A/N: So, about Jack… I'm trying to make her more badass than she is in the movie in order to make it more believable that she's the same Jack from Mass Effect, but I'm having a surprising amount of difficulty with that. She's still a kid but has had a hellish life so far. How much badass attitude is too much? How soft is too soft? Hopefully I'm able to balance it all out.

The moment the rings were visible over the horizon everyone's asses got kicked into high gear.

Hastily they piled onto the sand-cat, all filled with an acute sense of dread as the shadow of the planet seemed to follow them. Well, all but Riddick. The dark was when he shined, when he was at his best. The same couldn't be said for the others. They'd just flail around in the black and lose themselves. The darkness could do a number on one's head if they let their fear take control.

When they reached the bone yard, everyone ducked to avoid being beheaded and Shepard unintentionally moved closer to him when Johns was jolted in her direction.

Whatever had gone on inside had really shaken the girl up to the point where she hadn't said much at all, not that she seemed like the chatty type. Still, something was off and he had a fairly good idea as to what happened.

She'd mentioned that she'd killed a batarian that tried to rape her and seemed to be holding back a lot of baggage when she said it, and now after talking to Johns she had a cut on her hip and was scared shitless. He sincerely doubted that Johns had actually raped her, but he'd done enough to remind her of Mindoir and send her into a panic. He was even wearing the two rings from Shepard's necklace around his neck like some trophy or as something to remind the girl of what had happened. Ever since she'd kept close to Riddick.

If she was looking for comfort, she was shit out of luck. Comfort wasn't something he thought he was even capable of giving. Perhaps that's why she stuck close to him – he wasn't trying to comfort her and wasn't showing her pity. She had to learn how to take care of her own shit, and offering her pity wouldn't do her any good. Comfort wasn't something he could knowingly offer her, but protection – if only for the time being while she got her head on straight – was something he could do.

As they neared the crash site, Riddick noticed she was becoming more and more relaxed, and she'd even begun throwing Johns a glare every so often. It was as though Shepard's strong-willed and defiant nature was coming into conflict with whatever remained of her innocence. The only question was why she hadn't fought back the way she had on Mindoir.

Did she not fight back because Johns was a human, not batarian? Was she trying to keep herself from acting the way she did that day because of some sort of regret? Perhaps her psychological wounds ran deeper than he thought. Maybe she hadn't fought back because Johns was human, and maybe it had nothing to do with regret. After Mindoir, maybe she was afraid to let the animal inside her out of its cage again. Hell, maybe she was simply more fragile than he thought. He didn't know.

The sand-cat reached the crashed ship and they jumped off before it even came to a stop, hurrying to gather the cells and other supplies they needed. Shepard and Jack set to work on finding some lights, Paris went to the cargo hold to get something, and the others grabbed the cells.

But it didn't matter how fast or how hard they worked to get everything together. The planet had crossed in front of the sun, casting and eerie orange glow over the landscape. It wouldn't be long before the light went out completely.

Carrying a few flashlights, Shepard set her find on the sand-cat as Jack came up behind her empty-handed. Out of breath in the low oxygen climate, she looked back at the sky while Jack frantically tried to wipe off the dirt on the solar battery of the sand-cat.

"We're not going to make it back, are we?" Shepard asked Riddick, looking up at him as he lowered the cells onto the sand-cat.

He said nothing, and he didn't have to. The answer was one that everyone knew. They'd arrived too late. By the time they'd placed the number of cells needed onto the vehicle, the blaring light had become nothing more than a dim glow and the solar battery was failing.

Coming to a stop, the survivors stared at the eclipse. Shazza, however, kept fighting with the sand-cat, desperately trying to make it go. It was nothing but pointless. Even the kid had stopped trying to wipe away the dirt.

Off in the distance, a high-pitch screech came from the pinnacles where the light had faded almost completely and was followed by several more screeches and squeals seconds later. And then the source of the sounds erupted from the pinnacles as a swarm of wings and teeth flying in synchronization with each other heading up towards the sky.

Walking up behind Riddick, Johns asked, "How many are there?"

Riddick didn't know. It could be hundreds, it could be thousands. To venture a guess would be a waste of time. It didn't matter if it were one hundred or one million. There were enough creatures to be deadly.

Watching them with fascination and awe, Riddick admired the predators. As one they could be a threat, but with them working in perfect synchronization they could be a force to be reckoned with. How dangerous these things truly were was a mystery, having only seen the remnants of Ali's corpse after he'd been attacked and not the attack itself. It seemed as though they were about to find out just how dangerous the small creatures were as the swarm abruptly turned in their direction.

"People, just a suggestion," Paris called from the cargo hold. "Perhaps you should flee!"

Already running, Fry shouted, "Let's go!"

Imam, his boys, and Johns followed a second later, and Riddick, Shepard, and Shazza brought up the rear, running for the ship.

Sparing a glance back, Riddick spotted Shepard running with her eyes glued on the cargo hold and muttering something under her breath over and over like a mantra. Perhaps she was praying, though he didn't think she was the religious type. Or maybe she was merely trying to reassure herself that they'd make it back to the cargo hold. Briefly her eyes locked with his and he saw fear, but above all else, he saw determination. She'd decided that she would make it back to that container.

Taking his eyes off her and looking forward at the other survivors, he noticed that one was missing. Looking back again, he saw Jack standing stock still at the sand-cat, his eyes wide as he stared at the creatures.

Shepard, frowning, followed his line of sight and skidded to a halt.

"Jack!" Before Riddick or Shazza could stop her, Shepard turned on her heel and ran back to the sand-cat to get the kid. "Jack, run!"

Snapping out of his trance just as Shepard reached him, Jack jumped off the vehicle and took Shepard's hand before scrambling for the cargo hold.

Against his better judgment and instincts, Riddick broke away from the group and ran towards the two, grabbing Shepard's elbow and hauling her along, forcing the two to run faster. He should have left them to fend for themselves and get picked off by the creatures so that his chances of getting away went up, but he didn't.

Shazza slowed down a fraction, urging them to hurry up, but otherwise kept running.

From the cargo hold, Fry yelled, "Get down!"

Without waiting for an explanation, Shazza dove into the ditch created by the Hunter Gratzner, Riddick following and pulling Shepard and Jack down with him just as the swarm flew inches over their heads.

Shepard threw her arm over Jack, keeping the kid flat on the ground whilst protecting her head with her other arm.

Then there was silence and the creatures dissolved into the rising darkness.

Breathing heavily, Shepard glanced around and both she and Jack started getting up.

Riddick's arm shot out over Shepard, forcing her back to the ground. "Not yet," he warned quietly.

Nodding, Shepard murmured to Jack to stay down.

Shazza, on the other hand, was too far ahead to hear the warning. After a few more seconds of silence, the woman got to her feet and darted off towards the others.

"No!" Jack screamed, fighting against Shepard's hold on him. "Shazza get down! Just stay down, Shazza! Stay down!"

Shazza ignored the boy's pleas and kept running even as the others shouted at her to get down.

Struggling to hold onto Jack, Shepard hissed to Riddick, "Help me!"

Both were too high up off the ground so Riddick maneuvered half his body on top of Shepard to keep her flat with his weight and put his arm over the boy, forcing him to remain on the ground.

The action came just in time.

Out of nowhere the swarm returned, headed directly for the fleeing woman.

The swarm hit Shazza like a dark tidal wave, forcing her to her knees as she screamed in agony.

"No! Shazza!" Jack cried. Squirming wildly, the kid pulled free of Riddick and Shepard's grasp and ran towards the woman.

"Jack, get back here!" Shepard shouted and struggled to get out from under Riddick, but he held her down with his arms locked around her like a vice.

Ignoring her, Jack ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Then, shocking everyone but Shepard, a blue aura formed around the boy and he raised his hands, unleashing a massive shockwave in the direction of a smaller swarm that came at him. The force of the shockwave caused all of the flying creatures within range to screech as they were killed before being propelled every which way.

The kid's a biotic, Riddick observed silently.

Clearing a path to Shazza, the boy threw several of the creatures with powerful biotic throws, putting a barrier up around himself to keep from turning into the next victim, but it wasn't enough.

Before he could get a clear shot at Shazza, the creatures ripped her in half at waist, carrying both pieces off, flying away with their kill as Jack chased after them for a few feet before stumbling to a halt, bracing his hands on his knees.

Forcing Riddick off of her, Shepard rushed over to Jack, grabbing him by the shoulders and giving him a hard shake. "What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded. "You could have gotten yourself killed! And which part about not using your biotics did you not understand, Jack?"

"I…" He paused to take in a few hits from his breather. "I thought I could scare 'em off. Give her time to run. If she'd only stayed down…" The boy swallowed as if trying to clear a lump from his throat and blinked several times. "I'll kill them all," he swore angrily, voice low, a blue aura erupting over his skin again with his rising anger. "I swear to God, I'll kill them all."

"Damn it, Jack," Shepard grumbled before pulling the kid into a quick, tight hug and leading him quickly to the cargo hold.

Rising to his feet and clapping his hands together to rid them of some of the dirt, Riddick followed.

What new secrets were there to learn?

Upon reaching the others, Johns lashed out and grabbed Jack by the arm, yanking him towards him hard enough to make the kid gasp. "When were you plannin' on informing us that you were a fuckin' biotic?"

"Back off!" Shepard hissed, shoving him away, her earlier fear of him pushed aside by her desire to protect the boy. "I told him to keep his mouth shut about it. You want to get pissed with someone? Fine, get pissed with me, but lay a hand on Jack again and I'll kill you." From her tone and the ice in her blue eyes, there was no mistaking that she would follow through with the threat and everyone stared at her and Johns in silence.

Clenching his fists and sporting a look that could kill, Johns backed away and allowed Shepard and Jack passage into the cargo hold.

Paris, shaking from head to toe, looked to Fry. "Please, I really think we should go inside. We have to be inside to be able to close the door." Choosing against waiting to see if what he said got through, he hurried in, saying, "Come on, let's go! Go, go, go!"

Fry tore her eyes off the sky and turned to head into the hold as Riddick came up behind her. Just as they were about to step inside, the screeching and squealing returned, louder this time, and followed by a low rumble that shook the ground beneath their feet. The two turned to the pinnacles and saw the tips crumble and break.

Riddick lifted his goggles and the world became cast in various shades of pink and purple. Without the hindrance of the goggles, he could see things much clearer than before, see the danger they were in. Bursting from the pinnacles were large winged creatures, no doubt the parents of the smaller ones, with long talons and a whip-like tail. As the remaining light faded, they flew into the air, staking their claim on the night.

Voice just above a whisper, Fry asked, "What is it, Riddick? What is it now?"

"Like I said," he began, a smile playing at his lips. "It ain't me you gotta worry about."

Shepard didn't know if she was furious with Jack's actions or proud. On the one hand, she could have been killed and now there was the risk of Johns knowing who she was, but on the other hand she'd risked her life to try to help Shazza. The girl was only eleven but had done something Shepard didn't do on Mindoir back when she was sixteen – she'd tried to help. All Shepard did was run for her life and not look back, killing anyone who got in her way.

Sighing, she decided that she couldn't scold Jack for what she did.

Johns and Fry cast their lights over the area, checking to see if it were safe. Though to be honest, if Johns said it was safe Shepard would double check to make sure it truly was. She still had a fear in her that told her not to mess with him because he might carry through with his threat, but her anger outweighed it the moment he laid a hand on Jack. The kid was pretending to be a boy because she was afraid of men, and when Johns grabbed her she'd gone pale. Remembering the fear she felt on Mindoir and when Johns had her pinned to the ground, something inside Shepard snapped.

No one was going to hurt Jack, not if she had a say in the matter, and when she was able to get Fry alone she would tell her about Johns' red-sand. Shepard wasn't going to let Johns intimidate her any longer. What good would being afraid of him do anyways?

"Y'all remember the bone-yard?" Johns asked. "These just might be the fuckers that killed every living thing on this planet."

Shepard had to agree with him on that one.

Frightened and holding his lighter, Paris asked, "Are these the only lights we have? Is this everything?"

Fry shook her head and fumbled around in the dark. "No, there's a cutting torch on the floor here somewhere. I just can't –"

"Quiet," Imam interrupted, moving to the wall. "Please, everyone, quiet."

Joining him, Shepard, Jack, Fry, Suleiman, and Hassan pressed their ears to the wall and listened to the strange screeching and squealing the creatures made.

"Why do they do that, make that sound?" Jack whispered.

"Perhaps it is the way they see," Imam observed.

Shepard nodded. "Like bats and echolocation. Seeing the sound waves bouncing off objects and stuff."

"Sounds like a good enough theory," Fry agreed.

A loud crash and the screech of metal caused the survivors to turn in the other direction and go quiet. They saw nothing through the darkness and Riddick, goggles still off his eyes, didn't appear to see anything either.

"Fry?..." Shepard asked quietly, moving to the woman's side.

"Could be a breach in the hull," she suggested, scanning the darkness for anything sign of the creatures and the sound of crawling grew closer.

"Come on, Johns," Riddick taunted. "You got the big gauge."

Personally, Shepard would have preferred to send Johns ahead without the gun.

Johns snorted. "I'd rather piss glass," he declared. "Why don't you go fuckin' check?"

Riddick didn't move a muscle.

Panic setting in as the sounds grew ever closer, Paris darted for the door. "I'm not staying here anymore."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Shepard hissed grabbing him.

She understood his fear, but if he opened that door they were all dead.

"Where you going?" Johns snapped. "Somebody sit him down!"

Fry wrestled him to the ground with Shepard's help.

"You don't know what's out there," Fry hissed.

He stared at her. "I know what's in here!"

He did have a point.

Using a metal bar, Imam forced open a door to a joining container before ushering everyone inside in Arabic and English. The space was much smaller, and though Shepard wasn't claustrophobic, she could say she was rather uncomfortable in the new area.

Her feelings were shared by Paris. "Now we're trapped in a much smaller space," he complained. "I hate this!"

Despite the mutual distaste for the space, at least it was safer.

Out of nowhere, a talon burst through the door they'd come threw a few inches from Imam's head, desperately trying to get to them.

Shouting in terror, Imam darted away from the door and to the others, backing as far away from the creatures on the other side of the door as they could.

Finding the cutting torch on the floor, Riddick held it near Paris's lighter and the fumes caught fire. Wasting no time, he began making a hole in the wall to get through to the next container. He wasn't an idiot and had no intention of finding out if the door would hold the creatures at bay.

Johns rose to his feet and fired wildly at the door. With each shot that was fired from the weapon, the larger the holes became.

"Get the fuck down!" Fry snapped, grabbing his belt and yanking him to the floor. "There are enough holes with that thing poking its way in here!"

With little time to spare, the hole Riddick was cutting was made and they piled into what appeared to be a cargo hold and handed the torch to Fry.

Lifting the goggles off his eyes, Riddick ventured into the darkness.

Pushing some crates in front of the hole, Shepard saw Riddick walking off out of the corner of her eye and frowned. "Riddick?" she called but he gave no reply and was soon consumed by shadows. Looking to Fry, she asked, "Where's Riddick going?"

"I don't know," she replied, and both she and Johns started off in the direction Riddick had wandered with the others close behind them.

Fumbling in the dark with little light, Jack stayed close to Shepard whilst trying to act older than she was. She wasn't fooling anyone because they were all frightened, Shepard and the others just knew how to hide it a little better. Still, Shepard couldn't help but shake with fear.

Holding the cutting torch high to see more clearly, Fry called out, "Riddick?"

For a moment there was only silence, but then they heard his short reply. "Don't. Stop. Burning."

None of them had to ask why he was so short with his reply.

Those things were in the hold with them.

"Shit," Fry hissed, handing off the torch to Johns. "Take this."

Taking it from her, he gave her his flashlight and quickly started cutting another hole while Fry searched for Riddick, staying more or less in the light.

Imam, in a panic, paced around. "Where is Hasan?"

Only then did Shepard realize that one of the boys was gone.

Before any of the survivors could go off in search of the boy, the clicking and screeching picked up again, louder than it had been, and sound of running could be heard, followed shortly by a loud thud.

Just as Fry turned the light towards the noises, Riddick darted out of the darkness and howled in pain as the light hit him square in the eyes, falling to the side. As painful as the light must have been, the action probably saved his life as one of the creatures was directly behind him. It too let out a screech of pain and jumped away.

Johns blindly fired at it, round after round.

The shots were fired right next to Shepard's head and she hissed, covering her ears.

When he finally stopped shooting, there was silence, apart from the loud ringing in her ears thanks to Johns.

A bleeding carcass abruptly fell at their feet and everyone jumped back in terror before realizing it was dead.

As Fry inched forward slowly, Shepard grabbed her arm. "What're you doing?"

"Testing a theory," she replied calmly and shown the light on the dead alien. The moment the light touched it, the creature's skin sizzled and charred.

"It's like the light is scalding it," Paris commented.

"It hurts them," Fry whispered to herself. "Light actually hurts them."

Despite being dead, the creature twitched and they jumped in response. Somewhere in the darkness, other creatures squealed as if sensing that one of their own had been killed.

Swallowing, Imam called, "Hasan?"

"We'll burn a candle for him later," Johns sighed. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

No one argued with him and they hurriedly got out of the hold and into a smaller section that was clear of any creatures. All Shepard wanted to do was sit down and catch her breath but Johns was already barking out orders to look for anything of use like he was the leader.

After seeing that he was a junky, after his threats, after how he treated Jack, she wasn't going to stand for that and went searching for Fry.

There really wasn't much they could use in the container, Fry noted. It was used in case there was too much for the main cargo holds and since there'd been enough room in both it hadn't been used for much of anything. But she still looked around. Maybe there was something she wasn't seeing.

"Fry?"

Turning around, she spotted Shepard nervously walking up to here. "Everything okay?"

"Not exactly," the girl admitted. "I need to talk to you."

"What about?"

"You should be in charge, not Johns."

That wasn't exactly what she was expecting to hear. "Why? He seems to be doing all right so far."

"Maybe," Shepard reluctantly agreed, "But… Riddick told me earlier that he's a junky and a mercenary."

Fry did a double take, not wanting to believe it. "Shepard, you can't trust everything Riddick says. He's a murderer." Was it true that they shouldn't believe Riddick? As she'd pointed out to Johns, he hadn't lied to them once.

"I didn't believe him either at first, so I went snooping and found his red-sand in some of his shotgun shells. He, uh…" Shepard rubbed the back of her neck. "He walked in on me and threw me to the ground and… he threatened to rape me if I told you or anyone else."

For a long moment, Fry stared at Shepard and saw her in a new light. She might have survived hell on Mindoir, but she was still a girl, not yet a grown woman. With how she was avoiding Fry's eyes and chewing on her lip, she could see that Johns had freaked her out.

Walking to her, the older woman put her arms around her in a tight hug. "You should have told me right away, sweetie."

"I would have, but… the same thing almost happened on Mindoir," she said, voice shaking. "All I could think about was how close that batarian came to… to doing that before I killed him – butchered him – and I started having a panic attack. The only one who has any idea about what Johns threatened to do is Riddick, and that's only because he saw the cut on my hip and guessed."

Fry had a hard time seeing Shepard as a killer, but if it came down to being raped or not Fry would kill in a heartbeat. The girl had done what she had to do to survive.

Pulling back, the pilot looked at Shepard. "Stay close to Imam and Riddick. I'll talk to Johns."

The girl nodded. "Be careful."

Giving a short nod, she ushered the girl off and stormed off in search of Johns. She still didn't want to believe any of it, but she wasn't about to call Shepard a liar.

When she found him in the back, she was forced to believe everything the girl said.

Bent over a crate, Johns breathed in a line of red-sand.

Anger bubbled to the surface and she struggled to stay composed as she asked, "Who are you?"

The man jumped slightly, wobbling, and looked over at her. "What do you mean?"

"You're not a cop," she accused through her teeth.

"Don't believe I ever said I was, Carolyn," Johns replied snidely.

"No, you didn't." Walking over to him, she grabbed his case of shells and opened one, finding more sand. "Never said you were a junky either."

"Let me guess," he drawled, the sand taking effect and causing a blue aura to erupt over his body. "Little miss Shepard told you."

"She did, and she also told me what you'd do if she talked."

He shrugged carelessly. "Only told her that dyin' would be the least of her worries. She can take it any way she'd like."

Gaping at him, Fry demanded, "Is there anything else we should know about you, Johns? Anything at all?"

"Is there anything else they should know about you, Carolyn," Johns questioned, blue eyes locking with hers. "Be a shame if they found out 'bout what you tried to do."

"Fuck you," she hissed and stomped off, tossing away the shell with the baggy of red-sand.

Johns went searching halfheartedly for the bag she threw but rather than finding it, he found Jack wandering around. "You seen one of my shotgun shells?" he demanded.

Looking over her shoulder, Fry snapped, "Leave him be, Johns."

Shrugging, hands buried in his pockets, Jack shook his head. "Nope." Without another word he went back to the others.

Fry watched the boy curiously for a long minute but shook her head and rejoined the group.

"Where'd you go?" Shepard asked Jack when she returned.

"Had to pee," she explained and Shepard didn't believe her for a second. Figuring the girl had wanted to be alone, she didn't dig for an answer.

A moment later Fry joined them and when she gave her a nod, Shepard knew that she'd dealt with Johns.

"Everyone," Fry called. "Gather 'round and bring what lights you have."

Tiredly, they all huddled around the cutting torch that was propped in the center of the container and set their lights next to it. They were all tired and wearily waited for her to make an assessment or something.

Eying the lights, she said, "So we got one cutting torch, and two hand lights. There's gotta be something we can rip out of the crash ship."

"Spirits," offered Paris. "Anything over forty-five proof burns rather well."

"How many bottles you got?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "Maybe ten."

"Okay." She turned her eyes to Johns. "You got some flares, Johns."

He nodded, less than happy.

"So," she continued. "Maybe we've got enough light."

Enough light? Shepard wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.

Jack tapped her on the arm, leaned close, and whispered, voice quivering, "What's she talkin' about?"

Shepard shrugged, putting her arm over the girl's shoulders comfortingly.

Johns liked what Fry said even less. "Enough for fuckin' what?" he demanded.

"We stick to the plan," Fry clarified. "We get the four cells back to the skiff, we're off this rock."

The thought of stepping outside with what was out there scared Shepard to no end but hiding in the container for what could be hours sounded worse. "If we get enough light, it could work. But there'd have to be enough to shine on all of us. Just having a beam of light in front of us won't cut it if our backs are in the dark."

"Look," Paris cut in. "I hate to ruin a beautiful theory with an ugly fact, but that sand cat is solar. It won't run at night. How do you suppose we get the cells to the skiff?"

"We carry the cells," she said. "We drag them, whatever it takes."

Holding her legs to her chest, Jack looked from Shepard to Fry. "Tonight? With all those things out there?"

"What're you complainin' about?" Johns snapped. "You're a fuckin' biotic!"

"And a kid," Shepard added angrily.

"I wasn't talkin' to you!"

"Enough!" Fry ordered and they fell silent for a few seconds.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Johns asked, "All right, how long can this last?" He glanced around at everyone. "A few hours? A day, tops?"

Imam, holding his prayer beads, spoke up. "I have the impression from the model. The two planets were moving as one, and there would be a lasting darkness."

A chill ran down Shepard's spine. "That's a pleasant thought," she mumbled.

Johns snorted. "These suns gotta come up sometime. And if these creatures are phobic about light, then we just sit tight, and we let the sun come up."

Holding his eyes, Fry replied, "I'm sure somebody else said that, locked inside that coring room."

Trying to find a foothold in the argument, Johns pointed at Jack. "We need to think about everybody now, especially the kid. How scared is this boy gonna be out there in the dark?"

Jack's jaw set at the impression of her being a weak kid and tensed. Noticing this, Shepard gave her shoulder a squeeze. She really didn't want Jack getting pissed off in such a small space.

"Don't use him like that," Fry warned, frowning.

"Like what?" he asked, playing innocent.

"Like a smokescreen. You deal with your own damn fear."

"Why don't you shut your fuckin' mouth for two seconds and let me come up with a plan that doesn't involve mass suicide?" he demanded, anger coming awfully close to its boiling point.

Nervously, Shepard glanced over at Riddick. He was staring at Johns, his grip on his makeshift blade tight. Seems as though he knew Johns wasn't in a right state of mind.

Outside, the creatures squealed, searching for a way inside.

When Johns failed to reply, Fry said, "I'm waiting."

Shepard smirked when Johns' face reddened.

"How much you weigh, Johns?" Fry asked when it became clear he had nothing to say.

"What's it matter, Carolyn?"

"How much?" she repeated firmly.

Huffing, he replied, "Around seventy-nine kilos to be exact. Why?"

"'Cause you're seventy-nine kilos of gutless white meat," she accused coldly. "And that's why you can't think –"

"Is that fuckin' right?" he shouted, jumping to his feet with his shotgun.

Abruptly, Riddick stepped in front of him and Johns aimed the weapon at his chin. "The hell you goin'?"

Removing his goggles, Riddick gave him a calm smile and glanced down where he tapped his blade against Johns' groin in warning. Shepard couldn't help but smile as Johns paled.

"This solves nothing," Imam scolded, looking back and forth between Fry, Riddick, and Johns.

Swallowing, Johns nodded. "Okay." He sat down in defeat.

Going to Jack's side, Fry got to the girl's level. "They're afraid of our light. That means we don't have to be so afraid of them."

"And you are sure you can get us there, even in the dark?" Imam asked doubtfully.

To Shepard's surprise, Fry hardly blinked when she said, "No, I can't." And then she looked at Riddick. "But he can."

Now that brought Riddick to a pause and he looked at Fry as though she'd gone insane, as did everyone else, and Shepard knew why.

They were going to have to trust Riddick to lead them to safety.

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