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

Chapter VIII

"Poets, priests and politicians
Have words to thank for their positions
Words that scream for your submission
And no one's jamming their transmission
'Cos when their eloquence escapes you
Their logic ties you up and rapes you...
 De do do do De da da da, The Police


  It was a beautiful cage but a cage nonetheless. The Queen's guards escorted Niko to a lavish bedroom. Alien artwork decorated the walls and surrounded a large fireplace where a real fire burned away. The guards took their post solemnly by the door.

  The Queen gestured around the room. "Your chambers, my dear. How do you like them?" She was also accompanied by Goose's Slaverlord. She seemed to gain evil delight in making sure that that Slaverlord was near her at all times.

  Niko wearily replied, "A prison is still a prison, Your Majesty. However well it is disguised."

  The Queen glowered at her. "Don't be ungrateful, Niko. I decorated this room for you. I know about your homeworld. The artwork is native to Xanadu itself..."

  Niko shuddered. The Queen was right. She didn't want to notice that detail but how could the Queen have known? What did she know of Xanadu?

  "Consider this to be your sanctuary, Niko. Your new home. I will, of course, provide for you within reason."

  Niko looked forlornly at Shane's Slaverlord. Oh, if only she could have those days on Granna back. If she could have said good-bye again.

  "Don't be tiresome, my dear and attempt to rescue any of the Slaverlords. You won't do them or yourself any favors."

  Niko tried not to let her surprise show. How did the Queen know what she was thinking?

  The Queen said, "Nothing you think is secret from me, my dear. Now, I want to hear you promise that you won't try to rescue them. I want your word." The Queen's hand took her chin in what appeared to be a gentle manner but the ice-cold, razor-sharp nails dug into Niko's chin.

  Niko tried to look away but couldn't escape the Queen's powerful gaze. Her ruby eyes paralyzed Niko. She couldn't escape the grip... She was aware now that she was shaking.

  "Promise me," the Queen said almost sweetly. "Promise me like you promised your loyalty."

  Niko tried to resist the probe she felt reaching into her mind. She tried to look at the Slaverlord just inches away but her eyes wouldn't move from the Queen's gaze. She was prey and the Queen was enjoying being the predator. She flailed about in her mind, trying to struggle, but her attempts at resistance only met with more of the Queen's calm determination.

  The Queen gripped Niko's chin and said, "Don't struggle. You'll only hurt yourself."

  Niko managed to put a hand on her badge to activate her implant.

  The Queen reached out and snatched the badge away out of her trembling grip. She didn't want Niko activating her implant and undoing all the progress she had made with her so far. "None of this, my dear. Not right now. It will only remind you of them... Now, promise me like you promised your loyalty."

  Niko was battered by strange emotions, feelings and images that were flooding into her mind. She saw the ruined heap that had once been Mel; Brutus and Voyager carrying their riders further and further from her... She saw Ranger-One leaving the Crown base, leaving her behind as she watched on the viewer. Niko gasped and tried to retreat long enough from the Queen's presence to shield her mind, to block out all the images and emotions she was being flooded with.

  But, the Queen allowed her no quarter, and Niko tried to resist. "They left you behind, child. They don't care about you. Not as much as I do...Trust me, Niko. Think about them. They ran away from you when you needed them the most."

  "No! You're lying! They'll be back for me," Niko protested.

  More inky thoughts were twining around her memories, distorting their meaning, taking them out of context... painting an ugly picture.

  "Yes, Niko, they deserted you... You were misguided. I know how well Captain Foxx can manipulate others. He manipulated you, poor dear, but I'm here. I'm sorry you had to learn about his cowardly nature the hard way. They don't care for you. Not as much as I do...Trust me, Niko. I want you to trust me..."

  Niko's legs were giving out from under her. She tried to look away, but the lock the Queen had on her was too strong. Her voice was only the faintest of sounds as she said, "Zach isn't a coward. Neither is Doc and neither is..." her voice choked.

  "They abandoned him, too, dear," she said. "Remember? They abandoned you both. Trust me, Niko, I will never desert you."

  "I trus..." realizing that this was her own voice speaking, Niko pushed her mind again to the surface in an attempt to clear her thoughts. Had she almost given in?!

  "Now, tell me you trust me. Just three simple words. Just say it. Say you trust me. You almost said it...it's not so hard to say, my dear. Just say it and you can rest."

  "No..." it was barely a whisper.

  The Queen's fingers dug painfully into Niko's jaw.

  "I...." Niko gasped and fought to clear her mind. She couldn't give in. "I..." her voice choked on the words, as another round of twisted imagery flooded her. "trus..."

  "Niko, you would save yourself so much trouble if you would just give in and say those three little words." the Queen said. "You can be tiresome, Niko, or you can cooperate." She continued as she flooded Niko's mind with more twisted and perverted memories.

  Niko was overwhelmed. She couldn't tell if they were real or false anymore. She was so tired....

  They had run away...they had left her here...but they didn't have a choice, or did they?

  "Say it!!" The Queen called out again placing the full force of her will upon the mind of the young woman before her. "Say those three little words, Niko, and I will let you rest."

  In that moment, that split-second instant of doubt, the Queen seized her chance. "Yes, see what I want you to see..."

  Niko was lost.... She swallowed. She was now shaking, breaking out into a cold sweat. She could see nothing but those eyes, hear nothing but that voice.

  "I...trust...you..." she choked out. "I trust you, Mistress..."

  The icy fingernails suddenly released their grip and Niko fell to the floor, panting.

  "Say it again, one last time, child," the Queen smiled triumphantly.

  Niko looked up. "I trust you, Mistress," she said in a mechanical voice.

  "Very good, my dear, very good. Now, wasn't there something else you wanted to tell me? Something you wanted to promise me?"

  Niko struggled to form the words, "I... promise..."

  "What do you promise me?" The Queen asked.

  "I... promise... you, Mistress... n-not... to... free... any... of the... Slaverlords." The words came from her against her will, but she couldn't stop them.

  The Queen knelt down and gently brushed a damp strand of red hair out of Niko's eyes. "That wasn't so bad, was it, Niko?"

  Niko didn't say a word. She just didn't have the strength anymore. Tears still ran freely from her eyes and she shuddered at the icy touch of the Queen's hands upon her cheeks.

  "Your next set of lessons will start in the morning. Now, it's time for you to rest."

  "Yes, Mistress," Niko said in the same tone as before.

  The Queen gestured to the Slaverlord, and they walked out the door, letting it slide shut behind them.

  Niko knelt on the floor where she was dazed. Eventually, she got up off the floor and climbed into the bed, exhausted. She pulled the blankets over her trembling body, unable to stop the tears running out of her eyes as she pulled the sheets over herself and curled up into a tight ball, shuddering and feeling wretched.

* * * *

  As Ranger-One limped back to League Space, Doc noticed that Zach's hands were clenched around the piloting stick and that his face had gone completely ashen, almost as if a statue was flying the ship.

  What was left of the sensors indicated a League space station ahead. Zach seemed to be paying no attention as he continued to move little or even notice anything.

  "Captain, There's a league space station ahead. We should port there," Doc said quietly.

  Zach didn't respond for a minute. But it seemed to shake him a bit from his catatonia. "Right, Doc," he answered finally.

  He brought the battered hulk around and tried to steer close to the space station, controls still in a deathgrip.

  Doc got on the radio and said, "League Space Station, this is Ranger-One requesting permission to dock."

  "Ranger-One?" said the technician at the controls. "Yeah, Commander Walsh is looking for you."

  "Uh-oh," Doc said under his breath.

  Doc and Zach glanced once at each other... they knew what was coming.

  "Just clear us for landing, tower," Doc said, exasperation giving an edge to his voice.

  Zachary struggled with the controls but was able to bring the ship around somewhat smoothly.

  "We failed, Doc... Now, Niko's going to pay for it."

  Doc sighed. "We'll get her back, Zach."

  "Before or after we have to battle her Slaverlord?"

  "I honestly don't know, Captain. But, we will get Niko and Goose out of the Queen's clutches." Doc tried to sound positive.

  Then, the two Rangers said nothing more as the station's tractor beam locked on to the battered ship and brought it in to the docking bay. Zach and Doc shut down the engines and secured the ship. They slowly walked out of the ship, not knowing quite what to expect. They were met by a security detail headed up by the security chief.

  "Captain Foxx, Ranger Hartford? Come with me, please."

  The two Rangers were escorted out of the docking bay and straight to the brig.

  Doc collapsed on a bunk, his energy drained from keeping all of his tweakers going at the same time. He tried to think of something witty to say but only grumbled, "To hell with it," and passed out on the bunk.

  In what seemed a short time, the security chief reappeared, waking them.

  "Captain Foxx? Ranger Hartford? Commander Walsh's shuttle has just arrived."

  Doc struggled awake and quipped, "Oh good, I just hate prolonging these things."

  Zach was still fairly pale, Doc noticed. He wondered if his captain had gotten any sleep since they arrived.

  The security chief gave Doc a quieting look but said nothing.

  "How long was I out?" he asked Zachary.

  "Thirteen hours," was the curt reply.

  Doc shook his head, he still felt that it wasn't enough, but it would have to do for now.

  The security chief led them to an office and ushered them inside. Commander Walsh stood in front of the desk frowning.

  They walked into an office where the station commander, a gray-haired iron bar of a woman, stood next to Commander Walsh himself. Doc was about to make a short quip about rudeness on the security chief's part but one look at Walsh's face and it died on his lips.

  "Uh-oh," Doc muttered under his breath.

  Zach straightened up and saluted Commander Walsh and the station commander. He spoke up first, his gravelly voice quiet, yet clear. "Sir, I take full responsibility for this. Hartford was following my orders and plans for this..."

  "But, Captain!" Doc protested. "What I did at BETA was hardly following orders!!"

  Commander Walsh cut the two Rangers off. "I am sure that Ranger Niko also willingly went along with this crazy idea of yours, Captain Foxx. Just what in the Sam Hill did you hope to accomplish?"

  "Rescuing Goose and Miss O'Mega, Commander," Zach answered. "And, preventing the Queen from making more human Slaverlords - any more human Slaverlords... Sir, the Psychocrypt is not a fate I'd wish on anyone." He had spent a short period of time in it, and knew what it did to a person. His wife, Eliza, was still a prisoner of the Queen... her body was in stasis at the Longshot Research Facility, while the Queen held on tightly to the first Psychocrystal she had made from a human.

  "And, where is Ranger Niko, Captain Foxx?" the station commander asked.

  "Captured, sir." Zachary was obviously ashamed. "I'd walk into the Psychocrypt myself if it would bring them back," whispered Zachary. The look on his face was agony to the eyes but Doc knew that anything he read on the captain's face was just the tip of the iceberg.

  Walsh drew in a deep breath. He had been afraid of that.... Now the Queen had two of his best Rangers. He paced the room back and forth struggling with himself. "I ought to throw you in the brig and leave you two to rot after your stunt," he blustered.

  "Do what you have to, Commander," Zachary said, resigned.

  "You disobeyed orders, put BETA through all sorts of hell and lost another Ranger.. for that you should be arrested!" Walsh said.

  Doc exchanged looks with Zachary "But...?" he questioned.

  "But..." he said, glaring at Doc "We have an emergency on our hands, so instead you are both being placed on probation. I will decide later what disciplinary measures to take if we make it through the coming battle with the Queen's armada."

  "What?!" Doc said both relieved and surprised.

  Zachary seemed not to notice.

  "The Crown fleet has been massing near the Third Quadrant border and I need you there. But don't think you are getting off on this one," Walsh said, still looking at Doc. "As soon as this is over there will be a hearing. Understand??"

  Both Rangers nodded. "Yes, sir."

  Doc asked, "Do we know which planet is her target, Commander?"

  "We don't know for certain but we believe that Granna is her intended target because it has a high human population and is relatively undefended."

  Zachary nodded. "What are our orders, sir?"

  "For now, I'm assigning you two to the Laredo. I need the two of you to be watching the Crown fleet closely," Walsh stressed, "without being detected. You'll be part of the Laredo's Interceptor crew. They'll be making runs near the border and you two are going to be in charge of the scouts."

  He paused and said, "And if you two pull any more stunts like what you did at BETA Mountain, then you will be spending a long, long time in the brig."

  "Why what happened at BETA?" Doc said trying to lighten the tenseness in the room. It didn't work.

  "Do I make myself clear, Ranger Hartford?" Commander Walsh asked.

  Both acknowledged the statement. Walsh looked them over. Somehow, he got the feeling that any punishment he gave them was nothing compared to he hell they were already putting themselves through. "Do you feel you're up to this?" he asked his voice and face softening a little.

  Doc took a moment to answer, "Yes, sir, I'm up to this."

  "Commander, any chance I have to fight the Crown I'm up to," Zach said, staring Walsh in the eye.

  "The Laredo will be here tomorrow," Walsh said. "In the meantime, you'll be taken to quarters and confined there until it arrives. Dismissed."

* * * *

  Niko stood in the large room. The Queen stood by her side. There were no cameras here. No guards. She had no idea where she was, nor did she know what she was doing there... The place was richly decorated. The Queen didn't even look the same.

  She wasn't wearing her formal robes of office, opting for a heavy purple robe. The headdress was gone, revealing close-cropped dark hair, diving over to silver.

  "This," said the Queen. "Is my private study. Feel free to look at the books."

  Niko knew she should be taking note of this but her head was so foggy... She walked into the room slowly. The place was dimly lit and not by electrical means, except for an eerie blood red glow coming from the center of one of the tall Romanesque column in the center of the room. Something about the column called to her and she slowly walked to the center of the room to look at the forcefield but the Queen guided her away.

  "There is nothing in there for you. Now, it is time for you to read..."

  "Yes, Mistress." Niko was led away from the column and sat at a large ebony desk. She kept looking backwards at the column. The Queen grumbled a curse and touched Niko's temple. The curiosity about the column vanished and Niko turned her attention to the books on the desk. Real leather and vellum. She was surprised by that.

  "Like them?" the Queen asked. "They're my greatest treasure. A millennia of observations and lore. I thought a scholar like yourself would be interested."

  The writing was a strange, spidery script that seemed to flow right off the page and was hard to focus on. But, somehow, she could read the script and what it said....

  "The power and life force of the weak is what the strong have always used to survive. Just as a predator eats prey to survive, so must strong beings feed on the weaker beings to ensure their survival."

  "You are powerful, Niko." She could hear the Queen's whisper at her neck. "That is why I watched you. That is why I waited for this..."

  Niko whipped around, but she couldn't see the Queen.

  She knew she should be disgusted by this writing, by what it was saying, by what the Queen was saying to her. But, somehow, she wasn't. She was almost excited by it...The books caught her attention. They seemed to pull her into the page. She read page after page allowing the words to spill over into her mind.

  "The weaker beings serve only one purpose - to nourish the strong," the book continued. It gave examples of wars, what atrocities the victors did to the vanquished.

  The words burned into her mind. The book told tales of a dozen conquered worlds... Power was blood. Power was conquest and preying.

  So she turned another page...

  "The Prey, as much as they claim to resist, actually are on many levels willing to submit themselves to a power higher than themselves. All war and resistance is a sacrifice by the weak to the strong."

  The Queen stood back and watched Niko absorb the text in the books.

  "Prey claim to be interested in peace and justice... the pursuit of power is the ultimate goal. The art of conquest being the highest attainable goal of a sentient being. Civilizations claiming to be peaceful eventually choke on dust and serve as the food for the empires of those who realize the ultimate perfection..."

  The more she read, the more she wanted to read.... Something in the text was pulling her in...

  They were weak, she thought, her mood turning black and evil. They left me behind, the cowards...soon, they will be conquered...

  The conditioning was working.

  She lost herself in the scrawled literature, as understanding and something deeper over came her... greed.

  A small voice spoke up from deep inside and said, "Think, Niko. Were they really evil? After all, had not Ariel been like a mother to you?"

  Niko shivered and looked up.

  "Read, Niko," purred the Queen. "After all, it's only knowledge..."

  What was she doing here and where was here? The fog seemed to lift from her mind for a moment and she found her attention drawn back to the column in the center of the room. Then, she heard a thought-trace that was not her own as she looked back at that glowing column again.

  These damn Rangers and their consciences.... They were so stubborn! The words, they were the Queen's! She could almost hear the Queen's frown in the thought voice.

  The Queen had her shields lowered ever so slightly to work on Niko's conditioning. She looked over to the center of the room, towards the column that emanated the red glow. She'd deal with the source of the glow, that special Psychocrystal later after she had taken care of Niko. She reached out again and touched Niko's temple, bringing her attention back to the tome in front of her.

  Niko turned back to the volume before her, that was the power the Queen offered and a way for... revenge! Destruction... yes, she had used her powers to destroy...

  The little voice spoke up again, "Think, Niko. Think. Is this really what you want to do??"

  "And how did it feel to destroy, dear? Remember my gun on Wollchat? And those android guards... How did it feel to see them destroyed?" the Queen prodded.

  Niko looked at the column in the center of the room again, with a confused expression on her face.

  "There is nothing there for you. That is a power I have earned. Soon, Niko, soon. You will have your own power... A fleet of ships, a planet to rule. Life-forces to feed on..." the Queen said, trying to lure Niko's attention back to the tome once more.

  "Yes..." Niko answered slowly, looking once more at the tome.

  "You are starting to see, aren't you?"

  The words started blurring before her eyes as she tried to sort through the cloudy images in her mind. "The strong shall overcome the weak and make them their slaves..." the book read.

  "Yes, power which you can manipulate and use to do what must be done, my dear," the Queen purred.

  "How do I become strong?" Niko asked.

  "You must destroy all that would make you weak," the Queen said cryptically.

  A quick flash of unkempt blond hair appeared in Niko's mind and just as quickly was gone.

  "Destroy," Niko hissed. "Yes, destroy those bloody cowards... You saved me." She blinked. "Why? Why did you save me? I was weak."

  "Because, I care about you, my dear. Because I knew you could be so strong," the Queen purred.

  "Yet, you saved me?" She blinked and questioned again, "Why? Why did you save me? I was weak."

  "That is of no matter," barked the Queen. "I had my reasons, girl. You aren't weak anymore. You were like raw ore. I am purifying you. You will be so strong," the Queen soothed. "A powerful ally, to share in the destruction of those... cowards."

  "The purity of power..." the book read.

  "And you will destroy those who abandoned you. The ones who weakened you..." the Queen said hypnotically.

  "They weakened me," Niko said bitterly, viciously.

  "Yes, child, they weakened you... They deluded you by turning you into one of them: a coward, a weakling. You are more powerful than they are. You can crush their minds. You will crush their minds..."

  Niko shivered in delight, "Yes, Mistress.... crush their minds..."

  "You will crush their minds..." the Queen repeated. "I destroyed Daisy O'Mega for your benefit."

  "She was weak. The weak provide power for the strong..." Niko said.

  The Queen abruptly changed. "Now, what about Captain Foxx and Dr. Hartford? They are, after all, your friends."

  Niko stood up and stared at the Queen icily. "Don't talk to me about them. I'd just as soon they didn't exist!" she shouted. "They are cowards!"

  "I can," the Queen, suggested, "take their influence away. You never have to acknowledge their existence again."

  Niko looked excitedly to the Queen, "You can, Mistress?"

  She closed her eyes. A face, a voice...a man in black...No! She wasn't going to have any weakness! She viciously suppressed the memory, focusing on rage.

  "He betrayed you too, my dear," the Queen said.

  A moment, for a moment only shock registered on Niko's face. "Betrayed? Who is he, Mistress?"

  "One of those weak cowards who betrayed you, my dear." the Queen stated. "One of the those who wished to make you weak, as a matter of fact he worked the hardest at it. He ran right into the arms of so many others... you cared for him but he didn't care for you. And now he is so close, but he will not help you, again he turns away."

  Somehow, that didn't seem right, but Niko determinedly pushed the nagging doubts away.

  "You will see in time my dear," the Queen said. "Niko, look at me, I care for you. I will keep you strong, only under me will you grow powerful," the Queen whispered.

  "They're still in my mind." Niko's voice was a squeak. "I don't want them in my mind, Mistress. They are weakening me. I need to be strong. Am I weak in asking you to help?"

  "No, my dear, only in asking my help will you grow stronger," the Queen answered.

  Niko straightened. "Help me, then!" she barked.

  "Yes, Niko, I will help you.... Open your mind to me..." The Queen staggered back. Every psychic shield surrounding Niko suddenly dropped like a stone. She was right, Niko did have an extremely powerful mind and she was almost caught off-guard by its power. With delight, the Queen took possession of her new pupil. She burned away Niko's memories of the Rangers, all her experiences with them.....

  And Niko was welcoming it!

  Niko welcomed the Queen fully into her mind. Rejoicing that her Mistress was going to make her strong. Memories burned away, replaced with glorious rage... hate... Power! At first, she welcomed the pain, for one had to endure pain to become strong. Then, the pain intensified and the internal fire that was sweeping her mind, destroying the old memories, seemed to be burning out of control. Her legs buckled and she ended up on the floor on her knees in front of the Queen, who wouldn't break the contact.

  "Good, good let yourself roll in the power that fills your mind!" said the Queen with a look of glory and accomplishment on her face.

  Xanadu and BETA went up in a glorious pyre. Nothing remained except her Mistress... and, that, for some reason, filled her with remorse. No... remorse was for the weak. Niko burned that away herself. The fire felt like it was burning out of control in her mind, like it was going to escape and consume the rest of her body and soul....

  Then, it was over.

  The Queen smiled as she raised Niko to her feet, "You have proceeded with great speed. Niko, I am proud of you. No...." she said a moment later, "You will no longer be called Niko. That name has too many of your old, weak associations tied to it. From now on you shall be called, Kraya, Kraya Dal'Jesset."

  Niko, Kraya, took a moment to savor the new name, "Kraya Dal'Jesset... Kraya, after the Warlord-Mistress of Bayla...Yes, Mistress, a proud name. It is an honor to be named by and for you."

  The Queen watched her try out her new name. Niko, no Kraya, was hers now!

  "Kraya," Niko/Kraya played with the sound of her new name.

  The Queen didn't bother to hide her rejoicing. A student... an heir... Yes, indeed. Kraya Dal'Jesset.

  Student and teacher laughed together.

  The Queen motioned to her guards, "Show my new student, Kraya Dal'Jesset, back to her quarters. I'm sure she will want to change into something more appropriate."

* * * *

  The next day, the Laredo paused at the BETA space station while en route to the Third Quadrant to pick up Zach and Doc. Along with Commander Walsh, who would be in charge of BETA's forces during the upcoming battle with the Queen's armada.

______________________________________________________

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