently at her just barely healed collarbone.

* * * *

Walsh looked over the transmission from Geezie one more time. He looked up from the desk. "Nagata, your opinion," Walsh's voice sounded leaden, dead.
"I am afraid that we must consider Ranger Gooseman and Daisy O'Mega to be prisoners of the Queen."
"What about a rescue mission?" Walsh asked.
"Unlikely to be successful considering the current state of Crown and League defenses."
That wasn't what Walsh wanted to hear.
The door slid open, and Ranger Niko was all but running in.
"But if we don't even try to rescue them....." Walsh's voice trailed off.
"Can we take that chance?" Nagata answered.
"Sir, we can't leave them in the hands of the Queen!" Niko protested.
Walsh was tempted to ask Niko how she knew what had happened, but realized that when it came to the psychic, especially where Goose was concerned, he was better off not asking.
The com unit on his desk beeped for his attention. A tech's voice said, "Commander Walsh, you wanted to be informed when Ranger Hartford and Captain Foxx landed? They are docking now."
Walsh fixed Niko with a stern glare, "We'll discuss this when Zach and Doc get here."
Niko took a deep breath and wrung her hands, checking the door.
Walsh studied her very carefully for a moment. She was visibly upset, and that was completely out of character for her. He frowned and tried not to notice it.
A few minutes later, Zach and Doc came in. They saluted Commander Walsh, and Zach asked, "What's the situation, sir?"
Walsh looked up. "I have bad news. It would appear that Ranger Gooseman has been captured."
"Goose?!" Doc was stunned. "What happened?"
Niko blurted out in a rush, "The Black Hole Gang! They shot him in the back!"
Zachary turned around, and walked over to Niko. "Did you see this, Niko?"
She nodded, her eyes full of pain, "Yes... The Black Hole Gang... I could sense MaCross."
Zach said, "We'll leave immediately sir."
"Hold on, Captain," said Walsh. "Commander Nagata and I decided that a rescue mission would not be in the best interest..."
"But, Commander!" Zach protested, not believing what he was hearing.
"What?" was all Doc could say.
Zach was aghast at the very thought.
"Commander," Doc protested. "We have to do something."
"Commander, instead of mounting a full-scale rescue mission, let Doc, Niko and I go in and try and get Goose out." Zach tried to reason. "If Goose became a Slaverlord..."
"No can do, Captain," said Walsh. "Nagata just informed me that there is build-up of Crown ships in several sectors near the Border in Quadrant Three. We'll need the Rangers to stay out in those regions in case of an attack."
Walsh looked up. It was clear that what he was saying was just as draining to him. "If things go as badly as I'm suspecting, then Shane Gooseman won't be the last casualty of war."
"Commander! Think of all the knowledge the Queen could use against us if she makes Goose a Slaverlord..." Doc put in.
"If she has made a Slaverlord out of him, then it's too late. We need to prepare ourselves."
Niko tried to find something to say that wouldn't reveal just how emotionally involved she was in the situation. But what to say? It seemed already decided. She could still feel Goose's agony...
Zachary seemed ready to spit nails for a moment, then stopped, and shook his head in defeat. "All right. Where're our assignments?"
Walsh deliberately split the team members up. They were too well known for plotting and going off on their own when together. He couldn't risk that right now. He dismissed them, and the Rangers filed out of the room reluctantly.
They were to head to the Recharge Chamber, then off to separate ships.
Doc looked at Zach, "Now what?"
"We'll talk about it. But not here." Zach said.
Zachary was looking past Doc, off to Niko. He was chilled to see the look on her face. It was one he recognized too well.
They approached Niko and Zach asked, "Niko, can we use your quarters to talk?"
Niko nodded and gestured to the men to follow her.
"We have five hours before we're to report to Recharge," said Zachary as they walked along the corridors to her quarters.
"Enough time to put together a conspiracy," Doc commented, an uneasy edge creeping into the usual sarcasm.
Zach gave Doc an all-too-innocent look and said, "Who said anything about conspiracy, Doc?"
Doc took the hint from Zach and said, "Oh, right! We'll just be... getting a little drunk."
Niko seemed not to notice the exchange between the two, as she led the way to her quarters. Nothing more was said until they had reached Niko's quarters and were behind closed doors.
The first thing Zach did was to lay a comforting hand on Niko's shoulder and say, "Don't worry Niko, we'll get Goose back."
Doc turned around and punched a code into the keypad next to the door. "Just a little added precaution." He turned around and frowned. "Niko, are you okay? I mean, we're all shaken up about Goose, but..."
"No," Niko admitted. "I... saw what happened. It was awful." she blinked owlishly, and shook her head, as if fighting a hangover.
"What did the Black Hole Gang have to do with the Queen?" Zachary asked. "I didn't think the Queen would hire them."
"MaCross and Daisy have a history, Zach, if you'll remember," Doc pointed out.
Niko shuddered. She reluctantly thought back over her dream and said, "He wasn't really working for the Queen. He wanted the bounty she was offering on Daisy."
Zach nodded. That made more sense.
"And the Queen has huge bounties on us. MaCross would be a rich man," Doc pointed out.
Zachary paced the room. "Well, I'm sure that she wouldn't be keeping the bodies in one of the outer storage corridors."
Doc nodded in agreement, "A Galaxy Ranger? Oh no, she'd want to keep that 'crypt close to her."
"Which means that we'd almost have to be captives ourselves before we can even take a look at it," muttered Niko.
Zach turned to her and said sternly, "Absolutely not, Niko! You are not going to let the Queen capture you!"
She looked up. "If I can hide a shuttlecraft nearby, I could maybe get out."
"No, Niko! You're no match for the Queen. Especially when you're not back up to full strength yet." Zach was not yielding on this point.
"I don't want you winding up as Slaverlords if this fails," Niko insisted. "It's bad enough that I'm risking this. The two of you don't need to be endangered."
"I've got an idea about getting into the Psychocrypt, and we stay together on this. There's no going off on your own," Zach said, giving Niko a stern look.
"So what's the plan, oh Captain?" Doc quipped, trying to find something, anything to laugh at.
Zach straightened. "Niko's plan has a good idea in it."
Doc was taken aback. "Captain? Getting captured? Zach, are you sure you're running on all gears?"
"No, but sneaking in to the asteroid belt where the Queen's Psychochamber is at..."
"Okay," said Doc. "So are you thinking of deliberately walking into a trap?"
"No, let me explain..." Zach answered.

* * * *

Doc looked up and down the corridor. "Okay. You guys watch out for any security."
Zach and Niko took positions and watched for any guards to come by while Doc tapped his badge.
"Okay, Pathfinder, front and center," Doc said pulling out his CDU and opening it up. The holographic diamond flashed before him.
The tweaker program zipped out and hung in the air and asked, "What's up Doc?" Doc grinned. He'd been watching way too many old cartoons if he'd programmed that line into the tweaker.
"Pathfinder, old buddy, can you do me a favor?"
"Sure, Doc. What do you need?"
"I need this lock picked."
Pathfinder bobbed in the air for a moment. "Right on, Doc." Then off the tweaker program went, disappearing into the computer lock's circuits. It sped into the circuitry.
Zachary knit his brows. "You mean your tweakers can be used against BETA's codes?"
Doc smiled, "They answer to me, and me only. Safety measure in case of something like this. I can also hack through any code BETA throws at me," He continued, watching his CDU closely.
Zachary knit his brows. "Remind me never to completely peg you down."
Niko hissed, "Quiet, guys! I think I hear someone coming!"
Doc grinned as the circuit tripped, and the tweaker flowed back into the CDU.
They all straightened as a technician walked by.
The door slid open and the three Rangers quickly moved inside as soon as the tech was gone.
Doc locked the door behind them and the team members moved forward into the charging chamber.
"Come on," said Doc, walking to the recharge controls. "Pathfinder can only keep us hidden from the internal sensors for five minutes. From there, we have three more minutes to get to the shuttlebay."
Zachary seemed a bit worried, "I don't want to know how you came up with such a precise number."
"It never hurts to be prepared, Captain," Doc answered.
Niko was already heading for the lift leading to the recharge chamber. Doc programmed in the command. Zach followed Niko, still somewhat amazed by Doc's information.
"Okay. I put it on a short time delay. Let's go." He joined his teammates on the lift, and they quickly rode to the top of the charging platform.
As they walked out to their normal spots on the recharging platform, Zach asked, "How long before the charging sequence kicks in, Doc?"
"About thirty seconds. After Recharge, we have two minutes to get out of this chamber."
The sequence began and was over before the Rangers knew it. Doc was urging them on as soon as it ended, "Come on, we've got to get to the shuttlebay before the sensors pick us up."
Zach nodded, and quickly moved towards the lift, Niko followed a second behind, slightly befuddled. Something had happened during her recharge...
Zachary and Niko followed Doc, somewhat surprised by Doc's practiced handling of the situation. If Zach didn't know better, he'd swear that Doc had a lot of this planned months, maybe even a year in advance.
Niko couldn't place her finger on it, but she was feeling uneasy. Not because of what they were doing, but because of something out there, almost like thought-whispers.
The three Rangers made a mad dash for the launch bay, looking calm and collected when they passed anyone in the halls, but still rushing a little even then.
Zach noticed Niko's faraway expression and asked, "Niko, what's wrong?"
She shook her head, "Not now... let's wait until we're on the ship."
Doc stopped at a control panel and punched in a few commands when no technicians were looking. "We're in luck, Ranger-One's on the launchpad. Now, to key in a few commands...and leave a little something behind so that we aren't followed..."
Zach looked at Doc suspiciously, "How much of this have you had planned, Doc?"
Doc didn't look up. "Enough. Now, let's get out of here."
"Right. Let's go. We've got to rescue Goose," Niko said firmly.
"GeeVee, what's our status?" Zach asked as they entered the ship.
"All systems on-line and ready to go, Captain Foxx," GeeVee replied. "I've been waiting for you to arrive. Preparing to lift off, sir," the AI cheerfully answered back.
Everyone took their seats, and Zach turned to Doc and asked, "Doc, I don't suppose you took care of the tower did you?"
The shuttlebay doors were opening, and the Rangers strapped in. As soon as they did, the alarm klaxons went off.
"Actually, Commander Walsh took care of the tower for us," Doc said with a wide grin. "You're just taking off early to go report to your new assignment. Don't worry, those klaxons aren't for us. I also rigged the doors to jam shut once we leave in case anyone else got ideas."
Niko just shook her head, "I'm glad you're on our side, Doc."
"After we leave, the launch controls will be paralyzed for ten minutes. Enough time for us to be in hyperspace."
"What are our coordinates, Niko?" Zach asked.
"Tortuna," Niko answered with a grimace of distaste, "Sorry End."
"Then, Tortuna, it is," Doc said, and then, "GeeVee, plot the coordinates and get us into hyperspace."
The ship leaped almost instantly into hyperspace, heading for the outlaw planet.
They were three minutes into hyperspace when the controls unfroze at BETA Mountain, and all the alarms and computers went nuts.

* * * *

Commander Walsh came charging out of his office, "Just what in the Sam Hill is going on out here?"
His aide leaped to his feet and said, "I don't know, Commander. All the computers are registering every kind of emergency from a full scale invasion, to a total computer meltdown. They've gone completely haywire, Sir."
"Where are Q-Ball and Ranger Hartford?" Walsh asked.
"Q-Ball is on his way, Sir, and Ranger Hartford isn't answering his comlink."
"Have you tried the rec-room or his quarters?"
"I have someone on the way there now, Sir."
"Have them also try either Captain Foxx's or Ranger Niko's quarters. The three of them are probably together right now."
"Yes, sir," the aide nodded, going over to his desk to relay the message.
A moment later, Q-Ball was on the link, asking Commander Walsh to come to the Recharge Center, that he had discovered a problem in the computers there as well.
Walsh came storming into the Recharge Control Room a few minutes later, his aide following closely on his heels.
"What in the Sam Hill happened?" Walsh yelled to be heard over the blaring klaxons.
Nagata and Q-Ball were hunched over the controls, still trying to break the nasty encryption freezing the controls.
"We're still trying to figure out what happened, we need to see the computer grid. There's a very nasty virus freezing up our systems," Q-Ball said, straightening up from the controls.
"Damage?"
"Doesn't appear to be any," Q-Ball answered.
"I fear that this is probably the work of Ranger Hartford," Nagata droned.
"If that's the case, maybe our job will be easier, we know his tweakers," Q-Ball mused.
"Perhaps not," grumbled Walsh. "He designed those Tweakers himself. They might have a few tricks we don't know about."
"Well, he is the best computer hacker at BETA, sir," Q-Ball said.
"Has anyone found where Ranger Hartford is at yet?" Walsh asked, looking to his aide.
"No," said the obviously frazzled aide. "We can't find any of them."
Walsh didn't need to be told who his aide was talking about. It seemed that the Series-5 team had gone AWOL. He grumbled something under his breath, and turned to Q-Ball. "Q-Ball, can you at least do something about turning those blasted alarms off?!"
"Let me try... this," Q-Ball said, and crawled under the console. He came back out with a fistful of wires, and, there was silence as the loud alarms shut off.
"Crude, but effective," Q-Ball grinned.
Walsh gave him a long-suffering look before turning back to his aide, "Get the launch tower on the line, and find out when the last ship out left, and who it was."
"Joseph," Nagata said. "The virus has stopped interfering with our systems."
"Good, now can you tell me just what the hell it was, and how it got there?"
Nagata's lights inside the globe flashed browns and reds. Not a good sign. "We still don't know for certain, but the logs were erased for the Recharge Chamber."
"How far back were they erased?"
"For the past month, Commander," Q-Ball answered.
"Hartford," Walsh said to himself.
The aide got an answer from the launch tower and shut down his comlink before turning to Walsh. "The last ship to leave was Ranger-One, Sir."
"Who was on it, and what was the filed destination?" Walsh turned his attention to his aide.
"The flight plan was registered by Captain Foxx, sir. There was no crew manifest listed. It gives your authorization code. Says something about leaving for an assignment on the Border in Quadrant Three."
"I think we can figure out who was on it," Walsh said, but to be certain he asked, "Were there any other ships to launch?"
"None, sir, at least not that we can tell right now. The computer log is a mess at the moment, due to that virus," the aide answered.
"I should have realized that they'd do this, especially after the last time one of them ran afoul of the Queen, and ended up in her Psychocrypt."
Walsh paused for a long moment before continuing, "I'll give them 24 hours to turn themselves in... Or to rescue O'Mega and Gooseman."
And they'll need every minute of it... he said silently to himself.
The expression on Q-Ball's face seemed to echo Walsh's thoughts.
A moment later, Q-ball asked, "Do you think that that will be enough time, Commander?"
"It had better be, or I will go after them myself and haul them in to face charges." Walsh answered, sounding overly forceful.
Q-Ball just looked at him sideways, but kept his comments to himself.
Nagata was the one who asked, "Are you sure you know what you're doing, Joseph?"
"No, but I'll think of something to say when Wheiner shows up demanding an answer," Walsh admitted. "We have to give them time, Nagata. If they can pull this off, and find out what planet the Queen of the Crown plans to attack, then I'll let them get away with this stunt and see that they get some suitable reward and recognition for their actions..."

Isn't Life Strange - Part 04

From Betamountain.org

Isn't Life Strange

Part IV

by LadyNiko