Isn't Life Strange
By: Heidi "Lady Niko" Reckel

Chapter XII

"Oh, it's a rip-off
We're stepped on and cheated
Flat stone cold lied to
We're not defeated. No!
Dream another dream
This dream is over..."
 Dream Another Dream, Van Halen


  It had been about two weeks since the battle at Granna. While most of the league was trying to recover from the aftershocks of the battle, the Rangers had pretty much found themselves at loose ends during that time. Walsh kept an eye on his team from afar while he had dealt with the fall out from the battle, and on the former outlaw, Daisy O'Mega.

  Daisy had been remarkably quiet and Walsh didn't know what to make of the change he'd seen from the brassy criminal. He did notice Daisy had made plans to go back to see family she'd left behind in Ireland. He looked over the report in front of him once more and saw MaCross featured prominently in it. Sighing, he called up the criminal reports-- add treason, attempted murder of a BETA informant and a Galaxy Ranger to the thick list of charges. Walsh was surprised when she came to see him at his office right after her shuttle from Dublin had landed at the New Phoenix skyport. She looked very subdued, oddly enough. Her flaming red hair was even pulled back into a hairband. She still had a rough and ready appearance with her faded shirt and worn pants covered by a pair of dark brown leather chaps, however.

  Walsh stood up and greeted her. As he sat back down, he asked, "What can I do for you, Miss O'Mega?"

  "I want to know about whether or not MaCross has been caught while I was otherwise occupied."

  "Thought you and he were partners."

  "Were bein' the operative word, Commander Walsh," she suddenly barked, her brogue thickening with fury.

  Walsh's eyebrows rose in surprise, and he answered grimly, "No, Miss O'Mega, as a matter of fact he hasn't been."

  "Then he won't be caught if things sit too long." she said, her face reflecting her barely contained anger. "I want that dog to pay, even if I hunt him down meself."

  Walsh leaned back in his chair. "You know, Miss O'Mega. Earth government still has your bounty hunters' registry from five years ago on file."

  Daisy smiled. "Thought that went out the window with the new government."

  "It went out the window when you turned outlaw."

  Daisy was silent for a long time before answering that one. "I know, Commander. Really thought I could continue on the way I was. I never stopped to think that that scurvy piece of slime, MaCross would get to me..." She shook her head. "But, the longer I lived among those I wanted to hunt, the more like them I became. Saw too many fools making the laws, and trying to shut me out of me trade... good friend got himself killed, and it wasn't going to happen to me. So, I faked my death and went across the line." She shrugged. "MaCross helped me then. He was the man who supposedly shot me dead, then blew up my ship. In return, I joined his gang. We split it all, and things were too good for a while."

  Walsh simply nodded, knowing that she needed to tell someone this. She was staring off into something Walsh couldn't place. "Good times never last, though. Not with MaCross...

  "Any place for a good bounty hunter in your brand new League?"

  Walsh allowed himself a small smile. "I think that there's space for another bounty hunter, Miss O'Mega."

  "What do I have to do first?"

  "I had a feeling that you might ask this, Miss O'Mega, and I've already had the necessary paperwork processed. In fact, Miss O'Mega, I already have leads on where MaCross is reportedly hiding out these days."

  "You do? Which hole is it this time?" Daisy asked, knowing MaCross' habit of picking the grundgiest bars in the universe. She raised an eyebrow. "Probably out where there's plenty of saloons. He's more likely drinking and wenching his earnings away."

  "My sources say that he's at the Kelldoran Outpost-on the edge of League Space."

  Daisy's eyes narrowed. "Kelldoran, eh? Can't say as his taste has improved any."

  The comm unit on Walsh's desk beeped discreetly. Walsh glanced at it for a moment before answering, "Yes?"

  "Sir, you wanted me to inform you when it was time for the briefing with Dr. Hunter and Captain Foxx and his team? Dr. Hunter just called and said he would be ready for you ten minutes from now."

  "Right. Thank you," Walsh answered and immediately cut the transmission.

  Daisy stood up, and headed for the door.

  "Hold on, Miss O'Mega, I'd like for you to accompany me, if you would please."

  "Why so, Commander?" Her eyes narrowed.

  "I'm going to be sending you out with the Series-5 team to go track down MaCross," Walsh answered.

  At Daisy's blank look, he amended, "Captain Foxx's team."

  Daisy was caught off guard. She hadn't expected to be going out after him so soon.

  "That is, unless you want to let the Rangers catch him."

  Daisy straightened. "Absolutely not."

  "Good." He pressed the button for the intercom again, and said, "Bring in the paperwork for Miss O'Mega."

  "Yes, sir," the aide replied, and almost immediately walked in carrying a folder that he placed in front of Daisy.

  It was with an ironic lifting of her eyebrows that Daisy noticed Commander Walsh's signature was already in all the proper lines on the documentation as she skimmed through the pages.

  "You were pretty sure I'd make this decision, weren't you Commander?"

  "I learned a long time ago, Miss O'Mega, to cover all the possibilities," Walsh answered, sitting back in his chair, both arms crossed and resting on the desktop.

  Daisy chuckled once, and signed her name to the documentation with a flourish. The aide stepped forward to add his initials as an official witness before taking the folder and its contents from the room.

  As soon as he left, Walsh stood up behind his desk and said, "Now let's go. I've got to see Dr. Hunter and tell Captain Foxx about his new assignment."

* * * *

  Goose had spent almost every minute of the day and more than a few nights keeping a vigil at Niko's bedside, leaving only when the nursing staff had driven him off to make certain that he actually did get some rest. At first, Niko had been afraid to be alone, and more than welcomed Goose's almost constant attention. But, as she became more alert, and began to regain more of her strength, she began dreading his visits while still at the same time looking forward to them. It started to become extremely difficult for Niko to hide her reactions from Goose and the rest of her teammates when they visited.

  The physician in charge of Niko's case was observant enough to catch the growing tension and anxiety in his patient and was smart enough to know that it was not something within his training and abilities to treat. He put a call in to the top psychiatric trauma team at BETA Mountain.

  It was after one such stressful visit with Niko that Doc caught up with Goose. Goose's face was shuttered and his tension was clearly visible in the tight set of his shoulders and hands that kept clenching and unclenching into fists.

  "Hey, Goose," Doc called out as he approached his friend.

  Goose didn't answer, but just nodded his head and kept on walking down the hallway.

  "How's Niko?"

  A growl, a shrug as he said, "I don't know anymore, Doc. I can barely get her to talk to me. Let alone tell me anything!" 

  He looked like he wanted to punch something, anything, out.

  "That bad, huh?" Doc answered. "Well, Doc Hunter wants to talk to us. He's down in the lounge."

  Goose shrugged again and answered, "Sure, whatever."

  Doc turned and led the way with Goose close behind. The two entered the lounge and found the physician already talking to Zach.

  "Ah, Ranger Hartford, I see you found Ranger Gooseman," the physician said, breaking off his conversation with Zach.

  After Doc and Goose had taken a seat, he began, "Gentlemen, I've asked you here today because of Ranger Niko--" Goose stiffened in the seat he had just taken.

  "As you have noticed gentlemen, Ranger Niko has become extremely anxious, withdrawn and depressed as she has begun to recover from her physical injuries.

  "Gentlemen, from what you've told me, and from what Ranger Niko has said, I understand that the Queen of the Crown did some pretty awful things to her mentally while she was a prisoner. It is because of what happened that I've called in Drs. Hidoshi and Sterling..."

  "Shrinks," Goose said with a derisive snort.

  The doctor continued, "Please, Ranger Gooseman, hear me out. I brought them in because they are the best trauma psychiatrists around. Their specialty is mental trauma, such as what Ranger Niko suffered at the hands of the Queen of the Crown during her captivity."

  "But, that still doesn't explain why Niko's been withdrawing from us, trying to shut us out." Doc interjected.

  "Correct, Ranger Hartford," the physician answered. "The Queen completely subdued, and almost destroyed, the personality of the Niko that you know, and in place of that crushed personality, created an alternate persona in the Queen's likeness.

  "Now, Ranger Niko may have broken the Queen's programming but she is having a hard time adjusting to being Niko once again and feels a great amount of guilt for her part at the battle at Granna--"

   "What?" "Why" "How?" all three Rangers asked at once.

  "Survivor's Guilt, gentlemen," the doctor said, "is the term used to describe what Ranger Niko is going through. Survivor's guilt can be all encompassing and overwhelming and the survivor simply doesn't know how to deal with it. Hence, why I've called in Drs. Hidoshi and Sterling."

  The physician paused here for a moment, trying to choose his next words carefully. "After a preliminary discussion with them, they had one request to make"

  Goose frowned. He could sense that he wasn't going to like what the doctor had to say next.

  "Their request was that the three of you - Captain Foxx, Ranger Hartford and Ranger Gooseman, to abstain from visiting Ranger Niko for the next two weeks."

  "Two weeks? Why?" Goose blurted out.

  "Because, Ranger Gooseman," a new voice said. The Rangers turned as one to see Commander Walsh entering the room with Daisy O'Mega following cautiously behind. "They want that time to work intensively with Niko, and not have her distracted by your visits."

  "You see, Rangers, right now, you are a source of a great deal of Ranger Niko's anxiety. At this time, you represent to her, her guilt at being captured, for allowing the Queen of the Crown to make her into Kraya, and her own inability to help you during the Battle in the Granna System," the doctor continued with his explanation after a brief nod to Commander Walsh.

  "What?!" was Doc's exclamation.

  "Why that's just-" Zach struggled to find the right words.

  "No! It wasn't her fault!" Goose blurted.

  Daisy hovered in the doorway, unsure if she should come in or not.

  "She may know, intellectually, that it isn't her fault," the doctor said. "But, emotionally, she still is fighting herself. She believes that she is partly to blame for the battle, and the damage it caused."

  "Why?" was the one thing Doc asked.

  "Because of Kraya. The Queen had subverted her personality and she feels that she should have been able to prevent it. As part of the subversion, she willingly followed orders, orders that she would ordinarily think to be abhorrent, yet she followed them willingly. Brainwashing is terrible stuff, gentlemen, its effects don't end when the conditioning is broken. And that is why I've called in Drs. Hidoshi and Sterling, and why they made their request. They want the two weeks to 'deprogram,' if you will, the remnants of Kraya's personality from Ranger Niko's personality and to help her with the guilt she feels from what she did as 'Kraya.'"

  "Can we do anything to help?" Zachary asked. "We're her friends. If there's one thing Niko knows, it's us."

  "Gentlemen, the best thing for her right now is to allow Drs. Hidoshi and Sterling to do their work without you, her friends and teammates, around. They think that she will be more open with them if she doesn't feel like she has to hide what she is feeling from you." The doctor said apologetically.

  Commander Walsh spoke up, "In the meantime, Rangers, I've got an assignment for you."

  "An assignment?" asked Doc. "But will Niko be okay?"

  "Niko stands a good chance, Doctor Hartford," Hunter said. "but she has to start from scratch in finding who she is. I'm afraid that even though you want to help her, it's causing interference."

  None of the Rangers looked particularly happy about it, but they accepted the physician's word.

  "Interference?" asked Goose. "And what's the assignment?"

  "Anyway," said Walsh, indicating the door. "You can come in, Miss O'Mega."

  Daisy stepped hesitantly into the room, unsure of the reception she would get.

  "I'm sending you out after MaCross. Sources place him at the Kelldoran outpost. You're to go out there and bring him in."

  Goose's reaction to MaCross' name was to growl, then he stretched his lips in a thin smile. "Dead or alive, Commander?"

  "That dog is mine, Gooseman." Daisy snapped.

  Zach looked at Walsh, his question written on his face.

  "Miss O'Mega has renewed her license as a bounty hunter, and will be accompanying you on the trip out to Kelldoran," Walsh answered.

  "That's just fine, commander. When do we leave?" Doc asked.

  "Immediately, Ranger Hartford. Ranger One is being prepped as we speak," was the answer.

  O'Mega took a deep breath. "Never thought I'd be on your side of the laws, but Life's a strange thing. I'm ready to go." She pulled back her poncho to reveal two gleaming blasters that the Rangers could tell were quasi-legal. "Let's nab him," she said icily.

  "I expect to see Ranger One launch with in the hour, Rangers," Walsh stated.

  "Yes, sir," Zachary said, looking to his team. "Come on."

* * * *

  Shane sat at the porthole watching the stars streak by. He had been there the whole trip out except for when he occasionally would take a quick nap, or when it was his turn to pilot the ship.

  Daisy noticed he was staring in the direction towards Earth. She worked up the courage to walk over and go talk to him. He seemed different, as if his swaggering bravado decided to run away from him. Then again, she thought, there's less wind in my sails as a result of all this.

  "Am I interrupting anything, Shane?"

  "Naah..." he said, turning around and managing a ghost of a smile.

  Daisy walked the rest of the way in the compartment and the hatch slid shut behind her. "Am I interrupting anything, Shane?" she asked again when he made no move to talk to her.

  "Yeah," he answered. There was a moment of awkward silence between the two as each tried to find something to say. "Daisy-"

  "Goose-" Daisy said at the same time.

  Shane took a deep breath. "Ladies first," he said feebly, attempting a joke.

  "Thanks," Daisy said, her smile quickly gone. "Shane," she asked. "How much of it all do you remember? The 'Crypt?"

  Goose's face tightened up and he said, "Too much..." His hands were clenched into fists as he said, "I remember all too well the Queen using my Slaverlord to torment Niko..."

  Daisy nodded with understanding. "I...didn't see what you did, Shane. The Queen mostly had me with the troops. She used you, I remember..."

  "...To torment Niko... to break her spirit and bend her to the Queen's will." Goose interjected.

  Daisy shuddered. "She used me, too. Niko's first 'lesson' was watching me be thrown into the blasted device."

  Goose nodded tightly. He had been present at that scene as a Slaverlord. "I...couldn't do anything!" he said, getting up and pacing the cramped space like a caged animal.

  "And whenever I tried to even reach out to Niko and tell her I was there..." he shuddered. "The Queen was there to torment me, and to make me feel less than human...."

  "Shane," Daisy said gently. "There was nothing you could have done. The Queen had us both dangling from a noose, and there was nothing --" her voice trailed off.

  Shane stopped his pacing to resume staring back out the portal. "Don't you think I know that?" he said in a ragged voice.

  Daisy came over and put an arm around his shoulders. Shane didn't shrug her off. After all the water under their bridge, anything went.

  "Shane, we were both puppets to the Queen..."

  "That still doesn't make it any easier to bear, any easier to live with," Shane said, not resisting the small comfort that Daisy offered him.

  "No, it doesn't... But..." she paused a moment before continuing, "I know, Shane. Especially since you're sweet on her."

  Shane smiled briefly, "Am I that obvious? First Doc, now you."

  "You wear your heart on your sleeve, Shane. One of the reasons I thought you were handsome when you dropped by the Cheyenne."

  "That seems like another lifetime ago," he answered.

  "You know, Shane, I think back now and I realize that I should have listened to you... Then I wouldn't have gotten in this mess in the first place."

  "But, Daisy, it was your warning that let BETA know that the Queen was up to something before it was too late to stop her."

  "Ah, yes.... it all comes back to her, doesn't it? God, that woman is a bitch! I hope that she gets what's coming to her in the end!" Daisy swore.

  "She will," he said, taking her hands. "Someday."

  "God, I hope you're right, Shane," Daisy took in a shuddering breath. "But you're right, that was another lifetime, Goose. I was... a little blind and a lot more confident when I met you last."

  "What else happened, Daisy? What did MaCross do to you?" Goose asked, looking for insight into the new version of the woman in front of him.

  Daisy pulled her hands away, edgy about having close contact with him all of a sudden and he wondered why. Maybe it was an after-effect of the Psychocrypt. After being deprived of a body, you came out of it being a little hyper-sensitive to touch for a few days. Or, maybe, it was something else... Shane asked again, "Daisy, what happened when MaCross captured you? Before he turned us over to the Queen of the Crown?"

  This time it was Daisy's turn to shudder, then begin pacing the small cabin like a caged animal. "Shane," she said, suddenly very shaken. "It... wasn't anything... You don't need..." Her face became closed and shuttered.

  Shane narrowed his eyes and asked, "What did that scumbag, MaCross do to you, Daisy?"

  "Nothing... I don't want to talk about it," Daisy denied.

  "Then why are you so hell-bent on bringing him in yourself?"

  She had no intention of re-opening a wound. "He hurt me, Shane," she said defensively. "That's all ya need to know!" She clasped her arms around herself as if suddenly cold, and she didn't seem to see him, her eyes staring unseeing past him out the porthole.

  Shane knew the look too well - it was the look of someone who'd been burned and was coming too close to the flames again. The words she left unsaid slammed into him like a sack of bricks. He got up from where he had been sitting next to the porthole and went to her side. "Daisy.... I'm sorry..."

  Daisy drew in a shuddering breath as Goose placed a hand on her shoulder. "The bloody bastard chained me up like a dog, and wouldn't even give me a chance to fight back," Daisy said brokenly, tears building up and escaping from the corners of her eyes.

  Still shaking, she said, "He used a pain inducer on me, a toy from the Queen..." She continued on a moment later in the same broken voice, "That- that was just the beginning,.. It wasn't enough for him just to rape me - no - he had to beat me too... That- bastard - broke my ribs when I tried to knock him off me... Then, he broke my jaw to shut me up..." She broke off, unable to continue, sobbing.

  Goose turned her to face him, and she wrapped both arms around him like he was a lifesaver. He was unprepared to deal with an uncontrollably weeping woman. He had no idea what to say, what to do, to comfort her. So, he just held her and said nothing, staying rock still, while she cried herself out. He had a feeling that she had to do that before she would be able to talk anymore.

  "Ah, and blast it!" she said in between sobs, her brogue even thicker then normal. "To let him do that to me..."

  Shane took a deep breath, and didn't say anything. His mind was going through several thousand scenarios Wolfden trained in him...the ways to kill someone.

  "Daisy," Goose said, after letting her cry for another minute. He took his red bandanna and offered it to her to wipe her tears away, "Here, use this."

  Daisy stepped away, her red cheeks were partially due to tears, and part to embarrassment. She took it and turned away from Shane to try and get her emotions back under control.

  "Daisy," he said again, trying to get his bearings as well.

  "What a sorry mess I am," Daisy said, not wanting to turn around.

  "He's scum, Daisy. We're going out there to nab him."

  "Aye, that he is," Daisy answered, still not facing him.

  The hatch to the compartment slid open and Doc stuck his head in. "Hey, My Gooseman!"

  "Doc, you've still got bad timing."

  Doc caught sight of Daisy's tear-stained face, and Goose's set expression and said, "Oops! I'll come back later."

  "No, it's all right, I was just going to my bunk anyway," Daisy answered, slipping past Doc and out the door.

  Doc exhaled. "I'm not gonna ask."

  Goose growled, "MaCross."

  Doc huffed. "'Nuff said."

  "I've got a big score to settle with that piece of slime." Goose's eyes narrowed to half-slits, looking out the door through which Daisy had escaped.

* * * *

  The Kelldoran outpost was truly on the edge of League space. While it wasn't quite as bad as Tortuna, it did have more than its fair share of outlaws and criminals. It had taken the Rangers about a week in hyperspace to reach the outpost from BETA Mountain.

  Daisy had spent most of the time in silence, cleaning her weapons or pacing. When they landed, however, she was definitely changed. The calculating smile spread across her face, and she was first to the airlock. As they were getting ready to leave Ranger One, she insisted on going into the bar alone.

  Zachary protested but finally agreed that he and the other two Rangers would stand back-up outside the bar.

  Following Daisy out of the airlock, Doc commented, "Are you sure this is such a good idea, Zachary?"

  "I don't know, but I do know that if the three of us walk in there with O'Mega, there'll be enough trouble and distraction to have MaCross escape. Sending Daisy in alone is a bit more low-key. We'll guard the doors and have our blasters ready, just in case."

  "Just in case?" Doc questioned.

  "Just in case, Doc," Goose answered, watching Daisy closely as she weaved her way through the crowds.

  Doc sighed and loaded a full clip into his blaster. "'Just in case.' I love this job..." He had a sneaky feeling that he was going to need it.

  "Stop yappin', boys. I know which bar that scum's drinking swill at."

  Inside the bar, MaCross was enjoying a drink paid for with the reward money from the Queen. "An' here's ta Daisy," he chuckled. "May she and the Ranger boy be enjoyin' their time toget--"

  "MACROSS! Ye' scurvy dog!"

  MaCross whipped around, and his greenish face turned gray as his red eyes bulged nearly out of his skull. Bright and bold, there stood Daisy O'Mega. She paused in the doorway and put her hands on her hips. Patrons cleared a line of sight and a path to MaCross' seat.

  MaCross composed himself quickly. He had to maintain control.

  "We have a score to settle, MaCross..." Daisy called out loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear.

  "How did you wiggle out of the Queen's grasp?"

  "That doesn't matter, MaCross. What matters is that it's time for you to pay your dues."

  "What, you want more, bitch? You shoulda stayed with the Queen."

  "The Queen's hospitality was a mite better than yours, I'll admit," she purred. "But I plan on paying you back for yours."

  "You only got what was coming to you, Daisy," MaCross blustered.

  "Ha! I see you got delusions of grandeur from the Queen. Now, it's time for you to get what you deserve."

  Daisy strode across the bar and walked right up to MaCross' table. She sauntered up to him and picked up his drink. She sniffed at it before taking a sip. "Irish whiskey? You must miss me, darlin.'"

  MaCross sneered, "Get her, boys."

  "I don't think so," Patch leaned back in his chair. "This fight is all yours, MaCross."

  "You got paid your share of the reward money!" MaCross stared at him hard, and tried to spread the blame.

  "Only enough to drink," the dog-like alien, Dawdle, sitting next to Patch replied.

  "I thought you were a goner for sure, Daisy," MaCross stalled.

  "'Fraid of a lass, MaCross? You're not so brave if I'm not tied up." Daisy took the glass of whiskey and threw its contents in his face.

  "I ain't afraid of you, bitch. You just made the biggest mistake of your life," MaCross spluttered, jumping to his feet as he wiped the whiskey off his face.

  Daisy backed up and threw her large hat to the floor, crouching into a fighting stance. "I'm ready for a fair fight."

  Patch snickered. MaCross ignored him.

  MaCross charged at Daisy, enraged.

  She easily sidestepped his charge, laughing at him the whole time. Daisy knew that the angrier he got, the less control he had, and that was all to her advantage. "What's a'matter, darlin', have too much whiskey?" That caused the whole bar to start howling with laughter.

  "You wish," he muttered, and turned to charge her again.

  This time, his jaw met with a good uppercut from her right fist. Daisy put a foot out and swept his feet out from under him as he staggered back.

  He got back to his feet and lunged at her again.

  Daisy gave him another wallop whilst side stepping him.

  "Haven't you had enough, MaCross?" Patch shouted. "Looks like that last bottle did it to you." The rest of the bar howled in laughter, which enraged MaCross further. The patrons of the bar cleared a ring for the two fighters, cheering and making bets. Most of the cash was on Daisy.

  MaCross smacked Daisy. She faltered a bit, but returned with a kick to his groin.

  "That's for your hospitality."

  MaCross fell to his knees, trying to breathe. "You little bitch..." he said in between gasps.

  He got up and tackled Daisy. They both went down to the floor, and a card fell out of Daisy's vest.

  Daisy punched him again, solidly on the jaw this time and said, "Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's not nice to call a lady names?"

  "Yer no lady, slut."

  "Aye, I'm not." She rattled his teeth together with a boot to his jaw. "A slut, that is."

  In the back of the bar, Goose watched apprehensively; he was ready to step in if things got out of hand. This was Daisy's call, and even though she was handling it just fine, he still worried.

  Two ragged teeth fell from MaCross' jaw as he wiped away a trail of blood. He pulled a knife from his belt.

  "I took a piece of you last time, and I'll finish it this time," MaCross growled, moving forward with the knife in hand.

  "Not this time, bastard," Daisy said calmly. "You are finished MaCross." She twisted his knife arm up behind his back and knocked him face first back to the floor.

  MaCross turned over to see Daisy towering over him with the knife.

  "I'll get you yet," grumbled MaCross.

  "You can't even get up," Daisy said, holding the knife right at his throat.

  "He can't get it up, neither!" a heckler cried from the back of the crowd.

  MaCross struggled to prove her wrong, but couldn't get his feet under him. When he tried, Daisy swept his feet right out from under him again, and this time he lay on the floor, stunned. She stood over him, making sure MaCross knew she still had the knife.

  He started to feel real fear now.

  Daisy backed up a few feet and bent over to retrieve the small card which had fallen from her pocket during their struggle.

  "Not my style anymore. Lost it's appeal." She bent back over him and put force-cuffs on his wrists.

  "Hey, what is this?!" he sputtered.

  "You're going to meet some new friends o' mine, MaCross. I'm sure that they'll love your company. MaCross, I'm placing you under arrest for various crimes, not to mention rape, kidnapping, assaulting and attempted murder of a Galaxy Ranger."

  Everyone in the bar suddenly fell silent.

  She pulled him to his feet, and MaCross realized where he'd seen the card before... it was a bounty hunter's license -BETA issue. He had no time to respond as she began to pull him outside.

  "You bloody turncoat," he hissed. "How much are they payin' ya?"

  "That's right, MaCross, I'm a bounty hunter now," Daisy answered. "And the money's not why I'm doing this, MaCross--it's seeing your ugly face behind bars, that's why."

  Zach called out from the back of the bar, "Would you like some help with your captive, Miss O'Mega?"

  She shoved him outside, into the waiting Goose and Doc, who started to read him his rights as they took him away.

  "If you please Captain, I've seen enough of him."

  "It would be my pleasure, Miss O'Mega," Zach replied with exaggerated courtesy.

  As they walked away, Goose moved to her side. "Did you get what you wanted?" he asked.

  Daisy thought it over. "I had the knife, Shane. Woulda' been so easy just to slice his throat."

  "But you didn't."

  "Aye, I didn't." Her voice was tinged with something Shane couldn't place. Regret? Disappointment?

  "It took a lot of courage to face him down and not kill him for what he did to you, Daisy," Shane said, watching her closely.

  "Wasn't courage, Shane... I've just left it all behind. Everyone'll know I've switched sides now. All my old friends will be wanting to come after me, and I'll have to be selling out some people I did let myself become friends with..."

  Suddenly Daisy stopped, placed a hand on his arm and reached up to place a light kiss on his face. "I'll be seeing you 'round the Galaxy, Shane," she said before turning and melting away into the crowds.

  Goose watched her go, shaking his head.

  "Goodbye, Daisy," he whispered.

______________________________________________________

On to Chapter Thirteen!
Back to Lady Niko's Fics!
Back to Authors Page!