Disclaimer: There's a poem by William Blake called The Tiger that I quote bits of.

I'm replacing Vacca with Vaako, as I've been informed of the correct spelling. TY!

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More Myth

Damn.

Guards for the other four captains; well that told her something, anyway. It told her she had four more allies. If she could get them out. If she could get them to Riddick, or get him out. Then what?

Get to them first, that's the now.

Air vents it is, then. Good thing she wasn't claustrophobic.

Ha ha.

The ship's rooms were all double hulled, meant to hold pressure in case of a main hull breach. Not that it was likely. Meanwhile all the air, water and cable connections had their own locks that had to be accessible to technicians. They would automatically close in an emergency. But were wide open to her until then.

Sneaking back into a captain's room, that wasn't much fun last time.

Can't get worse.

The vents weren't at a convenient angle, and slick inside, meant to prevent dust from sticking. Zemma had to work along very slowly not to make a huge racket or just fall down the hole.

Can't get worse.

Guards could be there for a different reason than you think.

Still have the Lady's ring.

Zemma's eye was feeling like it wanted to swell shut. Dame Vaako had hit her in just the right spot; years of practice, she guessed. Riddick was sure to make a smart-ass comment.

You're not there yet. Stick with the now.

The now was dealing with the filter. She had to drag it all the way back to the top with her. It was supposed to be serviced from room side. She made a lot more noise than she wanted to but hoped it wouldn't matter. She made her way back and hoped that this time…

Blue glittering eyes were staring up at her from missing vent cover, beyond that was darkness.

"Child, what are you doing?" He was speaking in Furian!

"I need to talk to you."

"The door would seem…"

"You've got guards."

The indistinct face disappeared and returned a moment later. "I suppose you know why?"

"One of you five has aligned himself against the new Lord Marshall."

Zemma counted while he digested that. Being nearly upside down was making her face throb. And since the adrenaline wore off she was feeling rather sick again.

"I am not sure any of this is my concern."

Can't get worse?

Zemma changed tactics. "Who was my father's contact?"

"What does that…?" He trailed off. "I see. You're here because you think your father might have given the order and our missing colleague may have failed to relay it?" He seemed to be both full of doubt and simultaneously considering the idea.

"I am here because right now Lord Marshall Riddick has power enough to change the course of this armada, but if…" Zemma had to pause. The pain in her eye and the state of her stomach was too much for a conversation like this. If he wanted to he would follow. Too much talk in an un-swept room anyway, even if it was all in Furian. She turned herself around and headed back.

In the dark bowels of the ship she considered her own options. She could have this conversation again three more times; or just head back to her rooms, feed Nor and message Riddick. If they wanted to use her to get to him then she would just have to stay out of their hands. They didn't realize he wasn't the save the maiden type, anyway.

Zemma heard noise coming from the vent behind her.

"His name is J'Pheth. I am R'Ghnell. And, yes, he was your father's contact."

"How do you know who is missing?"

The captain climbed from the vent access. "He was adamant after our meeting that your Riddick was going to be the death of us all." He gazed around the darkness. "How much access do we have from here?"

"We can go almost anyplace. So far they haven't figured out I'm in here."

"That won't last. J'Pheth isn't a stupid man."

"He's a true believer." In Zemma's mind that was stupid enough.

"That just makes him pitiable."

Captain R'Ghnell had a better plan for liberating the others. At each of the vent locks he tapped rapidly in code. Within minutes the other captains joined the pair. Zemma waved off re-introductions in haste. She explained the problem and a possible solution. If they could take just one room, Zemma could hold it herself, and they would be free to break into the Lord Marshall's suite.

They needed security control.

Zemma had spent years hacking around security, they never changed anything, never expected anyone was trying to break into their system. Static personalities, static thinking. But she only had one computer in her suite; she needed more than that to follow the members of the coup, drop security where needed and even the playing field, by turning out the lights.

And maybe the air?

Maybe.

Worked more or less like a charm. Dame Vaako's influence didn't extend this far. Zemma didn't know exactly how many men the Lady thought she had but now it wouldn't matter. The entire flagship was a weapon against them. Except Zemma couldn't stay to monitor the cameras, and turn off the sensors around the Marshall's suite, and lead them there too. So back she went, leaving one of the captains to hold the room. She had to hurry back before shift change or they would have to do it all over again without the advantage of surprise.

She made it. Just. The captain, W'Rdah, stayed with her, which she thought quite considerate, but she was able to lock the arriving crew in the hallway, and evacuated the air.

"Are you going to kill them?" He asked.

"Do you care?"

"No."

"Yes." It was the simplest solution and meant they would have no other visitors from that direction; she left the hallway in vacuum.

Do you care?

No. It's survival. It's now.

After that she had to figure out a way to warn Riddick he had friendly company coming or he might kill them. The air vents were not a quiet means of egress. She had decided the surest way was to radically change the pressure in the room. It would feel like he was inside a giant drum. She 'banged' a few times then sent a voice call. It worked but he sounded pretty pissed. The other three captains waited until the red sensor lights went off, then entered the suite through the vents. She couldn't follow that conversation since Riddick had slammed off the com following her warning.

It was nearly ship's morning. She didn't know what she expected Riddick to do but what he did surprised her anyway. He and the other captains went straight out the front door of the suite and simply made a huge mess of everyone they found. Zemma was able to follow most of it on cameras. She couldn't do anything to help but keep the lights out. The hallways around the Lord's suites were all too large and decretive to be air locked. So she locked all the Lord's doors instead. Anyone not in their suite had a problem. Everyone else had to just wonder, since she locked out their coms and computers too.

More myth?

Can't hurt.