She sobbed quietly. Riddick made no move to comfort her. Why should he? But part of him wanted to, because of Fry. So instead, he sat on the cold floor of docking bay five-two-zero and waited. Eventually the crying ceased.
It occurred to Krissa that she didn't really need to know anything. Her demands for the whole story seemed a bit trite right now. Besides, this oversized man had simply confirmed what her heart already knew. Her big sister was dead and that was that. Nothing could change it. Questions still gnawed in the back of her exhausted brain, but she let them be for now.
"Will you do something for me," she asked the man sitting next to her. He merely turned his face to hers and waited for the request. She had trouble reading this man, and she was usually proud of her ability to gauge body language. Nevertheless, she made her request known. "Later... will you tell me what happened to her?"
There was a staticky pause. Through his goggles, he continued to look at her. There was a hint of Carolyn there, in the way she tilted her head to ask a question... in the way she held her chin... in the way she fought to control her emotions. He could tell the pause made her uncomfortable, and for a moment he savored it. But the relish was short lived. She was Carolyn's sister after all, and his debt to Carolyn was far from paid.
"Nothing to tell," he finally said. He thought it best to spare them both the truth. "Crash landing. Dead people. It's that simple."
Silence passed between them once again. She was somewhat satisfied, but not entirely. His answer still didn't explain the skiff, and even though the subject seemed very much closed, she'd find out the whole truth one way or another. She decided to change the subject. "Where were you headed? I mean, before the Hunter crashed?"
Under his goggles an eyebrow went up. "New Mecca." Caution kept him on his toes, and kept his gaze right in her eyes. If she was up to something, he'd know just by looking at her. He decided to go fishing. "Don't know what I'm gonna do now. Lost everything in that crash, and I don't have the ducats to get the hell off this heap... no offense."
"None taken." The "Liaison" in her title took over. "I'm sure The Company would be more than happy to compensate you by granting passage on another freighter. They'll want to avoid all negative repercussions, especially if it's determined that pilot error..." she trailed off, unable to finish.
He felt her anguish for a split second, and then red lights flashed again in his mind. Riddick knew there'd be the need for a thumbprint to go that route. Damn. "That probably takes too long. I was hoping to get there a little sooner."
"There is a salvage ship arriving in two days. I'm sure you could talk the captain into a trade."
"Trade?"
"That skiff. It's pretty beat, but it's gotta be worth enough to get you to New Mecca. You'll have to remove anything that would identify it as Company property." She paused and actually smiled. It was a beautiful smile that caught Riddick completely off guard. "Of course, you didn't hear that from me."
"No," he smiled back. "Of course not." This just might go easier than I expected, he thought. But he still wasn't in the clear. He had to explore every option, and so far this was only one. And there was still the issue of Imam and Jack.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sir, here's the updated passenger and cargo manifest you requested." A very young man placed a hand held data device on an oversized mahogany desk.
"Very good. And the readings on planetary alignment?"
"I'll have them by 0600, Sir."
"This is everything you have?" He began to scan the list. "Why aren't there any pictures of Johns and Riddick?"
"I'm not sure, Sir. My staff found nothing. The only thing listed on the manifest, Sir, is..."
"I can read. I see what it says."
"Of course, Sir."
"You checked everything?"
"Yes Sir."
"Unacceptable. There has to be something. Find it."
"Yes Sir." The young man turned on his heel and exited the Commander's quarters.
Commander Sanders leaned back his Kervilian leather chair and scrolled through the manifest. Passengers. Crew... Carolyn Fry. Station Liaison Krissa Fry's sister. She'd voiced her concerns from the moment they heard the distress signal, and yet he'd chosen to bide his time. Cargo. Surely a portion of the antiques stowed aboard the Hunter-Gratzner must have survived the crash. The bottles of wine alone were worth a small fortune. And then there was Riddick. Such a shame he perished. What a nice bounty he would have brought.
If all went well, the Commander would take full advantage of this most unfortunate disaster.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack woke in a cold sweat, her sleeping garment clinging to her trembling body. The room's darkness frightened her. In her mind she could still hear the creatures' eerie chirping. Suddenly the small room felt even smaller, as if it were closing in on her. Jack began to panic. What do I do? What do I do?
She jumped up, snatched the blanket from her bed, and bolted for the door. It flew open with a swish, and in an instant she was in the dimly lit hall of the LaPage's passenger section. Immediate relief coursed through her as she inhaled breath after breath of mechanically recycled air. Riddick's room was to her left and Imam's to her right. Remembering what happened last time she woke Riddick, Jack decided on Imam.
She pounded on the door. A few moments later a very groggy Imam opened the door only to have Jack flit past him into the room. "Jack, what are you doing here? It is very inappropriate for a young lady to..."
"I don't want to be alone."
She held one end of her blanket near her chin, her eyes wide with fear and pleading. Imam knew he couldn't turn her away, so he grabbed his bedding, motioned for her to take his bed, and lay down on the floor.
"Lights off."
"No!" Jack yelled. "Lights on!"
Imam leveled a knowing gaze on her panic-contorted face. The dreams haunted even him, and he was a man of God. "You should give your fear to God, Child. It will help you sleep." He spoke more out of habit than conviction.
"Do I have to assume the position to do that?"
"Pardon?"
"Oh, never mind."
They stared at one another for several minutes before Imam settled himself into his now floor-bound bedding. After only a few moments, she heard Imam's deep, even breathing. He sounded peaceful.
Jack wanted peaceful. She wanted sleep. Maybe she would 'give her fear to God.' But when she tried, she found she couldn't. All sounds, both real and imagined, kept her eyes wide with dread. Every joint ached, and every muscle felt heavy with exhaustion. What I wouldn't give for a good night's sleep, she thought.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So tell me," Riddick began. "How'd you know we were from the Hunter-Gratzner even in the skiff wasn't?" With the proverbial ice broken between them, he'd decided to take advantage of Krissa's helpful nature and get some answers.
"We heard bits and pieces of a mayday several days ago," she replied with a slight strain on her controlled emotions. "And when I pressed the Commander about a search party, or deep space scans he said it would be useless with the planetary alignment such as it was. And of course the comet passing through sent our instruments into an uproar..."
"Interesting..."
"...We got a garbled distress signal... I'm sorry?"
"Oh, nothing. Please continue." Riddick could be polite when he chose.
"Anyway... I assumed it was from the Hunter. She was due to dock with us..." she looked at her watch, "yesterday."
An itchiness crawled all over Riddick. Something was fucking rotten in the state of Denmark. "Didn't the distress signal 'distress' you? Or your commander?"
This very obviously irritated Krissa. "If you're insinuating that I wouldn't do all I could to save my sister, you're dead wrong!"
"Easy now. That's not what I said." Goodness. She's a fiery one, he thought.
She knew he was right. That wasn't what he said, but it was definitely what she felt. Push it aside, Krissa, she thought. "Yes. It 'distressed' me. But there was nothing I could do..."
"...Because of planetary alignment and the comet. Yeah. I got that." But he didn't believe the universe and all its mysterious ways would debilitate a way station's efforts to rescue a downed ship. It just didn't make sense.
It occurred to Krissa that she didn't really need to know anything. Her demands for the whole story seemed a bit trite right now. Besides, this oversized man had simply confirmed what her heart already knew. Her big sister was dead and that was that. Nothing could change it. Questions still gnawed in the back of her exhausted brain, but she let them be for now.
"Will you do something for me," she asked the man sitting next to her. He merely turned his face to hers and waited for the request. She had trouble reading this man, and she was usually proud of her ability to gauge body language. Nevertheless, she made her request known. "Later... will you tell me what happened to her?"
There was a staticky pause. Through his goggles, he continued to look at her. There was a hint of Carolyn there, in the way she tilted her head to ask a question... in the way she held her chin... in the way she fought to control her emotions. He could tell the pause made her uncomfortable, and for a moment he savored it. But the relish was short lived. She was Carolyn's sister after all, and his debt to Carolyn was far from paid.
"Nothing to tell," he finally said. He thought it best to spare them both the truth. "Crash landing. Dead people. It's that simple."
Silence passed between them once again. She was somewhat satisfied, but not entirely. His answer still didn't explain the skiff, and even though the subject seemed very much closed, she'd find out the whole truth one way or another. She decided to change the subject. "Where were you headed? I mean, before the Hunter crashed?"
Under his goggles an eyebrow went up. "New Mecca." Caution kept him on his toes, and kept his gaze right in her eyes. If she was up to something, he'd know just by looking at her. He decided to go fishing. "Don't know what I'm gonna do now. Lost everything in that crash, and I don't have the ducats to get the hell off this heap... no offense."
"None taken." The "Liaison" in her title took over. "I'm sure The Company would be more than happy to compensate you by granting passage on another freighter. They'll want to avoid all negative repercussions, especially if it's determined that pilot error..." she trailed off, unable to finish.
He felt her anguish for a split second, and then red lights flashed again in his mind. Riddick knew there'd be the need for a thumbprint to go that route. Damn. "That probably takes too long. I was hoping to get there a little sooner."
"There is a salvage ship arriving in two days. I'm sure you could talk the captain into a trade."
"Trade?"
"That skiff. It's pretty beat, but it's gotta be worth enough to get you to New Mecca. You'll have to remove anything that would identify it as Company property." She paused and actually smiled. It was a beautiful smile that caught Riddick completely off guard. "Of course, you didn't hear that from me."
"No," he smiled back. "Of course not." This just might go easier than I expected, he thought. But he still wasn't in the clear. He had to explore every option, and so far this was only one. And there was still the issue of Imam and Jack.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Sir, here's the updated passenger and cargo manifest you requested." A very young man placed a hand held data device on an oversized mahogany desk.
"Very good. And the readings on planetary alignment?"
"I'll have them by 0600, Sir."
"This is everything you have?" He began to scan the list. "Why aren't there any pictures of Johns and Riddick?"
"I'm not sure, Sir. My staff found nothing. The only thing listed on the manifest, Sir, is..."
"I can read. I see what it says."
"Of course, Sir."
"You checked everything?"
"Yes Sir."
"Unacceptable. There has to be something. Find it."
"Yes Sir." The young man turned on his heel and exited the Commander's quarters.
Commander Sanders leaned back his Kervilian leather chair and scrolled through the manifest. Passengers. Crew... Carolyn Fry. Station Liaison Krissa Fry's sister. She'd voiced her concerns from the moment they heard the distress signal, and yet he'd chosen to bide his time. Cargo. Surely a portion of the antiques stowed aboard the Hunter-Gratzner must have survived the crash. The bottles of wine alone were worth a small fortune. And then there was Riddick. Such a shame he perished. What a nice bounty he would have brought.
If all went well, the Commander would take full advantage of this most unfortunate disaster.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack woke in a cold sweat, her sleeping garment clinging to her trembling body. The room's darkness frightened her. In her mind she could still hear the creatures' eerie chirping. Suddenly the small room felt even smaller, as if it were closing in on her. Jack began to panic. What do I do? What do I do?
She jumped up, snatched the blanket from her bed, and bolted for the door. It flew open with a swish, and in an instant she was in the dimly lit hall of the LaPage's passenger section. Immediate relief coursed through her as she inhaled breath after breath of mechanically recycled air. Riddick's room was to her left and Imam's to her right. Remembering what happened last time she woke Riddick, Jack decided on Imam.
She pounded on the door. A few moments later a very groggy Imam opened the door only to have Jack flit past him into the room. "Jack, what are you doing here? It is very inappropriate for a young lady to..."
"I don't want to be alone."
She held one end of her blanket near her chin, her eyes wide with fear and pleading. Imam knew he couldn't turn her away, so he grabbed his bedding, motioned for her to take his bed, and lay down on the floor.
"Lights off."
"No!" Jack yelled. "Lights on!"
Imam leveled a knowing gaze on her panic-contorted face. The dreams haunted even him, and he was a man of God. "You should give your fear to God, Child. It will help you sleep." He spoke more out of habit than conviction.
"Do I have to assume the position to do that?"
"Pardon?"
"Oh, never mind."
They stared at one another for several minutes before Imam settled himself into his now floor-bound bedding. After only a few moments, she heard Imam's deep, even breathing. He sounded peaceful.
Jack wanted peaceful. She wanted sleep. Maybe she would 'give her fear to God.' But when she tried, she found she couldn't. All sounds, both real and imagined, kept her eyes wide with dread. Every joint ached, and every muscle felt heavy with exhaustion. What I wouldn't give for a good night's sleep, she thought.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So tell me," Riddick began. "How'd you know we were from the Hunter-Gratzner even in the skiff wasn't?" With the proverbial ice broken between them, he'd decided to take advantage of Krissa's helpful nature and get some answers.
"We heard bits and pieces of a mayday several days ago," she replied with a slight strain on her controlled emotions. "And when I pressed the Commander about a search party, or deep space scans he said it would be useless with the planetary alignment such as it was. And of course the comet passing through sent our instruments into an uproar..."
"Interesting..."
"...We got a garbled distress signal... I'm sorry?"
"Oh, nothing. Please continue." Riddick could be polite when he chose.
"Anyway... I assumed it was from the Hunter. She was due to dock with us..." she looked at her watch, "yesterday."
An itchiness crawled all over Riddick. Something was fucking rotten in the state of Denmark. "Didn't the distress signal 'distress' you? Or your commander?"
This very obviously irritated Krissa. "If you're insinuating that I wouldn't do all I could to save my sister, you're dead wrong!"
"Easy now. That's not what I said." Goodness. She's a fiery one, he thought.
She knew he was right. That wasn't what he said, but it was definitely what she felt. Push it aside, Krissa, she thought. "Yes. It 'distressed' me. But there was nothing I could do..."
"...Because of planetary alignment and the comet. Yeah. I got that." But he didn't believe the universe and all its mysterious ways would debilitate a way station's efforts to rescue a downed ship. It just didn't make sense.