Chapter 3

Goose dismounted Triton and tied him off to the pole of one of the vendors' stalls about six feet away from Darkstar. Walking up behind her, all of his senses were on alert, looking, watching, waiting for Stingray to try and drop the heavy end of the figurative hammer on his head. His shadow fell on Darkstar's back as she was finishing a purchase of some kind. He could tell that her attention was on the vendor and nowhere else when he was able to stand right behind her and say, "Been a long time Darkstar . . ."

Darkstar straightened up like she'd just been hit with an old fashioned taser stun gun as she turned to face him. "You could say that Shane and its Dara now, Dara Lawson. How have you been? Are you here for Ray and me?"

Goose kept the surprise from visibly showing when she turned to face him. Annie had been right, he barely recognized her. The black stripes that had spread across her face in the star-shape that had given her the name Darkstar were gone. Her face was lightly tanned now, her eyes as dark and beautiful as ever. Her hair, what he could see of it under the brim of her hat still had the black and white striping. Even though they had been very close in their Supertrooper days and Shane thought he knew every curve of her, every sensuous line of her form intimately, he only barely saw the same contours on her face now. He had never spoken of it openly, not even with Commander Walsh or Zachary, but Darkstar had been the first woman Shane had ever made love to. He loved her back then, but then she'd chosen an uncertain future with Stingray, always on the run, always looking over her shoulder, over an honorable life of service to B.E.T.A. with him.

The woman Goose knew as Darkstar looked up to meet his eyes.

She couldn't stop the memories of their private times together back at the Supertrooper Training Facility. She knew every straight line of him, every taut ripple of muscle under his fair skin. She remembered how his abdominal muscles would quiver just so, when she touched him, just before they would make love. She thought to herself, 'He's still handsome as ever. More so now because he's matured since then; that shaggy blond hair of his still makes me want to run my fingers through it. He's still in fighting trim but his face has a few lines now, more of stress than age, I think.'

The vendor, Hank, only saw Shane's face and head over Dara's, he was so tall. He asked, "Is this fellow bothering you Dara? You want I should call the Sheriff?"

Shane shifted his eyes to Hank and growled out, "It's not your business pal. Just tend to yourself." Shane saw the vendor involuntarily step back a pace at the sound of his voice and start to reach for something under the counter. Shane said, "Reach for it buddy and you'll be in jail before you hit the ground after I've stunned you. This is Galaxy Ranger business."

Darkstar made a half turn so she could see either one of them by simply turning her head and said, "It's alright Hank. Don't worry about me. This Galaxy Ranger and I are old acquaintances."

Hank stopped his hand and very slowly put it back on the countertop and said, "If you say so Dara. My apologies Ranger . . . meant no offense."

Shane answered back, "No blood no report. Sorry if I came on a little strong there." Putting his eyes back on Darkstar, he said, "We need to talk and I don't want to do it in front of your friend here. Let's take a walk across the Market."

Darkstar said, "Okay Shane, just let me finish paying for my things here and then we can go talk."

Goose stepped back a pace or two so as not to intimidate Hank the vendor any more than he already had and waited while Darkstar reached into her purse. He thought to himself, 'When did she ever carry a purse? She probably has a light blaster or two in there. This is getting weird. Darkstar actually paying for something instead of letting Ray steal it for her?'

Darkstar took the change from her payment in hand from Hank, picked up her bag of items, turned to stand next to Shane, and the two started walking, unconsciously falling into step together across the Market place.

Shane spoke first as soon as they were out of earshot of Hank, "As to why I'm here Darkstar . . . I mean Dara, maybe it is to take you and Ray back, maybe not. I've been given some discretion in the matter. The last time the three of us met, I let you both go and said in my report to B.E.T.A. that yours and Ray's appearance was little more than unsubstantiated rumors, that the small time thug that had employed you both was just using the rumor of a Supertrooper who could set fire with his eyes and his female companion who could blind anyone just by looking at them to keep the local populace cowed and fearful so that he could do whatever he wanted, when he wanted. My report passed muster with the leadership of B.E.T.A. but my C.O., you remember him, Commander Walsh? He knew that I'd had feelings for you and that I had essentially filed a false report to cover for you. He was so disappointed in me that it actually hurt to face him. It took me a long time to get back his trust, let alone get back on the promotion grid as well as go on solo missions again."

The woman once known as Darkstar, now just Dara, nodded her head before speaking. "Yes. I remember Walsh and Dr. Nagata and that pathetic worm Senator Whiner who pumped all of us Supertroopers full of element 'X'. All of us but you Shane; how are Walsh and Nagata these days?"

Shane said, "Commander Walsh is getting older now but is still pretty active. There are rumors around B.E.T.A. that he plans on retiring soon so that he can spend more time with his grandkids. Nagata is working side by side with Q-ball on all manner of things large and small at Longshot. Point in fact, one of his and Q-ball's discoveries is how I can say to you that maybe I'm here to take you and Ray back, or maybe not. When I see Ray, if he doesn't try to kill me on sight first, is when I'll tell you both about it. It might please you to know that Senator Whiner was officially censured a few years back for shady dealings and eventually a special election was called and he was impeached and removed from Office. He barely avoided going to jail for the bovo droppings he got into, but he has been forbidden from ever holding public office again."

Dara smiled at that last bit and said, "It's good to know that the old saying is true, what goes around, comes around."

Shane smiled slightly at her comment before speaking again. "At first when Sheriff Annie said I might not recognize you I had to scoff but then I saw it's true. I almost didn't recognize you. What happened? If you don't mind my asking that is?"

Dara smirked and said, "As it turns out, my genetic make-up allows for a sort of adaptive camouflage. Problem was, it was dormant until a very specific set of parameters occurred. When they did, my facial striping disappeared and my psychic ability went dormant for a time. It's back now, my ability, though it's a little weaker now, but the striping never came back and truth be told, I rather like it that way. Even with humans having spread throughout the League of Planets and all the contacts that have been made with other sentient lifeforms, it was still hard to walk down a street somewhere and have people stop and stare at me."

Shane asked the obvious question, "What was this 'very specific' set of circumstances you speak of?"

Dara simply said, "I got pregnant."

Goose stopped in midstride in the middle of the Market and said, "What was that you say?"

Dara stopped in midstride herself, turned to Goose and said again, "I got pregnant."

Goose recovered and came back to stand next to Dara before speaking. "I thought the Supertroopers were all sterile, to prevent the mixing and passing along of the various DNA cocktails that made each of us what we are."

Dara answered, "So did we Goose, but when I started getting sick in the mornings I went to a doctor that Ray and I both trust implicitly. He knows what we both are but his Hippocratic Oath prevents him from telling anyone else. He was just as surprised as Ray and I. This doctor who bills himself as 'just an old country doctor' wrote it off to the human genome's ability to evolve and adapt. Usually this kind of adaptation takes centuries or even millennia but after Whiner hit us with that DNA accelerator, it just makes sense that our advanced genetics would compensate."

Shane asked, "Did the child go full term? Does it display any attributes from either one of you?"

Dara and Shane started walking again. She said, "Yes he did go full term and he was born healthy. He weighed in at 7lbs 7ounces and was 19 inches long. As to any of either Ray's or my abilities, not yet but Ray and I are both keeping a very close eye on him."

"How old is he," Shane asked.

Dara answered, "He's four and as yet, he doesn't really favor Ray or me in his face. My son's name is Shane."

Goose couldn't resist the urge and said, "I'll bet Ray was real happy about that one. How did you ever get him to go along with that?"

Another voice came from behind the two; this one carried only a fraction of the Australian accent that once was so thick it made him hard to understand sometimes. "Actually Shane, it was my idea."

Goose spun around and almost drew his blasters out of instinct to face Ray. He was wearing a battered but serviceable pair of blue jeans, work boots and grease stained shirt. On his head he wore a regular wide brimmed hat to keep the sun off his head and neck and a conservative pair of sunglasses. He no longer wore the scarf that seemed like a trademark of sorts with him. Raising his hands in a gesture of nonaggression, he said, "Ease up mate. Fact o' the matter is, if I'd wanted to blast you, I'd of done it with your back turned."

Shane unconsciously growled, more at himself and his lack of awareness than at Ray, and took his hands away from his blasters. "You're right Ray, so why didn't you blast me? I know you've wanted to roast this 'runt' for as long as you've known me."

Ray lowered his hands, came over to Dara, gave her a hello kiss and then took her hand in his and stood next to her before speaking again. "There was a time when you'd a been right on the money with that, but times change and so do people. Ever since you kicked my sorry butt in a fair fight that last time we met, things have been different. I knew then that you wasn't no 'Runt' like Killbane and all us others was calling you all the time. When I woke up from that well-deserved thrashing you gave me, I was expecting to be in the brig on one of your Ranger Space Yachts on my way to Longshot to be put in stasis alongside the other Supers but then Dara told me that you let us go and it set me to thinkin', that maybe you'd been right all those years, that maybe doing a stand-up legitimate job weren't so bad a thing to do. I did a little soul searching as it were, even went on walkabout, just like my ancestors in Australia would've done. Took me over a year to find myself and when I did, hoo-boy, I didn't like what I saw. I came back to Darkstar and finally decided to listen to her for a change."

Shane said, "Speaking of change, other than being a father now, what has changed for you?"

Ray answered, "Fair question Shane. For starters, I changed my look a little. Started getting my hair trimmed regular like although it's still as shaggy as yours, changed me glasses into something a little less outrageous, got some real clothes instead of those duds I was into wearing before, got myself a real job and cleaned up my speech a little. Most important of all, I made it a point to learn to completely control my eyebeams. Actually, my beams help me in my work from time to time. I own a fixit' shop on the next street over from the Market now. Funny thing, all those years I thought anyone with a job was a weak-willed sucker just begging to be stolen from but once I started doing it myself, I found that the real tough guy is the one who wakes up day after day and does the same job day after day and you know, I actually like working for a living, doing something with my hands and my head each day, going home to my wife and son every night, not looking over my shoulder all the time for bounty hunters or Galaxy Rangers like you. Speakin' of which, what brings you here today Shane?"

As Goose took a breath to answer, Dara cut him off and said, "Wait Ray. Let's go home where we can finish this conversation in private. We're beginning to draw attention to ourselves. Join us for dinner Shane? I've got enough here for the four of us, you, Ray, me and little Shane."

Goose had listened to all that Dara and Ray had said and listening to his own gut instinct, found that he believed everything that he'd been told to this point, so when Goose spoke, he said, "Okay Dara, I'll do that. Your place is three klicks east of town?"

When Ray and Dara both nodded, Goose continued, "Let me get Triton, speak with Sheriff Annie real quick and then I'll head to your place within the hour. Sound good?"

Dara said, "It does Goose. See you in an hour then."

Goose left Dara and Ray and walked back over to where he'd tied up Triton and mounted up to ride out of the Market. As he did, he saw Dara and Ray ride out on a hovercar. Taking his attention away from them, he activated his wrist-com and said, "Come in Elma. Status report please."

A second later, Elma's avatar came onscreen of Goose's wrist-com and said, "I read you Goose. All systems are on standby and everything is a-ok. There have been some local children looking at me off and on for the last hour but no one has attempted any tampering; any new orders at this time?"

Goose said, "None of the locals has ever seen a girl as pretty as you Elma that's why they keep staring. No further orders for now except to say that I'm going to be a little longer than I expected."

Elma's avatar made an effective simulation of blushing at Goose's praise and said, "My remote monitoring of your lifesigns says that you've recently been under stress. Is everything okay Goose?"

Goose said, "No problems Elma, I just got some small surprises in rapid succession is all. I'm pretty sure everything is on the level but tell you what, if your remote sensors indicate that I've activated my implant for any reason, I want you to blast off and rendezvous at my location with your weapons hot just in case. Understand?"

Elma answered, "Roger that Goose."

Goose said, "Good girl Elma. If everything goes as it looks like it will, I'll meet up with you later tonight after dark. Gooseman out."

After meeting up with Annie and giving her a courtesy update, Goose headed east and within the hour, just as he'd estimated, Goose arrived at the Lawson homestead and rode in under the slightly weathered, wooden archway that bore a brand burned into it that looked like a combination of their powers when used, a beam of light surrounded by smaller dots. After tying Triton to another hitching post, Goose whispered into Triton's audio sensor, "Keep all your sensors on passive for me buddy. Let me know the instant something breaks from status quo. I find myself wanting to trust Dara and Ray, but all the same, I've had too many fights with Ray to completely trust him. Understand?"

Triton's voice was just as subdued as Goose's as he said, "I understand Goose. It will be as you say."

"Good boy Triton. See you a little later." Goose said before turning away to climb the short flight of steps to the front door and knocked.

Dara answered the door and welcomed him in. As she closed the door behind him she said, "Make yourself comfortable Shane. Ray is out back playing with little Shane at the moment."

Goose nodded his assent and as Dara walked back into the kitchen area, he looked around and couldn't help but muse to himself, 'I guess maybe Ray has changed and for the better. This is a homey little house he's gotten for Dara and their son.' Goose saw a chair for one next to a small end table with a reading lamp on it, across from there was a couch with room for three or so people, a nice-looking table with an example of decorative basketry made of local materials and a couple of books on it in front of the couch for visitors to look through. Goose was standing in the dining room with its adjoining kitchen. On the wall was a Com-unit and down a short hallway was a series of doors. Without looking, Goose figured that at least two of them were bedrooms, a third, possibly a guest room, a closet, the entry to the bathroom and a door in the very back of the hall that probably went out back. Throw rugs were scattered tastefully about and a small entertainment unit sat on a small table between the single chair and the couch on the far wall.

About that time, Ray came back in with his son riding on his shoulders laughing out loud together. As soon as Ray was in hearing range, Goose said, "Nice place you have here Ray. Good use of space without a lot of wastage."

Ray set little Shane down and then sank to one knee so as to be on eye level with his son and said to him, "Go wash up for dinner now son and then see if your mum needs any help."

In his still high-pitched voice, Little Shane said, "Okay dad."

Ray stood back up and said, "Thanks mate. I mean that too. I really am happy now. Though knowing as you do, our shared past, you might think that's not possible, but it is. Took us about five months or so to build this place from the ground up, nothing prefab, all of it milled lumber and hand built. We had the help of our neighbors to the north and south of us, and we were able to get the frame up and secure in about two or three days, the rest was going to be just Dara and me mounting boards and taking turns nailing 'em into the frame. But about half way through, is when Dara found out she was pregnant so right away I changed the floor plan to allow little Shane his own room as well as ours and a guest room besides. After she knew she was expecting, our neighbors came through and helped me finish the place up."

Goose had to know so he asked, "Why did you decide to name your boy after me? You and I were never friends back in the day when we were training so to find out that it was your idea to name your son for me is a little hard to accept. You know what I mean?"

Ray said, "I reckon I do. Like I said back in the Market, when I woke up after that thrashing you gave me and when Dara told me that you let us go, it was that last fight between us that had finally gotten the message through my thick head that you were right. Right about me, right about the Supers in general, right about a lot of things. It sounds kind of cheesy but it's the Gods-honest truth, you inspired me to do better, to act better, and to be better. A better person in general and a better man specifically. What better way to keep the lesson in my mind day after day than to name my son for you?"

Goose shook his head. "I see your point now Ray. Thanks."

Ray said, "No mate, it's me that should thank you. While it's true that even now, you and I will never be friends in the normal sense, I do respect you and your strength, both physical and mental. Every day I put my boy to bed and can't help but to thank you for not giving up on me or Dara, even after all this time."

Just then, Dara called out, "Dinner's ready. Ray, Shane, go wash up."

A small voice complained, "But mom, I already washed up. Do I have to again?"

Ray and Goose shared a laugh as Dara said, "Not you Little Shane. I meant your dad and big Shane in the front room."

A little while later, at dinner, Little Shane looked to his namesake and said, "You're big, I mean like, huge, like one of those giants in a story before my bedtime. Did you know that you have the same name as me?"

Gooseman said between bites of roast bovo, side salad and fresh baked bread, "That's because I ate all my vegetables when I was your age. As to our same name, someday your folks will tell you why that is and you'll understand then. Till then, eat your salad kiddo, it's good for you." There was another communal chuckle from the adults at the table but Little Shane did eat his salad without complaint.

Later on after a dessert using the Kiwi marshmallows that Dara had gotten at the Market earlier that day had been cleared from the table and little Shane put to bed, Goose sat in the single chair when offered while Dara and Ray sat together on the couch.

Gooseman said, "Earlier today, in the Market when I said I might take you back or I might not; this is why." Taking a small flip-top case out of a utility pouch on his belt, Goose held it up and said, "The discovery that Q-ball and Nagata made is a DNA Deactivator. This will deactivate your powers at the genetic level. That's all it'll do. So long as you take good care of yourselves like any other person, you'll keep your strength and speed but you'll age normally and just like everyone else you'll slow down a little."

Dara asked, "Does it really work as you say Goose? What about the other Supers? Have you taken it?"

Goose answered, "Q-Ball and Nagata are sure of their work out to five decimal places. Those few Supers that were caught when you all escaped originally were brought out of stasis and given the choice to act as the control group or go back into stasis. They all chose to try the Deactivator and as a group it was proven 100% safe and effective. To make sure it wasn't just random chance, each one was monitored for two years after treatment and all of them are still alive today and have normal lives. They still have the knowledge that they gained as a Super but are regular people with jobs. I haven't checked on them since, as that keeping the Queen of the Crown at bay as well as all the other things that Galaxy Rangers do is a full time job, but it's possible that they have families now too. As for myself, I considered taking it, I really did, but as a Galaxy Ranger, I need every edge I can get so I decided against the treatment. As to the rest of the Supers, the only one left besides you, Ray and me is Killbane."

Ray spoke this time and said, "How's that mate? What about the others? After Dara and I made our new start, we've never been contacted by any of the other Supers which is how we like it."

Goose sat back in the chair and put the case with the deactivators back in its utility pouch on his belt before speaking. "For all of his tactical and strategic intelligence, no one thought to tell Brainchild that those tobacco cigarettes he smoked were carcinogenic and addictive. Along with the other changes to his DNA as part of the Supertrooper program, at least in Brainchild's case, the tendency towards addiction was also enhanced. Sure, medical science can cure all manner of cancers and other diseases that used to kill people back in the twentieth century, but being on the run for so long, Brainchild was never able to stop in one place long enough to take the treatments that would've saved his life. He died last year in the medical ward at Longshot of severe lung cancer."

"Jackhammer was floating between mercenary groups as a sniper for a few years. Do you remember that as our team sniper, he always went for the headshot in all of our training scenarios?" When Ray and Dara indicated that they did remember, Goose continued, "Even though he never let it show, the emotional toll of watching peoples' heads disappear finally caught up with him. The Galaxy Rangers had to confront him after he tried to commit suicide by attacking B.E.T.A. Mountain itself. Our psychologists had to search all their databases to find the name of his type of depression. They found that it was a type of Post Traumatic Stress that manifests itself in an act of what used to be called 'Suicide by Cop'. It's where a person intentionally puts themselves into a situation where law enforcement is confronted and the only way to stop them is to kill them. It was kind of common in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Anyway, Jackhammer tried to get the Rangers to kill him but instead we detained him and offered him all the therapy he could want in exchange for taking the Deactivator treatment. He took us up on the offer and after his treatment was done, he found religion and became a 'man of the cloth in order to find forgiveness for all the evil he had committed.' Those were his words exactly. Last anyone had heard he was heading up a spiritual mission to the Empty Zone somewhere."

"As for Bravestone, he, one of my partners, Walter "Doc" Hartford and I caught up with each other when B.E.T.A. was testing a new type of weapon system. Called a 'mecha' by the R&D division, it was a type of battlesuit that would have enhanced the operator's strength, speed, agility and firepower by tenfold. Given that Bravestone's abilities were already enhanced physical strength and conscious control of his external bio-defenses, that 'mecha' could have made him damn near unstoppable. In fact, it was his external bio-defenses that had practically merged him with the battlesuit. There wouldn't have been any way to separate the two, so one of Doc's A.I. programs, he calls them 'tweekers' got into the computer that controlled the 'mecha' and flew it into the Sun. Bravestone could handle just about any physical attack but not even his bio-defenses could hold off the power of the Sun."

Goose finished with, "And then there was Shimera. She'd started to lose all touch with reality by the time one of my other partners, Niko, caught up to her on Tortuna. Somewhere along the way, Shimera had begun to think that she was all powerful and she thought she could defeat Niko in a battle of PSI. I only heard about it later. Niko was able to tap into her deepest reservoir of mental power; when that happened, she and Shimera demolished an entire corner of Tortuna City with the backlash of their PSI battle but in the end, Niko won. Essentially what happened is that Niko had to shred Shimera's mind in order to get her to stop. Basically, Shimera had been mind-wiped, only her autonomic systems remained functional but eventually, the choice was made at the highest level of B.E.T.A. leadership to turn off the life support and let her body die."

"Which brings me to the present with you both here and now; regardless of what happens, I have to make a full and honest report to Walsh or I'm done with the Rangers. I can see for myself that you have both changed for the better but the fact of the matter is that you're both still considered 'at large' as Supertroopers. The Deactivator will do just that but since you say you can control your eyebeams fully now Ray, and that sometimes they help you earn an honest living, I'm hesitant to ask you to use the Deactivator. As I recall Dara, you were just as quick with a stun blaster as your PSI, but all the same, I'm satisfied that you won't use your power unless you have to. The question now is, what will you both do? I didn't know about your son until I got here. I'm sure Dr. Nagata will want to come out here to Frontier and interview him, if you allow it and the both of you as well, but since Little Shane hasn't manifested any Supertrooper-esque abilities, I for one wouldn't want him to take the Deactivator. Maybe when he hits puberty, something will come up, but until then, only Nagata can speculate on his abilities, dormant or otherwise."

Ray and Dara looked to each other before answering, "Can you let us sleep on it mate?" asked Ray.

Goose said, "I can do that, yea. I'll go back to town and get a room at the Inn. I'll come back out here tomorrow to hear your decision."

Putting action to words, Goose got up out of the chair and went to the door. "Thanks for a great dinner Dara. Until tomorrow then." And walked out. After getting back onto Triton and starting the three klick ride back to town, Goose said, "Well Triton, anything come up on your passive sensors while I was in talking with Ray and Dara?"

Triton answered, "No Goose; just the usual nocturnal creatures starting their respective cycles."

As Goose activated his wrist-com again he said, "That's good to hear Triton." Turning his attention to his wrist-com he said, "Elma, change in plans. I'll be staying in town tonight. We'll be leaving tomorrow for sure though; any messages from B.E.T.A. for me?"

Elma's voice said, "No Goose; no messages from B.E.T.A. but there is one from the Sheriff. Attached to it are the coordinates to her domicile and only three words, 'Come see me.'"

Goose said, "Alright Elma thanks. Send the coordinates to me on my wrist-com and then go ahead and shut down for the night. See you tomorrow."

Elma's eyeball avatar said, "Orders acknowledged Goose, goodnight." With that, Goose's wrist-com deactivated.

Goose found Annie's house without difficulty. The lights were still on, so after tying Triton to the post, he stepped up to the door and knocked. Annie answered the door wearing a dress Goose had never seen her wear before, with her long brown tresses down in their naturally straight lines. His enhanced sense of smell caught the scent of summer lilac on her hair and a matching scent from the skin on her arms and neck. This time when she moved towards him, he was caught by surprise as she pulled him in the door by the arm and closed it by pressing his body against it as she kissed him full on the mouth with a strength he'd never known her to possess. After the kiss ended, Goose was barely able to say, "I thought you hated me Annie?"

All she said was, "I lied Shane. I was genuinely surprised to see you walk into my office today and eight years of pain came out before I could stop it. I think even you can figure out what I want right now Shane, but I have to ask, is there anyone else for you right now?"

Goose held Annie in his arms and said, "To be honest, yes and no Annie. Yes I love someone, but no, we're not together right now and I don't know if we'll ever be. Things between her and I would be too complicated right now. She knows how I feel for her and she feels the same, but she too knows that it would make more trouble than it's worth to either of us."

Annie put her head on his shoulder and said, "It's that other Ranger, Niko, isn't it?"

Goose simply said, "Yes."

Annie said, "That's fair and I can respect that, but she's not here . . . you and I are. I'll be Niko for tonight if you want me to Shane. Just let me have tonight with you."

Shane took Annie's chin in his hand and tipped her face up to meet his eyes. There were tears but Shane kissed them away and then kissed Annie on the mouth before speaking, "I don't want you to be Niko for me Annie. I want you to be you, no more, no less."

No more words were spoken for the rest of the night.

The next day

Goose rode out to Ray and Dara's place, tied Triton to the post from the night before and knocked. Ray answered the door this time and stood aside to let Goose enter. He joined Dara at the table but there was no sign of Little Shane anywhere.

Seeing him look around, Dara said, "Little Shane is with some friends today. Ray and I talked it over last night just like we said we would and came to a decision."

Ray spoke this time, "I'll take the Deactivator, but Dara won't. While it's true that Sheriff Annie took down the Black Hole Gang all by herself and that fact alone has given her reputation enough to keep other serious gangs away from the town, once in awhile we get some space-going merchants coming through or some military types from other members of the League and occasionally some non-aligned ones as well. In times past, they've made a general nuisance of themselves and even tried to make a pass at Dara or some of the other local women. It's about that time when Dara can make 'em black out temporarily and that usually keeps 'em away."

Goose asked, "What about your shop? You said that you can use your eyebeams for repair jobs from time to time."

Ray answered, "True enough but I've learned a variety of regular welding and cutting techniques that are just as effective. Sure, they take a little longer but that's alright by me. I want to do this. For Dara and Little Shane both."

Goose said nothing and took the case out of its pouch on his belt again and opened it. Inside were two gently glowing blue pills. Ray reached for one and swallowed it on the spot. By the time Goose had closed the case and replaced it on his belt, Ray shivered for a moment or two and then took his glasses off. His eyes flashed once, twice, three times and then the glow faded from them. Dara looked her husband in the eyes and said to him, "You have beautiful eyes Ray. How do you feel?"

Ray smiled and said, "I feel just fine and you know I never really noticed the weight across my nose and face from my glasses because the lenses were so thick to prevent any accidents. Now that they're gone, I can say that I won't miss the weight at all." Turning to face Goose, he extended a hand and said, "Thanks mate. If you're ever in this sector of space again and need repairs, I'm your man."

Goose took the proffered hand, pumped it firmly and said, "Thanks Ray. Hopefully I won't ever need to take you up on that, but if I do, I'll be sure to look you up." Accepting a hug and a peck on his cheek from Dara, Goose left their house, mounted Triton and rode back for town and the Spaceport. It had been left unspoken between Goose and Annie that they wouldn't see each other again as they had the night before so within the hour, he and Elma were off world and made the jump into hyperspace where Goose composed his report and sent it ahead for Commander Walsh and Dr. Nagata both to review.

B.E.T.A. Mountain, Earth, one day later

No sooner had Goose landed and turned his ship over to the technicians for servicing when he got a call to report to Walsh's office on the double. By Earth standards it was quite early but Goose wasn't surprised in the slightest to know that Walsh was already in his office. Knocking on the door and entering when told to do so; Goose closed the door behind him, stepped up to Walsh's desk, came to attention and saluted but kept his eyes at a point slightly above and behind Walsh's head. "Galaxy Ranger Sergeant Shane Gooseman reporting as ordered Commander Walsh."

Walsh returned the salute and then, elbows on his desk, he folded his hands and put his chin against them. "Stand easy. I've just finished going over your report from Frontier, Sergeant. Give me your unvarnished opinion, that's an order."

Doing as he was told, Goose said, "Sir, my opinion is that Ray and Dara Lawson, once known as the Supertroopers, Stingray and Darkstar are no longer a viable threat and should be left in peace to live the lives they've built for themselves and their son Shane Lawson. Ray took the Deactivator but Dara did not. They were both quite adamant about how her PSI ability has weakened since the birth of their son and that she only uses it in self-defense now. With my own eyes I saw Dara purchase items from a local vendor in cash money earned by her husband Ray who wore all the evidence of having just worked a full day of honest labor. My enhanced sense of smell could pick out the scents of sweat, oil, grease and dirt quite clearly. After he took the Deactivator, it was a matter of only a minute or two before I saw his eyes stop glowing and fade to what could only be considered as 'normal' by any standard you care to apply."

Walsh was silent a moment. "You're certain of what you saw? What you felt at that time? Gut instincts can be very important in our line of work Sergeant Gooseman but even gut instincts must take secondary importance from time to time."

Goose looked Walsh in the eye. "I freely admit to having had a lapse in judgment once before with regards to my fellow former Supertroopers but I learned my lesson and have held nothing back this time in regards to the people formerly known as Darkstar and Stingray. The only thing, I repeat the only thing I have held back in my report is a matter of a deeply personal concern, but did not affect my judgment in the slightest. If my report doesn't meet with your approval Commander, you can have my badge, my blasters and my contempt."

Walsh's face remained neutral. "Even though what you just said is dangerously close to insubordination, I'll overlook it and tell you that your resignation will not be necessary. I'm satisfied that you have indeed learned your lesson. Good work Shane. You're dismissed."

Going back to attention, Goose saluted. "Aye sir," spun on his heel and left.

A few minutes later, Goose found an unused lounge for use by newly off-duty personnel, closed the door behind him and collapsed onto a couch. He'd never let it show openly, but he'd been rattled in his meeting with Walsh. As the adrenaline cleared his system, he looked at his hands and willed them to stop shaking. When they did he said to himself, 'Sweet mother of all time and space! I can't believe what I said to the Old Man just now. What if he'd asked for that resignation? I don't know anything else but how to be a Galaxy Ranger. I really need someone to talk to right now but Doc is off on Tarkon at the League of Planets Embassy and I've no idea where Zachary is right now. I wonder if Niko is up and about?'