Chapter 14
Previously…"Problem with prophecy," He murmured, his voice echoing in the acoustics of the hall as the Mark on his chest pulsed in time with his heart, light swelling out of it. "The more you try to avoid it…the more you fall right into its trap." He groaned as the Wrath began to take over, stronger than he'd ever felt, Furyan energy, the rage of a thousand generations past and the thousands to come, lost to one man, heat like a volcano in his chest, strengthening with every heartbeat, "If you hadn't slaughtered my people… If you hadn't left me for dead…I wouldn't ever have had reason come after you. But you did… and now Furya will have its vengeance."
He watched through the haze of ghostly blue, deepening cerulean to indigo, as Zhylaw's face slackened with horror, Vaako's eyes grew wide with shock and the Purifier smiled. The blue light pulsed and exploded out of his chest, the fury of the gods, the rage of his people, left forgotten on a lost and broken world. He had about five seconds to hope that he didn't make the damn ship crash before he passed out.
"Death and Life are two sides of the same coin," Shirah was wiping his brow with a damp cloth, cooling the fever that raged through him, ghostly light chasing over his skin. "There cannot be one without the other. Life without death is stale, static and meaningless; purposeless. Death without life is empty, cold and ashen, merciless."
Something soft under his head, warm, firm, he'd felt this before…River's lap cushioned his skull. "Said something like that before," He muttered. His voice sounded, and his throat felt, as if he had gravel grinding in his larynx.
"Just as Darkness parts before Light. As Life gives way to Death…Death will give way to Life." Shirah nodded as she sponged off his upper body. "A war, a balance of opposites," She explained. "The Elementals had no understanding of how correct they were."
He frowned and she continued, "Death is the enemy." She smiled, "Death is also the last healer. The Ender of suffering, the Angel of mercy when all other mercies are lost. Life is the balance to Death. Life is hope." She wiped his brow again and River's fingertips rubbed his temples easing the ache he hadn't even realized he felt, "The Necromongers…warred against life. A religion that worships Death is still a religion."
"As they embody Death, Furyans embody Life," River murmured. "But without Furyans to…counter the Necromongers there was no balance. And Death reigned unchecked."
"And that balance?" He wouldn't normally care but they seemed concerned about it so it didn't hurt to ask.
"Has Death ceased to exist?" Shirah answered his question with one of her own. "The human race still embodies both life and death. Some more so than others."
"Furyans are not immortal," His little apprentice smiled. "Merely harder to kill. The fulfillment of potential. Balance is restored and will remain, should Furya be reborn, the balance would not be undone."
"So…no more Necromongers…because of me?" He tried to touch the mark on his chest and Shirah gently batted his hand away. He guessed, from what he could understand of the conversation, that Furyans, while extraordinary, were still a natural phenomenon. Necromongers were the complete opposite, embracing death as if it were life. Going against the nature of everything they were to become that which they worshipped. Creepy psycho fucks.
"Because of what you carry," She corrected him. "You had to be willing, ready, to carry the Wrath. To embrace it. Embrace the Furyan. Without apologies."
"What's that gonna mean the rest of my life?" He wondered and River smiled at him, her face upside down was still a smile somehow.
"He is as he is," She shrugged.
"You are…unchanged, but for a minor difference," Shirah seemed unconcerned. "Or two. The future is long and your life barely begun. Only time will tell."
River smiled, "Should wake soon. To say goodbye. Death closes all: but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods." Her kiss, soft lips pressed gently to his forehead, felt like benediction.
Her voice followed him as he woke, half looking around as if he'd see her, frowning when he didn't. He looked around the hall, blinking at what he saw. Every Necromonger looked like one of those ancient mummies he'd seen on the cortex. It was the strangest thing he'd seen in his life and he'd seen a helluva lot.
There was one exception to the rule, the Purifier lay against the pillar, still alive, though from the look of the blood on his lips it wouldn't be for long. Riddick pushed himself up from his prone position and laboriously made his way over to the other Furyan. "Hey," He sat down hard (harder than he'd actually intended, more tired than he thought) on the floor so the man could look him in the eyes. "Don't know how well you can see, but it's done."
"Felt it," The blond man half smiled. "I've dreamt of it." His eyes went to Riddick's mark, showing easily through his torn and burnt shirt. "You will be the last of us."
"Maybe not," Riddick shook his head. "It's been decades upon decades since Furya was laid to waste. Zhylaw couldn't have gotten to all of us."
"He was…quite thorough, but perhaps there is hope," The other conceded. "I will hope for it, for your sake."
"Been alone all my life," Riddick shrugged tiredly.
"You need not be," His eyes were clouding, it wouldn't be long now. "Look for the light. Let the Wrath find her for you. It always knows."
He'd wondered what that glow in the back of River's eyes had meant, hadn't ever gotten the chance to ask. And it was way too late to get into specifics now. "We got any last rites I can give you?"
"A good death," The man's smile was more genuine. "And I have that. Aiding the one who avenged our destruction. I am now…where I longed to be. Home at last." He looked up at Riddick and the Wrath pulsed in his chest one last time, Riddick's echoing it, before the light faded from his eyes entirely.
The words River had spoken in his vision had been for the Purifier. A blessing, "Death closes all: but something ere the end, Some work of noble note, may yet be done, Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods."
Riddick took a deep breath and stood, turning as he sensed someone watching. The Elemental. He should have known. "If you've got something to say, then say it." He snarled, "I have something to do."
"Every Necromonger everywhere on Helion, enjoys the same state as those here," Aereon told him quietly.
He bent and picked the Purifier up, putting him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "Yeah?"
"While you were unconscious the ships being flown crashed, as did this one, albeit with slightly more grace," The Elemental's matter of fact voice informed him with all the objectivity of the wind.
"Uh huh," He began to walk towards the doors. "So the people of Helion'll be able to use the tech and the materials to rebuild. Seems fair." He stopped when he drew abreast of her and gave her a hard stare. "That price on my head had better come off. Fucking quick."
"It has already been removed," She flipped her fingers dismissively.
"Good." He looked around the hall and considered for a moment. "I'd suggest you do something about the rest of the bounties on my head, but I doubt you'd bother. Despite having solved your Necromonger problem for you."
"It was your problem as well," The Elemental retorted imperiously.
"Not really, no. Because I got an offer, that if Vaako failed to kill me, as long as I stayed away from the Lord Marshall, I wouldn't be hunted," He bared his teeth in a fierce grin. "So he would have let me be, for a good long time I bet. And gone on killing and converting his way through the 'verse. The way I figure it, you owe me."
"And what is the price for the survival of the universe?" Her voice was dry as dust.
"A ship I can use to get off world, some loot from this place, which I'll take care of myself, and you fix it so that the trumped-up charges they used to throw me into Deep Storage without a trial are dropped. Elementals being one of the 'Elder' races, they'll listen to you." He gently set the Purifier down.
"Oh? Is that all? Nothing to be done about the rest of the killing laid at your feet?"
He smirked, "Nope. I'll take that on because I did it. I killed to get free, to stay free and to protect the few I decided were worth the trouble. I'll handle the fallout from those kills on my own."
"I will…see what I can do," The Elemental nodded. That was as good as it was going to get, and he jerked his head in return.
"Might want to let folks know that once I leave this ship it's theirs," He shrugged after he moved down a lavishly decorated hall.
When he emerged from the slightly tilted Basilica he had the Purifier's body over one shoulder, along with a sizeable pillowcase full of valuables. And the sturdiest sack he could find for the keystone. No way would he leave that. A tangible piece of his people's history? He'd dump everything else before he left it on the Necro ship. As he went through the ship he picked up several dozen citizens that had yet to be converted. Trailing behind him like ducklings, bruised and battered they might be but they were alive.
He ignored the Elemental and the throng behind her except to say, "I'm going to bury him. Then I'll meet you at the Imam's house."
Digging a grave wasn't unfamiliar work though it had been a long time that he'd buried anyone whose death he regretted. When he stopped by the shelter he found it empty and guessed that someone had already informed those hiding there that the Necromongers had been defeated.
Ziza was at the door of her house, sitting on the steps when he walked up, another scavenged cloak shielding his sensitive eyes from the dusty light. "Hey kid," He greeted her. "How's your dad doing?"
"Better," She nodded. "The other lady is here, the one that floats, all in white."
"Yeah, I told her to meet me," Riddick nodded. "You eaten today?"
"We had bread this morning," She nodded back.
"Good," He followed her into the dim house and wondered if the dead guards were still in the upstairs room. Didn't seem like it, no smell of decay. Just old blood.
Things were never as simple as they should be. In the end he had to find his own ship and trust that Aereon would do as she'd agreed. He'd considered taking one of the Necro ships but he didn't want to be shot down on sight.
The airfields were pretty much destroyed but they'd missed a couple of older ships in one of the hangers. The hanger looked as if it would fall in on itself any second so he guessed nobody had bothered wasting ammunition on it. They'd figured, and rightly so, that whatever was inside was no threat to the Necromongers.
Much as he disliked flying a ship without guns he'd do it in a heartbeat if he had to. Abu was weak still, but Aereon and the rest of the clergy that survived, along with the remnants of the government were gathered at his house, working together to get Helion Prime back on its feet again. And Abu had his wife to take care of him. Bitch that she was she seemed to love him. Good riddance to them both. He'd more than paid whatever debt he might have owed.
When he took off he got to see crews of workers, men and women, erecting the beacons and rebuilding the reflectors that shared Prime's light with the rest of the Helion system. He set down on Helion Four since it was the closest, getting supplies and off planet as fast as he could. Prime had been sending out waves since they got the communications arrays restored to even rudimentary status so at least the rest of the system wasn't panicking. Much. These planets didn't take the light they were given for granted but neither did they do well in darkness.
Back in the Black he sent a wave to Simon and River letting them know he was on his way though he couldn't be sure of his arrival time. A quick wave to Serenity saying the same thing and then he waved the merc boat and got the dreadlocked pilot, "Hey. You land yet?"
"Still en route. Just comin' outta cryo," The man told him. "Jack's hydrating. Want her?"
"Yeah, put her on," He began to run calculations to figure how long it would take before he got back to the Alliance systems.
"Riddick," Jack's face filled the cortex screen. "You already off world?"
"Got a boat, it'll do until I meet up with the three of you." Riddick nodded, "Just got supplies on Helion Four. I'm a day out. Set down and sit tight. Just wave me with the ship's berth. We can divide up the cash; Guv and the pilot can take this boat and we'll take the merc ship out to the Alliance systems."
"That's gonna be a rough ride unless we go into cryo," Jack reminded him. Unnecessary but it was good she was thinking.
"Yeah, cryo'll do fine for that short of a trip," He shrugged as an alarm from her console began to buzz. "Get on the stick so you can land without becoming a smear on the pavement. I'll see you in a day. None of you show your faces. Stay on the ship until I get there."
She nodded her agreement, "Signing off."
When he arrived on Origin it didn't take long to find the merc ship. Of course he found it with the ramp wide open, the pilot with his chest half blown away and Guv on the verge of bleeding out. Jack's goddamn luck had struck again. Luckily he'd learned a thing or two from Simon and he'd picked up pressure bandages along with other medical supplies. "What the fuck happened?" He glared at the older man.
"We didn't leave the boat," Guv told him, eyes drooping. "We were venting, changing out the air, taking on water, all automated. Some merc walked up to the boat and keyed in a code, shut everything down, opened the ramp. Walked right up and took her. Shot Gibbs and cut me deep."
"You get a name?" Riddick scowled.
"Didn't give a name, wore a uniform, slick looking badge, had a tag said Johns, J," Guv told him weakly. "Never seen him before."
"Another fucking Johns," Riddick shook his head. "Jīdū zài guǎi zhàng shàng." He got Guv up and into a cryo cuff. "Gonna set you up so you can recover. Mercs always carry med supplies so they can fix themselves up while they sleep. Get an IV line in you and some plasma. Get your blood built back up."
"How're you gonna find her?" Guv was worried and rightfully so. Riddick was cursing himself; he'd known that Toombs had worked with Johns before. He'd known Billy had a brother. He'd gotten sloppy and now Jack was paying for it.
"Toombs must've waved Johns when he caught me. When Johns saw the ship he knew that things hadn't worked out in Toombs favor," Riddick rose and began to work the console, pulling up the comm logs. "I find the ship Johns is using, I find Johns." There, the last outgoing wave with Toombs ident tag next to it. Sent to Jacob H Johns. "Got it."
"Likely walkin' into a trap," Guv observed groggily.
"Wouldn't be the first time," Riddick looked at the body of the pilot. "We'll have to deal with him later. You're in no shape for digging graves. Even if there was a place to dig."
"His people believe in cremation, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Guv was almost asleep. "Shoulda stayed on Crematoria."
"Yeah, that would've been one option," At least he'd died free. He pulled the body into the ship before descending the ramp and shutting it. The wave to Johns had been tagged with a ship ident code and for an experienced pilot it wasn't difficult to find the ship. Little Johns had only left Guv alive so he could tell Riddick what had happened. The Johns boys liked guns, the bigger the better, using a knife might as well have been a shout of declaration.
Billy Johns had never lacked for arrogance and it looked like his little brother suffered from the same flaw. The ship was a tidy little skiff, big enough for a four-man crew, or three and a bounty. Merc boats were built to be fast, system jumpers but they weren't made for living on. Part of why Mercs were always in brothels and bars.
Walking up the ramp with his shivs out, he could see Jack, still in her bloody clothing, a fresh bruise blooming across her cheek and blackening her eye. She'd been shackled into a cryo chair, the cuff already around her wrist though the drugs weren't moving through the tubes yet.
The shotgun ratcheting wasn't exactly a surprise. Billy had favored a big gauge too. "Richard B Riddick," The supercilious drawl irritated just as much in the younger brother as it did in the elder. "Knew if I took your little bitch that you'd come after her. She must be quite a piece of ass for you to take her off Crematoria. Maybe you shouldn't have left her alone. She walked right into my hands."
"Jack," Riddick ignored the merc. "He hurt you any more than that bruise?" Did he force himself on you? Did you have to endure yet another unwanted man on top of you? Questions for which he needed answers and couldn't ask yet.
"Just hit me across the face," Jack's voice stayed steady. "Kicked me in the ribs. Think one might be busted."
"Won't be all I do," Johns boasted.
"Wanna make God laugh, tell him your plans," Riddick murmured.
"Let's just get you nice and settled where you'll have a good view," The merc prodded him in the back with the barrel of the shotgun. Big mistake. Now his position became unmistakable, impossible to miss, for Riddick at least.
One step forward, a quick spin, forearm catching the barrel and pushing it upwards towards the upper hull. The shot as Johns reflexively pulled the trigger hit the ceiling. A swift punch to the merc's jaw. Grasp the gun barrel and pull, drag Johns forward and sink a knife into his gut. Drag it upwards, twist and jerk the blade out again. Slit the throat for good measure and watch him gurgle and fall.
The growl and kick of the body afterwards wasn't strictly necessary, but it felt damn good. Getting the chains off Jack felt even better, "He only hit you. Nothing else?"
"No," She shook her head. "No he just hit me. I think…I think he wanted to wait until you were here." Her throat worked as she swallowed hard, "He wanted to force you to watch."
"Fucking mercs," He got the tubes out of her arm and helped her out of the chair, testing her ribs. "Don't think it's busted," He offered when he found the bone in question. "Definitely cracked though."
Practicality dictated that they find the stash of coin Johns likely had. Weapons and ammunition, and then a scrub of the cortex to erase their tracks. If the merc had reported his ambitions to the guild he hadn't done it from his ship. "We taking the boat?" Jack asked as Riddick filled a go bag with their loot.
"Not really anything we can use," He shook his head. "Leave the body here, pay on the berth for a week. Gives us a nice window."
"Gibbs didn't make it did he?" Jack took the lighter sack and slung it over her good shoulder.
"No. Guv's still alive or was when I left him." Riddick didn't see the point in sugar coating things. "Got him in recovery cryo, plasma, drugs, stuff that'll help him heal up. We'll do the same for you once we're set to leave."
"Figured on you wanting to take off right away," Jack watched as he checked the cortex for any remaining data.
"A day in cryo in recovery mode and it'll be like he spent three days in a hospital," Riddick shrugged. "It'll take some time to divide up the cash from the Crematoria boss and move the supplies I bought over to the merc ship. By the time all that's done he'll be good."
"He can't fly though," Jack was worried about the man even if she didn't want to admit it.
"Origin is pretty much a shipyard. He'll be able to get work, or buy passage with his share," Riddick shrugged. "If he wants Alliance space he can sail with us there. Since you say he can't fly, I figure on selling the ship I came on. That'll add to our stake."
"I hadn't even gotten a chance to wave your old boat yet," Jack admitted.
"Let's get back and we can start working," Riddick looked at her. "Which you can do sitting down."
"Much as you like giving orders, you sure you want to go back to being under someone else's command?" Jack smirked as he muscled the ramp down and then up again once they'd gotten to the ground.
"Yeah me and orders have never gone well together," Riddick made sure she was at his side as they walked. "But Mal's not your typical Captain."
"Orders are still orders," She pointed out.
"He tells me to do something stupidly suicidal and we'll have words, but so far he hasn't," He shrugged. "Curious to see what you make of him honestly."
"Hmm…" Jack was thinking and chewing on her lower lip again. Such a tell. He'd really have to get her to stop that.
They finally arrived at the merc boat and she was still worrying at her lip. "You're gonna draw blood if you keep on like that," He rolled his eyes.
"Just…thinking." She shrugged with her good shoulder and looked up the ramp of the ship warily. Not that he blamed her.
"Since we don't want mercs to find the boat we'll scrub the cortex and pulse beacon of the ident codes, the most we can without getting new hardware at least," Riddick promised. "Would've done it on Crematoria but we were a little pressed for time."
"Understatement," Jack smirked in amusement.
"Figure to seal up Gibbs body while the scrub works," Riddick told her as they boarded, and he shut the ramp behind them. He got her sitting in the co-pilot's chair and showed her how to run an internal search and what to key in when the data came up before he commenced to cleaning up the mess Johns had left. Jack had some experience with scrubbing a cortex but nothing like his. And technically he was still an amateur. Still she caught on pretty quick. Guv was asleep/passed out in his cryo chair but his color had gotten better so the recovery protocol was doing its job.
By the time he heard the tell-tale beep of the cortex signaling no more data found he'd gotten the mess cleaned up and the cash from Crematoria shared out three ways. "Okay. Do the same thing again, but search for log in idents," He instructed. "Delete all the logs, then the idents except for two. Do a find/replace on those and put my name on one and yours on the other. Just not our actual names." She gave him a look that said he hadn't needed to add that addendum and he grinned. Yep, Jack always had caught on fast.
He stood, shoved all of her money into one bag, Guv's into another and his own into a third just in case they got separated again, "Got a buyer for the little puddle jumper off Helion Prime." The text wave had come in via his personal datapad, one of the prime pieces of tech he'd scrounged off the Basilica. "Not a bad price…" He haggled a bit and got another couple hundred plat added before agreeing to the final sale. "Done."
Jack was still keying info into the cortex, and he came to look over her work, ignoring the way she tensed as he stood behind her and gently patted her good shoulder. "Nice work, doing the same thing with the passcodes," He complimented her and took the co-pilot's seat. "A little finessing and no merc will ever be able to find this boat again." Funny to think really; the changes would do the job but compared to some folks he'd run across this was all basic. Nothing fancy or complex. But it didn't have to be complex to work for him.
"How much more work?" She pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers and he guessed she was getting a bit of eye strain.
"Not for you, for me," He began to do the more complex version of her tasks, masking the ident of the pulse beacon (if only temporarily) and changing the ship's origin ident codes. In short, doing as much as he could to disguise the boat without dismantling the console and replacing boards. It wouldn't work forever, only a hardware change would do that. No data was ever completely scrubbed unless the cortex hard drives had been reformatted so everything he and Jack did would only serve as a mask. But they weren't staying on this boat forever and when it came time to abandon it another program would reverse all the changes so it seemed as if it had never left merc hands. The last change would be the ship's name. Dark Star seemed like a fitting alias for the boat. Jack rolled her eyes at him though.
"Seriously? Let's just scream 'big bad' at them over a loudspeaker," She snarked. "Pick something cute. Or girly. Something that mechanic who's all sunny would like."
"What like Daisy Sunshine?" Riddick wrinkled his nose, but Jack nodded.
"See? Nobody would ever think Richard B Riddick would sail a boat with that sort of name. It's puppies and kittens and flowers. Not shivs, blood and death."
"Fine," He grumbled but changed it. "Little Daisy Sunshine it is." And after that, a fast message to those addresses he'd set up on the dark net, now that he had access to the merc boat and the dark net, so Simon and River would be able to stop worrying about him soonest. They'd let the rest of the crew know when they could. He knew Mal and the man was just paranoid enough that he might not believe Riddick had actually sent the standard waves from Helion Four.
He'd set his and Jack's cryo drugs to stop a little sooner than Guv's. He figured a half day would be enough time to tell her the whole story of Abu, the Elemental, and the prophecy Aereon had given the Necromonger Zhylaw. He'd left out any mention of Shirah because there was such a thing as stretching suspension of disbelief too far. Visions of a woman he'd never met and a girl who technically wasn't an adult yet… yeah, just a little too crazy for anyone else to believe. Jack hadn't exactly been thrilled with Abu, no more than he had been but at least now she knew the whole story.
And he'd gotten to hear about Abu and Lajjun and Jack, how she'd felt more and more restricted. She'd been on her own before the Imam and Riddick had picked her up but Abu acted like she couldn't cross the street by herself. Lajjun had tried to curb her behavior, Abu had become exasperated and nobody had just listened to her. She'd put up with it for more than a year before deciding to strike out on her own and look for Riddick.
Contrary to what Riddick had told her, the Imam didn't bother to mention the speeches (badgering, guilting and harping) about what a bad influence he was and how Jack was better off without him in her life. Abu had allowed Jack to think that Riddick had dumped her the first chance he got. Doubtless in the hopes of making her see that Riddick was no good to be around and she was better off in his own safe, civilized household.
He'd been hard pressed to not turn around for Helion Prime and give Abu something to remember him by the next time the man decided that lies were the better part of valor. But they were too close to Alliance space to waste fuel going back. If Serenity ever went out that way though…all bets were off.
Guv elected to set down on Deadwood, thinking to lead a quiet life of ranching. He'd wanted Helion Prime and New Mecca until he'd heard about the Necromongers and the destruction they'd caused. The three-way split of the guard's stash would set him up nicely. He'd taken their wave address with a half-smile and said he hoped to see them again under calmer circumstances. Since they were headed into Alliance space anyway dropping him there wasn't any trouble, nor even out of their way.
On the Rim it might be, but Deadwood was definitely Alliance space, and that meant assuming a slightly more harmless looking profile. Thankfully the guns tucked away since the pulse beacon no longer read with a merc code on a scan.
The only snag he'd run into, and it was less of a snag than an irritant, the data crystal Purifier had given him didn't work with the merc boat's tech. And he doubted it would work with Serenity's. Maybe some of the things he'd scrounged from the Basilica could be modified to read it, but at the moment the information was out of reach. He didn't mind too much, it wasn't like he had the time or money to go hunting for Furya even if he had the inclination at the moment. It would just be nice to know he had the information if he ever got the option.
He'd waved Serenity once they were on the edges of Blue Sun, but the ship was either shut down or too far away for an immediate response. He and Jack set course for Highgate since it was one of the more settled rocks in the system. They both needed gear and getting cleaned up at a bathhouse wasn't a bad idea either.
By the time they got back on the boat Serenity had waved them back and said they were on their way to Ariel so Inara could renew her Companion's license. He was welcome to join them there or stop on Persephone and hang out with Book since the Shepherd had elected to visit his old stomping grounds for some quiet and meditation.
It had been Wash who'd waved them, though Mal had been hollering in the background telling him the options, accompanied by the pilot's humorous eye rolling. Riddick smiled as he shut off the screen and looked at Jack. "So? Ariel or Persephone?"
"Don't know that I want only you between me and a holy man," She admitted. "Not really interested in being preached at."
"Book ain't like that. You'll see," Riddick shrugged. "So, Ariel." He began to lay in a course. "It's in White Sun so it's Core. Real fancified as Kaylee would say."
"Sounds good," Jack shrugged. Her shoulder had pretty much healed though he'd be happier when Simon got to take a look at it.
"Probably won't really be able to wander around much, the Core is full of cameras," He cautioned.
"Feh," She blew a raspberry. "Fooling cameras isn't hard."
"Okay." He smirked, shaking his head and getting the ship warmed up. "Ariel here we come."
The fun thing about the merc boat, it seemed almost as small as one of Serenity's shuttles. It looked fancier, sleeker and the measurements were longer and wider. Similar in shape to an Arrowhead courier, just on a smaller scale since it didn't run to living quarters or much cargo space. It didn't look out of place in Ariel's port, unlike Serenity. He pointed out the Firefly to Jack as they flew over and she tilted her head, "She don't look like much."
"Oh, she'll fool ya," Riddick smiled as he quoted Kaylee and waved the boat.
Kaylee's face popped up on screen, a slight frown wrinkling her forehead, "Hey Rick. Ya'll close?"
"Just flew over you two seconds ago," He nodded. "What's wrong?"
"Simon got us a job…had it all planned out," Kaylee was working the cortex with her hands while she spoke. "But something's gone wrong and I'm trying to husk the hospital to find out what. Simon, Jayne and River are late."
"Cobb is with Simon and River," Riddick knew he was growling deep in his chest, didn't care, Jack's slightly alarmed look aside. "Think I know what went wrong."
"Hang on I'll wire you in so Wash, Mal an' Zoë can hear you," Kaylee's fingers moved faster and soon he could hear all of the crew there was available.
"Nothing from hospital security, nothing on the local pipeline, either," Kaylee shook her head. "Although I am getting some weird chatter from the official two-six-two. Sounds like..."
Jack listened closely and looked at Riddick, "Feds have got 'em."
Kaylee continued, "...They're talking about ducks."
"Code," Jack, Zoë and Riddick spoke in unison.
Mal echoed Jack's sentiments, "Feds got them. Kaylee bring up a hospital schematic on the Cortex. Find me a way into that security substation."
"Goes for us too Kaylee," Riddick added. "Mal, we've got a boat with guns, stole it from some mercs."
Mal chuckled slightly, "Wouldn't be the same mercs took you off Serenity would they?"
"Might could be," Riddick borrowed the Captain's phrasing with a half smirk as he began to set the engines for the atmosphere. "Looks like a slick little private transport. We can park her at the back of the hospital, go in and get them."
Wash was trying to inject caution into the conversation, "Wait a minute, you don't even know for sure if they're in there."
"Gonna find out," The Captain didn't seem too concerned about getting pinched himself. "Rick? How quick can you get to St. Lucy's?"
"Take five minutes, if that," Riddick was already plugging the numbers into the cortex.
"So, you're just going to walk in through the front door?" Wash's voice took incredulity to a whole other level.
"No," Mal chuckled. "You're gonna find me and Rick a way around back."
They were landing at the hospital when Mal's voice sounded through the comms, "Uh, Wash, we need a little direction here."
"Working on it," Wash relayed, and Jack leaned over the console.
"Kaylee, this is Jack, you hear me okay?"
"Loud and clear Jack," Kaylee was half smiling he could hear it in her voice. "Whatcha got?"
"Got the schematic pulled up, looks like there's a cryo department…and a passage next to it?" Jack was following it with her finger. "You seein' that?"
"Yeah, I got it," The mechanic nodded on screen and hit her comms, "Wash, tell them to hang a left when they reach cryo. They'll see a door."
Riddick landed in the hospitals back lot, "Okay Jack, you hang here, I got a comm in. You guide me to either Mal or Simon and River. Got it?"
"You got it," Jack's voice was quiet in his ear. He could hear Kaylee talking to Wash so the lines of communication didn't get confused. Jack would take care of him and coordinate with Kaylee while Wash guided Mal and Zoë.
"Get through that back door, and go up the stairs to the green level," Jack told him. "Should be the second one."
"Got it," Riddick took the steps two at a time and nearly crashed into Mal and Zoë.
As usual Mal was complaining, "This is exactly what I didn't want. I wanted simple. I wanted in-and-out. I wanted easy money." Riddick might have grinned over the familiarity were it not for the situation that called for the aforementioned complaining.
"Things always get a little more complicated, don't they, sir?" Zoë nodded as if seeing an absentee gunhand/co-pilot in a Core hospital was an everyday thing. "Rick. Fancy meeting you here."
Mal gave him a nod, a half-smile of welcome, and continued his rant, "Just once I'd like things to go according to the gorram plan."
Jack's voice came through in his ear just as he heard Wash in Mal's, "Rick, whatever you're doing, you wanna hurry it up? I've got a new ship comin' in, slicker'n this one and it practically screams mercs."
"Son-of-a—" He forced himself to remember the Chinese. "Jiào nǐ shēng háizi méi pìgu yǎn," Riddick scowled.
"Gonna translate that one for me?" Jack was grinning in his ear.
"Not at the moment," Riddick shook his head. "Where to from here?"
The problem with having Furyan hearing was that you could hear screaming from farther away than anyone else. You could also hear what it was causing the screaming. Something high pitched, on a frequency that would shatter eardrums if they got close, cause brain bleeds… and basically liquify your insides. In minutes if you were a baseline human. Something his two companions definitely were.
"Stop," He grabbed Mal and Zoë. "There's something ahead of us that the two of you won't survive. The mercs who came for River, they've got some sort of sonic weapon. Don't know how close you have to get for it to work on you."
"How far can you keep going?" Mal got right to the point.
"I can get right up on the thing if I have to. It would take me a day before I can hear again but that's nothing," He pointed in the direction they'd come, "Go back to where we met. Down one floor, out the corridor to the back. Get Wash to guide you if the earwig still works. Jack's in a ship on the tarmac. It's got Miss Daisy Sunshine on the side. Get on our boat and tell Wash to high tail it."
"Miss Daisy…" Mal had clearly gotten stuck on an unimportant detail.
"Don't sound like Riddick does it?" He tilted his head at the man. "Now go. Before we all get fuckin' pinched."
He kept moving forward, razor sharp sound in his ears and didn't wait to see if they'd obey. Blood was a slow drip from his nose and ears, down his neck as he kicked open a door being pounded on from the other side. Cobb stood there, Simon and River (River, like Riddick, with a little nosebleed, think about that later) behind him. Simon, sensibly, was watching the door at the top of the stairs warily. River, muttering to herself, her scent blazing with terror, "Two by two, hands of blue."
"C'mon," Riddick's voice jerked the doctor's head around and he smiled in relief. "Or do you wanna hang around and see how much more my ears can bleed?"
"Lóng Wáng has come," River rushed forward and hugged him. She was just a bit taller than she had been, and the shapeless hospital gown hid the curves he could feel pressed against him. "Knew he would."
Riddick nodded and picked her up, turning to cradle her against his chest, his back between her and any bullet. "Yeah, let's go."
"Rick, your ears, nose… the blood," Simon was immediately going into doctor mode even as they moved.
"Yeah, don't worry about it now Doc," Riddick called over his shoulder. "Once we get away from the sonic weapon they're using I'll be fine."
The further away he got from the sonic transmitter the better he felt. Simon kept up with his steady run fairly easily, he'd obviously been practicing. Cobb was guarding the rear and Riddick had the urge to turn and shoot the idiot merc. It was pretty damn obvious (at least to him) what had happened.
They got to Serenity just before Inara, parking the merc boat behind it and hurriedly unloading their gear with the crew's help. Mal was trying to pick up the pack with the keystone and damn near gave himself a hernia before Riddick grabbed it and pulled it and Mal away from the airlock. Five minutes to set the final protocol and grab the remote before he ran up Serenity's ramp.
An hour after they left the docks the merc boat would catch fire. Any data not erased in the final protocol would be obliterated as the fuel tanks ignited. And if by some slender chance the Feds could identify the tag on the ship, it would only lead back to Toombs and his mercs. Mercs no one but he and the residents of Crematoria knew were dead. And he doubted the residents of Crematoria would be interested in cooperating with the authorities. Well, until the authorities managed to find the right level of bribe anyway. Long, long after he and Serenity were on their way.
Kaylee descended the stairs to greet Inara as they all ran in, the bay doors closing behind them. "Oh, hey, there, Inara. How was your check-up?"
Inara smiled at her friend, a bit distracted by the ambulance in the cargo bay, "Same as last year... What's going on here?"
Kaylee did have a knack for summing things up, "Oh, let's see… We killed Simon and River...Stole a bunch of medicine. Rick met up with 'em at the hospital. Him an' Mal an' Zoë had to rescue Jayne 'n' Simon an' River since they got pinched. An' we just got done loadin' on their gear.
Mal looked over at Wash as the pilot finished securing the ambulance. "Tell me we weren't followed." He looked at Riddick for confirmation.
Wash shook his head, "Nothing in my rearview the whole way back."
Riddick looked at Jack, "Didn't see anything. You?"
She shook her head, echoing Wash, "Nothing tailing us. Not unless they're invisible."
"All right. Take us out of the world, as quick as you can."
"We'll be out of atmo in five minutes," Wash hurried up the stairs. This being a Core world, quick as you can and five minutes…very likely an overly optimistic estimate.
"Hey. How was your thing?" Mal nodded to Inara with a smile.
Inara shrugged elegantly, Riddick tapped Jack on the shoulder, so she'd stop gaping and his little sister closed her mouth as Inara replied. "As advertised: lots of needles and cold exam tables." She smiled slightly, "I heard you had some excitement."
Mal shrugged back, "Oh, nothing much. Lots of running around. A little gunplay. A couple of needles." He gestured towards Riddick and Jack, "And we found our lost lambs."
He walked towards Jayne and Kaylee as Riddick grumbled about being called a lamb while Jack concealed her smile. Kaylee wrapped her arms around him in a hug with a happy smile to welcome him back before she continued towards the Captain.
Cobb shook his head, "Next time we come to the Core, I'm staying with the Preacher."
Mal had clapped Cobb on the shoulder and Riddick took a seat on a crate, absently using his shirt to wipe the blood off his face and neck. His ears popped and sound became more clear. The Captain's voice held an edge Riddick had rarely heard, "Oh, you hadn't come you wouldn't be getting your big payday." No one else seemed to notice though.
Cobb's face was a picture of befuddlement as Simon walked up with Jack and River. Mal nodded at them, "So..." He pulled Kaylee into a back to front hug, kissing her head. "Did you get what you needed?"
Riddick looked at him as Simon nodded, "I think I did. I have the information I downloaded off the imager, I just have to go over it and then... Ah, I'm hopeful. Certainly we've verified there aren't any other implants I might have missed." He looked at his sister who smiled up at him. "I'll know for certain what they've done to her brain. And with Rick here, resuming more of her training, I think things will settle some."
Kaylee was studying Cobb, "What happened to your face?"
Cobb looked even more confused and Kaylee made an 'ow' face and Jayne's hand moved up to the cut on his face. An unconvincing shrug, "Oh, uh, nothing."
Simon apparently had no idea that Cobb had sold them out, "He was amazing. I can't even begin to tell you." He patted Jayne's shoulder and the merc actually looked a little sick. "We wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for him." He smiled at Cobb, "Thank you."
Riddick had never seen Cobb look that awkward before and his clumsy, "Well, hey, you're part of my crew," had to be the weakest response in the world.
Mal rolled his eyes, jaw tightening slightly, "I think I might cry." Simon chuckled and Kaylee giggled shaking her head.
Riddick watched the Captain but took his eyes off the man for a moment and nodded at Simon, "Simon, this is my little sister Jack. She took a bullet to the shoulder not long ago. You mind taking a look?"
"Of course," Simon smiled warmly at Jack. "Rick's told me a lot about you. Did you really stow away on a ship when you were eleven?" His tone changed slightly, that of a doctor dealing with a difficult patient, "Rick are you sure you don't need medical treatment?"
"Yeah Simon, I'll be fine. Just give me a few minutes is all. Anything feels wrong I know who to go to," Riddick rolled his eyes.
"If you're absolutely certain," Simon agreed reluctantly. The expression on Riddick's face was enough to warn the younger man to drop the subject and he turned towards the infirmary. He kept an arm around his sister (who had surreptitiously wiped away her own nosebleed while her brother wasn't looking, smart girl) while offering Jack his other arm as politely as if she wore a silk gown. As they passed Cobb the Doc patted the merc's shoulder again in thanks.
Mal looked at his gunhand, "All right, Jayne, help me with the cargo. Everyone make yourselves useful, you've all got jobs to do, go on an' do 'em. Rick, I'd appreciate it if you'd stay where you are until the blood stops leakin' from your ears. I'm findin' it a mite unsettlin'."
"You say so Mal," Riddick nodded as everyone else headed off. Sitting down for a minute or two wasn't exactly a hardship.
Cobb opened a casket and Riddick got a good look at a crap load of drugs inside. "This's gotta be our best take ever."
Mal's eyes darkened dangerously, Riddick hadn't ever seen him quite like that, though the Captain's voice came out amiable as ever, "Well, Doc had a good notion. The boy's got a decent criminal mind."
Cobb grunted his agreement as he muscled some of the cargo crates out of the way to make room before walking towards Mal, "So, what're you buying with your cut?"
Cobb didn't see the very large wrench Mal was holding, but he sure as hell felt it when Mal swung and connected with the merc's face. Jayne crumpled to the floor and the Captain looked down at his merc. The wrench dropped to the floor and Mal's expression finally revealed what Riddick had seen all along. Serenity's Captain was beyond pissed.
"Need a hand getting him to the airlock?" Riddick stood.
"How'd you know I was planning to put him in the airlock?" He really had been away too long if Mal was asking dumbass questions like that.
"You'd've shot him if you wanted him dead," He shrugged as he took Cobb's feet. "Airlock's the best place for him if he don't say what you wanna hear when he wakes up."
"You think I'm an idiot for even wantin' to hear it," Mal grabbed the merc's arms under the shoulder.
Riddick didn't answer until they'd gotten Cobb into the airlock, a hand comm on the deck next to him. Mal shut the door and looked at him curiously. Riddick rubbed his chin. "Part of why I came back, brought Jack here, why I even wanted to come back… You're loyal to your crew Mal. If I hadn't told Zoë that you shouldn't try to follow the mercs, I know you'd have come after me." He shrugged, "So the reasons I came back are the same as you giving Cobb a chance to explain himself."
"But you'd just kill him," Mal wasn't an idiot.
"Well yeah," Riddick nodded. "He's a merc. His creed is greed. For me, one betrayal is enough. I don't give people second chances to put a knife in my back." He looked around the bay, "But I don't have a crew that would lay down their life for me. You do."
"That include you?" The Captain had an odd look on his face.
He considered a moment and added, "After the Wailing Wars, never did find anything I thought worth risking my life for, not even Jack really. Not until you let me come aboard your boat and gave me a chance. This is the first place I've felt at home in a long time. What you got here…I wasn't going to let a bunch of mercs blow it up."
"Why do you think I hid River and gave myself up to Toombs and his crew when we ran out of gas," He shrugged. "If I hadn't, they'd have torn through the ship, killed all of you, maybe taken the women if they lived, slaved 'em out. They'd've sold River back to that Academy, likely killed Simon. Knew if they had a big fat payday right in front of 'em they wouldn't look any further. You and the crew and River'd be safe. And it wasn't as if I couldn't handle mercs. Or escape from a slam. I knew you'd let me come back afterwards once I got away."
Mal nodded, "No one ever explained that to me completely. But you're right. You ever gotta leave again, by choice or elsewise, you'll always be welcome back." He began to move the crates so they could unload and categorize the medicine. "I'll give you this. If Jayne makes a move in this direction again, assuming he lives through the next…oh half hour. You don't need my permission. Execute the gǒu niáng yǎng de where he stands."
Riddick nodded, "That I can live with." He could but he wasn't sure Mal could. If Cobb did make a move in that direction Riddick would make damn sure that there was proof of it. He could give Mal that much since Mal was trusting his judgement. He inclined his head towards the airlock, "He's waking up. Guess his skull really is thicker'n most."
"Hang about a while, like you to hear this, get your take on it," Mal half commanded/half suggested. "Then we can go up, have a meal, I can officially meet your little sister."
Riddick nodded and leaned against the bay doors while Mal stood watching Cobb through the diamond shaped window. Cobb's voice came through to him though he doubted Mal could hear it, "Hey! What the hell're you doing?"
Mal tapped the window and pointed down at the hand comm before speaking into his, "The job's done. Figured it was time for a little chat."
Author's Note: So…wow…feels like we covered a lot of ground here. And with Riddick bringing Jack back at the end of 'Ariel' he's seen the beginning of Mal's reaction to Jayne. I think Mal knowing immediately, the same way Riddick did, that Jayne had sold out River and Simon, reinforces to Riddick that he made the right decision to come back to Serenity. That Mal has told Riddick that he trusts Riddick's judgement concerning Jayne and actually gave him permission to kill the merc just on Riddick's judgement in the future…I think that's huge to Riddick.
Chinese Translations:
Jīdū zài guǎi zhàng shàng (Christ on a crutch)
Jiào nǐ shēng háizi méi pìgu yǎn (May your child be born with an imperforate anus)
Lóng Wáng (Dragon King (mythology))
gǒu niáng yǎng de (son of a bitch)