Isn't Life Strange - Part 07: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:49, 20 January 2018

Isn't Life Strange - Part VII

"'Cause it's time, it's time in time
With your time, and its news is captured
For the Queen to use..."
I've Seen All Good People, Yes
The hyperspace jump was a short one, and soon the shuttle dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of the asteroid field where the Queen of the Crown's Psychocrypt was. After docking, the guards dumped the unconscious Niko unceremoniously in a cell and locked the door behind them as they left.
The dungeonmaster informed the Queen of the Crown that the Galaxy Ranger was in a cell, awaiting her pleasure. The Queen smiled and said that she would be there shortly to visit with her guest and told him to have a wide selection of her interrogation drugs ready for her to use upon her arrival.
The dungeonmaster nodded and answered, "Yes, Your Majesty, everything will be ready for you when you arrive." The Queen nodded and cut the transmission.
A few minutes later, she arrived in the dungeon, flanked by two guards instead of her usual two Slaverlords. The dungeonmaster bowed to her before moving to open the cell door for the Queen and her guards. The guards entered first and began waking Niko up, using the butts of their blaster-rifles.
Niko awoke to a sharp pain in her ribs. Instinctively, she tried to roll away and get into a fighting crouch as the butt of a blaster rifle slammed into her back. She fell back to the floor with a grunt and tried again. She finally managed to grab a leg and pull it out from underneath her captor. She tried to get the blaster and some distance from her attacker. As soon as she made a move for the blaster, she was slammed forward by another sharp rifle butt. She stumbled and fell to the floor again. She lay there for a moment winded, her ribs on fire, and when she could breathe, she moved her head and saw a pair of black suede boots.
Her eyes widened in surprise. This wasn't one of the guards...
"Still a fighter, Little Niko? Good. I always admired that about you."
She slowly looked up and saw the Queen of the Crown peering down at her. Lord and Lady, Sorceress and Scholar... "What?" asked Niko, trying to recover her bearings. "Is the Psychocrypt broken?"
"Oh no, Niko.... I have something else planned for you..." the Queen purred.
"Something else?" Niko asked.
"Yes, child," the Queen answered. "I want you to serve me as my willing pupil."
"You'll ice skate in hell before that happens," Niko said, repeating something she'd heard Doc say once.
"I'm sure I can manage to change your mind," the Queen answered.
Niko shivered. The Queen's persuasion usually left broken bones and bruises. Absently, she rubbed her collarbone and forearm.
"But, that can wait until after you tell me what I wish to know..." the Queen answered.
"I won't tell you anything, Your Majesty, and you know it. You'll have to rip my mind out first," Niko said with more defiance than she felt.
"No... I want your mind intact, for now..." the Queen said. "I'll get the information from you another way, my dear."
Niko hated those two words when the Queen said them. She backed up a little bit, holding back on saying anything else that might aggravate the situation.
The Queen motioned to a third guard standing just outside the doorway. He came forward with a tray that had various hypodermic needles on it. She looked at the guard and said, "Use the interrogation drugs only. I want her intact otherwise, since I have plans for her."
She turned her attention back to Niko, "I am also an amateur scientist, Niko. My field of study is pain. Your captain, for instance, has always made an interesting subject in mental anguish studies. You... will make an interesting subject on many more levels. Physical torment, mental duress... yes, you will prove to be a fascinating test subject."
Niko shuddered. She only hoped that she could use her gifts to block out whatever they were going to do to her.
"And your psychic abilities open you to even more delightful realms of experimentation. You will suffer constantly, little Niko. Not just for days or even weeks but years, decades..." The Queen said.
How long would her psychic gifts protect her? Niko wondered.
The Queen nodded to the two other guards in the cell who each got a good grip on Niko's arms after a brief struggle. She traced Niko's arm with a light, icy finger. She stopped at a spot on the inside of Niko's elbow. "Inject the first one here."
The guard nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Niko tried to struggle but the hypodermic needle hit her vein precisely and discharged its contents. The stuff rushed to her head almost immediately, making her dizzy, and her head felt three feet thick. Her knees buckled and she would have fallen but for the guards holding her arms. Her head lolled on her shoulders, too heavy for her to hold up.
"My first question," the Queen asked. "Is this - Do you come from Earth?"
"Yes..." Niko slurred. She didn't want to answer but somehow the will was overridden. Then, a second later, "No..." she heard herself saying.
"Where are you from, if not from earth?" the Queen questioned. "What is your homeworld?"
Niko tried to resist and partially succeeded, "Circle... Can't... tell... you..."
"Another five gigils."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The robot guard next to the Queen injected another bit into Niko's arm.
"Now, where are you from, Little Niko?"
"Not on map, or by scanner..." Niko slurred out. "Nowhere."
The Queen's eyes narrowed as she digested this piece of information. Niko heard her grumble, "It would be like them to send a mere girl against me." Then, "Who sent you?"
"No one. Sent myself."
The Queen thought a moment, her eyes resting on the tray of hypodermics, then turned back to Niko. "I see... Will your precious league come following you?"
"Did this 'gainst orders. Zach... Doc... maybe..."
The Queen said, "Ah, Captain Zachary Foxx..." She laughed low in her throat, "and perhaps Ranger Hartford as well... delightful."
She pulled out something from her cloak. "The last questions I have to ask you," she purred, "Concern this."
Niko managed to hold her head up long enough to look at the object in the Queen's hand. Her vision was foggy but, she saw something red that glowed faintly in the Queen's hand. The object was put in her hands and Niko could sense the Queen's presence.
The Queen forced herself into Niko's mind, heightening her senses and her perceptions. Images, emotions, flooded into her. The distant sounds of and screams. Niko tried to retreat from the invading presence in her mind. No, anything but this....
"You know who he is, don't you?" the Queen said. "You came to rescue him."
Niko sobbed, "Yes." She had to answer the question; she had no choice.
"Tell me whose life-force I have taken," the Queen said, her voice as cold and smooth as a frozen pond.
"Shane, Shane Gooseman." Niko was crying openly now, as the images and emotions poured through the forced link with the crystal.
"I see," the Queen said. She went in for the killing blow. "And what are your... feelings for Ranger Gooseman?"
Niko was shaking. Grieving, terrified, drugged and fighting a losing battle. Every fiber of her tried to resist. "I...."
"Tell me, Niko, what are your feelings for him?" the Queen repeated.
Niko couldn't control her quaking. "I... I... No!"
The Queen was pleased with this last bit of resistance from her. She dug her fingernails into Niko's chin and said, "Tell me, Niko."
With tears running down her face, Niko admitted, "I love him...."
Still keeping her chin in a deathgrip, the Queen turned to whisper in Niko's ear. "That's all I wanted to know."
Niko's whole body went limp and the two guards holding her up let her fallto the floor in a heap. The Queen had gotten the information she wanted.
The Queen ordered the guards to leave and she knelt next to Niko, now helpless on the floor. "There," she said. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" Gently, she brushed the hair from Niko's face before rising.
Niko flinched and would have moved away if she'd had the strength. She whispered in one last act of defiance, "You won't always be able to force your way in my mind like that, Your Majesty."
"I won't have to, Lady Niko," the Queen answered, looking down on her. "Soon, you'll let me in ofyour own free will."
With a swish of her red cape, the Queen casually picked up Shane's crystal, then left the cell.
Niko lay where she had collapsed, tears streaming down her face, her arms wrapped protectively around her tender ribs. "Oh, Shane.... what have I done?"

* * *

A short time later, Doc came back to the bridge.
"We're traveling at about three-quarters our usual speed in hyperspace, but the horses are secure." Doc reported.
"Good," Zach answered looking straight ahead. "Strap in."
Doc nodded and strapped into the co-pilot's seat.
"GeeVee, can you give me a status on that crown shuttle?" Zach asked sometime later as they approached the asteroid belt. Ranger-One cautiously negotiated the asteroid field, more out of fear of being spotted than fear of the asteroids themselves.
"Heavy Shielding. Type Eight Imperial Blaster Cannons, crew reads thirty live guards."
"Live guards? I didn't think that the Queen had any live guards," Doc questioned.
"I read thirty live guards, Ranger Hartford." GeeVee answered.
"There's a lot about the Queen we don't know, Doc. We can only guess that her troops are androids."
"Right, Captain." Doc said.
"GeeVee, what else can you tell me about that ship? Is there anyway we can sneak on-board that shuttle without being caught?"
"Shuttle is moving away from asteroid base. It would appear that they have already off-loaded."
"Blast!" Zach said, bringing his fist down on the arm of his chair.
Doc didn't say a word, just shook his head and looked over the base readouts.
"Uh-oh, Captain Foxx, I am reading several crown ships moving in on our position. It appears that we have been spotted," GeeVee reported, his voice quaking.
Zachary and Doc sprung into action, Doc activating the shields and fire controls, Zach grabbing the piloting stick.
"I see them, Captain!" Doc said from his position at the firing controls "They're closing in fast!"
The crown ships slid into position around the Ranger ship.
"Hold on, Doc," Zach said before starting to jerk the ship around for evasive maneuvers. "Going for pattern Sierra."
"Right, Captain," Doc answered.
The crown ships opened fire as Zach maneuvered the ship. Ranger-One whipped around an asteroid and came back, only to get broadsided with a volley of shots from the Crown fighters launched from the base. The jolt hit the ship hard, rocking it out of control for a moment. If Zachary and Doc hadn't been strapped in, they would have been tossed like rag dolls.
"Doc, how are our shields?" Zach asked, struggling to bring the ship about.
"We've lost port shields totally!" yelled Doc, "Another hit over there and we're risking a hull breech." He tried to compensate and shift power from another secondary system to that area but was met with a scorching burn when he tried to touch his control panel. He yowled and jerked his hand away. "Controls are ionized!"
"Can your tweaker programs do anything?" Zach questioned.
Doc shook his head and pulled out the CDU. "I'm giving it a go!" He touched his badge, activating his implant, giving him a direct link to his -tweaker programs. The holographic diamond flashed before him, "All tweakers - this is an emergency! Give me everything you've got to keep those shields up!"
"Right on, Doc!" one of the tweakers answered.
"Let's go!" another one called.
"Pathfinder, see what you can do about de-ionizing these controls," Doc specifically asked one of the tweakers. The tiny, glowing hacker-programs flew into the console and Doc was able to regain partial control.
"Captain, I've got some control but I don't know how long it will last!" Doc called.
"Can you shift power from somewhere to give the shields more power, Doc?" Zach asked, using all his piloting skills to avoid the Crown fighters. The Crown ships came in for another sweep. Doc was able to fire the cannons and blast a couple of them. They spun out of control and crashed into the asteroids.
"I'm already doing everything I can to keep us breathing, Zach," he said. "All non-essential functions are down."
"The asteroid has just launched more fighters, Captain Foxx, sir." GeeVee replied, his blue-green holographic eyeball quivering in fear.
Zach, trying to gain some sort of control, called over to Doc, "I'm going to move deeper into the asteroid belt to see if I can lose them. That seems like our only chance!"
Doc complained half-heartedly, "I knew I never should have signed that Ranger application!"
"Too late for that... heading right for the asteroid field!"
Time seemed to freeze for Zach as he looked at the fortress... No... Goose and Niko were as good as dead unless he got them out... or maybe it was too late already...He hoped it wasn't...
Looking up at Zach's face, Doc said, "Captain we are of no use to them dead! We have to get out of here!" he called, hoping to get through to Zach.

* * *

In the palace, the Queen sat on her throne and watched calmly as the Ranger ship dived further into the asteroid belt. It would make this much more interesting... She summoned her guards to bring Niko to her. Now I will break her, she thought as she watched the shuttle slowly make its way through the asteroids.
Within moments, the guards returned with Niko between them. The Queen looked her over and purred with delight as the woman shivered.
"The Psychocrypt," Niko said dully.
"No, dear. Not yet." The Queen gestured to the monitor. "It's your Captain Foxx making a foolhardy attempt to rescue you."
Niko turned and looked at the monitor then took an involuntary step back when she recognized the ship on the screen. It was Ranger-One! Niko took in a deep breath. "No.... oh no..." she whispered under her breath.
"Oh yes, indeed, Niko... You know that both he and Ranger Hartford would be willing to make any attempt to rescue you and Ranger Gooseman from my clutches... even brave death... I'm afraid they will not be successful."
"I thought you wanted them as more trophies for the Psychocrypt?"
The Queen stood up, her ruby eyes locked on Niko's. "Their fate, my little Niko, is entirely up to you."
"What do you mean?" she asked, as she watched the pitiful remnant of Ranger-One move across the screen.
"I can call off the attack," she said, moving to whisper the words in Niko's ear, "With one push of a button, I can send the fighters away."
Niko jumped at the Queen's nearness and said, "Why should I believe you?"
"Do you have any choice?" The Queen answered. "Because, my dear. You are valuable."
"What do you mean?"
"Agree to my terms and I'll let them go. Refuse me and they die."
"What are your terms?" Niko asked.
"Surrender and pledge your willing servitude to me."
"Why me? You know I will never serve you willingly," she questioned, shocked.
"Oh, you will, if you want them to live..." The shock turned to a look of understanding as she turned back to the screen. "Make your choice, Niko," the Queen pressed.

* * *

"We still don't have enough power!" shouted Doc as he tried again to fire the useless blasters. The fighters were coming closer, closer... almost within range. One more hit and they were done for.
"Why aren't we finished?? They could have gotten rid of us long ago," Zach asked looking at the in-coming ships. "What are they waiting for?"

* * *

In the asteroid, Niko stood motionless staring at the monitor in disbelief.
"It's time to make your choice, Niko: join me and your friends will live, or refuse me and send them to their graves. You won't be able to save him," the Queen said. "But you have a chance to save them. They don't have the strength to save themselves. If you refuse, I promise that you will die with them."
Niko shivered... The Queen was right... what choice did she have? She asked, "If I accept... you will let them go?"
"Yes, I will let them go," the Queen answered, then added under her breath, "For now."
"All right then, I surrender," Niko said, looking at the Queen. She swallowed, fighting to keep her fear at bay.
The Queen walked to a panel, pressed a button and Ranger-One was left alone in space as the Crown fighters returned to the asteroid base.
She said, "Wise choice, Niko."
Niko was shaking, watching the small ship limp away. She hoped, but didn't believe that Ranger-One would hold together long enough to make it back to the League. Gods... what had she done? Giving BETA a fighting chance, she reminded herself.
The Queen smiled. Oh, did she have plans for Niko. Then her voice intruded on Niko's thoughts, "No, my dear, BETA has no chance against my armada."
Niko's voice was shaky, "Can I be alone, Majesty?"
"You may have a moment, my dear."
Niko shuddered. She walked away, into a lavatory and lost the contents of her stomach into a basin. She knelt there for a time, trying to muster her defenses. She was going to need them if she was going to get through this encounter with the Queen. Niko walked out, trying to stand tall. She would not let the Queen see her frightened. She may have agreed to serve the Queen but that didn't mean she was going to allow her to make her a slave.
Would she be able not to cross that line? Did she have the strength? Time would tell. And maybe, if she was lucky, she could find a shard of glass or a bit of poison that could release her from her oath if she couldn't find any other way out. No, she wouldn't consider that option yet. She couldn't. She had to hold out for a chance to rescue Goose and Daisy. She just hoped it would be soon... If rescuing them would do any good...there was virtually nothing stopping the Queen from invading that frontier world. She told herself, You are a Galaxy Ranger. You can and will find a way out of this mess.
You are no Ranger. You are a traitor. You willingly agreed to serve the enemy... to study her ways and become her loyal servant. Accept that you gave your word.
"Get out of my mind!" Niko growled, knowing that it was the Queen. Or was it? She looked skyward. I'm sorry, Ariel, she thought. I've betrayed you and I've betrayed my people.
The Queen smiled as she heard Niko's thoughts. Niko was giving her all the ammunition she needed to crack through her shields.
Niko walked out of the lavatory and into the hallway. She didn't get far before seeing a Slaverlord. She stopped short as she saw the face in the crystal. Oh gods.... it was Goose! The Queen had made him a Slaverlord. Was a rescue already too late, she wondered.
"Shane!" she gasped involuntarily. You bitch, Niko thought, feeling a surge of rage override her self-disgust and fear. She knew she needed to create a retreat within her mind. Somewhere she could sort things out.
The Queen straightened with a start at the surge of emotion from Niko. Such emotion. Ah, yes. Unexpected...but useful Much more interesting than those pitiful Gherkins. And at this rate, tormenting little Niko would be even more of a pleasure than anything she had done to that captain... She sent a signal to her Slaverlord to bring Niko to her. The lessons should begin immediately, she decided. While her new student was still off-balance. What to teach her first? Then, she decided, what to do. The perfect lesson would be to make her witness the transformation of that Daisy O'Mega creature.... She told her guards what she wanted, and they bowed in acknowledgment of her orders before going off to carry them out.
The Slaverlord approached with Niko at its side.
"My dear Niko, feeling better?" the Queen asked.
Niko said nothing. She rested a hand against her waist, covering her badge. She wanted to save her implant charge until she needed it. She wasn't sure she could keep the Queen out of her mind, even with her implant at full charge if the Queen forced the issue, but she had to try.
The Queen seemed to ignore Niko as she watched the technicians prepare the Psychochamber. Niko stood uneasily at the foot of he throne. She noticed the activity surrounding the Psychochamber and wondered what the Queen had planned. Certainly it wasn't to put her in the Psychochamber, was it? Why did the Queen say that she wanted her as a student, if she was only going to put her in the Psychochamber? She hardly dared to look at the Slaverlord next to her. She wanted so much to grab from the Slaverlord the Psychocrystal that contained Shane's life-force, but the time wasn't right. She silently prayed for the strength to hold out until Doc and Zach could arrive with back-up.
The Queen was feeling pleased with herself. Her new student didn't know that she was broadcasting her thoughts. It was a lingering side-effect of the truth-serum she had used on Niko-- it boosted the subject's latent telepathy. Without even having to expend conscious energy, the Queen was able to listen in on her pupil's thoughts. Once she had been properly trained, her new student would make an excellent servant.
Then, the guards returned half-carrying, half-dragging, a semi-conscious Daisy O'Mega. Her face was still bruised along the jaw-line on one side, and she appeared to be drugged.
Niko couldn't quite surpress the gasp of surprise that escaped when she recognized her, "Daisy O'Mega?!"
Hearing her name said, Daisy shook off the last of the cobwebs in her head. She straightened up and was just as surprised to see Niko, "Galaxy Ranger Niko-- Didn't think I'd see you here..."
Niko didn't know what to say. There was a flood of questions she wanted to ask and not all of them had to do with the Queen's plans. She started to move forward, but the Slaverlord at her side put a restraining hand on her shoulder, preventing her from moving any closer. She threw a despairing look over her shoulder at the Slaverlord bearing Shane's Psychocrystal.
The Queen motioned to Daisy's guards, "Place her in the Psychochamber."
As the guards pushed Daisy past Niko, she could see Niko's expression and then the reason for it as she saw the face in the Slaverlord's crystal. It was Shane's. Daisy shook her head in denial and cursed under her breath at the Queen.
The Queen spoke, "Come, Niko, it's time for your first lesson."
Niko moved slowly with dread. She knew what was coming now, the Queen was going to make her witness Daisy's transformation into a Slaverlord.
"Remember Niko, you did agree to serve me and become my student."
Daisy looked up and could hear as the guards put her in the Psychochamber, Niko answer, "Yes, Your Majesty." But, Niko had her back to Daisy at this point, and Daisy couldn't see the rebellious expression on her face. She was too dazed to put up much of a fight when the guards shoved her into the glass chamber and attached electrodes to her chest and temples. The double shock of seeing a Slaverlord with Shane's Psychocrystal and Niko's apparent willing servitude to the Queen of the Crown depleted what little fight she had left in her and she leaned dispiritedly against the glass of the Psychochamber.
After the guards had finished with Daisy, the Queen shifted her attention back to Niko, who still had her back turned to the Psychochamber. "Turn around my dear. Watch and learn what happens to those who cross me."
"No," Niko said.
"What was that you said, child?" the Queen asked.
"I said, no," Niko answered.
"Watch and learn, Niko," the Queen repeated.
"No, Your Majesty," Niko said, placing a hand over her badge, ready to activate her implant, which would boost her psi-powers and hopefully give her the strength to keep the Queen out of her mind.
"You will watch and learn, Niko," the Queen said ominously.
Then, before Niko even had a chance to breathe, to activate her implant, the Queen sent a lance of sheer fire into her mind. With a cry of pain, Niko fell to her knees, both hands on either side of her head.
The Queen sent the spike deeper into Niko's mind and said, "Watch, Niko and learn."
Niko was bent forward in pain. She couldn't think, much less move to activate her implant, which might have given her the strength needed to resist the Queen's attack on her mind.
The Queen was more than pleased with all the delicious information she was gleaning out of Niko's mind, via the pain spike. All sorts of interesting emotions were tied to that human Daisy O'Mega... She decided that that would be the tool to use in this lesson. She lessened the intensity of the pain spike and instead began to pry away on the emotional knot in Niko's mind. She picked out the thread of jealousy from the knot and said, via telepathy, "Come now, Niko my dear and watch the elimination of the rival for your fellow Ranger's attentions."
"No," Niko answered, but this time the denial was less heated.
The Queen leaned back in her throne, she could feel the wall of Niko's resistance starting to tremble. She was making progress here. Simultaneously, she drove the pain spike deep into Niko's mind again, at the same time, pulling heavily on the thread of jealousy. "Turn around, Niko and watch," she said.
"No, I can't," Niko sobbed, hands clutched to either side of her head. The pain was so intense.
The Queen could feel the cracks that were beginning to form and widen in Niko's resistance. She said, "Niko, here; here is the rival for your beloved's attentions."
Niko no longer felt the pain of the mental spike as much as she was beginning to feel something much darker and much more sinister-- an extreme jealousy of Daisy. She didn't recognize the voice that answered the Queen, "Yes."
The Queen again pulled on the thread of jealousy, "Turn around and watch, child."
"N- no," Niko stammered. It was getting harder to resist. She suddenly felt a blinding, raging jealousy towards Daisy. She fought to push that dark and dangerous feeling back. She didn't feel that way towards Daisy... or did she? She couldn't tell anymore what was real.
The Queen pulled even harder on the thread of jealousy in Niko's mind. Her resistance was crumbling. "Niko, child." She placed a hand under Niko's chin and tilted her head up so she was forced to look her in the eye. "Turn around and watch."
"N- no... Y-yessss..." Niko was torn. She was lost in a maelstrom of emotions. She felt hands under her arms, lifting her up.
The Queen's smile sent shivers down Niko's spine. Whether of anticipation or apprehension, she couldn't tell anymore.
"Turn around Niko, and watch."
"Yes..." Niko answered slowly. She thought she had said no? She felt a heady sense of anticipation that just didn't feel right. The hands on her arms kept her upright and helped her turn around so she was facing the Psychochamber.
In the Psychochamber, Daisy O'Mega wondered what the Queen was waiting for. Why hadn't she told her guards to throw the switch to go ahead and drain her life-force into a Psychocrystal, she puzzled. Then, Daisy noticed the scene taking place between Niko and the Queen with a distant, puzzled expression on her face. She acts like the Queen's torturing her, though there's not so much as a hand lain on her...What was happening up there? She couldn't hear much of the conversation except the words jealousy and rival. She wasn't expecting help from Niko but still...Why would a Ranger be jealous? Why would the lady Ranger be so jealous as to serve that vicious Queen, albeit not entirely of her free will?
This may be part of the process, to prolong the waiting, to stretch out the subject's torment and anguish to make a stronger Slaverlord for all she knew. Her eyes settled on the Slaverlord holding Niko back. Daisy's stomach did a flip-flop. Now, she was frightened. Her heart pounded and she struggled to get to her feet, so that she could pull off the electrodes. Then, she looked up again and saw that Niko was once again back on her feet and this time facing her. Daisy's breath caught in her throat as she saw Niko's twisted expression. Niko's face seemed frozen between jealous rage and desperate pity.
The Queen waved to her guards to begin the transformation.
Daisy's eyes caught on the Slaverlord and realized...Jealous. If she was sweet on Shane, that might explain... But the red light and the awful ripping pain cut off any further coherent thought. A deep, wrenching scream was torn from her throat as her life-force was forcibly drained from her.
On the dais, the Queen's expression of extreme pleasure was eerily echoed on Niko's face. But, the difference was that Niko had tears running freely down her cheeks. Unknown to Daisy, Niko had her own battle. Instead of being jailed by a red crystal, her mind was jailed by the iron of her thoughts and emotions, twisted and fashioned into bars by her captor...her master. This prison was just as painful.
Then, Daisy collapsed in a heap, as her life-force was pulled into a Psychocrystal.
The red Psychocrystal floated away from the chamber and white robes folded around it, creating another Slaverlord, the Daisy-Slaverlord then floated up to the dais next to Niko.
On the dais, Niko would have fallen back to her knees, had it not been for the Goose-Slaverlord holding her up. Lesson one was over, would lesson two be any easier?
"You do realize, my little Niko," the Queen said. "That your love and your rival are now joined forever. Your friends will not come to help you...the only thing you have left, the only one you can trust now, is me."
She got up from the throne and brushed away some of Niko's tears, "But you can trust me and you will trust me."
Niko shuddered. She didn't know if she could survive another one of the Queen's lessons.

* * *

Outside the Psychocrypt in the asteroid belt Ranger-One was limping back out of the asteroid field, heading for League space.
"Hyperdrive damaged... weapons out... power on backups...Shit!" Doc banged on a console, reading the damage report sent up by GeeVee, who didn't even have enough power to manifest the green eyeball interface.
"Can we even make it back to League space?" Zach asked, worriedly.
"I can manage to put this thing together with chewing gum and barbed wire. We can limp back to the League. Anything past that would be a joke."
"Well, do what you can, Doc. We can't stay here, and we can't leave Niko in the Queen's hands."
"I know," he said. "But we are dead meat on a stick if we even try to go back there without some extensive repairs. I don't know about you, Zachary but I don't want to use up my health insurance quite yet."
He took a look at Zach's face and sighed, "I'll get right on it."
Zach let out a deep sigh of resignation before getting up to go help Doc. While not a religious man, he offered a small prayer up for luck. They'd need all the luck available and while he prayed for luck, he also said a prayer, with all his heart, for the three humans trapped in that graveyard.
Doc was working on a patch of whatever was left of the hyperdrive, stringing wires and circuitry together and periodically cursing and breaking out a fire extinguisher to stop the small fires cropping up.
Zach stood by and handed him tools when he called out for them. There wasn't enough room for two people to work in the engine space and he didn't have enough technical skill to be working on them. Doc had his tweakers working with him, helping to patch the circuits and reroute. Zach noticed that it was taking a strain on him.
"Join the Galaxy Rangers and see the Galaxy," muttered Doc under his breath.
Zach could only nod in wry agreement.
It was some time later that Doc emerged from the engines, his once-pristine uniform now covered in soot, grime and grease.
His expression was doubtful and Zach asked, "How are the engines? Can we make the jump to lightspeed?"
"That's the best I can do," he said tiredly. "I'm pulling a lot of power from my implant. All five tweakers at once takes a lot. But, we can activate the hyperdrive long enough to get to the border - provided we don't need life support afterwards. And no fancy flying, otherwise we'll lose what repairs I did."
Zach winced, "That bad?"
"'Fraid so and don't let me fall asleep... I need to be conscious for the tweakers to work. Pathfinder and Tripwire are the only thing keeping us breathing."
Zach nodded, "Right." That meant no sleep for him as well.
"Come on, let's get going. I can't hold out for forever." Doc said as he collapsed hard in the co-pilot's seat with a groan. "I've got the nav computers set for the shortest run to the League border."
"Right. Let's go then." Zach said, sitting down in the pilot's seat and punching buttons to make the jump.
They started off to League space, wondering how or if they were going to be able to get back.

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 <poem>
-Isn't Life Strange - Part VI
+Isn't Life Strange - Part VII
-"I know you're out there somewhere
+"'Cause it's time, it's time in time
-Somewhere somewhere
+With your time, and its news is captured
-I know you're out there somewhere
+For the Queen to use..."
-Somewhere you can hear my voice
+I've Seen All Good People, Yes
-I know I'll find you somehow
+The hyperspace jump was a short one, and soon the shuttle dropped out of hyperspace at the edge of the asteroid field where the Queen of the Crown's Psychocrypt was. After docking, the guards dumped the unconscious Niko unceremoniously in a cell and locked the door behind them as they left.
-Somehow somehow
+The dungeonmaster informed the Queen of the Crown that the Galaxy Ranger was in a cell, awaiting her pleasure. The Queen smiled and said that she would be there shortly to visit with her guest and told him to have a wide selection of her interrogation drugs ready for her to use upon her arrival.
-I know I'll find you somehow
+The dungeonmaster nodded and answered, "Yes, Your Majesty, everything will be ready for you when you arrive." The Queen nodded and cut the transmission.
-And somehow I'll return again to you."
+A few minutes later, she arrived in the dungeon, flanked by two guards instead of her usual two Slaverlords. The dungeonmaster bowed to her before moving to open the cell door for the Queen and her guards. The guards entered first and began waking Niko up, using the butts of their blaster-rifles.
-I know You're Out there Somewhere, The Moody Blues
+Niko awoke to a sharp pain in her ribs. Instinctively, she tried to roll away and get into a fighting crouch as the butt of a blaster rifle slammed into her back. She fell back to the floor with a grunt and tried again. She finally managed to grab a leg and pull it out from underneath her captor. She tried to get the blaster and some distance from her attacker. As soon as she made a move for the blaster, she was slammed forward by another sharp rifle butt. She stumbled and fell to the floor again. She lay there for a moment winded, her ribs on fire, and when she could breathe, she moved her head and saw a pair of black suede boots.
-As soon as they were in hyperspace, Zach convinced Niko to go lie down in the back of Ranger-One and rest. It had taken some work on his part, but in the end, he had "used" Goose on her. His argument, "What would Goose say if he were in this situation, Niko?"
+Her eyes widened in surprise. This wasn't one of the guards...
-"He'd say, 'be prepared,'" Niko sighed in resignation. She could see where Zach's logic was going.
+"Still a fighter, Little Niko? Good. I always admired that about you."
-"And, what would he say if he were here now?"
+She slowly looked up and saw the Queen of the Crown peering down at her. Lord and Lady, Sorceress and Scholar... "What?" asked Niko, trying to recover her bearings. "Is the Psychocrypt broken?"
-"That I ought to get some rest while I can."
+"Oh no, Niko.... I have something else planned for you..." the Queen purred.
-"Right, now, please, go in back and try to get some sleep," Zach asked, not ordered. This wasn't something he could order her to do.
+"Something else?" Niko asked.
-Niko gave Zach a small smile and said, "Thanks, Zach."
+"Yes, child," the Queen answered. "I want you to serve me as my willing pupil."
-"For what? I'm doing this as much for my own peace of mind as much as anything else," was his answer.
+"You'll ice skate in hell before that happens," Niko said, repeating something she'd heard Doc say once.
-She got up and headed to the back of the ship to rest, passing Doc along the way.
+"I'm sure I can manage to change your mind," the Queen answered.
-"Niko, are you all right?" he asked, looking up from the computer console he was working at.
+Niko shivered. The Queen's persuasion usually left broken bones and bruises. Absently, she rubbed her collarbone and forearm.
-"No, not really, but I'll survive." She gave him a sad half-smile before going to lay down in the bunk area.
+"But, that can wait until after you tell me what I wish to know..." the Queen answered.
-Doc watched her go, unsure of what to say, and finally a few moments later, he returned to tinkering away at the computer console.
+"I won't tell you anything, Your Majesty, and you know it. You'll have to rip my mind out first," Niko said with more defiance than she felt.
-Alone, Niko sat on the edge of a bunk and stared absently off into space for a few moments. What was it that had touched her psyche during recharge? She puzzled it over as she removed her boots and stretched out on the bunk. Finally, exhaustion won out, and she fell asleep. Soon, she found herself caught up in a dream that was no ordinary dream...
+"No... I want your mind intact, for now..." the Queen said. "I'll get the information from you another way, my dear."
-Light years from Tortuna, in what was commonly referred to as the Queen's Graveyard, the Queen of the Crown sat on her throne in her special asteroid, her Psychocrypt. Her throne was positioned in front of the Psychocrypt conversion chamber and various other assorted equipment.
+Niko hated those two words when the Queen said them. She backed up a little bit, holding back on saying anything else that might aggravate the situation.
-On the floor of the chamber, almost directly in front of her throne, there was a great deal of activity surrounding one piece of equipment that had a peculiarly shaped bracket device coming out of the top of it.
+The Queen motioned to a third guard standing just outside the doorway. He came forward with a tray that had various hypodermic needles on it. She looked at the guard and said, "Use the interrogation drugs only. I want her intact otherwise, since I have plans for her."
-One of the 'Crypt technicians turned to the throne and said, "The dream machine is ready, Your Majesty."
+She turned her attention back to Niko, "I am also an amateur scientist, Niko. My field of study is pain. Your captain, for instance, has always made an interesting subject in mental anguish studies. You... will make an interesting subject on many more levels. Physical torment, mental duress... yes, you will prove to be a fascinating test subject."
-The Queen said, "Excellent. Here is the crystal for you to place in the machine."
+Niko shuddered. She only hoped that she could use her gifts to block out whatever they were going to do to her.
-The technician bowed and moved forward to take the Psychocrystal. He placed the crystal in the bracket atop the machine.
+"And your psychic abilities open you to even more delightful realms of experimentation. You will suffer constantly, little Niko. Not just for days or even weeks but years, decades..." The Queen said.
-For a moment a face appeared in the crystal, showing whose life-force was trapped inside-- Shane Gooseman's.
+How long would her psychic gifts protect her? Niko wondered.
-The technician turned the machine on and the crystal began to glow.
+The Queen nodded to the two other guards in the cell who each got a good grip on Niko's arms after a brief struggle. She traced Niko's arm with a light, icy finger. She stopped at a spot on the inside of Niko's elbow. "Inject the first one here."
-The Queen leaned forward in her throne and said in an almost whisper, "Niko... Niko..."
+The guard nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty."
-On Ranger-One, Niko was caught in the Queen's nightmare, some part of her knowing that it was the Queen's nightmare, but was powerless to fight it.
+Niko tried to struggle but the hypodermic needle hit her vein precisely and discharged its contents. The stuff rushed to her head almost immediately, making her dizzy, and her head felt three feet thick. Her knees buckled and she would have fallen but for the guards holding her arms. Her head lolled on her shoulders, too heavy for her to hold up.
-"Niko... Niko..." A voice called out to her, out of the utter darkness that surrounded her.
+"My first question," the Queen asked. "Is this - Do you come from Earth?"
-"Goose?" Niko answered, confused. Where was this place?
+"Yes..." Niko slurred. She didn't want to answer but somehow the will was overridden. Then, a second later, "No..." she heard herself saying.
-"Niko... Niko..." the voice called again.
+"Where are you from, if not from earth?" the Queen questioned. "What is your homeworld?"
-Niko now found herself standing on a platform of some kind, in the middle of a black void. The voice seemed to be all around her. She couldn't tell from which direction it was coming. She spun around, feeling like she was moving in slow-motion. "Shane?"
+Niko tried to resist and partially succeeded, "Circle... Can't... tell... you..."
-"Niko..." the Queen said, an evil smile on her face.
+"Another five gigils."
-Niko heard Shane's voice and asked, "Shane? Where are you?"
+"Yes, Your Majesty."
-"Niko... I'm here," the Queen said, knowing that it was Shane's voice Niko was hearing.
+The robot guard next to the Queen injected another bit into Niko's arm.
-"Where, Shane?" Niko asked, turning around in a complete circle once more.
+"Now, where are you from, Little Niko?"
-A column of light appeared and Shane stood in the middle of it, his hand outstretched as if reaching to her.
+"Not on map, or by scanner..." Niko slurred out. "Nowhere."
-Niko reached out to him, "Shane, where are you?"
+The Queen's eyes narrowed as she digested this piece of information. Niko heard her grumble, "It would be like them to send a mere girl against me." Then, "Who sent you?"
-"I'm here, Niko," Shane said, not explaining anything.
+"No one. Sent myself."
-"Where, Goose?" Niko asked puzzled. "What is this place?"
+The Queen thought a moment, her eyes resting on the tray of hypodermics, then turned back to Niko. "I see... Will your precious league come following you?"
-"Niko, come to me..." the Queen said, enjoying herself thoroughly. It was so easy to play with these humans' minds. Their emotions would be their downfall.
+"Did this 'gainst orders. Zach... Doc... maybe..."
-Niko ran to the edge of the circular platform and said, "Shane, I can't reach you!"
+The Queen said, "Ah, Captain Zachary Foxx..." She laughed low in her throat, "and perhaps Ranger Hartford as well... delightful."
-Shane reached out his hand again. He was closer this time. His fingertips brushed against hers. "You can make the jump, Niko. Please come here. I need your help..."
+She pulled out something from her cloak. "The last questions I have to ask you," she purred, "Concern this."
-She hesitated. She didn't think she could make it...
+Niko managed to hold her head up long enough to look at the object in the Queen's hand. Her vision was foggy but, she saw something red that glowed faintly in the Queen's hand. The object was put in her hands and Niko could sense the Queen's presence.
-Niko shivered. Something didn't feel right, but she prepared to try again. She backed up and told that nagging doubt in the back of her head to be silent. She started running, preparing to make the leap.
+The Queen forced herself into Niko's mind, heightening her senses and her perceptions. Images, emotions, flooded into her. The distant sounds of and screams. Niko tried to retreat from the invading presence in her mind. No, anything but this....
-"Niko, jump!" Shane said. But, was it really Shane?
+"You know who he is, don't you?" the Queen said. "You came to rescue him."
-With a cry, she leapt across the chasm, missing the edge of the platform by centimeters. She fell, only to be caught by the wrist. She was pulled up on to the platform and she wrapped her arms around Shane.
+Niko sobbed, "Yes." She had to answer the question; she had no choice.
-"Oh, Goose," she said, heart still pounding. "Thank you." She started to relax as his strong arms snaked around her.
+"Tell me whose life-force I have taken," the Queen said, her voice as cold and smooth as a frozen pond.
-"No problem," Shane answered. "It was no problem at all, my dear Niko..."
+"Shane, Shane Gooseman." Niko was crying openly now, as the images and emotions poured through the forced link with the crystal.
-The voice was right, but not the inflection! Niko froze and tried to push him away.
+"I see," the Queen said. She went in for the killing blow. "And what are your... feelings for Ranger Gooseman?"
-"You aren't Shane!" she said, trying to pull herself from the now-suffocating grip around her ribs. Niko opened her eyes and looked up into the hooded cowl of a Slaverlord. The Queen's face was peering down into hers, a mockery of a smile pasted on her face.
+Niko was shaking. Grieving, terrified, drugged and fighting a losing battle. Every fiber of her tried to resist. "I...."
-"I have your love, my dear Niko, and soon I will have you!" the Queen said, via the Slaverlord.
+"Tell me, Niko, what are your feelings for him?" the Queen repeated.
-"NOOOOOO....." she sat up, still asleep, screaming in denial of the terror the Queen was trying to make her feel.
+Niko couldn't control her quaking. "I... I... No!"
-She finally managed to push away from the Slaverlord, but she backed up a step too far... Her heel slid off the edge of the platform. She tried to regain her balance, but it only succeeded in making her even further off-balance. The Slaverlord laughed in the Queen's voice.
+The Queen was pleased with this last bit of resistance from her. She dug her fingernails into Niko's chin and said, "Tell me, Niko."
-But almost as an undertone, she could hear Shane crying out in sympathy.
+With tears running down her face, Niko admitted, "I love him...."
-"Give up, my dear, you can't escape," the Queen declared.
+Still keeping her chin in a deathgrip, the Queen turned to whisper in Niko's ear. "That's all I wanted to know."
-The Slaverlord shoved Niko off the platform, and she was falling... falling...
+Niko's whole body went limp and the two guards holding her up let her fallto the floor in a heap. The Queen had gotten the information she wanted.
-What more did the Queen want?
+The Queen ordered the guards to leave and she knelt next to Niko, now helpless on the floor. "There," she said. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" Gently, she brushed the hair from Niko's face before rising.
-She kept on falling down an endless pit in the dream.
+Niko flinched and would have moved away if she'd had the strength. She whispered in one last act of defiance, "You won't always be able to force your way in my mind like that, Your Majesty."
-"Never!" she screamed.
+"I won't have to, Lady Niko," the Queen answered, looking down on her. "Soon, you'll let me in ofyour own free will."
-But, the dream continued on....
+With a swish of her red cape, the Queen casually picked up Shane's crystal, then left the cell.
-And when she finally landed, it was in the conversion chamber of the Psychocrypt. But, she wasn't the one about to be converted. It was Shane!
+Niko lay where she had collapsed, tears streaming down her face, her arms wrapped protectively around her tender ribs. "Oh, Shane.... what have I done?"
-"Niko," he pleaded. "Help me."
-"No! I won't let you do this to me!" she protested. "I won't allow you to force me to watch this!"
-She tried to shut it out...
-"Won't let me? Oh, Niko, dear, you are so quaint..." the Queen laughed sarcastically. "You forget, I control everything here. This is my domain."
-But whether her eyes in the dream were open or shut didn't matter. There was no way to block it out.
-The Slaverlord threw the switch, and the conversion chamber powered up. She looked into the chamber, and her eyes met Shane's. His green eyes reached out with a mixture of fear, pain, and (what made Niko shudder the most) love.
-Niko was powerless to resist the images the Queen planted in her mind, nor the suffering of Shane as his life-force was pulled from his body and imprisoned in a Psychocrystal. She wanted to stop this, but she could do nothing. She cried out with a suffering of her own as the red light hit him.
-"NO!!! Shane!!!" She sobbed, wishing there was some way she could help him, but knowing now that it was too late, that this was only a memory pulled from Shane's mind.
-"Niko," she heard his voice whisper. "I'm sorry, babe. You weren't meant to know..."
-The Queen just sat on her throne and laughed. "Love," she said. "A much more powerful weapon than battleships. You aren't the first loves I've parted, Lady Niko, and you won't be the last!"
-Niko found the strength somewhere deep inside her to shout from the bottom of her soul, "GO TO HELL, Your Majesty!"
-"You are in hell, my dear, and your only way out is though me!"
-She woke up, eyes wide, and shaking. Zachary nodded to Doc, who handed him a glass of water. Niko took it gratefully.
-It was several moments before she could talk coherently.
-"You were screaming," explained Doc. "What happened?"
-Niko looked up and talked directly to Zachary. "Zach, she's... Shane is... Oh, Gods...Shane is in the Psychocrypt. I...saw it."
-"Saw it?" asked Doc. "The dream machine?"
-Niko nodded mutely. She heard Zachary mutter out a colorful stream of curses.
-"But how?" Doc asked. "I thought that only worked because of some harmonic thingy between Zach's bionics and his implant?"
-Niko shuddered. "I... don't really know..."
-Zachary turned to Doc. "Not quite. The Queen can manipulate me the way she does because I love Eliza. Emotional bonds are tools to her."
-"There's the fact that my Gifts make me a little more... receptive. That goes both ways - good and bad," said Niko.
-"Glad she doesn't have Maya," Doc said dryly. He avoided mentioning the existence of a bond between Goose and Niko.
-"That'll happen someday if we don't stop her now." Zach said.
-Just then, GeeVee popped up on a nearby monitor and said, "Ten minutes to Tortuna space, Captain Foxx."
-Zachary let go of Niko. "Are you going to be okay, Niko?"
-She nodded. "I'll be fine, Captain. I'm just a little shaken."
-Doc lingered for a moment after Zach left and asked, "Are you sure you'll be all right, Niko?"
-She nodded, she had to put on a brave face, "Yeah, Doc, I will." She patted Doc's shoulder. "Thanks, Doc."
-Doc got up and went forward to the front of the ship.
-Once alone, tears threatened to overwhelm Niko, but she refused to give into them. She had to keep it together to rescue Shane.... She had to, otherwise it would be all over.
-Niko picked up her boots and went to the back. She'd have to get into the Zanguil outfit very soon.
 * * * *
-The Queen sat back in her throne and nodded to the technician to shut the dream machine down. The ground work was laid, and soon, very soon, she'd have one more of the Galaxy Rangers in her service. She fingered Goose's crystal almost lovingly after the technician handed it back to her.
+A short time later, Doc came back to the bridge.
-"Oh yes, my dear Niko, you will serve your Queen..." she said and then tucked the crystal away in her cloak. The time would come soon enough to make a Slaverlord of the Galaxy Ranger she had in her Psychocrypt, but for the moment, she had other business to attend to.
+"We're traveling at about three-quarters our usual speed in hyperspace, but the horses are secure." Doc reported.
-She stood up and wrapped her cloak about her. She left the conversion chamber and headed for the medical facilities. Having to delay making a Slaverlord of that presumptuous human, Daisy O'Mega, might yet prove useful. She could use that human's transformation to break the Galaxy Ranger Niko to her will. The thought made her smile evilly.
+"Good," Zach answered looking straight ahead. "Strap in."
-Upon her entrance in the medical facilities, the technician straightened from the instrument panel he had been leaning over and bowed, "Your Majesty."
+Doc nodded and strapped into the co-pilot's seat.
-"So, tell me, technician, how is your patient doing?" The Queen moved in closer to check Daisy over visually.
+"GeeVee, can you give me a status on that crown shuttle?" Zach asked sometime later as they approached the asteroid belt. Ranger-One cautiously negotiated the asteroid field, more out of fear of being spotted than fear of the asteroids themselves.
-She was under heavy sedation and had restraints on both wrists, keeping her tied to the bed.
+"Heavy Shielding. Type Eight Imperial Blaster Cannons, crew reads thirty live guards."
-"Despite her injuries, Your Majesty, she is a most healthy specimen and should make an excellent addition to your Psychocrypt," the technician answered, looking back at her chart once more.
+"Live guards? I didn't think that the Queen had any live guards," Doc questioned.
-"How long before she can withstand the transformation process?" The Queen was eager to transform this human.
+"I read thirty live guards, Ranger Hartford." GeeVee answered.
-"Not for another seventy-two hours at the minimum, Your Majesty," the technician almost sounded disappointed that it was going to take that long.
+"There's a lot about the Queen we don't know, Doc. We can only guess that her troops are androids."
-The Queen's eyes narrowed. That would be just about the time to teach her new student another lesson.... "That will do just fine. I plan to use her conversion as a lesson for my new pupil that I expect to have willingly joined my service by that time. Keep me informed of her condition. I want to make sure she will survive the conversion process," The Queen ordered.
+"Right, Captain." Doc said.
-The technician bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. I will see to it that she is strong enough to survive the conversion process."
+"GeeVee, what else can you tell me about that ship? Is there anyway we can sneak on-board that shuttle without being caught?"
-"Excellent," the Queen said. She flung her cape about her once more and left the medical facilities.
+"Shuttle is moving away from asteroid base. It would appear that they have already off-loaded."
-Now, she had to plan for the capture of the remaining Galaxy Rangers team. She headed for her communications room to contact her troops on Tortuna to set the trap for the Rangers. Oh yes, she knew exactly where they were headed. The same bar where the Black Hole Gang had captured Ranger Gooseman. How poetic....
+"Blast!" Zach said, bringing his fist down on the arm of his chair.
+Doc didn't say a word, just shook his head and looked over the base readouts.
+"Uh-oh, Captain Foxx, I am reading several crown ships moving in on our position. It appears that we have been spotted," GeeVee reported, his voice quaking.
+Zachary and Doc sprung into action, Doc activating the shields and fire controls, Zach grabbing the piloting stick.
+"I see them, Captain!" Doc said from his position at the firing controls "They're closing in fast!"
+The crown ships slid into position around the Ranger ship.
+"Hold on, Doc," Zach said before starting to jerk the ship around for evasive maneuvers. "Going for pattern Sierra."
+"Right, Captain," Doc answered.
+The crown ships opened fire as Zach maneuvered the ship. Ranger-One whipped around an asteroid and came back, only to get broadsided with a volley of shots from the Crown fighters launched from the base. The jolt hit the ship hard, rocking it out of control for a moment. If Zachary and Doc hadn't been strapped in, they would have been tossed like rag dolls.
+"Doc, how are our shields?" Zach asked, struggling to bring the ship about.
+"We've lost port shields totally!" yelled Doc, "Another hit over there and we're risking a hull breech." He tried to compensate and shift power from another secondary system to that area but was met with a scorching burn when he tried to touch his control panel. He yowled and jerked his hand away. "Controls are ionized!"
+"Can your tweaker programs do anything?" Zach questioned.
+Doc shook his head and pulled out the CDU. "I'm giving it a go!" He touched his badge, activating his implant, giving him a direct link to his -tweaker programs. The holographic diamond flashed before him, "All tweakers - this is an emergency! Give me everything you've got to keep those shields up!"
+"Right on, Doc!" one of the tweakers answered.
+"Let's go!" another one called.
+"Pathfinder, see what you can do about de-ionizing these controls," Doc specifically asked one of the tweakers. The tiny, glowing hacker-programs flew into the console and Doc was able to regain partial control.
+"Captain, I've got some control but I don't know how long it will last!" Doc called.
+"Can you shift power from somewhere to give the shields more power, Doc?" Zach asked, using all his piloting skills to avoid the Crown fighters. The Crown ships came in for another sweep. Doc was able to fire the cannons and blast a couple of them. They spun out of control and crashed into the asteroids.
+"I'm already doing everything I can to keep us breathing, Zach," he said. "All non-essential functions are down."
+"The asteroid has just launched more fighters, Captain Foxx, sir." GeeVee replied, his blue-green holographic eyeball quivering in fear.
+Zach, trying to gain some sort of control, called over to Doc, "I'm going to move deeper into the asteroid belt to see if I can lose them. That seems like our only chance!"
+Doc complained half-heartedly, "I knew I never should have signed that Ranger application!"
+"Too late for that... heading right for the asteroid field!"
+Time seemed to freeze for Zach as he looked at the fortress... No... Goose and Niko were as good as dead unless he got them out... or maybe it was too late already...He hoped it wasn't...
+Looking up at Zach's face, Doc said, "Captain we are of no use to them dead! We have to get out of here!" he called, hoping to get through to Zach.
 * * * *
-The three Rangers, now dressed as Zanquils, rode their cybersteeds up to the guard post at the entrance to the main dome of Tortuna City. The Crown Agents had gotten greedier since the last time they had bribed their way into the city. Instead of the six hundred crowns, the guards now wanted eight hundred crowns. Zach almost choked at the amount.
+In the palace, the Queen sat on her throne and watched calmly as the Ranger ship dived further into the asteroid belt. It would make this much more interesting... She summoned her guards to bring Niko to her. Now I will break her, she thought as she watched the shuttle slowly make its way through the asteroids.
-But it was Doc with one of his usual , "Oh, fearless leader, I would suggest that you pay the man since I'm allergic to torture," that got him to hand over the stuffed bag of crowns. The crown guards had laughed, and what could have been a bad situation was quickly diffused.
+Within moments, the guards returned with Niko between them. The Queen looked her over and purred with delight as the woman shivered.
-"Where to now, Zach?" Doc asked once they were inside the dome.
+"The Psychocrypt," Niko said dully.
-"Geezie's shop. I want to know if he's found out anything more on Goose and see if he can get us into the Queen's asteroid complex," Zach answered.
+"No, dear. Not yet." The Queen gestured to the monitor. "It's your Captain Foxx making a foolhardy attempt to rescue you."
-Niko rode along in between, still troubled by the nightmare. It had scared her more than she was willing to admit, and longed for something to divert her mind from its present train of thought...
+Niko turned and looked at the monitor then took an involuntary step back when she recognized the ship on the screen. It was Ranger-One! Niko took in a deep breath. "No.... oh no..." she whispered under her breath.
-The Rangers left their cyberhorses at a parking facility just inside the dome and headed on foot to Geezie's shop. They blended into the crowd much better without the horses and this time, they didn't really want to attract attention. Even Niko had managed to pull her hair up under her Zanquil hat.
+"Oh yes, indeed, Niko... You know that both he and Ranger Hartford would be willing to make any attempt to rescue you and Ranger Gooseman from my clutches... even brave death... I'm afraid they will not be successful."
-They entered Geezie's shop, only to find him nowhere in sight, but heard him moving around in the back of the shop, and then call out, "I'll be right there!"
+"I thought you wanted them as more trophies for the Psychocrypt?"
-He came bustling out of the nether regions of the shop and stopped short when he saw the Zanquil outfits.
+The Queen stood up, her ruby eyes locked on Niko's. "Their fate, my little Niko, is entirely up to you."
-"Zanquils! I don't do business with Zanquil Slavers!" the Pendulant bristled with outrage.
+"What do you mean?" she asked, as she watched the pitiful remnant of Ranger-One move across the screen.
-"Guess again, Geezie," Zach said, pulling the concealing cloth of the Zanquil costume from his face.
+"I can call off the attack," she said, moving to whisper the words in Niko's ear, "With one push of a button, I can send the fighters away."
-"Galaxy Ranger Zachary Foxx!" Geezie exclaimed.
+Niko jumped at the Queen's nearness and said, "Why should I believe you?"
-"Hi Geezie, you miss us?" Doc grinned, also pulling the concealing cloth on his costume away from his face.
+"Do you have any choice?" The Queen answered. "Because, my dear. You are valuable."
-"What can I do for you today, Galaxy Rangers?"
+"What do you mean?"
-"Information, Geezie, information," Zach said sternly. "I want to know what happened to Ranger Gooseman, Geezie."
+"Agree to my terms and I'll let them go. Refuse me and they die."
-Geezie trumpeted, "I already told that Commander Humming all I know!"
+"What are your terms?" Niko asked.
-"Tell me now. Goose is one of my men and I don't intend to let the Queen keep him as a Slaverlord." Zach said with menace. He meant what he said.
+"Surrender and pledge your willing servitude to me."
-Geezie backed up a couple of steps, waving his hands in front of him, "All right, all right! I'll tell you what I know! Just let me make sure we won't be disturbed."
+"Why me? You know I will never serve you willingly," she questioned, shocked.
-He went to lock the front door and pull down the shade that had "closed" written on it. He led the Rangers to the lower level of the shop before he told them what he had told Goose about the Sunset Bar over in Sorry End being the Black Hole Gang's latest "public" hang-out on Tortuna.
+"Oh, you will, if you want them to live..." The shock turned to a look of understanding as she turned back to the screen. "Make your choice, Niko," the Queen pressed.
-"I warned him not to go there, yes I did," Geezie felt he had to defend himself.
-"What happened at the Sunset Bar?" Zach asked, with just a hint of menace in his voice.
-"The Black Hole Gang! That's what happened!" Geezie answered. "The Ranger found the Black Hole Gang and got himself captured by them."
-"How, Geezie?"
-"It was a set-up. They attacked him from behind and shot him in the back!" Geezie blurted out.
-Niko paled considerably at this confirmation of her vision.
-"When did this happen?" Zach asked all the questions. He could be as good as Goose when it came to being intimidating.
-Geezie had to think for a minute, "About eight hours ago."
-Zach cursed, that gave MaCross more than enough time to have handed Goose over to the Queen of the Crown, and more than enough time for her to have transformed him into a Slaverlord as Niko had seen in her horrible nightmare on board Ranger-One on the flight out from Earth.
-"Where's MaCross now?" Zach asked, eyes narrowed in thought.
-"He's off-planet now," Geezie said apologetically. He had no love for the Black Hole Gang either. He continued, taking a deep breath, "Shortly after the brawl at the Sunset Bar, he took off in a land-cruiser with two bundles in the back under a tarp. He went to the Queen's dome, the Excellon, and delivered his 'cargo.'"
-"What was his cargo?" Zach asked.
-"It was the Blonde Ranger Humming and that Daisy O'Mega Humming," Geezie answered, his whole body seeming to droop as he told the news.
-Niko's knees buckled. It was true then, the Queen had transformed Goose... Doc was quickly at her side and supported her with a hand at her elbow. He quietly told her, "Easy, Niko. Just take it easy."
-Zach cursed. He had hoped that it would be otherwise, but now he knew what they had to do. He put his shoulders back and pulled the face wrap back up over the lower half of his face. He gave Niko an understanding glance and turned his attention back to Geezie.
-"Thanks for the information, Geezie." He said, before turning and nodding to Doc and Niko that it was time to go.
-As they walked back up to the main level of the shop, Geezie stayed where he was for the moment and called out behind them, "Remember Galaxy Rangers, you never saw me!! I don't exist!"
-Doc couldn't hide the grin that found its way to his face. Some things would never change, and Geezie was one of them. "Geezie, it's so nice to know you care for us!" he quipped.
-Geezie sighed and shook his head, why did he ever bother to get involved with these Hummings in the first place?
-Outside the shop, Doc asked Zach, "Where to now, Zach?"
-"The Sunset Bar in Sorry End. I'd like to see if Geezie was right about MaCross being off-planet..." Zach answered, eyes narrowed, and hat pulled down low on his brow. He turned to Niko and asked, "Are you all right, Niko?"
-"I think so. I just didn't want to believe it, but..." Niko's eyes were full of agony.
-Zach put a hand on her shoulder and said, I know, Niko, I know. But we are going to get Goose back. Even if I have to face a court-martial when we get back to Earth."
-"Thanks, Zach," Niko answered.
-Doc tried to find a quip, or some remark to make, but couldn't find anything to say as the trio headed back to where they had left the cyberhorses.
-The Ranger trio got their horses and headed over to Sorry End and the Sunset Bar. Once they were outside the bar, Zach told Brutus, "Keep your ears open, Brutus, let us know if trouble's coming."
-"Right," Brutus answered.
-"Doc, Niko, watch your backs. We don't know what we're going to find in there." Zach said, checking to make sure he had his blaster and that it had a full charge. Doc and Niko both checked their weapons; Doc, his blaster pistol, and Niko her blaster shotgun.
-The three Rangers entered the bar, looking for the Black Hole Gang. They walked up to the bar, and were about to order drinks when glass shattered, when the bar filled with the screams of blasters and the splintering of wood.
-"Hit the floor!" Zach shouted.
-Doc needed no prompting, leaping behind an overturned table and firing his blaster at the thick herds of purple and black suited guards, that seemed to be coming out of the woodwork.
-Niko was near the middle of the bar and had kicked aside a couple of the mob, but they were closing in. She found cover and started blasting away with her shotgun.
-The horses were also trying to hold their own. They were lashing out with their hind-legs, taking out two to three of the robots at a time. Brutus bucked, knocking one robot clear off his feet, tossing him into another cluster of troops, scattering them, and shattering a plate-glass window. Brutus took the opening and jumped through the broken window to go help his rider. The other cyberhorses followed him into the bar.
-The Queen's robots troops were everywhere! She must have sent a full battalion against the team.
-One of the soldiers tried to throw himself on Voyager. She bucked him off. Another one tried to shoot Mel and scorched the ornamental mane. Mel neighed in anger and lashed out with his hind legs, taking out four more of the robots.
-Doc tried to shoot his blaster and got nothing. Picking up a blaster from an unconscious thug, he started to keep firing, but the more he took down, the more came.
-Zachary was also fighting to keep from being overwhelmed. He managed to get over to Brutus.
-"They're multiplying! I swear!" Doc shouted over the din. He dived to the side as a blaster bolt took a chunk out of the table he was using as a shield.
-Voyager and Brutus managed to fight their way to their riders.
-Zachary struggled to mount up, kicking Crown troops off his legs in the process. Doc stumbled onto Voyager.
-"Come on Wilbur!" Voyager said, prancing in place.
-"Fall back!" Zachary ordered. "There's too many of them!"
-"One of these days, I'm going to get all the bugs out of your programming, Voyager..." Doc muttered, turning to shoot at another of the robots.
-"Mel! Over here!" Niko called out to her cyberhorse.
-Another shot, and Mel screeched. It was a lucky shot. Sparks shot out of his neck.
-Niko started moving towards her cyberhorse, fighting off the robots in her way. She saw Mel get hit, "Mel!"
-Voyager and Brutus had fought a way out, and Niko was only a few steps from Mel. She got close. "I'm coming."
-Zach turned to look over his shoulder, "Niko! Come on!"
-She was about to get back on when another volley of shots broke out. One of them hit her shoulder. She slumped over Mel's back.
-"Niko!" shouted Doc. He turned Voyager around and went to go back in after her.
-Mel tried to stagger out of the bar, but like a group of piranhas, the Crown troops were swarming around them...
-Zach, wheeled Brutus around and joined Doc with a look of grim determination on his face. The Queen wasn't going to get anymore of his friends if he could help it.
-Doc and Zach charged towards him on top their cyberhorses.
-The Guards thinned a little, leaving what looked like a mangled cross between a stripped car and a dead horse behind.
-Niko was nowhere near Mel.
-And from behind the building, a Crown shuttle blasted upwards.
-Zach and Doc looked up in unison. "She must be in that shuttle!" Doc said, fighting off another crown robot.
-"Let's get back to GeeVee," Zach ordered, already spurring Brutus into action.
-"Right!" Doc said, wheeling Voyager around. "You don't have to tell me twice!" Doc said, bending low over Voyager's neck.
-The Rangers and cybersteeds fought to cut a path through the teeming guards. The ozone smell of blaster fire filled the air, and shots of deadly light whizzed past. The cyberhorses raced down the streets of the domed city.
-Voyager stopped near what was left of Mel for a moment. "Wilbur. Get Mel."
-Doc understood what Voyager was talking about. Mel's central processing unit which held the personality chip. He grabbed the small device, then spurred Voyager on to catch up to Brutus.
-A shot whizzed by Doc, scorching the edge of the Zanquil parka. He clutched onto Voyager's reigns with one hand and pressed the memory disk containing Mel's personality program against his chest.
-"Come on Voyager! I don't want to end up as Psychocrypt fodder," Doc complained, ducking to avoid another shot.
-Barely ahead, Brutus was already reaching the gate. Zachary turned dangerously in the saddle to fire at the Crown Agents behind them.
-Voyager whinnied and started to dash. The old girl might have been shy a few chips, but she knew how to bolt when it required it.
-"I'm going as fast as I can, Wilbur," she said, head stretched out, and her legs pumping.
-The ship was straight ahead of them, but it seemed to get further and further away.
-GV was hovering, blasters keeping the crown agents at bay.
-Brutus dodged a blast and wavered a bit in his step, coming dangerously close to throwing Zachary from the saddle.
-"Come on Doc!" Zach yelled as he regained his balance.
-"Coming!" Doc said, dodging the heavy blaster fire.
-"GeeVee!" Zach called, "Set down and lower the lift!"
-It seemed that the lift took ten times longer than any other time.
-Zach turned in his saddle to fire one more shot with his blaster at the approaching crown agents.
-Voyager passed Brutus and raced for the lift.
-"Captain! Let's move!" Doc shouted as he raced past and got on to the lift.
-"Raise the lift, GeeVee!" Zach cried, once Brutus made the leap on to the lift.
-"Raising Lift, Captain Foxx, sir," GeeVee answered.
-Without bothering to secure the horses, both men rushed to the cockpit.
-"GeeVee- can you get a heading on where that crown shuttle was going?" Zach asked, hastily buckling himself in the pilot's seat.
-"Heading before the leap into hyperspace indicates that they are headed for the Asteroid Palace."
-Zach growled, "Great, just great.... GeeVee, plot a course for the Queen's Graveyard. We're going after Niko."
-"Course coordinates plotted, Captain Foxx, sir," the AI replied.
-"Then, make the jump GeeVee. Doc, take care of Brutus and Voyager, see that they're secured."
-"Right," Doc said, getting up from his seat.
-"Captain Foxx the shots from the Crown agents have done damage to my Hyperdrive system. I might be unable to make the jump into hyperspace," GeeVee said.
-"Doc, get on it!" Zach barked out the orders, "GeeVee, just get us out of here."
-Doc went to work on the more urgent priority, the hyperdrive. He pulled some fried wires from a panel, then ran to the storage cabinet and tried his best to make the patch job.
-Zachary heard the panel swing shut and Doc's voice well from the back. "It's the best I can do. Hit it, Captain!"
-Zachary didn't wait a microsecond before hitting the jump button. The ship's deckplates surged beneath his feet.
 * * * *
-While Doc had struggled to make repairs to the ship, the Crown shuttle had slipped into hyperspace, carrying one more of the Galaxy Rangers for the Queen. Their destination was indeed the Asteroid Palace inside the Queen's Graveyard.
+"We still don't have enough power!" shouted Doc as he tried again to fire the useless blasters. The fighters were coming closer, closer... almost within range. One more hit and they were done for.
+"Why aren't we finished?? They could have gotten rid of us long ago," Zach asked looking at the in-coming ships. "What are they waiting for?"
+* * * *
+In the asteroid, Niko stood motionless staring at the monitor in disbelief.
+"It's time to make your choice, Niko: join me and your friends will live, or refuse me and send them to their graves. You won't be able to save him," the Queen said. "But you have a chance to save them. They don't have the strength to save themselves. If you refuse, I promise that you will die with them."
+Niko shivered... The Queen was right... what choice did she have? She asked, "If I accept... you will let them go?"
+"Yes, I will let them go," the Queen answered, then added under her breath, "For now."
+"All right then, I surrender," Niko said, looking at the Queen. She swallowed, fighting to keep her fear at bay.
+The Queen walked to a panel, pressed a button and Ranger-One was left alone in space as the Crown fighters returned to the asteroid base.
+She said, "Wise choice, Niko."
+Niko was shaking, watching the small ship limp away. She hoped, but didn't believe that Ranger-One would hold together long enough to make it back to the League. Gods... what had she done? Giving BETA a fighting chance, she reminded herself.
+The Queen smiled. Oh, did she have plans for Niko. Then her voice intruded on Niko's thoughts, "No, my dear, BETA has no chance against my armada."
+Niko's voice was shaky, "Can I be alone, Majesty?"
+"You may have a moment, my dear."
+Niko shuddered. She walked away, into a lavatory and lost the contents of her stomach into a basin. She knelt there for a time, trying to muster her defenses. She was going to need them if she was going to get through this encounter with the Queen. Niko walked out, trying to stand tall. She would not let the Queen see her frightened. She may have agreed to serve the Queen but that didn't mean she was going to allow her to make her a slave.
+Would she be able not to cross that line? Did she have the strength? Time would tell. And maybe, if she was lucky, she could find a shard of glass or a bit of poison that could release her from her oath if she couldn't find any other way out. No, she wouldn't consider that option yet. She couldn't. She had to hold out for a chance to rescue Goose and Daisy. She just hoped it would be soon... If rescuing them would do any good...there was virtually nothing stopping the Queen from invading that frontier world. She told herself, You are a Galaxy Ranger. You can and will find a way out of this mess.
+You are no Ranger. You are a traitor. You willingly agreed to serve the enemy... to study her ways and become her loyal servant. Accept that you gave your word.
+"Get out of my mind!" Niko growled, knowing that it was the Queen. Or was it? She looked skyward. I'm sorry, Ariel, she thought. I've betrayed you and I've betrayed my people.
+The Queen smiled as she heard Niko's thoughts. Niko was giving her all the ammunition she needed to crack through her shields.
+Niko walked out of the lavatory and into the hallway. She didn't get far before seeing a Slaverlord. She stopped short as she saw the face in the crystal. Oh gods.... it was Goose! The Queen had made him a Slaverlord. Was a rescue already too late, she wondered.
+"Shane!" she gasped involuntarily. You bitch, Niko thought, feeling a surge of rage override her self-disgust and fear. She knew she needed to create a retreat within her mind. Somewhere she could sort things out.
+The Queen straightened with a start at the surge of emotion from Niko. Such emotion. Ah, yes. Unexpected...but useful Much more interesting than those pitiful Gherkins. And at this rate, tormenting little Niko would be even more of a pleasure than anything she had done to that captain... She sent a signal to her Slaverlord to bring Niko to her. The lessons should begin immediately, she decided. While her new student was still off-balance. What to teach her first? Then, she decided, what to do. The perfect lesson would be to make her witness the transformation of that Daisy O'Mega creature.... She told her guards what she wanted, and they bowed in acknowledgment of her orders before going off to carry them out.
+The Slaverlord approached with Niko at its side.
+"My dear Niko, feeling better?" the Queen asked.
+Niko said nothing. She rested a hand against her waist, covering her badge. She wanted to save her implant charge until she needed it. She wasn't sure she could keep the Queen out of her mind, even with her implant at full charge if the Queen forced the issue, but she had to try.
+The Queen seemed to ignore Niko as she watched the technicians prepare the Psychochamber. Niko stood uneasily at the foot of he throne. She noticed the activity surrounding the Psychochamber and wondered what the Queen had planned. Certainly it wasn't to put her in the Psychochamber, was it? Why did the Queen say that she wanted her as a student, if she was only going to put her in the Psychochamber? She hardly dared to look at the Slaverlord next to her. She wanted so much to grab from the Slaverlord the Psychocrystal that contained Shane's life-force, but the time wasn't right. She silently prayed for the strength to hold out until Doc and Zach could arrive with back-up.
+The Queen was feeling pleased with herself. Her new student didn't know that she was broadcasting her thoughts. It was a lingering side-effect of the truth-serum she had used on Niko-- it boosted the subject's latent telepathy. Without even having to expend conscious energy, the Queen was able to listen in on her pupil's thoughts. Once she had been properly trained, her new student would make an excellent servant.
+Then, the guards returned half-carrying, half-dragging, a semi-conscious Daisy O'Mega. Her face was still bruised along the jaw-line on one side, and she appeared to be drugged.
+Niko couldn't quite surpress the gasp of surprise that escaped when she recognized her, "Daisy O'Mega?!"
+Hearing her name said, Daisy shook off the last of the cobwebs in her head. She straightened up and was just as surprised to see Niko, "Galaxy Ranger Niko-- Didn't think I'd see you here..."
+Niko didn't know what to say. There was a flood of questions she wanted to ask and not all of them had to do with the Queen's plans. She started to move forward, but the Slaverlord at her side put a restraining hand on her shoulder, preventing her from moving any closer. She threw a despairing look over her shoulder at the Slaverlord bearing Shane's Psychocrystal.
+The Queen motioned to Daisy's guards, "Place her in the Psychochamber."
+As the guards pushed Daisy past Niko, she could see Niko's expression and then the reason for it as she saw the face in the Slaverlord's crystal. It was Shane's. Daisy shook her head in denial and cursed under her breath at the Queen.
+The Queen spoke, "Come, Niko, it's time for your first lesson."
+Niko moved slowly with dread. She knew what was coming now, the Queen was going to make her witness Daisy's transformation into a Slaverlord.
+"Remember Niko, you did agree to serve me and become my student."
+Daisy looked up and could hear as the guards put her in the Psychochamber, Niko answer, "Yes, Your Majesty." But, Niko had her back to Daisy at this point, and Daisy couldn't see the rebellious expression on her face. She was too dazed to put up much of a fight when the guards shoved her into the glass chamber and attached electrodes to her chest and temples. The double shock of seeing a Slaverlord with Shane's Psychocrystal and Niko's apparent willing servitude to the Queen of the Crown depleted what little fight she had left in her and she leaned dispiritedly against the glass of the Psychochamber.
+After the guards had finished with Daisy, the Queen shifted her attention back to Niko, who still had her back turned to the Psychochamber. "Turn around my dear. Watch and learn what happens to those who cross me."
+"No," Niko said.
+"What was that you said, child?" the Queen asked.
+"I said, no," Niko answered.
+"Watch and learn, Niko," the Queen repeated.
+"No, Your Majesty," Niko said, placing a hand over her badge, ready to activate her implant, which would boost her psi-powers and hopefully give her the strength to keep the Queen out of her mind.
+"You will watch and learn, Niko," the Queen said ominously.
+Then, before Niko even had a chance to breathe, to activate her implant, the Queen sent a lance of sheer fire into her mind. With a cry of pain, Niko fell to her knees, both hands on either side of her head.
+The Queen sent the spike deeper into Niko's mind and said, "Watch, Niko and learn."
+Niko was bent forward in pain. She couldn't think, much less move to activate her implant, which might have given her the strength needed to resist the Queen's attack on her mind.
+The Queen was more than pleased with all the delicious information she was gleaning out of Niko's mind, via the pain spike. All sorts of interesting emotions were tied to that human Daisy O'Mega... She decided that that would be the tool to use in this lesson. She lessened the intensity of the pain spike and instead began to pry away on the emotional knot in Niko's mind. She picked out the thread of jealousy from the knot and said, via telepathy, "Come now, Niko my dear and watch the elimination of the rival for your fellow Ranger's attentions."
+"No," Niko answered, but this time the denial was less heated.
+The Queen leaned back in her throne, she could feel the wall of Niko's resistance starting to tremble. She was making progress here. Simultaneously, she drove the pain spike deep into Niko's mind again, at the same time, pulling heavily on the thread of jealousy. "Turn around, Niko and watch," she said.
+"No, I can't," Niko sobbed, hands clutched to either side of her head. The pain was so intense.
+The Queen could feel the cracks that were beginning to form and widen in Niko's resistance. She said, "Niko, here; here is the rival for your beloved's attentions."
+Niko no longer felt the pain of the mental spike as much as she was beginning to feel something much darker and much more sinister-- an extreme jealousy of Daisy. She didn't recognize the voice that answered the Queen, "Yes."
+The Queen again pulled on the thread of jealousy, "Turn around and watch, child."
+"N- no," Niko stammered. It was getting harder to resist. She suddenly felt a blinding, raging jealousy towards Daisy. She fought to push that dark and dangerous feeling back. She didn't feel that way towards Daisy... or did she? She couldn't tell anymore what was real.
+The Queen pulled even harder on the thread of jealousy in Niko's mind. Her resistance was crumbling. "Niko, child." She placed a hand under Niko's chin and tilted her head up so she was forced to look her in the eye. "Turn around and watch."
+"N- no... Y-yessss..." Niko was torn. She was lost in a maelstrom of emotions. She felt hands under her arms, lifting her up.
+The Queen's smile sent shivers down Niko's spine. Whether of anticipation or apprehension, she couldn't tell anymore.
+"Turn around Niko, and watch."
+"Yes..." Niko answered slowly. She thought she had said no? She felt a heady sense of anticipation that just didn't feel right. The hands on her arms kept her upright and helped her turn around so she was facing the Psychochamber.
+In the Psychochamber, Daisy O'Mega wondered what the Queen was waiting for. Why hadn't she told her guards to throw the switch to go ahead and drain her life-force into a Psychocrystal, she puzzled. Then, Daisy noticed the scene taking place between Niko and the Queen with a distant, puzzled expression on her face. She acts like the Queen's torturing her, though there's not so much as a hand lain on her...What was happening up there? She couldn't hear much of the conversation except the words jealousy and rival. She wasn't expecting help from Niko but still...Why would a Ranger be jealous? Why would the lady Ranger be so jealous as to serve that vicious Queen, albeit not entirely of her free will?
+This may be part of the process, to prolong the waiting, to stretch out the subject's torment and anguish to make a stronger Slaverlord for all she knew. Her eyes settled on the Slaverlord holding Niko back. Daisy's stomach did a flip-flop. Now, she was frightened. Her heart pounded and she struggled to get to her feet, so that she could pull off the electrodes. Then, she looked up again and saw that Niko was once again back on her feet and this time facing her. Daisy's breath caught in her throat as she saw Niko's twisted expression. Niko's face seemed frozen between jealous rage and desperate pity.
+The Queen waved to her guards to begin the transformation.
+Daisy's eyes caught on the Slaverlord and realized...Jealous. If she was sweet on Shane, that might explain... But the red light and the awful ripping pain cut off any further coherent thought. A deep, wrenching scream was torn from her throat as her life-force was forcibly drained from her.
+On the dais, the Queen's expression of extreme pleasure was eerily echoed on Niko's face. But, the difference was that Niko had tears running freely down her cheeks. Unknown to Daisy, Niko had her own battle. Instead of being jailed by a red crystal, her mind was jailed by the iron of her thoughts and emotions, twisted and fashioned into bars by her captor...her master. This prison was just as painful.
+Then, Daisy collapsed in a heap, as her life-force was pulled into a Psychocrystal.
+The red Psychocrystal floated away from the chamber and white robes folded around it, creating another Slaverlord, the Daisy-Slaverlord then floated up to the dais next to Niko.
+On the dais, Niko would have fallen back to her knees, had it not been for the Goose-Slaverlord holding her up. Lesson one was over, would lesson two be any easier?
+"You do realize, my little Niko," the Queen said. "That your love and your rival are now joined forever. Your friends will not come to help you...the only thing you have left, the only one you can trust now, is me."
+She got up from the throne and brushed away some of Niko's tears, "But you can trust me and you will trust me."
+Niko shuddered. She didn't know if she could survive another one of the Queen's lessons.
+* * * *
+Outside the Psychocrypt in the asteroid belt Ranger-One was limping back out of the asteroid field, heading for League space.
+"Hyperdrive damaged... weapons out... power on backups...Shit!" Doc banged on a console, reading the damage report sent up by GeeVee, who didn't even have enough power to manifest the green eyeball interface.
+"Can we even make it back to League space?" Zach asked, worriedly.
+"I can manage to put this thing together with chewing gum and barbed wire. We can limp back to the League. Anything past that would be a joke."
+"Well, do what you can, Doc. We can't stay here, and we can't leave Niko in the Queen's hands."
+"I know," he said. "But we are dead meat on a stick if we even try to go back there without some extensive repairs. I don't know about you, Zachary but I don't want to use up my health insurance quite yet."
+He took a look at Zach's face and sighed, "I'll get right on it."
+Zach let out a deep sigh of resignation before getting up to go help Doc. While not a religious man, he offered a small prayer up for luck. They'd need all the luck available and while he prayed for luck, he also said a prayer, with all his heart, for the three humans trapped in that graveyard.
+Doc was working on a patch of whatever was left of the hyperdrive, stringing wires and circuitry together and periodically cursing and breaking out a fire extinguisher to stop the small fires cropping up.
+Zach stood by and handed him tools when he called out for them. There wasn't enough room for two people to work in the engine space and he didn't have enough technical skill to be working on them. Doc had his tweakers working with him, helping to patch the circuits and reroute. Zach noticed that it was taking a strain on him.
+"Join the Galaxy Rangers and see the Galaxy," muttered Doc under his breath.
+Zach could only nod in wry agreement.
+It was some time later that Doc emerged from the engines, his once-pristine uniform now covered in soot, grime and grease.
+His expression was doubtful and Zach asked, "How are the engines? Can we make the jump to lightspeed?"
+"That's the best I can do," he said tiredly. "I'm pulling a lot of power from my implant. All five tweakers at once takes a lot. But, we can activate the hyperdrive long enough to get to the border - provided we don't need life support afterwards. And no fancy flying, otherwise we'll lose what repairs I did."
+Zach winced, "That bad?"
+"'Fraid so and don't let me fall asleep... I need to be conscious for the tweakers to work. Pathfinder and Tripwire are the only thing keeping us breathing."
+Zach nodded, "Right." That meant no sleep for him as well.
+"Come on, let's get going. I can't hold out for forever." Doc said as he collapsed hard in the co-pilot's seat with a groan. "I've got the nav computers set for the shortest run to the League border."
+"Right. Let's go then." Zach said, sitting down in the pilot's seat and punching buttons to make the jump.
+They started off to League space, wondering how or if they were going to be able to get back.
 </poem>

Isn't Life Strange - Part 07: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 22:49, 20 January 2018