Chapter 1: Survival

Previously

It was hot.

Too hot for their poor Talya. She was Vaako's priority right now. Riddick was doing his best to protect his pack, his Mate and child specifically.

Krone was top of their shit list right now. They weren't too worried, the pack was larger than many of the traitors might have guessed. However they didn't know how long they were going to be trapped on this hell hole of a planet.

But his betrayal had made a point very obvious to the Lord Marshall and his First Among, they had been distracted by their little bubble of happiness for a tad too long. Now they had to deal with the consequences. Even with the power of the Threshold, they had been caught unprepared and off guard. It was shameful and they were going to rectify it the moment the fleet came backfor them.

For now, they would focus on finding shelter and safe drinking water. Vaako was sheltering their daughter, surrounded by the Hounds when they all look up, spotting a shape coming through the clouds.

Growling in unison, Riddick realises what the dickhead Krone had done after leaving them here. "Mercs." he growls deeply. Vaako shivers slightly at the pure, unadulterated fury in the growl. Well, at least they would have some slight entertainment to amuse themselves with whilst they wait to be picked up, right?

What was the worst that could happen?

#

Luckily the rocky landscape allowed Riddick and Vaako to quickly find themselves a cave to live in until a rescue came or they got off some other way. At the moment the Merc ship that had landed was looking like a pretty good option. Or rather, it had until another much more professional looking ship had joined them.

Those people were clearly much more prepared for their bounties. For one thing they seemed to have knowledge on Riddick and Vaako's newly gained powers as they had some very powerful chips flashing from underneath their skin near their temple. It was specifically wired into the nervous system to keep out psychics.

Not that it mattered. Vaako could still break through the white noise and sever the connections if he so desired. But he and Riddick were both intrigued by these men and the woman that seemed to be better prepared for them than any other Merc or Bounty Hunter had ever been. They were certain they weren't sent here by Krone with the information, even though he was undoubtedly the new Lord Marshal back on the Basilica, none of this was his planning. Someone else had come up with the plan to trick them and leave them here with a signal shouting out to any nearby Mercs with their location.

But these people weren't informed by Krone or the puppet master pulling the strings. For one thing, when Vaako listened in they were discussing their plan of attack and what Vaako and Riddick were known for doing. Yet there seemed to be no mention of the Necromongers at all in the conversation or even in their files.

And if they had known it, surely they would share this information given that the Necromongers whilst still considered more of a deep space horror story still made people wary if they thought there was even a remote chance of bumping into them.

On my way back Beautiful Riddick sends through to his Mate as he finishes his hunt, carrying the skins and meat back to the cave. So far they had all been on the planet for two of this planets days. The mercs were setting up their gear and Vaako and Riddick were preparing themselves too.

More importantly, they were figuring out what they were going to do considering they had a young child to think about too. Vaako smiles at the familiar feeling of his Alpha's mind brushing against his and nuzzles Talya close. Her little chubby hand reaches up and holds onto a long braid, not pulling just holding onto it as she presses into Riddick's and Vaako's mind, informing them of her hunger.

It wasn't like Riddick and Vaako's communication though, she simply pushed her feelings onto the bond and to them. Although sometimes she would suddenly shout one of the words she had learned through to them when she was excited.

She was nearly a year old now and luckily on food rather than needing milk. They had had nearly a year of peace and quiet, happy in their bubble before they had been betrayed.

Riddick chuckles as he enters the cave and his daughter toddles over to him excitedly, raising her arms to him. "PAAAAAAA!" She shouts and bounces, pouting at him when he doesn't pick her up fast enough.

Grabbing her up with one arm he shushes her softly and carries her over to the fire and to Vaako. He sits down and sits her on his knee, throwing the furs, skins and the meat to his Mate. He catches them and puts the meat on the spit over the fire then grabs up his make shift sewing set and starts making more supplies, such as clothes and bags and a baby carrier out of the skins and furs.

#

Commander and Dame Toal are immediately suspicious when their dear friends don't return from their trip and Krone takes over as Lord Marshal. They had already been investigating some whispers of unrest amongst the Nobles and some of the Soldiers, some who wanted to see someone else on the throne. There were many who didn't believe that Vaako and Riddick had the power of the Threshold and instead they were liars, using other abilities gifted to them through their genetics.

Saal and a few others had gathered together and met with the Toal's in secrecy, to discuss what they were going to do about this mess that was their home. Krone had ruined everything that Riddick and Vaako had worked so hard for, that many of the Nobles resented them for.

At first, to seem less suspicious, they simply gather in the lounge and drink for the first half an hour or so before moving onto the reason why they had gathered in the first place. "Riddick and Vaako are still alive somewhere. There is no way that bastard killed them." Toal growls softly. "We need to find them and bring them back."

"Obviously. But how?" One of the women who had, like Dame Toal, been allowed into the army by Riddick and Vaako, once held the position of Captain but had been demoted to nothing more than a low ranking Noble asks. Krone had reinstated that law disallowing women to fight. "Whilst Krone is dumb enough to leave a trail, I doubt the people that told Krone what to do were that stupid. How will we find them?"

Saal stands up and runs a hand through his sandy blonde hair. "I'll go. You all stay here and build support for our cause. I'll jump in a pod to the nearest civilised planet and work from there to get them back. You'll have to make sure we have Darius safe so I can get messages back to you on my progress." He sighs. "Right now our biggest concern is survival. We need to live long enough to get them back and in charge. So that's your priority. Mine will be to bring them back."

There is a moment of silence as the words sink in. They barely even notice Saal leaving.

#

Riddick puts Talya down in the makeshift cot they had put together using the natural curvature in the cave, animal bones and furs. The Hounds would lie beside it to watch over her through the night. Vaako smiles as he looks up from his work at his Alpha and his child. Despite everything, Vaako actually felt rather at peace here.

Yes the Mercs were a threat and their presence was always in the back of their minds even when hidden in their cave. But something about this whole thing weirdly felt natural and right. Vaako nearly laughs at that thought. Of course it felt natural, this would undoubtedly be how life would have been if they hadn't had their race wiped off the face of Furya.

Having reassures himself that Talya was comfortable and asleep he goes up behind his mate and scents him softly, nuzzling the back of his neck. Beautiful… You know you're goin' to have to take Talya, Trouble and the pups and get outta dodge.

I'm not leaving you Riddick. I'm not afraid of some Mercenaries with delusions of grandeur. We have the Threshold burning through our veins. They cannot compare. Vaako retorts sharply, insulted at the thought that his Alpha was sending him away from a fight.

Riddick sighs and continues nuzzling him. Yeah Beautiful, we do. Talya can't be brought to the fight or left alone with the Hounds… someone is gonna have to stay behind with her.

And we can't attack several times, taking it in turns to mess with them? Riddick you're going to need my telepathy to get to them. You know we won't find the information we need otherwise. So deal with it. You're going to have to stay home with the baby too. Vaako huffs and pulls away from Riddick, putting the items he made away.

Shaking his head slightly, smiling at the tenacity of his Mate, Riddick is reminded why the Beautiful man across the cave was his Mate. His other half to make him whole. Vaako wasn't about to be left out of the fight for their survival. Walking over and wrapping his arms around his waist, he kisses his neck and bites down possessively.

They go through to the other part of the cave where they slept, tearing each other's clothes off in a hurry, desperate to feel skin against skin. After all, who knows what would happen tomorrow.

AN: So I decided to do a sequel to Conquest of Spaces! Please be patient with me and my upload rate as I'm currently trying to balance work and uni and all that fun stuff!

Anywho please let me know what you guys think and if you have any criticisms let me know, otherwise how else am I going to improve?

Thanks for reading!