Seven people. Six men and a woman who was... gone. She vanished under Jack's scrutiny. Right, the Elemental.

Trying not to feel her stomach clench, Jack crossed to the threshold and grabbed the glass of water. She poured it out in a zig-zag line across the entrance. Hearing the voices from downstairs grow louder, she tried to keep her footfalls silent as she hefted the surprisingly heavy prayer rug into a corner. Only wooden flooring now. No hiding wet footprints.

The stairs creaked under the weight of their bodies. Dust swirled in the room, released by her rough treatment of the rug. She breathed in the musty odor and took up a position by the altar. Close to both windows, but not so close that she looked ready to flee. Keeping up appearances was so important.

The men wore boots, and face masks. They didn't notice the water, although Imam looked confused about the discourteously moved rug. He didn't say anything. One set of unattached tracks circled the outer edge of the room.

Jack smiled serenely. "Your footsteps are showing."

"Who is this you've brought me to see, Mr. Al-Walid?" An older woman with the whitest hair Jack had ever seen coalesced near the wall. "It is not who I was expecting."

Looking rather uncomfortable, he ducked his head. "This is an associate of Mr. Riddick's. She has... influence with him. This is Aereon, the Elemental envoy to the Helion Council."

The woman wrinkled her forehead, thinking. Assessing. And in the end, taking the best guess. Always guessing. "Audrey Cochise?"

Jack showed her teeth. "I used to be."

"That was quite clever with the water." Aereon stepped closer. "How did you think of it?"

Testing me? "I'm a problem solver." Jack looked at the other men. "Take off your masks."

They looked to Imam, who nodded. Jack looked at Aereon, who looked somewhere between pleased and annoyed. Jack tried to puzzle that out without being obvious.

One of the men stepped forward. He had an open face, at least from what she could see. He had not removed his mask. "We are representatives of the Council, Miss Cochise. Elected officials." He waited. Jack said nothing. "We are here because we believe Mr. Riddick may be able to help us. All of us." The man looked back and forth between Aereon and Jack. "Are you... able to speak for him?"

Jack watched Aereon flickering in and out of sight according to an inconsistent breeze. She looked... calculating. Jack caught Imam's eye. "Would you gentlemen excuse us for a moment? I'd like to have a word with Aereon privately." Jack smiled winningly and did not wait for a response. "Thank you."

They looked about uncertainly, then filed out when Imam gestured for them to do so.

Jack called out softly, "Oh, and gentlemen, don't come back up with your masks on."

Definitively pleased, Aereon moved closer to the center of the room. "You're not what I expected, but then as I said, I wasn't expecting you. Mr. Faraj had a valid question. Do you represent Mr. Riddick?"

Jack worked hard to keep a straight face. "As well as anyone can. I can't speak for him, but I'm here on his behalf."

"To do what, exactly?"

"To hear your request. I assume it's your request since I doubt the Helions would suggest a serial killer as their champion." It was Aereon's turn to say nothing so Jack went on. "Why him?"

"Because he is the only unconverted male Furyan we can find and because when you need someone killed, a killer is often the best choice."

Not the whole story. "Why do you need a Furyan?"

"A male Furyan." Aereon drifted aimlessly closer to Jack. Jack let her for the moment. "What do you know about the Silence?"

Jack shrugged. "They're an army of sorts. Some kind of religious order trying to depopulate the universe. Of course none of that would be a problem if they weren't so good at it."

"Necroism is their dogma, and they believe that life is an error to be corrected. They will not stop until this is done. Not just life here on Helion, but all life across the universe." Aereon paced to the window and back. "There have been increasing numbers of communiques from conquered worlds. The footage we have from Coalsack is unspeakable." She drew in a deep breath. "We have tried sending envoys to negotiate. We have tried bribery... They are uninterested in anything other than killing and converting."

Jack thought she heard fear in Aereon's voice.

The older woman stopped her pacing, standing tall and looking deliberately worn. "When the current Lord Marshall came to power, there was a prophecy that a child would be born on the planet Furya, a male child, who one day would cause the Lord Marshall's destruction. Cut the head off the snake and it cannot strike. We have no choice but to try."

Jack tried not to laugh. She really did, but looking at Aereon's careful demeanor, conveying just the right amount of determination and reluctant bravery, Jack couldn't help it.

It took her two minutes to finish. Aereon was not amused.

It would take three weeks at top speed to reach Helion space. Not long, all things considered. Too damn long for his tastes but at least he wouldn't have to sit around for months. Small favors, since there was no way he was going into fucking cryo again for as long as he could stand it. If Jack could spend a year alone and awake in an escape pod he could handle three weeks on a ship.

But three weeks is a lot of time to think. The mind gets up to all sorts of things when it has nothing better to do.

There were things he tried not to think about, with varying degrees of success. He steered himself away from thinking about why Jack left him in the first place. Solved nothing, and it left his head pounding along with his pulse. Tried not to think about what she'd look like, too, but hey, he'd be seeing her soon again anyway. Figured he might as well try to desensitize himself in advance.

That was his story, and he was sticking to it.

He started having some crazy dreams, though. He dreamed he was in a cemetery with some woman whose face he couldn't get a good look at. He dreamed he was on an ice planet full of monsters. He kind of liked it there. Felt nice and homey, but no Jack. He dreamed he was back where he grew up with his foster sister. Woke up angry and wanting blood but that was long done. And he couldn't take revenge twice, no matter how he might like to.

The weirdest dreams were the ones with Jack, or with what he imagined she'd look like. Dark, hair, new angles and curves, all un-touched, at least by him. She talked while he was fucking her, told him things he needed to know, but she felt so good he could never remember what she said. He had wet dreams like he hadn't since he was a teenager. Made him real curious to know what she'd actually feel like beneath him in the dark.

Broke a few toys when he finally did get to Helion Prime, but he didn't feel too bad about it. They should've made stronger ships. He ditched his along the banks of the river leading into the capital and hid out on a boat taking cargo to the market. Didn't bother cutting off his hair. It was a good disguise. Lots of people there sporting dreadlocks.

He did shave off the beard when he got to Imam's place. He tasted Jack's scent rolling through the air, but it was old. Considered tracking her down, but he let it wait. He'd waited long enough. What were a few more hours?

After a little consideration, he shaved the dreads off, too.