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<p>'''<center><big>Part III - Rain</big>'''</center></p><br />
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<p><br />The examination had been sheer hell. Goose paced outside, straining to hear the<br />muffled voices through the heavy wooden door, then had to give up when one of the<br />nurses dragged him off to tend to his concussion. By the time he returned, Niko<br />sleeping fitfully. He was at her side when she finally did wake. It was a<br />comfortable room in a country hospital, not too different from the one he had<br />taken her to after being shot by the Scarecrow. Comscreen in the corner, large<br />beds with a nurses call button affixed to each. He had asked they be in the same<br />room, insisted on it, knowing he did not want her to be alone when the sedative<br />finally wore off. The look on his face convinced them it would be the right thing<br />to do. They didn't dare not, not the way his eyes were blazing when they brought<br />the wounded rangers in.<br /> His ribs had been bandaged, and the new skin where the gash had been<br />itched, and he had to restrain himself from scratching every few minutes. He<br />wore borrowed clothes, and had not spoken much since they were brought there. <br />He had asked not to be disturbed, not even by Doc or Zach, who he knew would be<br />on their way. They were outside, he had heard their muted voices through the<br />door. No doubt the country doctor had given them his report, explained where<br />they had been found, and in what condition. Everything but the one thing that<br />hurt the most, because Niko had yet to awaken and give her consent. Shane and<br />the Doctor who examined her were the only ones who knew.<br /> And there was still the matter of Killbane. No body had been found. A<br />great deal of blood, easy to track at first, but the rain washed away the blood<br />and the tracks too quickly. They had lost him, in the end.<br /> She stirred under the heavy quilt that looked like it had been made by<br />somebody's grandmother. Shane loved modern medicine. All her bruises and<br />scrapes had disappeared overnight. Now what about the scars that the doctors<br />couldn't see? Her eyelids twitched, and then opened slowly, revealing sparkling<br />blue-green depths. She was confused at first, a side effect of the drug they had<br />given her, unsure where she was. Shane held her hand in his own, and her fingers<br />tightened around his as she took the first painful breath after memory...<br /> The eyes widened in fear, other hand clutching at the quilt. Then she<br />relaxed, and saw Shane for the first time.<br /> "I thought... I thought it might have just been a nightmare..." She<br />swallowed, tears in her eyes. In a flannel nightgown one of the nurses had<br />brought for her, little pearl buttons up to her neck, hair clean and combed, she<br />looked nothing so much like a little girl tucked in for the night. The tears<br />began to fall, and he seated himself on the edge of the bed, took her in his<br />arms.<br /> "It's okay, it's okay... He's dead," he lied. It killed him, but he lied.<br /> She drew in a shuddering breath, and he held again until the quiet tears<br />stopped, and she drew in deep hiccuping breaths while he stroked her hair.<br /> "Better?" He asked, giving her a glass of water to sip, and she nodded. <br />"The others are outside. I haven't spoken to them yet. Doc, and Zach. I think<br />Waldo and Zozo are on their way too. Walsh himself would have hopped on a<br />freighter, or maybe just brought the whole fleet with him. Green's World has<br />never seen so much activity."<br /> "Do they know?" Her voice was very soft.<br /> "No," he whispered.<br /> "Then they never will. Never." She shook her head violently, almost<br />spilling the water. He took the glass from her shaking fingers. "I'm not sure<br />I want to go back."<br /> "Then we won't. We'll go anywhere you want to go, do anything."<br /> "They won't let you. The Council wants you to track down the rest of the<br />Supertroopers. The only reason they haven't locked you up is because you're the<br />only one who can find them."<br /> "I don't care. I'll run, if you do."<br /> "I won't run away. I would like to, but I won't. I can't. It won't ever<br />solve anything, not really." She wiped at her eyes, still feeling groggy from<br />the sedative. "Besides, BETA is home. Unless I choose Xanadu, which I won't,<br />then where else can I go? I won't run. I'll stand and fight."<br /> "That's my girl." He kissed her forehead, and she rested her head on his<br />shoulder. So you're the runt's woman... the ugly words came flooding back, but<br />she pushed them away.</p>
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<h1>{{PAGENAME}}</h1>
<h2>Shattered</h2>
<h3>by LJC</h3>  
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<p>Goose and Niko weren't given a mission together for three weeks, and hadn't spent<br />much time together until they got assigned to deliver an ambassador to Boru in<br />sector 23. It was a quiet trip out, with Ambassador Ramos, a two meter tall<br />Southern Bell with a brilliant sense of humor, telling anecdotes most of the way,<br />and sleeping the rest. Still, Shane didn't dare even touch Niko, because he knew<br />if he did, the Ambassador wouldn't be asleep long, and he'd probably crash into<br />something like a planet when he wasn't looking. The little shuttle was pretty<br />different from the interceptors he usually flew, being a new design just recently<br />put into effect by BETA.<br /> They would have taken Ranger I, except it was due to be serviced and Flynn<br />had pretty much told Walsh he had better give her enough time to do it properly,<br />or the old ship would probably blow his precious Rangers to hell someday just<br />`cause they worked her so hard. In the face of that kind of determination, what<br />could the Commander do but find an alternative? Flynn had hurumphed, flipped her<br />braid over her shoulder, and stomped out of the office, feeling very pleased with<br />herself, and went back to her bay to play around with poor Geebee some more.<br /> Once the Ambassador was safely settled in at the BETA embassy in Boru's<br />largest city, Pekin, she offered her escort a room for the night, and a dinner<br />that would surpass anything they'd ever seen before as Ramos had shipped her<br />favorite chef over from New Orleans a month earlier.<br /> They accepted, gladly after the ten hour trip, but protested that they<br />certainly didn't have their dress uniforms with them.<br /> "Don't be silly. Pekin has one of the biggest malls in the universe, and<br />I wouldn't be a lady if I didn't extend y'all credit. You just pick out whatever<br />your heart desires." She winked at Niko. "I personally shall accompany you, my<br />dear. I know exactly the right store to pick out something to match those eyes."<br /> Niko blushed, feeling silly. But Ambassador Ramos was not to be<br />discouraged. She was a lady through and through, and loved the chance to dress<br />somebody up. "I do the same thing for my grandchildren whenever I'm in New<br />Dallas," she confided as she swept her out the door, followed not so discreetly<br />by several guards, and headed for the biggest old-style limousine Niko had ever<br />seen. Shane watched, chuckling as the girl sent him a pleading look. Somehow<br />he knew visions of Gone With The Wind were running through her mind. He waved,<br />and went back inside to contact the Commander and tell him they'd be running a<br />bit late.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>"Heard you stopped the business end of a digging instrument with your<br />forehead. Knock any sense into you, my Gooseman?" Doc joked when Goose finally<br />emerged from the room.<br /> "We Supertrooper's have thick skulls." He tapped his temple, going along<br />with the jest.<br /> "Tell me about it." He leaned casually against the wall of the hallway,<br />but both he and Zachary had circles under their eyes from worrying.<br /> "I thought for sure Karen Walsh would have found a way to catch a ride with<br />you guys."<br /> "If there was a medal for trying, she would have aced it. Almost stowed<br />away. Flynn stopped her from sneaking on board. Commander would have nailed her<br />hide to the wall if she'd gotten away with it." Zach smiled at the memory. "She<br />was worried sick all the same. The kid is really fond of you two."<br /> "And with a mug like yours, I can't imagine why." Doc winked.<br /> "Can we see her now?" Zach finally voicing the question on all their<br />minds.<br /> "She's awake. I think we can use the company. Rough night." He opened<br />the door slowly, saw her sitting up in the bed, trying to look rested. He took<br />the same seat at her side, felt her fingers searching for his, and took them,<br />knowing at this point no one really was unaware any longer.<br /> "You look lovely as always." Doc bowed, making an elaborate arc with his<br />hat.<br /> "Flatterer. I feel like hell." She squeezed Goose's fingers.<br /> "I thought with you helping him fly that thing, he might be less prone to<br />crash into such nasty obstacles as planets. That's the fifth time in one year." <br />Zach wagged a finger at her.<br /> "If it's got wings, I can crash it," Goose announced with pride. She<br />chuckled, and he was so relieved that she could laugh again...<br /> "That wasn't so bad, now was it?" he asked her once the visitors had been<br />shooed out by the head nurse, a woman of eastern european descent who was not to<br />be trifled with.<br /> "It was okay." She nodded, leaning against him. The hospital beds were<br />not meant to fit two, for obvious reasons, but Shane had managed to prop himself<br />up at her side, so she wouldn't have to fall asleep alone. "The doctor said we<br />can head home in a few days, once all the tests are finished. And then you are<br />to take it easy, on account of those ribs." She poked him in the side with a<br />finger. "He thinks it's too soon, though."<br /> "I told him two days."<br /> "He said it might take days..."<br /> "You'll be fine in two days. You're too feisty." He wanted to get her the<br />hell off green as soon as possible.<br /> "Where do you come up with a word like feisty?" She snuggled against his<br />shoulder.<br /> "I look at you and think `Now there is a terribly feisty young woman. Look<br />at how she shoots and knows tae kwon do, and plays pool altogether too well for<br />someone brought up on a planet that is supposed to have absolutely no pool halls. <br />And she sings too. Now that is feisty-'" but she had dropped off to sleep<br />somewhere in the middle of the sentence, head still on his shoulder and he<br />chuckled. Completely worn out. Must be the drugs. Certainly couldn't be the<br />fresh air.</p>
<p>"So how long have you and the big cowboy back there been sweet on each<br />other?" The ambassador led the way through a huge glass and steel shopping<br />arcade reminiscent of the late twentieth century to a small shop on the<br />seventeenth floor.<br /> "Ma'am, I really don't know what-"<br /> "Oh, don't bother and lie to me, sweetie. They way you two were lookin'<br />at each other, I had it pretty much figured out before we ever left the Solar<br />System. Has he figured it out yet?"<br /> "Just last month." She laughed.<br /> "And just how long did it take?"<br /> "Two years."<br /> "Well, that's men for you. Took my husband a mite less time, 'course I was<br />encouraging him along the way. A well placed hint will do wonders for a<br />blossoming relationship. I put y'all in separate bedrooms though. I'm just an<br />old fashioned gal at heart. Hope you don't mind."<br /> "Ambassador!"<br /> "You blush real easy, don't you now?" She laughed, and patted Niko's hand<br />affectionately. "How do you look in green?"</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>She woke in the middle of the night, a scream dying in her throat as she<br />realized where she was, whose arms where around her. In the dim light form the<br />window, she could make out Shane's features, his peaceful smile. He must be<br />having a good dream. I'm jealous. She sighed, overcome with a fit of shivering,<br />having broken out in a cold sweat, the blankets suddenly oppressive. She forced<br />herself to be still, lest she wake him. He deserved his rest too. It probably<br />tired him out, watching her all the time. She would have to be careful, as he<br />was balanced on the bed somewhat precariously. She did not move, but relished the<br />feel of his arms around her, body next to hers under the quilt. She couldn't<br />stop the shivering, but she could try to bury it for a while by just feeling, and<br />not thinking. She was thinking too much. It brought back bad memories.<br /> He always looked so fierce awake. In sleep, he was very boyish really,<br />looking much younger than she knew him to be. There was perhaps eight years<br />between them. Not much, in the long run, though it had seemed so important at<br />first. She still remembered how he called her `girl' all the time, and in a way<br />that she didn't always mind. At least she knew now he meant it not in a<br />diminishing way at all. She would probably be `his girl' until she was eighty<br />years old. She almost laughed, except she was suddenly cold, and wished he was<br />awake so he could chase all the nightmares away with a kiss or a touch or a<br />whispered assurance. That was all she needed really.</p>
<p>Goose whistled appreciatively when he met Niko at the door of her room. <br />She twirled around for his benefit, laughing. The ambassador had chosen a forest<br />green taffeta gown with a full skirt that rustled when she moved. The sleeves<br />were puffed, and off the shoulder, revealing a great deal of creamy white skin. <br />Around her neck was a green silk ribbon, and her hair was braided and tied with<br />a matching silk cord. Goose whistled in approval.<br /> "I look like Scarlet O'Hara." She frowned. "I couldn't stop her, she was<br />out of control. It would have created an interstellar incident--"<br /> "Green is definitely your color."<br /> "You're just saying that because I hardly ever wear any other!" She liked<br />the way he filled out the dark suit, and for once, no cowboy hat.<br /> "We're going to be late for dinner."<br /> "It doesn't start for another quarter of an hour." She was puzzled.<br /> "I know." He smiled, and took her in his arms.<br /> "Oh," she murmured against his mouth. "That sounds good to me."<br /> "Excuse me." A small furred humanoid cleared his throat, and tapped Goose<br />on the shoulder. Niko blushed furiously, hiding her face in his shoulder, and<br />Goose sighed.<br /> "Ranger Gooseman, Ranger Niko, you have a communication in the Ambassador's<br />office. A Commander Walsh." Then the furry embassy staff-member scurried away,<br />leaving the two of them muttering under their breath as they headed for the<br />Ambassador's office.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>They left the next afternoon, against doctor's orders. It was a quiet<br />trip, all of them in Ranger I, Zach and Doc sensing if not really knowing that<br />something had happened. None of the usual light banter. Buzz, Q-ball, and the<br />ambassadors met them in Walsh's office. Goose would give the report later,<br />alone. The two of them had agreed the Commander should know, but no one else.<br /> The first week was the hardest. Niko spent most of it sequestered with Dr.<br />Leahy, at the commander's behest. Karen Walsh left countless messages with<br />Niko's home AI unit, all left unanswered. When she finally did see her friend,<br />she seemed tired, jumpy, and brittle. There were large circles beneath her eyes,<br />and she only seemed to half listen to what Karen had to say.<br /> Dr. Leahy called Goose in to her office the next day. She was a smallish<br />woman, her blond hair pulled back into a french twist, and her English accent<br />gave a formality to her that was belied the bright gleam in her eyes. She was<br />very concerned about her patient, and it showed in her line of questioning. The<br />moment Shane was settled into one of the comfortable chairs, she began.<br /> "Were you and Niko lovers before the rape?" This took him aback, and he<br />stiffened self-consciously. "Please answer honestly. I'd like to have a session<br />with both of you sometime soon, but to help her, I need to know."<br /> "No," Gooseman looked uncomfortable. "Not yet. She wanted us to wait."<br /> "She is going through a very difficult time. She needs reassurances<br />constantly. Don't be afraid to touch her, to show you still-"<br /> "Doctor, I think you're underestimating her."<br /> "Ranger Gooseman, I think you'd best listen to me, and listen well. If you<br />love her, you'd best stay by her. I know she may seem tough to you, and<br />indestructible, but appearances can be deceiving. Give her time."<br /> "She jumps every time I come near her." Shane frowned darkly, feeling<br />helpless.<br /> "She's not reacting to you, just your presence. The scars of the attack<br />are just too raw. But she's trying."<br /> "I know. I know how hard she's trying. It's wearing her out, the trying! <br />Doctor," Goose clenched and unclenched his fists. "I feel.... responsible." <br />She blinked as the large man got up and began to pace.<br /> "Exactly how do you mean that, Ranger Gooseman?"<br /> "Don't turn shrink on me. I just mean, it was Killbane's hatred for me<br />that moved him to do what he did. He wasn't striking out at her, he was striking<br />out at me, through her. Because I... because I love her, he knew how much it<br />would hurt."<br /> "I had heard Killbane is dead."<br /> "The body hasn't been recovered."<br /> "Then you think he might still be alive?"<br /> "If he is, then he'll want revenge. His whole life is built around it. <br />I don't want Niko to ever be hurt because of me again."<br /> "I can't predict the future."<br /> "I guess I'm not asking you to." He sighed, and fell back into the chair. <br />"I just need to talk to someone."<br /> "`Shrinks' as you put it, can be like bartenders. Everyone needs a<br />sympathetic ear once in a while. We just generally charge more." Dr. Leahy<br />smiled.<br /> "She doesn't know."<br /> "Pardon?"<br /> "She doesn't know that Killbane might still be alive. I don't know if we<br />should tell her."<br /> "It would be best not to keep anything from her, but I can see your<br />concern."<br /> "I just don't want her to hear it from anyone else, to read it in an active<br />file or hear it as scuttlebutt."<br /> "Then I would suggest telling her as soon as possible, and staying to talk<br />it through with her. Don't let her pull away from you, into herself, or you<br />might lose her." She watched the tall cowboy get up to go, still looking<br />troubled. "Cheer up, Ranger Gooseman. You may get lucky, he may really be<br />dead."<br /> "I hope you're right, Doctor."</p>
<p>If Walsh was curious about his rangers state of dress, he wasn't going to<br />waste time talking about it. He had more important things to be worried about.<br /> "Rangers, Ryker Killbane was sighted in sector 27, heading in your<br />direction. He stole a class 47 miner's tug from Starbase 12, that's how we are<br />able to track him. Class 47's don't have Andorian drives, but they do have<br />cutting lasers and tractors. I want you to try to intercept and capture."<br /> "On our way sir." Goose cut communications while Niko scrawled a note to<br />the ambassador.<br /> "Killbane owes us dinner." She sighed as they raced back up to their rooms<br />to change.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Goose met with Commander Walsh as soon as the session was over, who granted<br />them three weeks leave, effective immediately. It was late, but Goose went to<br />tell Niko the news anyway. He found her in her quarters.<br /> She was in her robe, hair still damp, all the lights out, in front of the<br />large window that dominated one wall, staring at the patterns the rain made on<br />the glass. Her arms were crossed in front of her chest, hands holding fast to<br />the sides of her forearms, and she didn't seem to hear him approach. When he put<br />his hands on his shoulders, she flinched, and he saw the tracks of silent tears<br />on her cheeks, silver in the pale light from the window.<br /> He knew what she was thinking, what memories were playing themselves over<br />and over in her mind, and he felt her fingers brush his hand, curl tight around<br />his as she began to shiver uncontrollably. He had never seen her so pale, so<br />frightened, so helpless, not since the rape.<br /> "I don't want to be like this. I don't want to have to have these memories<br />every time I hear his name," she whispered, turning to him, her face in shadow. <br />"I don't want to see his face every time I close my eyes, hear the laughter when<br />I am alone."<br /> "You're not alone." He held her tight, kissing away the tears. She<br />stiffened, but didn't move away.<br /> "I am tired of waking screaming, not knowing where I am. I'm tired of<br />being afraid to sleep, for the dreams. Every night it's a battle, and I try to<br />think of you to drive away to darkness, but you're so far away. And I'm so<br />afraid." His heart felt as if it would break as he held the sobbing woman in his<br />arms.<br /> "I need new memories," she whispered, mouth next to his ear. "I want to<br />think of this, the two of us, here, when it rains. I want this memory. I want<br />you." She pulled back to meet his eyes, and then, slowly, carefully, she lifted<br />his hand from her waist, and placed inside the robe on her breast.<br /> "You're certain?" He asked, searching her eyes, and she nodded, still<br />shaking. Then he slipped the satin robe over her shoulders, kissing her neck,<br />hands in the damp mass of her hair, lifting her off her feet as they kissed, her<br />warm flesh pressed against him. She stroked his hair, touched the nape of his<br />neck, felt the cheekbone beneath her fingers, the hard shoulders as she slid down<br />the length of him. Then he scooped her up, and carried her into the next room,<br />his lips never leaving hers as he lovingly placed her on the bed.<br /> I love you, he whispered in her ear. Over and over until they crawled<br />under the sheets, pulled the blanket close around them, snuggling together for<br />warmth, and fell into an exhausted sleep.</p>
<p>In orbit around Green's World in sector 27, the two rangers kept a sharp<br />eye out for their adversary. They didn't have to wait long.<br /> "I have him on our scanners." Niko locked the on-board computer on to the<br />stolen ship's ion trail. "Broadcasting on all frequencies."<br /> "As if he'll stop just because we asked him to," Goose muttered, arming the<br />blasters.<br /> "There's your answer," she snapped, bringing up the defenses as the miner<br />ship fired lasers at their underbelly. "Shields up at maximum. Didn't even graze<br />us."<br /> The comscreen flickered, and after a moment of chattering to itself,<br />Killbane's scarred face appeared.<br /> "Think you can catch me, Runt?" He snarled.<br /> "It's for you, dear." Niko jerked her head towards the screen.<br /> "You're under arrest, Killbane." He fired a warning shot across the 47's<br />bow.<br /> "Come and get me, Gooseman." Lasers fired again, and this time the shuttle<br />shook with the impact.<br /> "Shields at 60% and dropping." Niko frowned at the tactical screen.<br />"Something tells me these weren't built for combat."<br /> "So we put him out of commission before he gets another shot at us." Goose<br />brought the shuttle around for another pass, finger paused on the trigger. <br />"Killbane, this is your last warning!"<br /> The comscreen stayed blank, and he fired. The shots grazed the side of the<br />ship, causing enough damage to slow him down. The miner's tug shuddered, but<br />righted itself and fired at the shuttle again.<br /> "Damage to airlock two and guidance systems." Suddenly the little shuttle<br />lurched. "Goose, he's locked his tractor on us!"<br /> "Firing main engines." He frowned as the shuttle shook, but did not break<br />free. "Tractors on that thing are strong..."<br /> "Firing again, damage to hyperdrive and engine two." She targeted weapons<br />again and fired on Killbane's stolen ship. "His life support is going. We're<br />supposed to arrest him, not kill him."<br /> "What are the conditions on the planet down there? Can we try to force him<br />down?"<br /> "Mostly marsh with a few mining settlements, half of them empty." She<br />gritted her teeth as the shuttle lurched again. "His tractor is tearing us apart<br />at such close range."<br /> "I'm aiming for the tractor controls." He fired, and Killbane's leering<br />face came back up on their screens.<br /> "If I'm going down, you are going with me, Runt." He laughed, and fired<br />lasers at their underbelly. Smoke filled the cabin as circuits fused.<br /> "Main engines off line. We're caught in the planet's gravity. Orbit<br />decaying." Niko grabbed an extinguisher from behind her seat to use on the<br />flaming control panel.<br /> "Killbane is going down. I'm tracking him." He buckled the safety straps<br />of the seat.<br /> "Shane, we're going to crash!"<br /> "Don't worry. I do it all the time." He smiled. "Buckle your seatbelt.<br />This might get a little bumpy."<br /> "You're crazy."<br /> "That's why you love me." He called up a map of the area they were headed<br />for, and caught a quick glimpse before the computer's memory turned to<br />gobbledygook and the screen went blank. "As soon as we hit the atmosphere,<br />activate your implant to shield yourself."<br /> "What about you?"<br /> "I'll be fine. Do it!" He wrestled with the controls, keeping Killbane's<br />tug, now flaming in the planets atmosphere, in his sights. They cut through the<br />heavy cloud cover, and barely avoided crashing into the side of a mountain. Niko<br />sucked in air between her teeth, but the faint glimmer around her outline assured<br />him she was shielded. He kept his own fingers hovering over his badge, just in<br />case. They managed to come down in the middle of a thunderstorm, and he couldn't<br />see a thing. Including land. Hence, they set down in a lake.<br /> "Damn." He unbuckled his harness as they settled on the bottom of the<br />lake. The on-board systems began shorting out as the water got in through holes<br />made by Killbane's lasers, and hull breeches from where entering the planet's<br />atmosphere had widened the rips and tears. The lights flickered and went out,<br />and he heard Niko swear in the darkness.<br /> "Temper, darlin'." He found her hand in the darkness. "Activate your<br />implant. We've got some swimming ahead." She became outlined in yellow fire,<br />and he touched his own badge as he blew the airlock. Water rushed into the cabin<br />as he hooked an arm around her waist and kicked towards the surface with newfound<br />fins.<br /> They broke the surface, Niko gasping for breath but otherwise all right,<br />although she began to wonder why she bothered with her badge at all, when she was<br />immediately soaked through to the skin in seconds by the rain.<br /> "We need to find shelter. Fast," he shouted above the wind. It wasn't a<br />thunderstorm, it was a bloody hurricane...<br /> "Don't need to tell me twice," she shouted back. "Any idea where we are?"<br /> "There should be some abandoned miners' cabins about half a kilometer north<br />of here."<br /> "Lay on, MacDuff." She pushed wet hair back from her eyes, saw him<br />illuminated in a flash of lightening, and grasped his hand as they started off<br />in what she assumed was a northerly direction.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Goose awoke to screams. The rain had stopped, but room was pitch dark and<br />he fumbled for the crying woman amoung the blankets. Half awake she pushed away<br />his arms, and he held her tight, whispering into her hair.<br /> "Shhh, it's okay."<br /> "You were dead, I dreamt you were dead and he was there--" She couldn't<br />stop shaking.<br /> "It's okay, it's okay. I'm here." He stroked her hair, brushing away her<br />tears with his thumb.<br /> "It was so real...so real...."<br /> "Go back to sleep."</p>
<p>They stumbled into the cabin almost two hours later, slamming the door<br />against the wind and rain. Niko felt around until she found a lantern, and lit<br />it from the lighter in her supply pouch. In its glow, she surveyed the cabin.<br /> One room, a table and chair in one corner, stripped bed in another. She set<br />the lantern on a shelf and rummaged around for some blankets while Goose broke<br />up the table to use for firewood. She clenched her teeth to keep them from<br />chattering, and found a rifle and the remains of a blanket under the bed.<br /> "Home sweet home," Goose muttered as the furniture finally caught and she<br />crouched down next to him in front of the fire. She held up the laser rifle for<br />his inspection.<br /> "Found a powerpack too. Never hurts to be armed." She smiled brightly,<br />running her fingers through her dripping mass of hair. They wrapped themselves<br />up in the moth-eaten blanket.<br /> "How romantic," Niko muttered, pulling what looked like seaweed from her<br />hair and tossing it on the fire.<br /> "I'm going to have to go out after him." Gooseman frowned.<br /> "Maybe he died in the crash." She looked hopeful.<br /> "I'd never get that lucky. Even if he did, I have to make sure." He and<br />Killbane had never been friends, and both knew one would have to kill the other<br />some day. It was a foregone conclusion, no matter what BETA and the Council of<br />Leaders had to say about it. It could end no other way. Goose wasn't exactly<br />looking forward to their final fight. However, he did just want it all to be over<br />someday. Well and truly over.<br /> "My scanner isn't too waterlogged. It should be able to find the remnants<br />of his ship in this mess." She pulled the little device out of her belt pouch,<br />wiping the swamp scum from the controls with a grimace.<br /> "I want you to stay here." His mouth was a firm line.<br /> "Shouldn't both of us-"<br /> "If something should happen, one of us should concentrate on getting back<br />to earth in one peace."<br /> "That's stupid." She bristled, eyes flashing and he had to admit she<br />looked gorgeous...<br /> "Killbane is my fight."<br /> "Of all the egoistic, machismo, bloody stupid-" She sputtered angrily. He<br />put a hand over her mouth.<br /> "You are staying here if I have to tie you up. And that is the last I'll<br />here of it."<br /> "Is it because I'm a woman?" She was really getting angry. "Don't you<br />think I can hold my own in a fight?"<br /> "Don't be silly. I know you can. It's because you're my woman." He<br />smiled at her outraged expression, and cut off any protest she could have made<br />with a long, passionate kiss. She was still angry when they parted, but the fire<br />in her eyes was no longer all fury. It made him smile. When they got back to<br />earth, Killbane or no Killbane, he was going to put in for some vacation time. <br />God only knew, they'd been racking it up over the past two years. Someplace<br />warm, romantic, out of the way where they had never even heard of Andorian<br />drives, Crown troopers or even telephones...<br /> "Just promise you'll check in every fifteen minutes, and call as soon as<br />you find the ship. The comms seem to be working fine..." She was still<br />frowning.<br /> "Yes, mother." He laughed, and opened the door. She went to hand him the<br />rifle, but he shook his head. "Keep it here, next to you. It never hurts to be<br />armed." He kissed her on the forehead, and then on the mouth. She held him<br />tightly, suddenly afraid, and kissed him back thoroughly before he disappeared<br />into the damp darkness.<br /> "I'm gonna kill him," she muttered as she shut the door against the chill.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Part V</p>
<p>Dreams</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><br />"Where do you want to go?" He asked her as he placed the breakfast try the<br />computer had provided between them on the bed. It was actually long past<br />breakfast time, but it was the first full night's sleep she'd had in days, and<br />Goose wanted to let her enjoy as much of it as she could. He hated seeing her<br />so pale, and the long sleep, among other things, had put more color back into her<br />cheeks.<br /> "What do you mean?"<br /> "We have three weeks. Where would you like to spend them?"<br /> "You mean, anywhere in the universe?" Her eyes were bright, cheeks flushed<br />as she took a bite from a croissant. It had been wonderful, waking beside him. <br />She wanted every single morning to be just as wonderful. And every night...<br /> "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" She blushed, realizing a long silence<br />had stretched out between them as she sat there thinking. He was smiling that<br />same cheshire cat smile that had not left his face since he had opened his eyes<br />and saw her staring at him in the faint sunlight that streamsed through the door<br />of the living room.<br /> "Perhaps the best vacation in the universe would be to never have to leave<br />this room." He raised a brow suggestively, and she laughed. She had pulled a<br />pajama top on, dark blue satin, and he unbuttoned the top button now, and ran a<br />finger along her collarbone. He suddenly got up, moved the tray to the floor,<br />out of harm's way, and then settled back down beside her.<br /> "I suppose we could go to Xanadu..." she thought aloud, as he traced the<br />curve of her ear with the tip of his tongue. "I know Ariel would like to meet<br />you..." He was unbuttoning to rest of the shirt, hands straying lower. "The<br />coffee's going to get cold." She murmured, eyes dancing.<br /> "So we'll order more," he growled happily, pulling the covers back.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>"This is hideous." Niko craned her neck to see what Karen was reacting so<br />strongly to. "Unisex dress uniforms! That's sick. The least they could have<br />done was give you a skirt or something."<br /> "It's not so bad." She giggled at the affronted look on the girl's face.<br />"If you keep inspecting every piece of clothing in that closet, we are never<br />going to get me packed."<br /> "You asked for help, you are going to get help. Of the most important<br />kind. I am lending you half my wardrobe. This," She gestured to the tiny pile<br />she had approved thus far "will simply not be adequate."<br /> "I'll probably spend most of my time out by the pool anyway, in a suit."<br /> "Or nothing at all." Karen grinned lecherously.<br /> "Get your mind out of the gutter, young lady."<br /> "I have never, in all my years, seen anyone so prone to blushing."<br /> "I swear I never used to blush so often."<br /> "You had nothing to bring one to your cheeks before, I'll warrant. Ah, but<br />I envy you. A romantic, secluded hideaway, a tall, handsome cowboy."<br /> "And no nosy teenagers." She sighed, and Karen punched her in the arm with<br />a look of mock hurt.<br /> "Still, three weeks on Rees! It's supposed to be gorgeous there, not to<br />mention expensive."<br /> "Well, we a little help in that department," Niko admitted. "Ariel has<br />more money than she knows what to do with, so she wastes it on me."<br /> "She's like your mom, isn't she."<br /> "I don't remember my parents. I was too young."<br /> "Your file said you were five." Karen didn't mean to pry, but she was<br />curious.<br /> "The first thing I remember was Ariel and the circle on Xanadu, in the<br />council chambers. They found me... raised me."<br /> "Do you think you blocked the memories?"<br /> "I must have. When they psychtested me when I joined BETA they offered to<br />regress me, but I declined. I decided that the memories would come back if they<br />were going to, and wait them out. They haven't yet." She shrugged, and zipped<br />up her valise.<br /> "My mom and died three years ago." Karen tried to sound like it was no big<br />deal. "I was in school on the mainland when it happened. The power went down<br />on the offshore kelp harvesting plant mom and dad worked at, and there was a<br />faulty backup system. It overloaded and the whole pylon blew sky high."<br /> "Karen, I'm sorry, I didn't know-"<br /> "Hey, it's okay. But see, at least I got to know them for fifteen years.<br />And sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't have hurt as much if I hadn't known them. <br />I guess that's why I asked."<br /> "I wish I had an answer, kid." She smiled, squeezing Karen's shoulder, and<br />set about finishing packing.<br /> She removed her badge from her uniform, and placed it in a case which she<br />then tucked in the pocket of her bag.<br /> "Think you'll be needing that?"<br /> "You never know." The door chimed, and Niko jumped up to let Shane in. <br />He greeted her with a long, wet kiss.<br /> "Whoa, I saw tongue!" Karen raised a brow.<br /> "Naughty girl, don't you have class?" Niko laughed.<br /> "I'm going, I'm going." Karen put up her hands in defeat, and slipped out<br />the door, blowing kisses.<br /> Shane held up a garment bag, a gleam in his eyes. "This arrived this<br />morning, for you." Niko looked puzzled, and unzipped it, a hand going to her<br />mouth. It was the dress Ambassador Ramos had bought her on Boru. She ran her<br />hand over the taffeta, a slow smile spreading across her face.<br /> "I think this vacation is going to be just perfect." She sighed.</p>
<p>Shane found the wreckage of Killbane's ship, half sunk in the mud of the<br />swamp. No body, so he must be still lurking about somewhere. He tried to<br />remember the details of the map that had flashed before they crashed, and failed. <br />He had no idea in what direction the nearest town was. He had never even been<br />to Green's World before. It was a common enough joke that Green's was the most<br />backwater of the backwater planets, too far from the shipping lanes to really<br />live there comfortably, and all the mining had petered out about a decade<br />earlier. In another twenty years, it would probably be abandoned.<br /> No wonder no one wants to stay, with weather like this. He raised the<br />collar of his uniform as another light drizzle began. He was about to raise Niko<br />on the com when he suddenly caught a flurry of motion out of the corner of his<br />eye.<br /> He turned too late, and the rusted shovel caught him on the forehead. He<br />saw Killbane in the planet's dim dusk, waving the shovel, and he jumped back,<br />hearing it whistle through the air where he had been standing. Blood from the<br />gash in his eyes, he could barely see the next strike. He reached for his badge,<br />but the other man slammed into him, knocking them both to the ground, knowing if<br />he activated his bio-defenses, who would be the victor. And Killbane was taking<br />no chances.<br /> The badge was ripped away first thing, though Goose got in one good punch<br />right after, seeing with satisfaction Killbane's head snap back from the impact. <br />He leapt up, ready for a fight, and ended up with the shovel jammed hard into his<br />stomach. Killbane had snatched it from the mud, and now laughing gleefully,<br />kicked Shane hard in the ribs with his booted foot. The wind knocked out of him,<br />he still rolled out of the way so his opponent couldn't strike again.<br /> Gooseman got to his feet, wiping blood from his eyes, but Killbane was<br />armed, albeit with a shovel, and that tool had a longer reach. It whistled<br />through the air again, grazing his shoulder as he jumped back. Killbane laughed<br />as Goose went down, tripping over a tree root half buried in the muck, and took<br />advantage, slamming the handle of the shovel into the side of his head, knocking<br />him out.<br /> Killbane wanted to kill him, but he was too intrigued by the game that was<br />forming in his mind. Besides, killing an unarmed man was no fun, and he wanted<br />to face Gooseman on equal terms, to prove he was the Runt's better. He needed<br />time through. This attack had given him time. And he was also curious. He had<br />seen the Runt leaving one of the abandoned cabin's along the river. He had also<br />seen the woman in the cabin, knew her to be another of the S5's, and wanted to<br />have a little surprise waiting for the traitor when he got "home". He snickered<br />again, and headed back the way he had come.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Shane didn't think he had ever seen anyplace that screamed money quite so<br />loudly. The crystal dome of the hotel lobby stretched as far as the eye could<br />see, and echoed with the roar of waterfalls and the cries of tropical birds. It<br />was as far removed from BETA as anything he could think of, he decided as he<br />plucked two blue and orange drinks off a passing tray and winked at the green<br />skinned waitress. Niko poked him in the ribs and he handed her one of the fruit<br />concoctions.<br /> "Hey, no more harem jokes, remember?" Niko grinned, and sipped the drink<br />as they followed their bellboy through the maze of plants, people and vendors to<br />the lifts. The hotel boasted an entirely organic staff, in the style of an old<br />fashioned holiday resort. This far above the canopy of the Rees rainforests, the<br />sun shone clear and bright through the dome, but as they entered the clear<br />aluminum elevator they began to descend into the lush green tree cover.<br /> The habitat ring circled a glade of the forest, and in the centre for as<br />far down as she could see everything was color. Birds fluttered through the<br />trees, and further below guests all decked out like peacocks sat around the<br />springs and pools, talking, taking sun, or sipping drinks. It looked like no one<br />had a care in the world, and that was exactly the way she wanted to feel.<br /> "You like?" Goose prompted, giving her shoulders a squeeze.<br /> "Oh, I like." She grinned and kissed him. The bellboy looked at the two<br />of them out of the corner of his eye, and smiled. Kort liked his job for a<br />multitude of reasons, the chief ones being the high pay, tips, and opportunity<br />to speak twelve intergalactic dialects. But one of the lesser perks was watching<br />people make out in the elevator. They may fight later on, but when they first<br />got here, it was always the same.<br /> They stopped on the forty-third floor to pick up another passenger, but the<br />two of them just kept at it, hardly noticing. However the fellow they had picked<br />up leaned closer, peering at the two of them, squinting and chuckling. He was<br />a grizzled looking old guy in the loudest hawaiian shirt Kort had ever seen and<br />khaki Bermuda shorts. He continued to stare until the couple, suddenly noticing<br />they had an audience, broke apart, the lady with high color in her cheeks and the<br />big blond guy grinning. The old guys eyes went real wide as they passed the<br />thirty-second floor, and the lady blushed a deeper shade of pink.<br /> "Why Miss Niko!" The old fellow's face was split with a wide grin, and the<br />big blond guy laughed out loud.<br /> "Cody Wildfire Carson, you old space dog!" Goose exclaimed, and Kort shook<br />his head as the three of them shook hands like old friends, which, he supposed,<br />they were.<br /> "What are you doing here, Wildfire? I thought you were ranching on Ozark." <br />Niko was recovering her color, and slipped her arm around Goose's waist, leaning<br />her head on his shoulder.<br /> "Well, there's no law says a man can't take a bit of a holiday, now is<br />there?" Cody winked at her, and she laughed.<br /> "What are you wearing?" Goose eyed the shirt with distaste, and Niko<br />collapsed against his chest with a fit of giggles at Cody's affronted expression<br />as they slowed to a stop at the eleventh floor.<br /> "This is your stop, ma'am, sir." Kort began to push the luggage trolley<br />out into the carpeted hallway, and the three of them followed.<br /> "Just getting dressed for the part," Cody replied. "My buckskins would<br />stand out a bit, dontcha think? And I see you two are out of uniform. Here on<br />business or pleasure, though may I say it is always a pleasure to see you, Miss<br />Niko, even if you are being all business like."<br /> "We're here on vacation too. Strictly pleasure." Niko was used to the<br />blustery cowboy's flirtatious manner, and found it refreshing after the way her<br />co-workers had been treading on eggshells around her ever since Green's World. <br />She smiled genuinely at Cody, and the old man's eyes sparkled.<br /> "Well now, Miss Niko, I expect it's time you had a holiday and let all us<br />old outlaws have one too. You work too hard. And if you ever tire of this big<br />fellah, well, there's always a place for you on the Buchanan."<br /> "I appreciate the offer, Wildfire, but I think you know my answer."<br /> "I know, this side of the law and all that. You'd make a wonderful outlaw<br />though."<br /> "Goodbye, Cody." Shane smiled broadly, dragging Niko into the suite, and<br />Wildfire made a lavish bow before heading back towards the lift.</p>
<p>Niko began to get nervous as complete darkness descended on Green's World. <br />She turned up the light of the small lantern, resisting the urge to pace. Besid<br />es, it was getting cold. She picked up the remains of the chair, and threw it<br />on the fire, knowing it would go out soon, and not caring. A noise outside drew<br />her to the door.<br /> "Shane?" She called out into the darkness, reluctant to leave the warmth<br />and light of the tiny cabin. Another snapped twig, this time closer. "Goose, is<br />that you?" She backed away, reaching for her rifle when someone crashed through<br />the window. She leapt for the gun as the intruder straightened, revealing Ryker<br />Killbane's leering face as he shook back his mane of black hair. He laughed,<br />stepping between her and the weapon, and she stepped back, eyes narrowing as she<br />touched her badge.<br /> Killbane was lifted off his feet, surrounded by her mind, and she heaved<br />him against the far wall. He slid down, shaking his head, and she went for the<br />gun again. She got it, and raised it to fire, but it was a small room, and he<br />was too close. She couldn't squeeze off a shot in time. He leapt forward and<br />grabbed at long muzzle of the rifle, her shot going wild. He yanked it out of her<br />hands even as she went for her badge again.<br /> Before she could activate her charge, he blew a cloud of vile green gas in<br />her face, and she was forced to her knees, coughing and gasping for breath. He<br />pinned her arms behind her with one hand and removed the badge from her belt with<br />the other.<br /> "Won't be needing this, now will we?" He dragged her to her feet, and<br />tossed the gold badge through the air. Niko heard it strike the wall, then the<br />wooden planks of the floor. She struggled, trying to free her arms, but he held<br />them so tight, they would be torn from the sockets if she continued. She kicked<br />out, cursing, and he dragged her back, slamming her up against the wall. To her<br />horror, he had her handcuffs in his hand, having torn them from her beltpouch,<br />and, one hand on her throat, grasped her hands and secured them behind her.<br /> He let her go, giving her a push towards the wall, laughing as she<br />struggled to maintain her balance. She growled, and then tried another<br />roundhouse kick at his head, but he ducked with ease, and, getting under the arc<br />of her kick, backhanded her, sending her reeling to fall against the wall. Then<br />he kicked the legs out from under her, and she slid down to sit half against the<br />wall, half crouched on the floor. He had the rifle now, muzzle under her chin,<br />raised her face to look at him.<br /> "Series Five Ranger. You're not so hot." He sneered down at her, prodding<br />her throat with the gun. "You think the runt is coming after you? Think he'll<br />come for you? Think again." He laughed, kneeling down, pinning her legs at the<br />knees beneath his hand, held them still so she couldn't kick him by putting his<br />full weight on her kneecaps. She flinched, and then spit in his good eye.<br /> He wiped the spittle from his cheek, then got a handful of her hair,<br />pulling her off the floor, level with his eye. She did not cry out, but glared<br />at him.<br /> "So you're the runt's woman." He leered, and her expression faltered.<br />"Maybe I'll just take you along for the ride then, even the score." He ignored<br />her renewed struggles, and forced her mouth to his. She turned her head, feeling<br />sick as he painfully grabbed her jaw, nails scoring her cheek, turning her face<br />back to him. He only laughed, and sudden grabbed the neck of her uniform in both<br />hands, ripping it down to her belt. She heard the cloth give, felt the cold<br />draft against her skin, but couldn't believe it was happening. She squeezed her<br />eyes shut, swallowing painfully as he pulled her closer.<br /> "It's no fun if you're not looking." He slapped her, making her face him. <br />She only glared. He suddenly snarled, and slammed her against the wall. This<br />time she slid down unconscious, his laughter echoing in her ears.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Kort wheeled the baggage cart into the centre of the room and opened the<br />closet to set the suitcases outside the sliding doors. "There's a wet bar here<br />in the room, all compliments of the hotel. The dining room starts serving at 6,<br />but room service is available until 1 am should you wish to dine in. If there's<br />anything else you need, fresh towels, etcetera just dial 'h' on the comm and<br />they'll put you through to housekeeping." He set the keycards down on a glass<br />table near the door and then stood there, waiting for something. Shane stared<br />at him. Niko sighed, and fished a credit chit out of her pocket and placed it<br />in the young man's palm with a smile. Kort headed back towards the lifts,<br />grinning. He didn't think he'd see those two till morning, if not afternoon.<br /> "I thought you weren't supposed to tip in a fancy joint like this." Shane<br />circled arms around her waist, kissing the top of her head.<br /> "Apparently not." She leaned back against him, smiling, and then began<br />unpacking. She stopped in the midst of hanging up Ambassador Ramos's gift to<br />study the suite.<br /> The front room was huge, with a wall of windows facing the forest, sliding<br />doors opening up out onto a small balcony set with chairs and a table. There was<br />a sitting area with a vidscreen about the same size as the one in the lounge at<br />BETA, except this one was equipped to show holos and vids, and a peek inside the<br />cabinet beneath it revealed disks with just about every film ever made all the<br />way back to the early 20th century.<br /> Goose had wandered into the bedroom, and she could hear his low whistle of<br />appreciation from there. She gasped at the sight the greeted her as she passed<br />through the double doors.<br /> There were fresh flowers everywhere, overflowing from vases and baskets on<br />every surface. All of them were orchids. She grinned, recognizing Ariel's touch<br />in this. The bed was covered in brightly patterned pillows and a real honest to<br />gods down comforter over clean white sheets. She bounced on the bed, laughing<br />like a little girl.<br /> "Damn, sure beats the quarters at home." Goose plopped down next to her,<br />and she rolled over on her stomach to look him in the eye.<br /> "Oh I don't know, I have very fond memories of my quarters. Lots of good<br />memories"<br /> "Oh really?" She nodded, and was glad the windows in this room were<br />covered by sheer white drapes, because she definitely didn't want any witnesses<br />to what she was fairly sure was going to happen next.<br /> Because anyone who watched would have been treated to quite a show.</p>
<p>Goose felt the world rushing back painfully, every heartbeat accented by<br />his throbbing head. He did not move at first, but felt the cold mud and muck<br />beneath his hands, water seeping through his uniform, chilling him to the very<br />bone. It was raining again. He sat up, head swimming. All the wetness on his<br />face was not rain, but blood as well. There was an ugly gash at his hairline,<br />where Killbane's shovel had struck its mark. He could taste it, metallic and<br />salty on his lips and tongue. He spat once, then rose. His badge was nowhere<br />in sight. Probably taken as a souvenir, if he knew Killbane....<br /> He stumbled back to the abandoned cabin, knowing from the pain of each<br />breath that his ribs were likely bruised, maybe broken.<br /> As soon as he saw the open door, he knew something was not right. Dread<br />clutched at his chest as he near fell inside, and saw the objects scattered about<br />the room, the table overturned, the fire out and shards of window glass catching<br />the light from lamp still burning on its shelf, casting odd shadows around the<br />empty room. Empty.<br /> He began swearing inbetween labored breaths, kicking the fallen cups and<br />bowls across the floor, needing to vent his anger somehow, and regretting it<br />immediately as he was answered by a stab of pain in his side. He eye was caught<br />by something gleaming on the far wall.<br /> Her badge, a hunting knife shoved through the delicate circuitry, pinning<br />it to the scorched wood of the wall. Blood on the blade. A challenge then. <br />Damn him. Shane's fist slammed into the wall and he tore the knife from the<br />wood, a dangerous gleam in his eye.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like to grow up with parents?" <br />Niko rolled over, resting her head on his chest. The suns had set hours before,<br />and in the dim light the orchids were bled of color, all painted in whites and<br />blues from the moonlight streaming through the windows.<br /> "I don't know. I had Max, and then I was shipped off to Wolf Den. I<br />didn't know anything else." She sighed, and he stroked her hair.<br /> "Me too."<br /> "Did you ever think about it?"<br /> "Sometimes, when I was growing up. I always wondered, who do I look like? <br />Do I have my mother's eyes? Do I have my father's hair? Was one of them psi? <br />Where both? Or neither? I don't know, I guess I could find out easily enough. <br />I'm sure BETA has it all in the files."<br /> "What makes you think so?'<br /> "They did a DNA work-up on me when I first came to Earth. I chose not to<br />pursue it."<br /> "But now?"<br /> "Karen started it. Then it was seeing all the orchids. I spent my life<br />surrounded by them until I was 16. I had no idea they were so rare on Earth."<br /> "She really loves you, Ariel does."<br /> "I know she keeps an eye on me, even though she swears she isn't spying. <br />Kind of like having a fairy godmother, except mine made me eat carrots, and<br />study, and go to bed early."<br /> "None of the perks, eh?"<br /> "Oh, I think I got to the ball. I found my Prince Charming, didn't I?"<br /> "In slightly tarnish armor."<br /> "My off white knight." She giggled.<br /> "Max hated carrots. But he made me eat them anyway."<br /> "What about Commander Walsh?"<br /> "He didn't care if we ate our vegetables, just so long as we didn't kill<br />each other."<br /> "Sometimes I wish you had." She said it without even thinking, and his<br />arms tightened around her reflexively. "I'm sorry... I can't believe I just said<br />that..."<br /> "You have nothing to be sorry about, ever." He sounded so fierce, and<br />sure. "And you'll never have anything to worry about ever again."<br /> "Killbane's dead." She sighed, pulling the blankets up closer, and<br />snuggling down next to him, yawning.<br /> He could tell from her breathing that she was sleeping, but he couldn't<br />join her. He couldn't. He was remembering the hour in the cabin while he<br />tinkered with that damned comm, cannibalizing parts from the scanner. She had<br />been curled up on the cot, wrapped in a motheaten blanket, with cracked and<br />broken ribs, the bruises darkening from yellow to angry red and purple before his<br />very eyes.<br /> And her eyes had been empty. He had tried talking, but she hadn't heard<br />a word. He knew it. The tears had all dried and there had been nothing left<br />except pain.<br /> He never wanted to see her eyes that way again.<br /> Even if it meant searching every inch of the Universe for Killbane and<br />ripping his heart out himself.</p>
<p>Niko came awake slowly, dreading it. She was in another abandoned miner's<br />cabin, not too unlike the first one. Rope had been knotted around her ankle, and<br />then strung through a iron hoop embedded deep in the wall, probably meant to hold<br />a hammock once. It cut into her skin when she tried to move, but she managed to<br />tuck her legs under her, to regain some balance, though she could not get far. <br />Her arms were still shackled, the cuffs threaded through the other hoop on the<br />other wall that made up the corner where he had tied her, so that they were<br />suspended above her. She was sore all over, and the right side of her face was<br />stiff, her lip swelling. Her hair, streaming again from the rain, was plastered<br />to her head.<br /> She shivered, and realized for the first time that her uniform was in rags,<br />little of it left at all. It only served to remind her why she was still alive. <br />She looked up.<br /> He was in the opposite corner, watching her from his chair. A lantern hung<br />on a hook next to him, turned low, and his face was in shadow. Suddenly he leaned<br />forward, and in the half light she caught the wolfish smile and gleam in his<br />remaining seeing eye. He got out of the chair, and she shivered again, but not<br />from the cold, as he approached, her laser rifle still in his hands.<br /> "He's not dead, you know." He smiled down at her. "It wouldn't be any fun<br />unless there is some risk. I left him bleeding, but he still might make it in<br />time for the party. After all I didn't hit him that hard." She noticed for the<br />first time Goose's badge pinned to his shirt, put there, no doubt, to prove to<br />her that he had beaten Shane. To prove it was not just an idle threat.<br /> She thought of using the shackles to lift herself up, strike out with her<br />free leg. But he was expecting it, and prodded her ribs with the gun. She knew<br />it was loaded. She had loaded it herself that afternoon. She did not strike,<br />uncoiled her legs. He smiled again, and she turned away, feeling angry tears<br />forming behind her eyes. And she would not let him see her cry.<br /> She screamed when he forced her legs apart. Screamed Shane's name, one<br />last attempt. The cry was cut off by his fist, and she lay there, stunned, as<br />he began laughing, tearing at the remains of her uniform, and his own clothes. <br />She opened her mouth to cry out again, but was stopped by the knife he suddenly<br />pressed to her throat. Helpless tears of rage coursed down her cheeks, and she<br />wondered if she shouldn't let him kill her. Anything was better than this.....<br /> He laughed when he took her. Laughed as she cried. She was Gooseman's<br />woman, and he had stolen her. He thought it a grand joke, laughing as she curled<br />into a ball, shaking with her silent weeping. He even laughed when the door was<br />broken into splinters, and a bloody Gooseman stumbled inside, rage burning in his<br />eyes.<br /> "Told you he'd make it in time for the party." Killbane was still<br />laughing, the rifle pointed at her head, the muzzle at her temple. Shane stopped<br />in mid-lunge, green eyes burning with hatred and fury. Killbane started to laugh<br />again, that insane mad sound rising over Niko's quiet sobs. The loudest sound in<br />the cabin, louder even than the rain outside, hitting the tin roof. Suddenly it<br />stopped, and the gun fell away from her temple<br /> She did not look up. She couldn't look up. Had she, she would have seen<br />Shane throw the knife, seen it bury itself deep in Killbane's chest. Wide-eyed,<br />he stumbled past Goose and out the door, where he collapsed in the mud and was<br />still. She knew only that hands were touching her again, and she screamed. But<br />there was no answering blow. Only someone holding her as she screamed and<br />screamed, someone whispering to her until the cries died in her throat. She<br />opened her eyes, knowing that the arms that held her now were familiar, caring,<br />gentle. She buried her face in Shane's shoulder as he rocked her back and forth,<br />still murmuring It's okay. He can't hurt you any more. It's okay... Soon her<br />sobs quieted, and she clung to him for warmth. He had cut the rope, tore the<br />handcuffs from the wall. Destroyed them with his own hands. He took a moth-eaten<br />blanket from the tiny bed in the corner, wrapped it around her. Held her still.<br /> He looked outside the open door as the rain started again. Killbane was<br />gone. The bloody knife lay in the muck where he had fallen. The door banged<br />against the wall, caught in the wind, but Shane didn't move to close it yet. He<br />just sat in the corner, holding Niko till her tears dried.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Goose came up behind Niko as she was towel drying her hair and dropped a<br />kiss on her neck. She jumped about a mile high, and his grin vanished.<br /> "I'm sorry, babe."<br /> "No, it's my fault. I didn't hear you coming, I guess it's this carpet."<br />She smiled, trying to still her heart, which was beating like a hummingbird's. <br />"You just surprised me." She resumed toweling her hair, trying hard not to admit<br />that even though she had known it was Goose, could be no one else except Goose,<br />she had still felt that moment of panic.<br /> "How about a swim?"<br /> "That sounds perfect." She flashed him a genuine smile, and he returned<br />it.</p>
<p>There was an old transmitter in the cabin. It worked, after a few<br />adjustments and jury rigging, and he called for help from the nearest town. Men<br />in flitters arrived quickly, the doctor informing Gooseman that ships from Earth<br />were on the way, having been searching for the past seven hours for the missing<br />Rangers. He insisted on checking Shane out, seeing how badly beat up the two of<br />them were. Niko was quiet, still shaking, and the doctor couldn't give her a<br />sedative for fear she would go from shock to a coma. He wished he could erase<br />the next five hours. Let her not wake until they were safe in a hospital<br />somewhere far from the cabin. *The blood on the floor? Not ours. The man who<br />did this. He should be dead. Chest wound. Tell me when you find the body*. <br />And then Shane turned his back on the doctor and his questions, and moved to<br />Niko's side in the back of the ambulance.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Walsh cut the visual on the comm, and rubbed the bridge of his nose with<br />two fingers, knowing that it would do little to prevent the oncoming headache. <br />Normally, he would be glad for any tip Geezie sent BETA, but just this once he<br />wished he had never heard what the nosy pedulont had to report.<br /> However, that didn't change the facts.<br /> He keyed up the comm, wondering what he was going to tell the man who was<br />like a son to him.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Goose ducked as she kicked spray in his general direction.<br /> "Hey!"<br /> "You're already wet." She laughed, lazily swimming a few strokes to his<br />left.<br /> "You're going to be wetter, shortly," he growled, and she shrieked as he<br />lunged for her. He picked her up and threw her into the deep end of the pool. <br />She came up sputtering, and his face was split by a wide grin.<br /> "You're going to get it, Shane!" Her eyes narrowed.<br /> "Oh, am I really?" He arched a brow, treading water.<br /> "Maybe." She cut cleanly through the water, auburn hair streaming out<br />behind her.<br /> "Is that they way this game is to be played?"<br /> "You don't know where, and you don't know when..." she giggled as his hand<br />brushed her waist.<br /> "You're going to get sunburned," he whispered in her ear.<br /> "You feel like lunch?" She put her arms around his neck, kicking lazily.<br /> "Let me do some laps, work off breakfast first."<br /> "I'll go up and order room service."</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>She finished towel-drying her hair, a smile tugging at the corner of her<br />mouth. The message light was blinking. She figured Goose must have rung up<br />while she was in the shower.<br /> Niko picked up one of the vases of orchids to put on the table, and on the<br />way pressed the flashing message button on the comm. She froze at Commander<br />Walsh's voice.<br /> "Goose, I'm sorry to disturb you and Niko on your vacation, but I'm afraid<br />it's important. Killbane has been sighted on Tortuna."<br /> The vase of orchids slipped through her hands to shatter on the hard wood<br />floor of the breakfast area.<br /> "I'm sorry, Shane. He's not dead. Zach and Doc have been dispatched, and<br />I assure you we will--" She didn't hear the rest, her heart was roaring in her<br />ears, and she stumbled into the bedroom, rummaging through her bag until she<br />found what she was looking for.<br /> She closed her fingers around the gleaming gold badge, trying to will her<br />hands to stop shaking.<br /> Killbane was alive.<br /> Not for long.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Cody damn near had a stroke when he brought the lights up in his room and<br />saw her sitting on the edge of his bed.<br /> "Miss Niko..."<br /> "I need your help."<br /> The way she was looking at him, he couldn't say no.</p>


* [[Endgame|Endgame - Prologue]]
* [[Endgame|Endgame - Prologue]]

Revision as of 07:49, 13 April 2019


Endgame-Part III

Shattered

by LJC

Goose and Niko weren't given a mission together for three weeks, and hadn't spent
much time together until they got assigned to deliver an ambassador to Boru in
sector 23. It was a quiet trip out, with Ambassador Ramos, a two meter tall
Southern Bell with a brilliant sense of humor, telling anecdotes most of the way,
and sleeping the rest. Still, Shane didn't dare even touch Niko, because he knew
if he did, the Ambassador wouldn't be asleep long, and he'd probably crash into
something like a planet when he wasn't looking. The little shuttle was pretty
different from the interceptors he usually flew, being a new design just recently
put into effect by BETA.
They would have taken Ranger I, except it was due to be serviced and Flynn
had pretty much told Walsh he had better give her enough time to do it properly,
or the old ship would probably blow his precious Rangers to hell someday just
`cause they worked her so hard. In the face of that kind of determination, what
could the Commander do but find an alternative? Flynn had hurumphed, flipped her
braid over her shoulder, and stomped out of the office, feeling very pleased with
herself, and went back to her bay to play around with poor Geebee some more.
Once the Ambassador was safely settled in at the BETA embassy in Boru's
largest city, Pekin, she offered her escort a room for the night, and a dinner
that would surpass anything they'd ever seen before as Ramos had shipped her
favorite chef over from New Orleans a month earlier.
They accepted, gladly after the ten hour trip, but protested that they
certainly didn't have their dress uniforms with them.
"Don't be silly. Pekin has one of the biggest malls in the universe, and
I wouldn't be a lady if I didn't extend y'all credit. You just pick out whatever
your heart desires." She winked at Niko. "I personally shall accompany you, my
dear. I know exactly the right store to pick out something to match those eyes."
Niko blushed, feeling silly. But Ambassador Ramos was not to be
discouraged. She was a lady through and through, and loved the chance to dress
somebody up. "I do the same thing for my grandchildren whenever I'm in New
Dallas," she confided as she swept her out the door, followed not so discreetly
by several guards, and headed for the biggest old-style limousine Niko had ever
seen. Shane watched, chuckling as the girl sent him a pleading look. Somehow
he knew visions of Gone With The Wind were running through her mind. He waved,
and went back inside to contact the Commander and tell him they'd be running a
bit late.

* * *

"So how long have you and the big cowboy back there been sweet on each
other?" The ambassador led the way through a huge glass and steel shopping
arcade reminiscent of the late twentieth century to a small shop on the
seventeenth floor.
"Ma'am, I really don't know what-"
"Oh, don't bother and lie to me, sweetie. They way you two were lookin'
at each other, I had it pretty much figured out before we ever left the Solar
System. Has he figured it out yet?"
"Just last month." She laughed.
"And just how long did it take?"
"Two years."
"Well, that's men for you. Took my husband a mite less time, 'course I was
encouraging him along the way. A well placed hint will do wonders for a
blossoming relationship. I put y'all in separate bedrooms though. I'm just an
old fashioned gal at heart. Hope you don't mind."
"Ambassador!"
"You blush real easy, don't you now?" She laughed, and patted Niko's hand
affectionately. "How do you look in green?"

* * *

Goose whistled appreciatively when he met Niko at the door of her room.
She twirled around for his benefit, laughing. The ambassador had chosen a forest
green taffeta gown with a full skirt that rustled when she moved. The sleeves
were puffed, and off the shoulder, revealing a great deal of creamy white skin.
Around her neck was a green silk ribbon, and her hair was braided and tied with
a matching silk cord. Goose whistled in approval.
"I look like Scarlet O'Hara." She frowned. "I couldn't stop her, she was
out of control. It would have created an interstellar incident--"
"Green is definitely your color."
"You're just saying that because I hardly ever wear any other!" She liked
the way he filled out the dark suit, and for once, no cowboy hat.
"We're going to be late for dinner."
"It doesn't start for another quarter of an hour." She was puzzled.
"I know." He smiled, and took her in his arms.
"Oh," she murmured against his mouth. "That sounds good to me."
"Excuse me." A small furred humanoid cleared his throat, and tapped Goose
on the shoulder. Niko blushed furiously, hiding her face in his shoulder, and
Goose sighed.
"Ranger Gooseman, Ranger Niko, you have a communication in the Ambassador's
office. A Commander Walsh." Then the furry embassy staff-member scurried away,
leaving the two of them muttering under their breath as they headed for the
Ambassador's office.

* * *

If Walsh was curious about his rangers state of dress, he wasn't going to
waste time talking about it. He had more important things to be worried about.
"Rangers, Ryker Killbane was sighted in sector 27, heading in your
direction. He stole a class 47 miner's tug from Starbase 12, that's how we are
able to track him. Class 47's don't have Andorian drives, but they do have
cutting lasers and tractors. I want you to try to intercept and capture."
"On our way sir." Goose cut communications while Niko scrawled a note to
the ambassador.
"Killbane owes us dinner." She sighed as they raced back up to their rooms
to change.

* * *

In orbit around Green's World in sector 27, the two rangers kept a sharp
eye out for their adversary. They didn't have to wait long.
"I have him on our scanners." Niko locked the on-board computer on to the
stolen ship's ion trail. "Broadcasting on all frequencies."
"As if he'll stop just because we asked him to," Goose muttered, arming the
blasters.
"There's your answer," she snapped, bringing up the defenses as the miner
ship fired lasers at their underbelly. "Shields up at maximum. Didn't even graze
us."
The comscreen flickered, and after a moment of chattering to itself,
Killbane's scarred face appeared.
"Think you can catch me, Runt?" He snarled.
"It's for you, dear." Niko jerked her head towards the screen.
"You're under arrest, Killbane." He fired a warning shot across the 47's
bow.
"Come and get me, Gooseman." Lasers fired again, and this time the shuttle
shook with the impact.
"Shields at 60% and dropping." Niko frowned at the tactical screen.
"Something tells me these weren't built for combat."
"So we put him out of commission before he gets another shot at us." Goose
brought the shuttle around for another pass, finger paused on the trigger.
"Killbane, this is your last warning!"
The comscreen stayed blank, and he fired. The shots grazed the side of the
ship, causing enough damage to slow him down. The miner's tug shuddered, but
righted itself and fired at the shuttle again.
"Damage to airlock two and guidance systems." Suddenly the little shuttle
lurched. "Goose, he's locked his tractor on us!"
"Firing main engines." He frowned as the shuttle shook, but did not break
free. "Tractors on that thing are strong..."
"Firing again, damage to hyperdrive and engine two." She targeted weapons
again and fired on Killbane's stolen ship. "His life support is going. We're
supposed to arrest him, not kill him."
"What are the conditions on the planet down there? Can we try to force him
down?"
"Mostly marsh with a few mining settlements, half of them empty." She
gritted her teeth as the shuttle lurched again. "His tractor is tearing us apart
at such close range."
"I'm aiming for the tractor controls." He fired, and Killbane's leering
face came back up on their screens.
"If I'm going down, you are going with me, Runt." He laughed, and fired
lasers at their underbelly. Smoke filled the cabin as circuits fused.
"Main engines off line. We're caught in the planet's gravity. Orbit
decaying." Niko grabbed an extinguisher from behind her seat to use on the
flaming control panel.
"Killbane is going down. I'm tracking him." He buckled the safety straps
of the seat.
"Shane, we're going to crash!"
"Don't worry. I do it all the time." He smiled. "Buckle your seatbelt.
This might get a little bumpy."
"You're crazy."
"That's why you love me." He called up a map of the area they were headed
for, and caught a quick glimpse before the computer's memory turned to
gobbledygook and the screen went blank. "As soon as we hit the atmosphere,
activate your implant to shield yourself."
"What about you?"
"I'll be fine. Do it!" He wrestled with the controls, keeping Killbane's
tug, now flaming in the planets atmosphere, in his sights. They cut through the
heavy cloud cover, and barely avoided crashing into the side of a mountain. Niko
sucked in air between her teeth, but the faint glimmer around her outline assured
him she was shielded. He kept his own fingers hovering over his badge, just in
case. They managed to come down in the middle of a thunderstorm, and he couldn't
see a thing. Including land. Hence, they set down in a lake.
"Damn." He unbuckled his harness as they settled on the bottom of the
lake. The on-board systems began shorting out as the water got in through holes
made by Killbane's lasers, and hull breeches from where entering the planet's
atmosphere had widened the rips and tears. The lights flickered and went out,
and he heard Niko swear in the darkness.
"Temper, darlin'." He found her hand in the darkness. "Activate your
implant. We've got some swimming ahead." She became outlined in yellow fire,
and he touched his own badge as he blew the airlock. Water rushed into the cabin
as he hooked an arm around her waist and kicked towards the surface with newfound
fins.
They broke the surface, Niko gasping for breath but otherwise all right,
although she began to wonder why she bothered with her badge at all, when she was
immediately soaked through to the skin in seconds by the rain.
"We need to find shelter. Fast," he shouted above the wind. It wasn't a
thunderstorm, it was a bloody hurricane...
"Don't need to tell me twice," she shouted back. "Any idea where we are?"
"There should be some abandoned miners' cabins about half a kilometer north
of here."
"Lay on, MacDuff." She pushed wet hair back from her eyes, saw him
illuminated in a flash of lightening, and grasped his hand as they started off
in what she assumed was a northerly direction.

* * *

They stumbled into the cabin almost two hours later, slamming the door
against the wind and rain. Niko felt around until she found a lantern, and lit
it from the lighter in her supply pouch. In its glow, she surveyed the cabin.
One room, a table and chair in one corner, stripped bed in another. She set
the lantern on a shelf and rummaged around for some blankets while Goose broke
up the table to use for firewood. She clenched her teeth to keep them from
chattering, and found a rifle and the remains of a blanket under the bed.
"Home sweet home," Goose muttered as the furniture finally caught and she
crouched down next to him in front of the fire. She held up the laser rifle for
his inspection.
"Found a powerpack too. Never hurts to be armed." She smiled brightly,
running her fingers through her dripping mass of hair. They wrapped themselves
up in the moth-eaten blanket.
"How romantic," Niko muttered, pulling what looked like seaweed from her
hair and tossing it on the fire.
"I'm going to have to go out after him." Gooseman frowned.
"Maybe he died in the crash." She looked hopeful.
"I'd never get that lucky. Even if he did, I have to make sure." He and
Killbane had never been friends, and both knew one would have to kill the other
some day. It was a foregone conclusion, no matter what BETA and the Council of
Leaders had to say about it. It could end no other way. Goose wasn't exactly
looking forward to their final fight. However, he did just want it all to be over
someday. Well and truly over.
"My scanner isn't too waterlogged. It should be able to find the remnants
of his ship in this mess." She pulled the little device out of her belt pouch,
wiping the swamp scum from the controls with a grimace.
"I want you to stay here." His mouth was a firm line.
"Shouldn't both of us-"
"If something should happen, one of us should concentrate on getting back
to earth in one peace."
"That's stupid." She bristled, eyes flashing and he had to admit she
looked gorgeous...
"Killbane is my fight."
"Of all the egoistic, machismo, bloody stupid-" She sputtered angrily. He
put a hand over her mouth.
"You are staying here if I have to tie you up. And that is the last I'll
here of it."
"Is it because I'm a woman?" She was really getting angry. "Don't you
think I can hold my own in a fight?"
"Don't be silly. I know you can. It's because you're my woman." He
smiled at her outraged expression, and cut off any protest she could have made
with a long, passionate kiss. She was still angry when they parted, but the fire
in her eyes was no longer all fury. It made him smile. When they got back to
earth, Killbane or no Killbane, he was going to put in for some vacation time.
God only knew, they'd been racking it up over the past two years. Someplace
warm, romantic, out of the way where they had never even heard of Andorian
drives, Crown troopers or even telephones...
"Just promise you'll check in every fifteen minutes, and call as soon as
you find the ship. The comms seem to be working fine..." She was still
frowning.
"Yes, mother." He laughed, and opened the door. She went to hand him the
rifle, but he shook his head. "Keep it here, next to you. It never hurts to be
armed." He kissed her on the forehead, and then on the mouth. She held him
tightly, suddenly afraid, and kissed him back thoroughly before he disappeared
into the damp darkness.
"I'm gonna kill him," she muttered as she shut the door against the chill.

* * *

Shane found the wreckage of Killbane's ship, half sunk in the mud of the
swamp. No body, so he must be still lurking about somewhere. He tried to
remember the details of the map that had flashed before they crashed, and failed.
He had no idea in what direction the nearest town was. He had never even been
to Green's World before. It was a common enough joke that Green's was the most
backwater of the backwater planets, too far from the shipping lanes to really
live there comfortably, and all the mining had petered out about a decade
earlier. In another twenty years, it would probably be abandoned.
No wonder no one wants to stay, with weather like this. He raised the
collar of his uniform as another light drizzle began. He was about to raise Niko
on the com when he suddenly caught a flurry of motion out of the corner of his
eye.
He turned too late, and the rusted shovel caught him on the forehead. He
saw Killbane in the planet's dim dusk, waving the shovel, and he jumped back,
hearing it whistle through the air where he had been standing. Blood from the
gash in his eyes, he could barely see the next strike. He reached for his badge,
but the other man slammed into him, knocking them both to the ground, knowing if
he activated his bio-defenses, who would be the victor. And Killbane was taking
no chances.
The badge was ripped away first thing, though Goose got in one good punch
right after, seeing with satisfaction Killbane's head snap back from the impact.
He leapt up, ready for a fight, and ended up with the shovel jammed hard into his
stomach. Killbane had snatched it from the mud, and now laughing gleefully,
kicked Shane hard in the ribs with his booted foot. The wind knocked out of him,
he still rolled out of the way so his opponent couldn't strike again.
Gooseman got to his feet, wiping blood from his eyes, but Killbane was
armed, albeit with a shovel, and that tool had a longer reach. It whistled
through the air again, grazing his shoulder as he jumped back. Killbane laughed
as Goose went down, tripping over a tree root half buried in the muck, and took
advantage, slamming the handle of the shovel into the side of his head, knocking
him out.
Killbane wanted to kill him, but he was too intrigued by the game that was
forming in his mind. Besides, killing an unarmed man was no fun, and he wanted
to face Gooseman on equal terms, to prove he was the Runt's better. He needed
time through. This attack had given him time. And he was also curious. He had
seen the Runt leaving one of the abandoned cabin's along the river. He had also
seen the woman in the cabin, knew her to be another of the S5's, and wanted to
have a little surprise waiting for the traitor when he got "home". He snickered
again, and headed back the way he had come.

* * *

Niko began to get nervous as complete darkness descended on Green's World.
She turned up the light of the small lantern, resisting the urge to pace. Besid
es, it was getting cold. She picked up the remains of the chair, and threw it
on the fire, knowing it would go out soon, and not caring. A noise outside drew
her to the door.
"Shane?" She called out into the darkness, reluctant to leave the warmth
and light of the tiny cabin. Another snapped twig, this time closer. "Goose, is
that you?" She backed away, reaching for her rifle when someone crashed through
the window. She leapt for the gun as the intruder straightened, revealing Ryker
Killbane's leering face as he shook back his mane of black hair. He laughed,
stepping between her and the weapon, and she stepped back, eyes narrowing as she
touched her badge.
Killbane was lifted off his feet, surrounded by her mind, and she heaved
him against the far wall. He slid down, shaking his head, and she went for the
gun again. She got it, and raised it to fire, but it was a small room, and he
was too close. She couldn't squeeze off a shot in time. He leapt forward and
grabbed at long muzzle of the rifle, her shot going wild. He yanked it out of her
hands even as she went for her badge again.
Before she could activate her charge, he blew a cloud of vile green gas in
her face, and she was forced to her knees, coughing and gasping for breath. He
pinned her arms behind her with one hand and removed the badge from her belt with
the other.
"Won't be needing this, now will we?" He dragged her to her feet, and
tossed the gold badge through the air. Niko heard it strike the wall, then the
wooden planks of the floor. She struggled, trying to free her arms, but he held
them so tight, they would be torn from the sockets if she continued. She kicked
out, cursing, and he dragged her back, slamming her up against the wall. To her
horror, he had her handcuffs in his hand, having torn them from her beltpouch,
and, one hand on her throat, grasped her hands and secured them behind her.
He let her go, giving her a push towards the wall, laughing as she
struggled to maintain her balance. She growled, and then tried another
roundhouse kick at his head, but he ducked with ease, and, getting under the arc
of her kick, backhanded her, sending her reeling to fall against the wall. Then
he kicked the legs out from under her, and she slid down to sit half against the
wall, half crouched on the floor. He had the rifle now, muzzle under her chin,
raised her face to look at him.
"Series Five Ranger. You're not so hot." He sneered down at her, prodding
her throat with the gun. "You think the runt is coming after you? Think he'll
come for you? Think again." He laughed, kneeling down, pinning her legs at the
knees beneath his hand, held them still so she couldn't kick him by putting his
full weight on her kneecaps. She flinched, and then spit in his good eye.
He wiped the spittle from his cheek, then got a handful of her hair,
pulling her off the floor, level with his eye. She did not cry out, but glared
at him.
"So you're the runt's woman." He leered, and her expression faltered.
"Maybe I'll just take you along for the ride then, even the score." He ignored
her renewed struggles, and forced her mouth to his. She turned her head, feeling
sick as he painfully grabbed her jaw, nails scoring her cheek, turning her face
back to him. He only laughed, and sudden grabbed the neck of her uniform in both
hands, ripping it down to her belt. She heard the cloth give, felt the cold
draft against her skin, but couldn't believe it was happening. She squeezed her
eyes shut, swallowing painfully as he pulled her closer.
"It's no fun if you're not looking." He slapped her, making her face him.
She only glared. He suddenly snarled, and slammed her against the wall. This
time she slid down unconscious, his laughter echoing in her ears.

* * *

Goose felt the world rushing back painfully, every heartbeat accented by
his throbbing head. He did not move at first, but felt the cold mud and muck
beneath his hands, water seeping through his uniform, chilling him to the very
bone. It was raining again. He sat up, head swimming. All the wetness on his
face was not rain, but blood as well. There was an ugly gash at his hairline,
where Killbane's shovel had struck its mark. He could taste it, metallic and
salty on his lips and tongue. He spat once, then rose. His badge was nowhere
in sight. Probably taken as a souvenir, if he knew Killbane....
He stumbled back to the abandoned cabin, knowing from the pain of each
breath that his ribs were likely bruised, maybe broken.
As soon as he saw the open door, he knew something was not right. Dread
clutched at his chest as he near fell inside, and saw the objects scattered about
the room, the table overturned, the fire out and shards of window glass catching
the light from lamp still burning on its shelf, casting odd shadows around the
empty room. Empty.
He began swearing inbetween labored breaths, kicking the fallen cups and
bowls across the floor, needing to vent his anger somehow, and regretting it
immediately as he was answered by a stab of pain in his side. He eye was caught
by something gleaming on the far wall.
Her badge, a hunting knife shoved through the delicate circuitry, pinning
it to the scorched wood of the wall. Blood on the blade. A challenge then.
Damn him. Shane's fist slammed into the wall and he tore the knife from the
wood, a dangerous gleam in his eye.

* * *

Niko came awake slowly, dreading it. She was in another abandoned miner's
cabin, not too unlike the first one. Rope had been knotted around her ankle, and
then strung through a iron hoop embedded deep in the wall, probably meant to hold
a hammock once. It cut into her skin when she tried to move, but she managed to
tuck her legs under her, to regain some balance, though she could not get far.
Her arms were still shackled, the cuffs threaded through the other hoop on the
other wall that made up the corner where he had tied her, so that they were
suspended above her. She was sore all over, and the right side of her face was
stiff, her lip swelling. Her hair, streaming again from the rain, was plastered
to her head.
She shivered, and realized for the first time that her uniform was in rags,
little of it left at all. It only served to remind her why she was still alive.
She looked up.
He was in the opposite corner, watching her from his chair. A lantern hung
on a hook next to him, turned low, and his face was in shadow. Suddenly he leaned
forward, and in the half light she caught the wolfish smile and gleam in his
remaining seeing eye. He got out of the chair, and she shivered again, but not
from the cold, as he approached, her laser rifle still in his hands.
"He's not dead, you know." He smiled down at her. "It wouldn't be any fun
unless there is some risk. I left him bleeding, but he still might make it in
time for the party. After all I didn't hit him that hard." She noticed for the
first time Goose's badge pinned to his shirt, put there, no doubt, to prove to
her that he had beaten Shane. To prove it was not just an idle threat.
She thought of using the shackles to lift herself up, strike out with her
free leg. But he was expecting it, and prodded her ribs with the gun. She knew
it was loaded. She had loaded it herself that afternoon. She did not strike,
uncoiled her legs. He smiled again, and she turned away, feeling angry tears
forming behind her eyes. And she would not let him see her cry.
She screamed when he forced her legs apart. Screamed Shane's name, one
last attempt. The cry was cut off by his fist, and she lay there, stunned, as
he began laughing, tearing at the remains of her uniform, and his own clothes.
She opened her mouth to cry out again, but was stopped by the knife he suddenly
pressed to her throat. Helpless tears of rage coursed down her cheeks, and she
wondered if she shouldn't let him kill her. Anything was better than this.....
He laughed when he took her. Laughed as she cried. She was Gooseman's
woman, and he had stolen her. He thought it a grand joke, laughing as she curled
into a ball, shaking with her silent weeping. He even laughed when the door was
broken into splinters, and a bloody Gooseman stumbled inside, rage burning in his
eyes.
"Told you he'd make it in time for the party." Killbane was still
laughing, the rifle pointed at her head, the muzzle at her temple. Shane stopped
in mid-lunge, green eyes burning with hatred and fury. Killbane started to laugh
again, that insane mad sound rising over Niko's quiet sobs. The loudest sound in
the cabin, louder even than the rain outside, hitting the tin roof. Suddenly it
stopped, and the gun fell away from her temple
She did not look up. She couldn't look up. Had she, she would have seen
Shane throw the knife, seen it bury itself deep in Killbane's chest. Wide-eyed,
he stumbled past Goose and out the door, where he collapsed in the mud and was
still. She knew only that hands were touching her again, and she screamed. But
there was no answering blow. Only someone holding her as she screamed and
screamed, someone whispering to her until the cries died in her throat. She
opened her eyes, knowing that the arms that held her now were familiar, caring,
gentle. She buried her face in Shane's shoulder as he rocked her back and forth,
still murmuring It's okay. He can't hurt you any more. It's okay... Soon her
sobs quieted, and she clung to him for warmth. He had cut the rope, tore the
handcuffs from the wall. Destroyed them with his own hands. He took a moth-eaten
blanket from the tiny bed in the corner, wrapped it around her. Held her still.
He looked outside the open door as the rain started again. Killbane was
gone. The bloody knife lay in the muck where he had fallen. The door banged
against the wall, caught in the wind, but Shane didn't move to close it yet. He
just sat in the corner, holding Niko till her tears dried.

* * *

There was an old transmitter in the cabin. It worked, after a few
adjustments and jury rigging, and he called for help from the nearest town. Men
in flitters arrived quickly, the doctor informing Gooseman that ships from Earth
were on the way, having been searching for the past seven hours for the missing
Rangers. He insisted on checking Shane out, seeing how badly beat up the two of
them were. Niko was quiet, still shaking, and the doctor couldn't give her a
sedative for fear she would go from shock to a coma. He wished he could erase
the next five hours. Let her not wake until they were safe in a hospital
somewhere far from the cabin. *The blood on the floor? Not ours. The man who
did this. He should be dead. Chest wound. Tell me when you find the body*.
And then Shane turned his back on the doctor and his questions, and moved to
Niko's side in the back of the ambulance.

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