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

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Nature of the Beast

The cat and mouse game seemed to take longer than it probably did. Zemma found herself counting heartbeats but after each brief flash of rifle fire she would find herself holding her breath and forgetting her place.

You really are too much.

I'm just tired. How many days have we been dodging assassination attempts?

Not that many.

I'm just tired.

I wonder how tired Nor is?

Nor!

Zemma was trying to watch all the screens at once, including those cycling through the ship's other's cameras. The little city she'd lived in for twenty years seemed to be running along smoothly, oblivious to the conflict that had so much of her attention.

But she couldn't look into her own rooms; she couldn't check on Nor. And she couldn't help Riddick.

I can't leave yet. Fuck!

Another flash of fire brought her attention back to the screen dedicated to the 'port. After another few tense moments Zemma saw Riddick dragging a body and carrying the rifle. He stood before the shuttle and aimed at its front screen. The shuttle had no weapons; it was merely for transport between ships of the armada.

Zemma could see the crew considering their options. They weren't part of J'Pheth's faithful, but neither had they jumped to their Marshal's defense. Still, they opened the door and knelt before their supreme commander.

Zemma began dialing up the lights a little and unlocking doors and 'port systems. The bay crews joined the shuttle crew on the deck, kneeling and looking frankly terrified. The old Marshal probably would have killed them all but Riddick simply threw the gun down at Vaako's feet and walked toward the nearest exit. His part was done. He left execution, or not, to his First Commander.

Zemma finished undoing her handiwork as quickly as possible and fled back through the hallways to her suite. The clean up crew was still there but not inside. They were standing in a tight group looking nervous just outside her open door. Zemma ran past feeling dread.

The room was far from clean, but the bodies had been removed. Zemma slid to a stop at the partially opened door of the bath.

"Nor?"

There was new blood on the floor. The vet was lying face down but it wasn't immediately clear if he was dead. Nor was lying on her side nearby panting, her wounds from earlier still seeping red. Zemma dropped to her knees and stroked the bloody fur at Nor's mouth. Nor made little rumbling noises in greeting but didn't raise her head. Frothy red bubbles trickled from her nose.

Stupid to leave her alone! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it all to hell!

"Oh, Little Queen, I am so sorry I left you," Zemma spoke softly in Furian. She didn't know how long she sat there talking quietly and trying not to cry before she heard footsteps behind her. Probably Riddick, the crew was unlikely to intrude so closely. She ignored him. The time she spent paying attention to him may have cost her friend her life. She couldn't bear the idea, and went on talking instead of thinking.

"Is he alive?" A different voice than she expected, R'Ghnell.

Riddick, "Yes."

"I'll call for a stretcher."

Zemma only continued to talk and stroke Nor's soft belly.

"What's she saying?" Riddick asked quietly. Zemma tried not to hear him.

"She's just…comforting the cat," R'Ghnell's hesitation must have signaled deception to Riddick as clearly as it would have to Zemma. He snorted.

From further behind she heard another voice, W'Rdah:

"'My friend, my only friend, I am sorry I abandon you when you needed me most. I put you in this danger and let my fascination for one who does not need me hurt you. Please forgive me. Please don't die…'"

Zemma snapped her mouth shut and struggled not to cry. No, she had not made any friends, with that man. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Child," R'Ghnell knelt beside her. "The vet's bag has what looks like nano-juice in it. Let's try to give it to her." Zemma nodded feeling numb and sluggish.

I'm just so tired.

She could only watch and hope. R'Ghnell seemed to know as much as Riddick did about the mechanics of the injection but Zemma didn't know if it was too late or not. Her beloved cat seemed to be in shock. Did the vet hurt her more when she attacked him? Or had the adrenaline draining out of her system simply left Nor unable to cope further with her wounds?

It's my fault.

It's the nature of the beast.

I let this happen.

You only gave Kyra the knife. You didn't force her actions.

Zemma clutched at Nor's fur for a moment and tried to ignore the sounds of the men moving the wounded vet behind her.

You can't change the nature of the beast.

"Zemma," Riddick hunkered down in front of her. "We can put her in cryo. It'll give the juice a chance to work."

Zemma looked into Riddick's blue tinted eyes.

You have to accept the beast for what he is.

She nodded.