Disclaimers: *Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers* is copyright 1986-present to Sir Robert Mandrell, Gaylord Productions, Transcom Media Inc., ITF Enterprises Inc., Hearst Entertainment, and KOCH Vision. The characters of Daley, Locke, and Rowley are respectfully named after some of that show’s staff; they first made their debut in “Rogue Arm.” *Kung Fu* is copyright 1972-present to Ed Spielman and Warner Brothers Television. The author makes no claim of ownership to any of the characters, locations, and/or situations associated with the above programs/people/films/books. All original characters and situations plus the story itself are the author’s property and cannot be used without permission. This is a piece of non-profit fan fiction. Please send all questions, comments, and thoughts to me at Jayce6@gte.net -- flames will be forwarded to the Queen of the Crown and the Chinese Imperial Court.
Author's Notes: Many thanks to LadyNiko, Kat, and Jess for their praise and suggestions. My deepest gratitude to LN for encouraging me throughout the course of writing this story! Genre: Alternate Universe with an Action/Angst focus, plus some Z/E and G/N mixed in. This is my interpretation of what the Galaxy Ranger characters would be like in the Kung Fu universe, with Niko in Kwai Chang Caine’s role.
*Asterisks* = Dreams, thoughts, and visions.
CAPITALS and _Underlining_ = Emphasis in dialogue.
The clean-up took most of the afternoon. While the morgue was overflowing with Raider bodies, thankfully few Rangers had been gunned down. The captured men were locked up in jail; they would be brought to trial when Judge Waldo returned on Tuesday.
When Zach found out that O’Mega was imprisoned there as well, he reluctantly let her go since she wasn’t wanted for anything at the moment. She took off heading on the east road and vanished from sight.
The Sheriff headed for Doc’s place to check on his recovering men. Zach brushed the dust off his shirt with a sigh of relief before entering the main room. *Thank God Eliza was here during the fight.* She was wrapping some more tape around Rowley’s set ribs as the Ranger sat on the chair at Doc’s oak wood desk. Zach walked over to the younger man and gave him a mock-stern glance. “I expect you to be up and about ASAP. Well done, Ranger.”
“Thank you, sir,” he smiled. “We really showed ‘em!”
“That we did,” his commanding officer chuckled. He turned to Eliza and immediately saw the grave worry in her eyes. “Could you excuse us for a minute, Lieutenant?” At the other man’s nod, Zach steered her towards the west window, where the late afternoon sunlight poured through. “What’s wrong?”
She bit her lip hard, staring at the gold badge for a few seconds before meeting his sharp blue gaze. “It-It’s Niko. She escaped from jail thanks to Gooseman and came over here. When the fighting started, they both helped us defend the place. But then the Queen came...”
“The Queen,” Zach growled.
“Yes. She and Niko argued for a bit. Seems as if she’s got the same skills Niko does. They’re fighting a duel next sunrise, but I haven’t any idea where!”
“At the base of that really tall mountain to the north,” Gooseman groaned from his position on the floor. He painfully pushed himself up and gripped his horse’s saddle-horn for support.
“Mount Tortuna -- the Queen has one of her training camps by it,” Zach revealed.
Eliza brought a mug of water to the bounty hunter, which he drank down in seconds. She turned back to her husband. “Zach, she’ll be KILLED! The Queen’s going to ambush her, I know it!”
He gripped her shoulders reassuringly. “We’ll help her, Eliza, I promise.”
“Damn straight,” Gooseman added, ignoring the Foxxes’ surprised looks.
“Count me in,” Doc announced as he entered the room. “My nurses can take it from here; all the worst cases and major surgeries are done. Shall we call in our allies in that area? I know for a fact Princess Maya will be only too happy to fight the Queen.”
“Sure that’s wise, Doc? Most of her Tarkon tribe has been wiped out by the Raiders; they might not have the manpower to spare,” Zach replied.
“Trust me. After taking care of her people and animals for free AND fighting off that rogue warrior last month, she owes me. And besides, it’s worth asking just to see her again,” he grinned.
Zach shook his head, but couldn’t hide the amused smile. “Go over to her camp and see what you can do. I’ll see what reinforcements I can scare up from my troops here; we’ll meet you there. Eliza, honey, the Ranger patrol will be arriving in town tonight. I need you to tell them what’s happened and ask to send over anyone they can spare.”
“Okay,” she sighed. “Just come back alive.”
“I’ll do my best.” Putting an arm around her shoulders, he motioned the other two men closer as they began to plan things out.
Niko reached the mountains well after sundown, finding a series of shallow caves to stop in. Her danger sense remained quiet, detecting no threats nearby. The shotgun and pouch were put beside her as she lay down on the flat sandy ground in the back shadows. She placed herself in a meditative trance to get some rest; she would need all the strength she could get for the upcoming battle. Stirring back to consciousness right before midnight, the young priestess went through some warm-up exercises and firmly put the dream-images of Gooseman out of her mind.
Bright moonlight streamed through the opening as she opened her pouch and drew the jet-black bundle out. Undoing the red sash tying it together revealed a set of loose shirt and pants, a special silk outfit given by Ariel after she passed the final trials at the Temple. The shirt sported a white tiger on the left and green dragon on the right, their bodies stretching from the front over back and shoulders. The long sleeves did not hide her Shaolin arm brands that matched the animals on the shirt; they were still red and fierce-looking after all this time. The red sash was used again as a belt to tie the shirt in place. Her pants left the feet bare. The clothes fit comfortably over her body.
Reaching into her bag again, she withdrew some roots for dinner and washed them down with water from her canteen. She was careful not to overdo it, for speed would be vital to her survival very soon. Her regular white outfit was folded up, tied with its blue sash, and placed in the pouch.
The canteen, shotgun box, hat, and boots went in after them with Niko unsheathing the knife. She studied it with a thoughtful look while fingering her long hair. Normally Shaolin shaved their heads before combat, but she had never gotten into the habit. It didn’t make much sense to her; a foe could just as easily grab ears and noses. She finally put the blade away and braided her hair tightly.
She would go as herself.
Making sure she left no sign of her passing in the cave, she continued on her journey.
“Thank you again for aiding us, ma’am,” Zach said gratefully.
“You are welcome. We have many blood-debts to settle against the Queen and her devils,” the tall blond woman replied fiercely. Her deep brown eyes glowed like hot coals as she clutched her staff of office, a peculiar-looking two-pronged spear. A tan-and-brown buckskin outfit covered most of her body, leaving the head and arms exposed. She, Zach, Doc, and Gooseman sat around a huge bonfire at midnight.
Most of the others got some rest after the long day. Ranger and Tarkonian groups patrolled the village borders, keeping a sharp eye out for Raiders -- surprisingly, none presented themselves that night.
“We’d also better catch what few winks we can,” Doc pointed out. He aimed his most charming smile at Maya. “Dear lady, by chance may I sleep by this lovely fire of yours?”
“Of course,” she chuckled back. “After curing my father of the heat-sickness when you arrived, you may use my own bed if it pleases you.”
“Thank you -- perhaps another time. Whistle if you need me, Captain.” With that, Doc laid out his blankets. He was asleep five seconds after lying down.
“I must make the final preparations to lead my people into battle. As agreed, we will all leave at first light. If you two will excuse me,” Maya addressed the Sheriff and bounty hunter.
They nodded respectfully as she walked away, merging with the night.
Zach studied Gooseman’s profile curiously. The black-clad man was much like a living shadow himself. The only things preventing him from disappearing into the darkness were tanned skin, green eyes, and sun-blond hair. He had been distant that entire evening, staring into the fire while ignoring all of Maya’s interested looks in his direction -- much to Doc’s relief! The older Ranger had a sneaking suspicion what was going through the other’s mind and sympathized; once upon a time, he had gone through all that uncertainty when courting Eliza. “Penny for your thoughts, Gooseman. Why did you come with us?” he finally asked into the wind-swept quiet.
“Hey, she’s a good-paying bounty. You have to ask?” he responded in a neutral tone.
“Nice try, but I know you helped Niko escape from jail. So what’s the REAL reason?”
Gooseman frowned as he glared into the fire, seemingly challenging its gold flames with the emerald ones burning in his eyes. “I... don’t know,” he admitted reluctantly. “I just can’t let her get hurt -- that’s all I can tell ya.”
“Sounds like you know perfectly,” Zach gently responded. He yawned and stretched, then stood up; sitting cross-legged for too long cut off his circulation but good. “I’m turning in. You should get some shut-eye.”
“In a bit,” Gooseman nodded. His gaze remained locked on the fire.
The Ranger Captain sighed inwardly but didn’t push it. He briefly squeezed the other’s tense shoulder before heading for where his men were dozing.
The ex-Supertrooper shook his head in frustration once he was completely alone.
Even when he rested in the infirmary at Doc’s insistence before riding out with the others after dusk, he was gripped by a terrible sense of foreboding. It was the same acid feeling he got in his guts that told him a bounty was about to go bad -- only in this case it was ten times worse than ever before. He knew, just KNEW that the danger was aimed at Niko now.
Gooseman... _cared_ for her, though he only admitted it to himself in the most secret corner of his mind.
Closing his eyes and breathing deeply, he deliberately stilled his mind in preparation for battle. His green eyes held a deadly calm when they reopened.
Whatever the upcoming day would bring, he was as ready for it as he would ever be.
TO BE CONCLUDED...
RETURN TO I AM... NIKO: CHAPTER 4
DISCLAIMERS: Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers is copyright 1986-present to Sir Robert Mandrell, Gaylord Productions, Transcom Media Inc., ITF Enterprises Inc., Hearst Entertainment, and KOCH Vision. The creator/author of this and related websites makes NO claims of ownership to any of the artwork, characters, events, images, locations, quotes, pics, situations, stories, tales, and thumbnails associated with the following animations, audio cassettes/CDs, books, cartoons, comics, graphic novels, people, programs, movies, and videotapes. ALL original addresses, character profiles, characters, episode information/profiles/summaries, events, fan fictions, FAQ answers, gallery reviews, humor, lines, lists, locations, opinions, quotes, pages, personal biographies, sites, situations, statistics, stories, tales, and vehicle profiles are the creator's/author's property and CANNOT be used without permission. No profit is made off these fan pages. Please send all inquiries to Jayce6@gte.net.