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Riddick was less than pleased to put it simply. Vaako's call had interrupted what would have been a very pleasant evening with only a short diversion for a trip to the med lab. However, once he took a look at the long range scanners and the analysis that Vaako provided him, his gruff mood instantly evaporated.

If his suspicions were correct, this armada was going to make an unanticipated side trip that the Necros would enjoy and that he would find quite cathartic. Knowing this was going to keep him busy for the rest of the evening he sent Eron to Jack for two purposes; to tell her not to wait and to get her to the med lab. Regardless, he wanted to know what was going on with her.

Riddick had the lights dimmed enough to remove his goggles and braced his hands on either side of the scanner looking down at it. He had been like that for five minutes, saying nothing to Vaako. Finally he lifted his head and smiled to himself. "Show me the star chart so I can see our position in relation to the worm hole."

"Yes my lord." The chief navigator called up the chart and Vaako looked at it curiously.

"May I ask what you're searching for?"

"A planet." Riddick didn't look up when he answered, still intent of the chart before him. He touched an area on the grid and tapped twice as smirk appeared on his face. "Son of a bitch. Enlarge this region." He indicated a planet with twin moons. "Show me this one and tell me, in travel time, how far away it is from the worm hole."

"My lord the quadrant you have indicated is approximately eight hours from the worm hole if we maintain our present speed. From here, we can reach the planet and come within orbiting distance in forty hours or less."

"Excellent. That's our destination then. This whole armada can appear like a comet can't it?"

"Yes, my lord it can. We are unable to maintain our set speed if we do so though. The mass created by the comet masking cannot maintain its integrity at higher speeds and our individual ships are detectable."

"They won't see us for another twenty-four hours. I want this armada on ice in twenty hours to give us some extra time. How much will that delay us?"

"Two to four hours my lord." Riddick stood there with his arms crossed contemplating the delay.

"So forty-four hours total. Not a problem." He finally looked at Vaako and motioned with his head for him to follow. Vaako's curiosity was eating at him. He got the odd sense that Riddick knew exactly where they were headed and that he had something 'up his sleeve' as he had heard Riddick say to Jack on more than one occasion. Finally his inquisitiveness got the better of him.

"My lo-," he stopped remembering that he didn't prefer the title when they weren't in mixed company, "Riddick?"

"Vaako." The fight with the Jakarnans had whet both of their appetites and he could feel the man's eagerness for more. "You're just chompin' at the bit to know what I'm thinkin'," he caught his eye before finishing, "aren't you?"

He didn't wish to appear too anxious. "I am wondering." Riddick's laugh was almost imperceptible but he heard it nonetheless as he led them into the nearby war room. Riddick sat in the big chair at the end of the table and propped his legs up on it, then leaned back with his hands behind his head grinning.

"You're full of shit Vaako." The younger man's brow furrowed hearing this. "I've been watchin' you since day one. You may be quiet, but you area always aware of everything around you to the point where you can…anticipate what's coming next. Valuable asset in a warrior, wouldn't you say?"

Vaako didn't know exactly where Riddick was going with this. He had never really spoken to him one-on-one so candidly before and it was a bit unsettling. Furthermore, he was unsure if he liked being read so easily. Sensing a brand of challenge had been laid at his feet he did not back down and confidently answered him. "Not only is it a valuable asset but it is also the most important skill a warrior possesses. It's what keeps me, and the men who serve me, alive. It is also what makes us devastatingly lethal."

Riddick smiled and tilted his head to one side. "Exactly what I needed you to say. Take a seat." His tension abated replaced by his curiosity again.

"Why do I have the feeling I just passed some test?"

"Because you did. The way I see it, you were under Zhylaw's thumb and you never got the respect you felt you deserved."

"And how did you come by this conclusion?"

"When you came after me, to kill me, there wasn't a doubt that you were a man on an errand that left a sour taste in your mouth."

There was no use or need to deny it. "True."

"Since I've been here, every task you've been handed and the more control you've been given, the better you perform. You've also taken a few matters into your own hands. Aattacking Toal out of nowhere and doin' what you did for Jack…you never would have done that under his rule."

"I have…stepped out of my box?"

"A box of someone else's making. Did you feel boxed on that Jakarnan ship?"

Riddick hadn't planned his every move and they had fought side-by-side. Nothing he had every experienced before. "No." A smirk crossed his face. "That was most satisfying."

Riddick removed his feet from the table and now had his arms rested on it leaning toward Vaako. "Any interest in having another go at it?"

He was confused. "With the Jakarnans?"

"Uh-uh. With the fucks on the planet we're headin' to."

"Why ask when you know what my answer will be? I won't turn down a good fight."

"Because this is where I learned how to kill."

It struck Vaako why he was asking. If these people had anything to do with how Riddick learned to fight, then this could easily turn into a blood bath. What he didn't quite understand is why he sounded so angry. He was definitely giving him the option of backing out. "I guarantee you not one Necro will turn down this chance. Death in battle is honorable."

"It could get ugly and this sure as hell ain't a trip replenish the ranks." He was giving him his last chance to say no.

Jack had used an expression with him when he became competitive in that ridiculous game she forced him to play on her birthday. "Bring it on," and he was smiling as he said it.

"Then we got a shit load of work to do."


Jack opened the door when the cart of food arrived. This particular kitchen worker had been up several times over the past week and knew right where to bring the food without being told. Jack took her seat on the floor, leaning back against the sofa and grabbed her fork. She noticed Eron was still standing.

"Have a seat."

"On the floor."

"Yes. The rug is quite comfortable. I promise."

"You are aware why a table was invented?"

"Now who has the corn cob up their butt?" Eron stiffened at that and she smothered her smile. "Honestly! Sitting at that table is just too….formal. Riddick and I are trying to make this as homey as we can and eating on the floor is just more, well, normal feeling."

"Before I sit, do you want a glass of wine?"

"I can't have alcohol…or cigars. Anything I do to me, I do to Spud so I have to abstain."

"Do you mind if I drink?"

"Thank you for asking and no, I don't mind."

He sat and it was obvious that he was having difficulty making himself comfortable. "Where did this habit find its roots?"

"When we first met back up."

Eron failed to think before opening his mouth. "When you had your one-night stand with Riddick?" He quickly shoved food in his mouth after he realized what he had said. Jack put her plate on the coffee table as he busily studied the food on his.

"So," she paused, "what the hell else did my lover boy tell ya?" The food in his mouth was more than adequately chewed enough to swallow but he kept chewing. "You can't chew that forever. That's about the most tender chicken I know I have ever eaten."

He swallowed, then dabbed his mouth with the napkin. "I can't recall." Jack leaned toward him and sniffed the air. "What are you doing?"

She wrinkled her nose and sat back. "Thought I smelled it. You're full of shit. What I don't get is how you got him talking, I mean Rid-." Her mouth dropped open then her eyes narrowed into slits. "YOU! Oh my god! He was completely hammered the night I was stashed on Vaako's ship. You got him tanked and he talked!"

"You say that like you didn't believe he had really gotten drunk."

She couldn't explain it. There had been a conversation with Riddick that night but it was all in her head. She thought she had imagined it. "He told me."

Her demeanor was odd and he was unsure how to react to the sudden change. "Told you? When?"

"This is kind of….out there so just listen. The night I was gone, it was late and I heard Riddick speak to me. I was in bed almost asleep and I heard him. The way he was talking to me I could tell he had been drinking. I accused him of being drunk and he all but confirmed it." She looked at Eron and groaned. "You think I'm nuts."

"On the contrary. You forget that I was branded with a blue glowing hand print after a woman spoke to me in my dreams so I can hardly see your situation as odd. This was a first between you both I take it."

"Yes. I haven't had a chance to discuss it with him. He was drunk so I doubt he even remembers it."

"For the record, he was drinking before I ever came up to this room. I even tried to guilt him out of doing it."

Jack snorted. "Riddick and guilt are two words that aren't easily associated."

"How about Riddick and helpless." That got her attention. "That's why he was drinking."

"But he knew he was getting me back. He said so."

Eron heard the skepticism in her voice. "Not until Aereon stopped by to let him know that you wouldn't be killed." He clenched his eyes shut and silently cursed himself. He probably shouldn't have let that out of the bag.

"She what? She had a vision of me after I was kidnapped?"

Eron picked up a fork full of food and pointed to her plate. "Your food is getting cold and you really need to eat." By reminding her she was eating for more than herself he hoped to divert her attention, but she already had her claws firmly entrenched in his hide.

"Oh no you don't! What in the hell did she say?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"She wouldn't tell Riddick anything. Only that whatever she saw wouldn't happen on any Necro ship." He picked at his food for a moment. "She did say she would tell you if you asked." Eron was dying to find out himself. Jack picked her plate back up and shook her fork at him.

"Oh, you're good. You are good. Love how you planted that little seed and that dramatic pause while you picked at your food? Classic."

Appearing as though he had been slighted, he huffed. "I'm only telling you what the woman said. You asked."

"First we eat, you tell me what Riddick said about me, and then we find Aereon."

"Riddick did-."

"OR. First we eat, you don't tell me what Riddick said, and I find Aereon….ALONE."

"This is blackmail!"

"You know what blackmail is?"

"It's quite common among the Necros believe it or not and I cannot believe you're trying to use it on me."

"It's only working because you want to know what the witch said. But if you aren't really interested…"

"So! Why don't you tell me your version of Mr.Rob?" Jack had just put food in her mouth and barely kept herself from spitting it out when she heard him speak of Rob.

"Mr.Who?"

"Mr.Rob…your fiancé? The one Riddick seems to hold a great disdain for?"

"Riddick never knew Rob. He died a long time ago."

"That hardly precludes him from not liking the 'pretty boy'."

"Pretty what? Oh no, no, no. I am going to skin his ass."

"Yes, he mentioned you might if I asked you about the man. Actually, I think he used the term 'roast', but the method is inconsequential. Was he really trying to make you into the perfect little wifey?"

"He said I told him this shit?"

"No. He said he saw you both at a store Mr.Rob owned. You, like a little lamb…no mouth."

It dawned on her that he didn't appear disturbed in the least by relaying this information. She grinned and laughed. "You're a sick puppy. You know that? You are positively enjoying every moment of ratting him out!"

He drew his fork to his mouth but before he ate, a smirk appeared. "Now whatever would give you that idea?" He didn't plan on telling her everything they spoke about. Most of the rest he felt was something Riddick would have never told him had he not been drunk so it was going to stay between them. After all, he couldn't completely betray his own gender, but he would enjoy the fact that Riddick would be squirming. She was right. He was a sick puppy.


Jack's hand was poised to knock on Aereon's door when it opened. "Ah, Kyra. I've been expecting you."

"You can see through doors now?"

"No, my dear. But I can hear quite well the two of you fussing as you came down the hall. I've been expecting you. Riddick told you I had a vision?"

"No, Eron did. It slipped out and now he'll be sworn to secrecy."

"Your Furyan was correct then. You do not like surprises. I had thought you would have chosen not to know."

"I probably wouldn't have wanted to know but things have…grown complicated."

"You're speaking of your child." She smiled seeing the shocked looks on both of their faces. "It was a part of my vision."

"I take it you know the gender?"

"Yes, but I won't tell. That is information you can discover on your own soon enough."

Jack's hands fisted. She didn't want to find out without Riddick but the fact that she did know and was keeping it from her? She was less than pleased. "Eron said what you saw will not happen on a Necro ship."

"That's quite correct. What was your father's name Kyra?"

She felt a chill go down her spine that didn't settle well with her. This wasn't what she was expecting. "Lyle Bennett."

"No, my dear. I speak of the man who sired you."

Eron saw that she was shaken by this and took her hand between his. He had thought this might be about her baby, not something that would upset her. "Arad Landers. He died shortly after I was born."

Aereon's eyebrow perked up. "So you have been led to believe."

Her free hand flew to her mouth and Eron started apologizing profusely for letting her know about this. She shook her head and weakly smiled at him. "It's okay." She turned her attention back to Aereon. She was tired of her cryptic crap. "Cut through your little game Aereon and tell me straight. I know you get off dragging something like this out, but after what I've been through in the past week, I really can't take much more."

"Very well. Your father, Arad, is alive." She saw that Jack was about to say something and held up her hand. "I cannot tell you where he is or when you will find him, but you will meet him and it will happen before your child is born."

"This vision you had. There must be some importance to it or you wouldn't have had it. This goes beyond a family reunion."

"Yes. Your father holds the key to who you are."

"Who I am? Who Aereon or what?"

"Perceptive my dear, very perceptive. There is nothing further that I can tell you. Should I have another vision, I will, of course, let you know."


Jack and Eron walked back to her room in silence. He was hesitant to say anything and still felt incredibly guilty. She opened the door and entered but he didn't follow her.

"Kyra, I can't apologize eno-."

"Eron, I would have found out regardless. Yes, I've been hit with a lot today but blaming yourself doesn't make it easier on me. If I ever needed someone to talk to, aside from Riddick, then that time is now. Get your ass in here." He was five feet in the door when his com link went off. "I'm sure that's Riddick."

He pulled it off his belt. "This is Eron."

"Are you with her?"

"Yes."

"Did she get herself checked out?"

"Yes, she did. Kicking and screaming but she did and she's fine. Her report indicated that she was fatigued, dehydrated, and low…blood sugar. The lab indicated that as the reason for her fainting."

"Anything else?" Riddick suspected he wasn't getting the whole story. Jack was mouthing the words ovary and cyst and he nodded.

"Yes. Apparently she experienced some pain a couple of weeks ago. Jack asked the med lab to report on that and was told she had a cyst that broke." He used the wrong word on purpose in an effort to make it appear like he wasn't that intimately aware of her medical record.

"Broke? Let me talk to her." Eron handed the com link to her.

"Thank you Riddick. I felt like a kid being taken to the doctor."

"What the hell happened?" He was obviously not in the mood for her mouth.

"Remember those cysts I told you I had years ago?"

"The ones you had removed."

"Yes. This was one of those and it ruptured." There was silence on the other end as she waited for him to respond, hoping he wouldn't ask Eron anything further. On his end he was taking a moment to shake off the tension. He had been steeling himself anticipating bad news. "Riddick?"

"I'm here. Vaako and I won't be too much longer, another hour or two at most then I'm bringing him back so I can brief all three of you. Tell Eron I need him to stay."

"Brief bad or brief good."

"Interesting. Riddick out."

She held the com link out for Eron who appeared to be deep in thought. She waved it but he was so self-absorbed he didn't notice. "Earth to Eron!"

"What? Oh…sorry."

"Is it a woman that has you dreamy or something important?" He shot her an annoyed look.

"I was thinking about what Aereon said. That your father is the key to what you are. Quite odd the way she phrased that."

"It gave me the creeps. She made it sound like I'm not human. Twenty-three years and it was all a lie. Can't help but wonder how my life would have turned out had he been around the entire time." Jack suddenly grabbed his arm and he jumped. "I just had an idea. Maybe I don't need to wait to meet my fath-, to meet Arad."

Eron didn't like that glint in her eyes one bit. He stood up and started to shake his head emphatically with his hand held up. "No!"

"Don't be a booger! I haven't even told you what I'm thinking about." He couldn't help from laughing.

"Did you just call me a booger?" He was pointing to his nose as he asked it.

"Yeah, a really green, slimy one! No…it's an expression…you're being difficult."

"It's a disgusting name to be called and the answer is no." He crossed both is legs and his arms, literally closing himself off to further discussion.

She wasn't going to be put off. "Tell me how mind-regression works."

His lips were set firmly and he was shaking his finger at her. "I knew it! You want me to take you down there and let them read you."

"First, I want to know the process. I don't have my mind set on anything."

"It's less than pleasant. I've seen enough people go through it to know that much."

"Yes, but were any of them willing participants?"

"No." As he said it he knew it was what she wanted to hear.

"Perhaps it isn't as bad if you're willing. If you know what to expect and keep yourself open to it. I understand that these…things that read Riddick are half dead and that there is more than one of them."

"Yes. He killed one when he escaped the Necropolis. It takes time to locate a gifted Necro who has the ability to read minds and then prepare her to become one of the quasi-dead. That never took place though. Riddick took over before it could happen."

"Her?"

"Yes, it's always a woman."

"Really. You speak as though they did find a suitable candidate."

"Indeed. One was chosen."

"What makes her ability different from whatever she can do now?"

"She becomes linked to the others telepathically and also becomes linked to this ship. They know everything, they see everything. Working together their abilities are one hundred times what they would be alone."

"But they tell nothing that they know?"

"Not unless they are called to do so."

"Can this woman…could this woman read me without becoming one of them?"

Eron felt immediately better. He was sure she would insist and he would bring Riddick in before he would ever take her there. What she was suggesting was a much better option. "I hadn't thought of that possibility."

Jack smiled hearing the positive tone in his voice. "Can we meet her?"

He gave her a devilish smile. "You already know her."

Her brow wrinkled for a moment. "I know her?" When she realized who he was referring to she shrieked. "Oh no! No, no, no, no, NO. You're-. No. It is NOT her."

"Oh yes."

"Fuck! Can this get any more complicated? Dammit Eron! You didn't think to mention this to me before I fucked with her and shaved her head?"

He was laughing so hard he could barely talk. "You're, oh..hold on…blaming this on me? I didn't know you'd need her so that's hardly fair."

"I know she won't do it. Fuck that, I don't want her doing it. I'm not giving that whore anything to hold over my head. Knowing her, she'd demand a night in bed with Riddick in exchange. Not to mention he can't even know that I'm considering this."

"Lucky for you, mind regression doesn't work the way you're thinking."

She sat back down and took a hold of his shirt. "Spill it. Details. Now."

He was still laughing and had to take a few calming breaths first. "She isn't even aware she has the abilities. They quasi-deads located her. Actually they're always actively scanning for women with potential."

"Even me?"

"Certainly not. You aren't converted."

"Good. I don't want anything scanning my head without me asking for it. I just don't understand how she could read me if she doesn't know she can."

"Maybe it will help if I explain the conversion process. First, she is put into a deep, trance-like sleep. Then a powerful drug, for lack of a better description, is administered. It moves into her brain, settling into the area that controls her mental talents. It acts like a like switch and turns them on. That gives the others the ability to merge her into their consciousness."

"She has to be asleep for this?"

"Yes. Remaining awake during the process, the shock of activating her, and then being merged could kill her. They, however, cannot merge with her unless she is within close proximity to them."

"So by keeping her away while turning on her abilities we could make use of them?"

"Precisely. Even though she's asleep, she'll respond to all questions."

"But what about when she wakes up?"

"There have been occasions where a woman couldn't be merged with them. That sometimes happens if her abilities weren't strong enough or if the quasis believe they might destroy her mind. In those cases, she wakes up after the drugs have burned themselves out of her system and has no knowledge or memory of what occurred."

"What..when they read your mind, what does it feel like?"

Eron blew out a breath. Having only witnessed the regression himself there was no way to accurately describe it. "Those who have not been converted have complained of agonizing headaches. Keep in mind there are multiple quasis entering the cerebral cortex at one time. The more a person resists the probe, the more they must exert to open your mind, and that is what causes the pain they feel."

She dropped her head. "I'm not so sure about this anymore. I gathered from Santé that my elevated stress levels were a concern. I'm so used to just jumping into whatever and going by my gut but I can't afford to behave like that any longer."

He lifted her head back up with a finger under her chin. "You've got Spud to think of?"

She grinned. "Exactly. This is going to take a whole lotta getting used to. What I do to myself, I do to this little guy or girl. It's not like I haven't been responsible for someone before. I've been looking out for Randy since I was eighteen, but this is a whole different bag of chips."

"Which flavor?" She thought he was serious for a moment until she saw his mouth twitch. "That one I've heard before. But on a serious note, I'm proud of you. I do believe this is the first time since we've met that you haven't let your lack of patience rule your decisions."

"So you're saying there's hope for me?"

"There is something to be said for spontaneity…except for when it leads you head long into trouble." At that he started laughing.

"You're getting to be quite annoying. I've lost count at the number of times you've laughed at my expense today. What the hell is it now?"

"Vaako will be so pleased to learn you're pregnant. You can't possibly drag him off into that game room for a round of cards, smoking, and drinking."

"Smoking? Totally not. Drinking…I'll have a substitute, but if you think for a minute that I'm giving up poker? You're nuts."

"I take it you're quite firm about that?"

"Absolutely. I enjoy humiliating Vaako far too much to quit just because I'm pregnant."

"Can you do me at least one favor then?"

"I suppose I do owe you. What is it?"

"At least let him think he's safe…for a little while? It will be all the more crushing for him when he realizes he won't be free of you."

"You're evil, you know that?"

"Great minds think alike."


Riddick and Vaako downloaded copies of the star charts into a portable viewer. They had taken almost two hours, pouring over them to plan their trajectory so it timed perfectly with the rising and setting of the sun on the moon and its planets. Everything had to be exact or it could cost them. Loading the plans into the portable viewer they left the war room and headed back to see Jack and Eron.

"If you're familiar with this planet then you know about this worm hole as well."

"That's right."

"And where it leads?"

"Right again."

"You're not going to tell me anything until we're all together."

"You catch on quick and you'll know soon enough. Patience. You're as bad as Jack." He caught Vaako wincing out of the corner of his eye. He considered her a friend. Probably the first female that he had ever thought about in that light, but she also had the uncanny ability to get under his skin and annoy the hell out of him. He had begun to learn to dish it back out, but being compared to her like that wasn't a compliment in his eyes.

"I'll do what I can to rid myself of that trait as quickly as possible."

"Hasn't worked for Jack but you can try." When Riddick opened the door he saw Jack on the sofa with Eron and crooked his finger at her as he headed to their bedroom. She got up to follow. "Order up some food. We never ate and get something for you and her. Especially her so she'll stay out of my food."

Jack glared at him for that remark. "Ass!"

"Beer, too," he called over his shoulder.

She was pulled flush against him and his demanding mouth came down hard on hers as the door shut behind them. He was feeling that rush like he did after a fight and had to do something about it. Just finding that planet and what the possibility it represented for him did it. His hands were everywhere on her at once and she whimpered against him. He tore his mouth from her and backed them to the bed. Grabbing her hand, he pressed it against the bulge in his pants and grinned.

"Looks like you could use some help with that." Her nimble fingers went straight to the buckle on his belt without looking away from him.

"You gotta be quiet." He untucked her shirt and his hands found her breasts, teasing her nipples until they grew hard. "No noise."

"It's not like they don't know what we're doing in here. Isn't that what you said to me this morning?"

"Only one I want hearing those sounds you make is me."

"Then there's only one way to keep me quiet." She shoved his pants down to mid-thigh and moved out from between him and the bed. He turned around and she pushed him a step back until their positions were reversed. "You want me on my knees, Riddick?" Her soft hand wrapped around him and she heard the sharp intake of his breath. He nodded his head.

"Words." Jack started to move down his body. "Tell me," she whispered huskily.

Growling his fingers threaded through her hair when he looked down at her. "I want you on your god damn knees Jack." Her mouth was on him before he even finished the last word. "Oh, fuck!"

She gave him a long lick and smiled wickedly at him. "No noise Riddick."

Ten minutes later Jack came back out and Riddick was not far behind wearing a change of clothes and a very content look on his face. "Yummy. Something smells good."

Eron handed her a plate with a slice of chocolate cake. "I had them bring up dessert for us."

Riddick scowled seeing the cake. "There better be more where that came from."

"Three more slices in fact." He took his own plate and sat at the table with Vaako while Riddick settled on the floor with Jack who looked good and ready to hear the news.

"Do we have to wait until you've fed yourself before we're let in on what's going on?"

"I took the liberty of loading the star charts so we can all see them. You can access them remotely from the hand viewer." Vaako was anxious to hear it as well.

"Gimme a minute will ya? I'd like to at least enjoy part of my meal." Riddick took a swig of beer and offered an unopened one to Jack.

She couldn't drink and was incredibly thankful that she was eating cake. Had it been any other food he would have wondered why she didn't take it. "Beer and chocolate? I'll pass."

He shrugged. "More for me." She watched him tip the bottle up.

"Plan on getting drunk again like you did when I was gone?" He swallowed quickly to avoid spitting it out and then he looked straight at Eron. Jack grabbed his chin and made him look at her. "He didn't need to tell me. You ratted yourself out. Do you remember?"

"What the hell are you talking about? I didn't rat mys-." The drunken conversation he had with her played in his mind. He thought he imagined it. "You actually heard me?'

"I did. I thought it was a dream until I was talking with Eron earlier and realized it wasn't. Question is how we did it." He looked at her thumb then back to his. They never had something like that happen between them until after the rings left their marks.

He picked up her thumb and she caught on to where his thoughts were leading. "You think the rings did it?"

"It never happened before we got these marks." Eron had caught the tail end of the conversation and left the table to sit with them but took a chair instead of a place on the floor. "Did she tell you about that?"

"Yes. Remarkable isn't it." He noticed that Riddick had her thumb. "I suppose it's possible that the mark the rings left on you both has connected you in some way."

Jack was interested but skeptical. "You mean telepathically?"

"Anything is possible." Eron grinned. "And speaking of the rings-." Riddick immediately threw him a black look that stopped him mid-sentence. "You ah…haven't told her yet…have you." He cringed. It seemed he was quite adept at sticking his foot in his mouth today.

"No, Eron. We were interrupted." Jack sensed something was going on and Riddick didn't want Eron talking about it.

"It was your fault if you remember. Does this have anything to do with that theory of his you mentioned?"

"Yes. I'll tell you later." She looked at him for a moment considering whether or not to pursue it now and chose to wait.

"Okay."

He couldn't believe his ears. "Did you just say okay?"

"Yes."

He thought for a moment about her uncharacteristic behavior. "And you're not gonna harass me about it right now?"

"No. Why, do you want me to?"

"No." He thought he smelled a rat. She never let go this easily. "What are you up to?"

She was genuinely aggravated now. "Why do I have to be up to anything just because I chose not to pursue the issue the further at this time?" For once, she actually wasn't up to anything. She was withholding two bits, rather large bits, of information, but she wasn't plotting.

"Cause you're always up to something."

"Right now all of us are far more interested in what you're going to say. I haven't dropped the ring topic. It's just being kept warm until later. Are you going to brief us sometime this year or what?"

He kept his eyes on her, still somewhat suspicious. He picked up the remote viewer and sent the first image to the larger screen. "This is where we're headed." He tapped the screen and the larger imaged zoomed in. There's a planet with twin moons and not far from it is the worm hole that was spotted earlier. About eight hours from the planet." He zoomed back out. "This is where we are now and we'll get to the planet in less than two days."

"Planet?" He felt Jack's excitement. "We're landing? I didn't think there was any place we could land for almost another two weeks!"

"If this place checks out, there is a chance you can get out, but we aren't spending any real time there. This isn't some pleas-."

"But-." He held up his hand to get her to stop but she was frowning and obviously displeased.

"We will land and in about five days or less…on Earth." He watched her face as he told her where they'd be going. Moisture clouded her eyes and she blinked sending one fat tear down her cheek. He caught it with the pad of his thumb and wiped it away. "You wanna see your family Jack?"

This unexpected turn of events completely stripped her of the ability to think straight so she just nodded at first. "How, I-. I mean-. We weren't-."

"We weren't supposed to make it there for four months and the how is because of that worm hole. We're jumping through it and it will land us within a day's ride."

Terror laced excitement. That was the only way to describe it. There wasn't a doubt in her about wanting to see her family again after twelve years. With them still being four months away, she wasn't nervous. But now it was suddenly cut down to five days and she would have to cope quickly with her fear and anxiety.

Although she wanted to see them, a small voice of doubt nagged at the back of her brain. Would they want to see her and would they accept her. No doubt there would be questions about where she had been, what she had been doing, how in the hell she got there, and lastly there was Riddick.

Her brothers would grill him she was sure of that. Jack also didn't think she'd be able to get away with telling them the edited version of her life. They would know if she wasn't being completely straight with them. What would they think of her then? What would her mother think of her?

Riddick saw she was lost in thought. He partially expected this kind of reaction out of her. This was his first trip back to Earth as well but he didn't have anything to return to unlike her. "Jack. You okay?"

"Yeah…I am. It's just a shock for it to be happening so soon. The worm hole? How do you know where it goes?"

"Cause that's how I got to Sigma 3 from Earth when the Company drafted me to be a ranger." This was the first time Riddick had shared anything about his early life with her. She wanted to know everything about him, but she always had the feeling that it wasn't a topic up for discussion. Ever. Even though he was talking about it, she wasn't going to push. His body language told her this had not been a pleasant place for him.

"How old were you?"

"I was a kid. Maybe a little older than you when we met." Anticipating her next question he went ahead and answered it. "They had me in a group home. One of many I had been in. All the other guys they took were older, but I was just as big as them, so they took me."

"What happened? What did they do to you?"

"What did they do to me? Everything. What happened? They turned me into a scary son of a bitch."

Jack reasoned there was a lot more to it than that and he might or might not tell her the rest. Whenever she envisioned Riddick as a kid she would wonder what made him into a killer, the man she first met and how old he was. She figured he had perhaps been eighteen. To learn that he was barely in his teens when it all began was heart breaking. She had no idea that there were people out there who used kids like that.

"I'm so sorry." It was inadequate, but that was all she could think of to say.

"There's nothing for you to be sorry for Jack. I will find out what's going on. The Company ran Sigma-3 and the academy was on one of its moons. If it's all still there, it will be dust by the time we're finished with it and they're the ones that'll be sorry they ever heard my name."

She wasn't pleased about him going to war but she understood. Fighting with the Jakarnans was child's play compared to what she knew this would be. Secretly she hoped that this company Riddick referred to had left. Her gut told her differently.

Eron and Vaako had been intently listening as Riddick gave a summary of what was going to happen and why. Riddick was still much of an enigma to them. So they were both thankful that Jack was there and asking questions about his past that neither of them would have felt comfortable asking.

Jack took one of his hands between hers. "So, what's the game plan then?"


After Vaako finished going over the attack strategy he and Eron left and Jack felt a sudden wave of nerves hit her. They were alone and it was time for her to tell him. The news of her father was one thing. She could tell him since she had decided not to use Maya. Telling him that he was going to be a father? That was entirely different.

He walked up behind her while she was gathering the dishes together. Something he had asked her not to do but she was anxious and needed something to keep her from appearing so. She jumped when he put his hands on her shoulders and hissed when his thumb kneaded a knotted muscle.

"Damn Jack, your shoulders are in knots." He gently worked the muscle until she at least wasn't cringing. "This will do you more good if you're warmed up a bit." He took her hand and led her to bathroom where the tub had already begun to fill with water.

Knowing how he felt about baths, she found it odd that he had already started it before he realized how tense she was. "Were you planning on taking a bath?"

"No. I was planning on joining you while you were in the bath." She smiled to herself knowing better. She had gotten him to the point where he was now making excuses to get in there himself, which she didn't mind a bit. "Put your hair up so I can get to your shoulders."

She disrobed, had her hair up, and was just stepping into the water when he came back in with a beer in his hand. He grunted to himself when he saw her. Get a grip. This is a massage. By the time he had shed his own clothes, she was waist deep in the water. She looked over her shoulder at him and whether she intended it or not, gave him a 'come hither' kind of stare.

"Stop lookin' at me like that Jack or we'll be skipping right over the massage."

"I was completely unaware that I did look at you like that. If it helps keep your mind where it should be, which is on my shoulders, then imagine me in that white robe." She heard the water slosh and he was right behind her with his arm around her wait, pulling her back.

"I can imagine you in a nun's clothes, but when you're standing right in front of me not wearin' a stitch my mind is no longer in charge of what I'm thinkin'. He arranged them both so she was sitting by his side with her back facing him. His hands started gently kneading her shoulders but he could feel she wasn't relaxing. "What's got you so stressed?"

She had to remind her self to keep her emotions in check. If she didn't, he would easily be able to tell that she was holding back more than what she was going to tell him. "Eron said that Aereon saw me in a vision."

His hands stopped only for a brief second. "I was going to tell you about that tonight."

She turned her head a little so she could see him. "When it would be too late to go ask her?"

"Something like that." They sat in silence for a few minutes. She knew he wanted to know what Aereon said but he was going to have to wait. Her muscles finally started to loosen and she sighed. "Starting to feel better now?"

"Much."

He moved his mouth to her ear and she jumped when he talked. "You gonna tell me what the witch said?"

She felt like smacking him for making her jump, especially because she heard him chuckling behind her. "Who said I saw her?"

"Come on. I bet you ran straight there the minute it was out of Eron's mouth."

"Then you would have lost that bet. He and I were eating and talking about other things before we left to call on her." His hands stopped again and she grinned.

"Jack?"

"Yes, Riddick?"

"I know you talked about me getting drunk. So what else did Eron tell you?"

"Not a lot. He said you were worried and there wasn't much you could do, so that's why you started drinking."

"Anything else?" He hit a tense spot and she gasped. "Something tells me that's a yes."

"There wasn't a whole lot more. Just some drabble about how much you don't care for Mr.Rob and something about a lamb with no mouth?"

He clearly saw the grin when he looked at the side of her face. "Time to have a sit down with Eron."

"Did you tell him specifically not to tell me?"

He thought about it then frowned. "Not really."

"Then he's within his rights. I blackmailed him anyway. He wanted to hear what Aereon had to say so I made him tell me or I wouldn't take him with me."

"And that's all he said?" He knew there was more and his question now informed her that she had not gotten everything out of Eron.

"That was it." She had suspected he wasn't a fan of Rob. However knowing it for sure told her was jealous that she had been with another man. She found she liked it.

"You still haven't told me what she said."

"Not yet. Tell me about the rings first." She distinctly heard him groan. She couldn't understand why he had brought up the topic the first time and then avoided it not once but twice.

"It's nothing."

He sounded defensive. She leaned back against him and put her hands over his. "If it's nothing then why are you trying so hard to avoid telling me?"

"I'm no-. Fine. Eron put the rings-."

"You got that far with the tale earlier today. That's what got us talking about ice cream. Skip ahead."

"There's nothing between Eron and that woman, other than screwing each other, and that's why he thinks the rings fell of." The explanation was rushed and he was definitely irritable. He sat there immobile waiting for her to say something. He'd given her enough clues and he wasn't going to say another word. His hands started back on her shoulders then moved a little lower down her back just to distract himself.

She thought for a minute then turned around so quickly she sloshed water almost into his face. "He thinks they're some kind of wedding rings?"

He completely misinterpreted her stunned reaction, thinking instead she was disturbed by it all, so he tried to blow it off. "What's done is done. It's a freakin' tattoo. Even if those rings did do something fucked up to us, it's not like it's legal or anything."

He was good at that she thought. Backpedaling when things get so personal that he felt the need to protect himself or circumventing what he's really trying to say by talking all around it and letting her say it instead. It was endearing in an annoying kind of way and if she wasn't aware of this habit of his then she'd probably go crazy. Her only option was to pick at him until he broke.

"So what are you trying to say? That what has happened is horrible?"

"That's not what I said."

"That it disturbs you to think we're somehow, but not legally of course, married?"

"Didn't say that either. You-."

"That the rings leaving the tattoos on us means absolutely nothing even though it didn't happen with Eron?"

He growled at her this time when he spoke. "Dammit Jack I'm not sayin' any of that shit you're trying to feed me!"

Gotcha! "If it isn't horrible, you're not bothered by it, and you do think it means something then why try to make it sound like the opposite when I asked you if they were wedding rings?"

Fuck! She had him backed into a corner and the only way out was to answer her. No bullshit. "Look, that night we were first together you said you didn't see yourself getting married."

She growled at him. "You big oaf. I also remember saying something about possibly changing my mind if the right person came along."

He started to say something then shut his mouth both relieved and thoroughly aggravated with her for forcing his hand. "You-."

She looped her arms around his neck and stroked the sensitive skin at the nape. "Yes?"

He removed her arms and took her thumb with his own tattooed thumb. "So you're sayin' this doesn't bother you?"

"Being hooked at the thumbs? No, it doesn't. Besides, who am I to argue with a pair of rings? It seems like they did what they were created to do and it wasn't indiscriminate. If that was the case Eron and his flavor would have matching ones, too." He didn't say anything but she could feel that he had lost the apprehension that was once there and she relaxed herself. "The only thing I want to know is if they did more than leave a tattoo. I guess we won't know that unless we run into a Todeyan we can ask."

"There's nothin' else that I know of that could have done it."

Jack tensed for a millisecond and quickly gave him a light kiss to cover herself in case he sensed it. The ring wasn't the only variable that linked them together. She was carrying his child, a Furyan child. Given what had occurred with Shira in his dreams, she wasn't going to dismiss it as a possibility.

"So, you want to know what she told me?"

"Why do I have the feelin' this isn't good?"

"All depends on how you look at it." She took a second before she continued. "My father is alive."

"What? The guy whose name you gave me or the one who raised you?"

"Arad, my biological father."

"I thought your mom said he died and that's why she came back and gave you up to your mom…aunt."

"It was never true and I don't know why she told my mother that. I plan on asking her about it when I see her. There's more, too."

"More?"

"She said that I'm going to meet him within the next year and he holds the key to who and what I am."

"What you are? What kind of talk is that?"

"She couldn't tell me anything more than that. She couldn't tell me where he was, or how I'd meet him." She swallowed hard trying to keep herself in check but it didn't help. "God Riddick, how am I even supposed to know that it's him? My mother never saw him and there isn't the first picture. It's like he almost never existed except to make his half of the genetic donation and leave."

"Jack, maybe he didn't leave."

"You think she left him? She had nothing. She couldn't even keep me so why leave him?" She was gradually getting more and more upset until he took her face in his hands and kissed her. It was one of the only ways he knew how to comfort her unless she told him what she wanted from him. This was incredibly sweet and slow and it had the desired effect. He didn't pull back from her until he felt her pulse slow down.

"You'll get your answers or I'll beat them out of him." She laughed. "What do you say we get out of here?" He got out first and wrapped a towel around his waist then got a towel ready for her. Once she was out he quickly dried her off and wrapped it around her.

His attention was chocolate and she was eating it up. "You're spoilin' me Riddick."

He smiled at her sweetly. "Could never spoil you. It's just not possible."

She touched the side of his face after hearing the uncharacteristic sentiment. "Aw…that was so sweet!"

"Not possible to spoil you cause you're already rotten to the core." He heard a loud smack, then the sting followed instantly. "Ow!"

"You deserved it. Should have known your honeyed words were good to be true."

He got rid of both of their towels, backed her out of the bathroom and to the bed with his arms firmly around her. "Can't let you think I'm goin' soft."

She ran her fingers over and gently prodded the skin where his love handles would be, if he had any. "Then you need to lay off the pastries."

"Not a chance in hell." She felt her backside hit the bed and pulled herself up. He was already behind her and pulling her to him. She rested her head on his chest, snuggling close to him, cocooned in his embrace.

"Thank you." She had been thinking it and didn't intend on saying it, but she had nonetheless.

He chuckled. "What are you thankin' me for?"

"I've always been curious about you. What your life was like before we crashed. It's nice to know a little more about you." He tipped her chin up with his finger so she would look at him.

"Why didn't you ask me?"

She shrugged. "You were…intimidating to a twelve year old and I never got the feeling you would be willing to talk about it. I figured if you wanted me to know you would tell me." Riddick was aware that she never questioned him about his past. He never thought he had put out a vibe that said it was off limits.

"I don't like talkin' about it. There's nothin' nice when I look back. Even if there was something good, all of the fucked up shit I've gone through has made me forget."

"It's okay. I understand."

"No you don't. Until tonight, you had no idea about who I was other than what you had seen yourself. Don't you think you should know a little more about the guy you're tattooed to for life? You're an open book to me Jack so if you want to know, ask me."

She didn't realize a tear has slipped from her eye until she felt him brush it off her cheek. "You sure about that? You know how I can be."

He squeezed her a little. "I'm sure. Just not all at once okay?"

She nodded and rested her head on his chest again. "You have no idea what that means to me."

"Yeah?" He smiled to himself feeling pretty good at that point. After a few minutes a frown crossed his face. He moved his face close to her hair and sniffed. "Your scent isn't the same."

She picked her up of off his chest. "My what?"

"Your scent." He moved her so he could sniff her neck, then her stomach. "It's in your skin."

Oh my god…is he smelling the baby?

"How many times did you say they used that paralysis gas on you?"

"Twice and Vaako knocked me out with some kind of drug, too."

"Guess that's it. Must have gotten into your system pretty good."

"You're frowning. Does it smell bad to you or something?"

"No, just different."

"Different how?"

"Can't describe it. It's not strong but it's not you. Don't worry about it." He moved her so her back was facing him and wrapped an around her middle. "It'll probably be gone in a day or two."

No Riddick, it won't. Not for almost nine months.


The next chapter will be up soon. It's nearing completion but I've got a couple of ways it could go.

Just trying to make up my mind.

Until then…feed my inbox please! Ok, I admit it, I'm addicted to feedback and I don't wish to kick the habit. It's just too sweet!