Jack felt a spasm of panic. Dahl looked at her, and as nice as he had been that day, there was something interested in his eyes she did not like at all. She shook her head, pleadingly. Dahl sighed. "Nah. How about Eve?"

"Sure," she said. "Don't mind babysitting."

"I'd rather be with Richards," Jack said. She stared down at the table, very aware that she was blushing. Hoped they would think it was embarrassment about sex and not the roiling complicated feelings Riddick was giving her right now.

Toombs' eyes narrowed. He took another long drink. "Little worried about how chummy you two are getting. And aren't you afraid Big Bad's gonna axe him?"

Jack steeled herself. "A little. But I think he's got the sense to back off when you inevitably do something cruel and stupid to me in front of Riddick. And I know I can sleep with him in the room. I don't know that about any of the rest of you."

"Sure you'll be sleeping?" Toombs said, snidely.

"Give it a rest, Alex," Nara said, wearily. "Let her pick her jailer for the night."

Toombs rounded on Riddick. "Promise not to let her get away again?"

He grunted. "Cross my heart. You ready Jack?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Thanks for the good food, Dahl."

"You're welcome. But you should have KP one of these days."

She laughed. "You bet."

Toombs was watching them with narrow eyes. "I'll walk you crazy kids."

Hate Toombs walking us down these tunnels to the med lab. Asshole keeps up an almost constant stream of stupidity, like he's trying to provoke me to punch him. When we get to the med lab, he steps right in with us. Jack goes and gets herself a glass of water, sits down at the little table with a sigh. Suddenly her eyes jerk to him. Hate that too.

Toombs is leaning against the door frame, fingering the controller. Jack's eyes are on it and she seems almost hungry for it. Weird. He keeps talking. "Really enjoyed our little photo shoot," he says. Jack looks down and blushes scarlet. Really don't like that. He does something and she groans. It goes straight to my crotch. "Really liked you bucking against my hand." Realize what he's saying and take a step towards him.

The asshole chucks the controller at my head. Catch it out of the air. "Right if she's bad, orange button if you need her out for a while, left if you want to have fun," he says. "And have fun!" He slams the door shut. I lock it behind him, barely managing not to chase him down and break his spine. Turn to her sitting at the table.

"What. The. Fuck." I say, low and dangerous.

She shakes her head. "Not now. Please turn it off," she says in a tight, pained way.

I do. Set the controller down on the table. "Thank you," she says it like she means it. Pulls out that piece of wire I saw her pocket, straightens it. " Would you feed this wire down that little hole on the top?" she asks.

"Why?"

"That's how I got this thing off last time. It won't work for me while I'm wearing the collar. I could really use your hands. Please do this for me."

Hesitate, thoughts churning. Wanna knew what Toombs was talking about. Want to fuck her. Want her happy with me. Damn conflicting desires. "You know it's gonna have to go back on if we're gonna keep playing this little game of yours. You didn't like it when I put restraints back on you last time."

She glares at me. "Please. I have a plan. And not a lot of time."

I sigh. Do what she asks and the collar pops open. She pulls it off with visible relief and sets it aside.

"Thank you," she says like she means it. Pulls out some more tools from her pockets, opens up the controller, scrutinizes the insides.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"After the first time those assholes put this thing on me, I studied up. Think I can do some useful damage." She delicately lifts off one layer of circuitry, disconnects one wire out of many, swaps two connectors for each other. "I'm trying to reduce the intensity. They'll know if I break it, but if I can move the top of the dial down from paralyzing agony to just really unpleasant, I'll be in better shape. And I need the 'go unconscious now' feature gone."

"Smart." I watch her work. "Why don't we just break it or flush it?"

"Because then they won't trust me alone with you," she says, shortly. "And I'm sure they've got another or something worse on that ship. Let me concentrate. Toombs is gonna be back as soon as he remembers I got it off last time." After far too long, she closes up the unit, shoves the tools back into her pocket, and picks up the collar. "Elder Gods have mercy," she whispers and raises it to her own neck.

It won't close. "Cthulhu's balls," she says. "Would you?"

"Would I what, Jack," I say huskily.

"Snap this damn thing around my neck? It's a security protocol - the object can't use it." Her voice is brittle. "I didn't realize it would prevent me from even putting it back on."

"Sure, kid," I say, softly. I stand up from the table, move behind her chair. Lift her hair up with one hand, caressing the back of her neck as I do. She groans again. Think she's feeling the residual effects of whatever Toombs did. Think I am too.

It latches with a sweet click. "I really wanna fuck," I say, running my hands down her arms.

She shivers. "Me too. It's this damn collar. Few more things first. Need to test what I just did. Zap me."

I drop my hands. "What?"

"Zap me. I need to know if I gotta do more, and the controller won't work for me."

"No."

"Nylarathotep's deadly balls, Riddick. I need to know if it worked."

And I don't need to know if I like hurting you with it, kid. Manage not to say it. Still the words come out as a growl, "not happening."

She cranes around in her chair and gapes up at me like I just sprouted tentacles. Shoves her chair away from the table hard. Think she's gonna come at me. I step back, spread my hands.

She holds the controller out to me and there's something awful in her face. "Please. Just do this for me."

"No."

She looks like she wants to punch me. Instead, she deliberately turns away and starts rummaging through the drawers in the med lab. "Whatcha doing?"

"Looking for heavy gloves or a faraday cage so I can test it myself." She finds some metallic fabric. Part of me wants to intervene, but not sure this is a fight I should win. She puts the controller on the table, drapes the fabric over one hand and toggles it on high. Spasms, grimaces, and collapses on the floor, shooting the controller across the table. "Fucking dismembered Osiris. Please turn it off?"

I do, slower than I should. Cradle the controller in my hands. Her eyes are hard on my fingers, almost hungry. "Okay, that sucked but it was so much better than before. Hit the orange button?"

"Why?"

"I need to know if I fixed it so it won't knock me out."

"What if you messed up?"

"What?"

"What if you turned it up rather than down and it kills you?"

"I didn't. Please?" Her voice cracks. "I really need this. I'm sure Toombs is coming back."

"I could just kill him," I offer. She glares at me. I hit the button. She spasms again. "Hastur fucking take them all," she mutters. Manages to get her knees up and wraps her arms around them, rocking back and forth.

Not happy she got me to do that. I crouch down besides her and awkwardly rub her back. She leans into me hard. "Kid?"

"I'm okay. Yay detailed patent applications." A huge shudder goes through her. "Help me up. I might be able to tweak it down a little more."

Someone starts banging on the door.

Open the door. 'cause Jack wants me to for some fucking reason and I'm trying to do more stuff she wants. Toombs' is back with a dark look on his face. He sees Jack panting on the floor and grins. "You tried it out."

"Not on purpose," I growl.

He snorts. "You just don't know what you're missing. And I just remembered something," he says. Turns to Jack and does a half bow. "Darlin'. You got this lovely piece off ten years ago. But not while you were on your little walkabouts. What's up with that?"

She's still rocking back on the floor, arms around her knees. She looks up at him and there's something awful in her face. She tries to get up. Can't. I pick her up and set her down sideways on the diagnostic bed.

Toombs' pulls out a flask. It's full of whisky. "Don't make me ask again. I've got some serious drinking and jacking off to do tonight." Takes a drink that would make me stumble.

She takes a deep shuddering breath. "Okay. There's an emergency release for the collar on the controller. I triggered it. If I'd had the controller while I was in the landing bay, I would have destroyed both of them. But I didn't."

"The person wearing the collar can't use the controller."

"I found some heavy gloves in a supply locker. Created enough of a barrier so the controller didn't recognize it was me."

He starts to laugh. "Smart kid! Dahl didn't stop you?"

"He was cuffed to the table by then."

Toombs blinks at her. "That's right. You did that? Before you got the collar off?"

"Yeah."

"How did you do that?" he asks, wonderingly.

She shrugs, painfully. "He was really drunk and really mad. Made him sloppy."

"Did Big Bad teach you to fight?"

She makes a face. "He showed me a few things."

"Where's this latch?"

Jack closes her eyes. "It's at the bottom of a little hole in the top."

"Can't picture it. Lemme see."

Jack turns to me. "Can I have it?" Really don't fucking want to hand her the controller. Do. "See this little hole here? You just feed down some wire. How'dya get it off Dahlgren?"

"Stuck the controller in its docking station and logged in just like you're supposed to. Wire, huh?"

She shrugs. "Worked last time."

"Huh. Guess I should have read the manual." He pockets the controller, looks at me. "Sorry, my brother, but don't wanna risk her getting it off in the middle of the night and making another run for it." I give him a tight nod. He heads to the door. "Want me to get her hot for you before I go?"

"No," I grind out.

"Too bad." He pushes a button and walks out the med bay. I lock the door behind him and manage, barely, not to punch it.

"Sure I can't just kill him?" I growl. Make myself turn the lights down and take my contacts out.

She looks up at me as if she's a long way off. "What?"

Feel my shoulders tense. "Really wanna kill these guys. Especially him. Only reason they're breathing is that you don't want me to."

"Oh," she says, softly. "Right. I don't want more unnecessary deaths on my conscience. Thank you." She rubs her face and groans.

Was about to tell her that all those deaths were fucking necessary but that groan undoes me. Cross the room and barely manage to stop in front of her instead of inside of her. Crouch down so our faces are level. Stroke her face with the back of my hand. She leans into it hard. "You okay, kid?"

She wraps her arms and legs around me. "No. Not remotely." A full body shudder goes through her. She pulls me so tight I almost cum. "Oh, that's better."

"What?"

"Either Toombs just turned off the controller - which I doubt - or too much rock got in the way. Lost the signal, thank Persephone."

"Got stuff to talk about, but I really wanna do it first," I say, huskily.

Her voice is low. "You asking this time?"

This time. "Yeah."

She loosens her grip enough to look me in my eyes. "Yes." She kisses me hard.

We really need to talk, she thought. But it felt so good to be kissing him; so good to feel him under her hands; so good to feel his hands on her. Fuck it. She lost herself in the kiss.

His hands were under the clothes she'd layered on, stroking up her sides to her breasts. His hands closed over them, worshipfully. Her breath caught. His went ragged. He rose up from his haunches and fumbled with his jeans, shoving them partially down but not off, releasing his cock right in front of her face. She ran her fingers over it and whatever vague control he had broke. Before she knew he was moving, he'd yanked her pants off and buried himself deep within her. They both came to a shuddering release almost immediately.

They laid there panting and entangled. After a long time, Jack whispered, "your buckle's digging into me."

He groaned but managed to pull himself up and move the offending piece of metal away from her hip. "Better?"

"Yeah. Guess we both needed that."

He laughed, low. "That just took the edge off," he said. "Got a lot more of that I need."

"Me too. But we need to talk first."

He groaned again. "Do I have to get up?"

She shook her head. "No. I'll make you a deal."

"Listening."

"I see three viable options. Option One: You wait until I go down to the Underverse and find a weapon to give Aereon that will give Helios a fighting chance. I go with you willingly. As a partner. Not as chattel."

"What's chattel?"

"Slave. Concubine. Whatever the hell it is that Abu and Aereon think you want me to be."

He pulled back from her slightly and stared into her eyes. "You wanna jump down a dark pit."

She shook her head. "I'll make sure it's safe first. We need to repair more of the solar array so there's enough power for the catch field. Also I'm not done yet. Option Two: You take Aereon's offer," her voice cracked. "You take her offer and try to stop the Necromongers and I'm yours, anyway you want me. Even if it's what Abu and Aereon think you want."

"You'd still be jumping down the pit."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, Captain Sunshine, the pit's not negotiable. Unless you've got an underverse blade you haven't told me about."

He nuzzled her, under her ear. Like the first time, it sent tendrils of electricity lashing through her, making her gasp. He grinned against her face. "I'll check my arsenal. What's Option Three?"

"You leave and you leave me here to do what I've been called to do. I won't blame you and I won't willingly roll on you. I will roll on you as soon as Toombs shoots me up with his little black case, but I can probably stall that long enough you'll be lightyears away. If he even thinks to ask."

He stiffened. "That ain't on the table. You will not die in Chillingsworth's art studio. And you ain't getting away from me that easy."

Well, that's not creepy at all, she thought. "I don't like that option either. It is my Least. Favorite. Option. But those are the options." He shook his head against her. She took a deep breath, grabbed his face in her hands trying to make him look her in the eyes. After a moment, he let her. "Listen to me. I know you're thinking of killing the mercs and dragging me out of here. That. Is. Not. An. Option. If you stop me from trying to save my home, I will hate you, I will fight you, and I will make you kill me. That won't be good for either of us."

He shook his head and ground his pelvis into hers. He was mostly hard again already. He eased his way down her body, lifted off layers of clothing, and started kissing her breasts. She groaned. "Riddick -"

He raised up to meet her eyes. "Jack. Love you. Don't love any of those options. But - show me we can get down there without going splat and I'll think about Option One. Once we have the weapon, might think about Option Two."

I wasn't thinking of taking you with me to the underworld, she thought, slightly panicked. His lips and tongue were back on her breasts. One heavy hand was behind her head, doing what she couldn't stand, caressing her neck under the collar. The other was caressing the sweet spot on her back like it was a holy place. She tried to lift him up, to make him look at her again, make him give her a better answer, but he was inexorable. Pleasure at the knife edge of agony. She tried to buck him off but he had the weight of mountains. She sunk her hands in his hair and pulled hard. That earned her a groan that she felt everywhere as a dark and impossible delight.

After far too long, he yielded. Raised his head enough to meet her eyes. "Can't think straight right now. Not gonna decide right how."

She sighed a long, shuddering sigh. "Okay."

He twisted slightly and thrust into her deeply. Neither of them thought about anything for a long time.