DISCLAIMERS: Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers is copyright 1986-present to Sir Robert Mandell, Gaylord Productions, Transcom Media Inc., ITF Enterprises Inc., Hearst Entertainment, and KOCH Vision. The author makes NO claim of ownership to any of the characters, events, locations, lyrics, situations, songs, stories, and/or tales associated with the above programs, people, music, and/or videos. All original characters, locations, situations, and the story is the author's property and CANNOT be used without permission. This is a piece of non-profit fan fiction. Please send all inquiries to Jayce6@gte.net -- flames will be forwarded to the Queen of the Crown.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: This started off as a drabble, but no matter how much I economized words, the tarot cards in front of me demanded a guest-starring role. SPECIAL WARNINGS: This is not meant to give advice or a serious reading, but is presented for entertainment purposes only. If you are offended by divination systems or alternative means of finding answers, please stop reading now.
GENRE: Short story with a G/N focus.
"Inspection: a fate worse than death," Goose groaned, cleaning out his desk.
"Careful, Shane, Zachary's heading it," Niko chuckled, organizing her pile.
"That's what worries me. What're those, playing cards?" he asked, nodding at a small colorful box in her hand.
"No, a tarot deck," Niko revealed, pulling out the medieval-looking cards for him to examine. "Humans have been using it for divination purposes over at least half a millennium."
"What do people get from it?"
"They use it to answer specific questions. A spread can show the most likely outcome of a current situation, but if present circumstances are changed, so is the future result."
"Real interesting." They cleaned up the rest of their spaces before he spoke again. "Mind if I ask your cards something?"
"Go ahead."
"There's a lady I like a lot..."
"Only one lady?" she teased, smiling at him. Goose's harem had become a minor legend among the Rangers, with reactions ranging from blatant envy to good-natured ribbing. Niko herself had been jealous of Goose's other female admirers, but of late she had mellowed, knowing that he'd have to experience life and choose for himself.
"...AND I was wondering if she'd say yes to having dinner with me," he quickly concluded, giving her a fond look.
"Have a seat," she nodded, waiting until he did so before handing him the cards. "Shuffle the deck until you get a good feeling." When Goose was done, Niko took back the deck, then pulled three cards from the top. Placing them before him, she explained what they symbolized. "Four of Cups indicates emotional stability, a good foundation in the beginning. You clicked with whoever it is from the get-go. Seven of Cups is fresh start based on solid emotional growth. You feel comfortable with her in the present, having a good past relationship to back things up. The Star is the future, where all the actions so far add up to a cohesive whole and things are looking bright. I'd say that whoever the lucky lady is, there's a good chance her answer will be 'yes.'"
"Thanks Niko," he smiled, rising as she put the cards away. "By the way, what're you doing tonight?"
"Me? Nothing special. How about you?"
"Same. Tell you what, let's head topside; the meteor shower's reaching its peak tonight. I'll bring dinner."
"Sounds great, thanks Shane," she smiled.
"It's a date," he grinned, catching her double-take and answering grin out of the corner of his eye.
THE END