Chapter Nineteen

Kyra stood in the control room, watching the Purgatory glide onto the landing pad in the large shuttle bay. The magnetic docking clamps locked it in place and then the exterior bay doors slid closed. The artificial gravity engaged causing the shuttle to settle a bit and there was a faint hissing noise as air was pumped into the large cavern.

Kyra was impatient for the pressurization to complete so that she could approach the shuttle. She had been away from the ship, apprehending a bounty on Phaeton one of the moons orbiting the Helion system's only gas gian, Helion Two. It was the sort routine mission on which Toombs had deployed numerous teams while they waited in orbit around Helion Five for word from their employers about Riddick's location.

The pursuit had gone well and she had only been gone a couple of weeks, but she had missed Toombs more than she had expected. She was eagerly anticipating their reunion when she returned to find that Toombs was not on the ship. He had received a message from their employers and gone down to the surface of H-5. To her great frustration, he had left word that all returning crewmembers, including her, were to remain on the Undertaker until further notice.

After a moment, the light above the door to the shuttle bay flashed from red to green, indicating full atmospheric pressure. She pressed her hand to the lock on the door and it slid open soundlessly. She then strode across the bay and paused outside the hatch to the Purgatory with her hands behind her in the classic military 'at ease' posture. After a moment, the door yawned open to reveal Toombs, arms crossed leaning against the frame of the portal.

Kyra suppressed a grin and then snapped a smart salute. "Welcome back, Captain Toombs," she said formally. "Chief of Security Kyra hereby surrenders authority for the ship, sir."

"Damned impertinent women," Toombs grumbled and rolled his eyes.

"Impertinent?" she responded innocently. "Why, Toombs, there wasn't the least bit of impertinence in my greeting. It was all very formal and military-like."

She struggled to keep the innocent expression on her face as he stalked toward her. It was a game they played any time she had to surrender command to him. Normally, they would engage in a staring contest until one of them finally grinned and pulled the other into a kiss. At times, they had stood for several minutes in the battle of wills with each ultimately achieving an almost equal number of "victories" in the game.

Today, however, Toombs didn't stop for the customary stare down, but simply pulled her immediately into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. "Missed ya, baby," he rumbled as he held her against him.

She returned his embrace enthusiastically. Her senses were flooded with his nearness: his unique spicy scent that was better than any cologne, the rasp of his canvas flight jacket against her cheek, the feel of the taut muscles in his back beneath her hands.

Reluctantly, Kyra leaned back and surveyed his appearance. Behind his habitual mask of arrogant amusement, she noted signs of stress and annoyance that she had originally missed in her eagerness to see him. "Toombs… Gabriel, what's wrong?" she asked quietly as she searched his face for additional clues to his behavior.

"Those damned bastards," he growled and she felt his hands fist against her back.

She didn't need to ask which 'bastards' he meant. Only their unwelcome, robed employers had caused him this much irritation in recent memory. Instead, she ran her fingers along one sideburn and cupped his jaw with her hand: "Wanna talk about it?"

Toombs gave a noncommittal grunt and turned back toward the shuttle. Keeping one arm slung around her shoulders, he guided her into the Purgatory and gestured to an open cryotube with a flourish. Kyra immediately recognized the girl curled there and she looked up at Toombs in confusion for a moment.

"We got ourselves a wanted murderess here. Get to claim her bounty at Ursa Luna," he explained, with an expression of wry disgust, in answer to her unspoken question.

"Murderess…?" Kyra mumbled as she looked back to the girl with her brows furrowed. Then the significance of his words hit her: The boy, the gun… She scowled darkly as she turned away. "Fuck!"

Anger constricted her throat, and she clenched her teeth as unbridled guilt swelled inside her. Kyra stood fuming for a moment before she found her voice. "They threatened the ship again, didn't they?" she asked without turning around. She could hear the bitterness in her own voice.

"Right on the money."

"Goddamnit! Why can't they just give us the info on Riddick and then leave us alone? Why the hell do they keep picking us to take care of their dirty laundry? Do they think we'll just roll over and do their bidding like some sort of trained animals? I'm sick of kowtowing to those people! I didn't get into this fucking business to ruin the lives of innocent teenagers!" Kyra paced as she ranted. She wanted to hit something—preferably one of those robed bastards who had put them in this position. No, better yet, she wanted to shoot someone. She felt a snarl twist her lips as she imagined the feel of pulling the trigger and then watching as the deep red of blood stained their dark robes.

Eventually, Kyra regained control of her emotions and her pacing slowed and then stopped. She turned back to Toombs who had been silently leaning against the shuttle doorframe during her diatribe. The big man's expression was grim and she knew that hers must match his. She took a deep breath and swallowed past the knot in her throat: "What are we gonna do?"

Toombs glanced over his shoulder at Jack's slumbering form and then turned back, meeting her gaze. She saw his jaw muscles twitch as he ground his teeth together. His entire stance proclaimed extreme frustration. Without him speaking, she knew his answer: they would take Jack to Ursa Luna Prison. She crossed back to where he stood and lightly placed her hands on his crossed arms. "We're responsible, Toombs. If it weren't for us, she wouldn't be in this position," she said with firm conviction. "You know what things are like in that slam. We can't just toss that poor kid to the wolves. We gotta do something ."

Remembering his response when she had questioned taking the job, Kyra tensed expecting him to reprimand her. She felt a calm center of resolve settle within her: Doesn't matter what he says. I'm gonna help that kid somehow. I gotta do something or I won't be able to live with myself. Even if it means losing my job here on the ship. Even if it means losing you, Toombs. The final thought made her gut clench painfully, but she knew that it was a price she was prepared to pay no matter what pain it might cause her.

"You're right," he said so softly that she almost thought she had imagined it. He unfolded his arms and slid his hands up to her shoulders resting them there. Kyra placed her palms against his chest and looked at him searchingly. "You're one hundred percent right. And I think I have a plan. I just hope that it's enough."

"Plan, huh? Care to share?"

"You bet your ass. Go round up Mare, Twitch and Jericho. Meet me in my office in 20 minutes and I'll give you the breakdown."

Kyra smiled at him. "And what are you gonna be doing?"

"Gotta stow the kid somewhere until we hammer out what to do with her," he said as he crossed to the cryotube where Jack was still asleep. He picked her up and then walked back to Kyra. "Any suggestions?"

As she studied the girl, Kyra recalled the sincere empathy she had felt for Jack before they delivered her. She gently brushed a few strands of hair away from Jack's face and then raised her eyes to look at Toombs. She grinned at him with wry humor. "Well, I always did want a kid sister. Why don't you put her in my cabin?"

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"Fuck, Toombs, I spend half of my nights with you anyway. It ain't like she's gonna cramp my privacy."

Toombs chuckled. "I was actually wondering about any weapons you might have lying around. I may wanna help the kid, but I don't really plan to arm her with an automatic rifle."

Kyra felt her face color a bit at her oversight. She did a mental inventory of all the weapons she had stashed in her suite and then silently shook her head. Okay, dumb idea. What is it about this kid that totally makes me forget every bit of my security training?

"Cabin next to yours is still empty, right?" Toombs asked with a raffish grin.

"Yeah. Put her there. I don't know what I was thinking before," she said as they began walking toward the exit. "Real fucking professional, huh? Maybe you should consider another head of security." Toombs stepped sideways and brushed against her with his body. As she turned to look at him, he bent and pressed a quick kiss to her lips.

"Don't sweat it, baby. I know you meant well. This shit's gettin' to all of us," he said with a wink. "Now move your ass and get the rest of the team to my office. I wanna get this settled so we can break orbit and put as much space between us and this fucking system as possible. Helion has been a hell of a lot more trouble than it's worth."

He turned away from her at that point and proceeded down the corridor, which led to the crew quarters. As she watched him walk, she felt a surge of emotion for the big man. For a moment, she was almost overwhelmed with the urge to follow him and drag him into her cabin after he deposited Jack. She shook off the impulse and forced herself to take a second passageway to find the rest of the Undertaker's command team. But just you wait till tonight, Gabriel Toombs. Once I get you alone, I'm gonna rock your world.


Jack's head moved rhythmically against someone's shoulder. Strong arms supported her around her back and under her legs. Memories of Riddick comforting her after she killed Chillingsworth flooded her mind. Without opening her eyes, she rested her palm against the man's well-muscled chest. She could feel the strong, regular beat of the heart within. Still half asleep, she instinctively snuggled her cheek against him and murmured, "Riddick…"

"Not exactly," The snarky tone of the reply startled Jack fully awake.

What the hell? she thought as she opened her eyes and looked up into the face of that merc, Toombs. She felt heat flood her cheeks and she pulled back from him. "Oh, it's you."

He smirked at her. "Actually, when you think about it, I guess I'm kinda the opposite of Riddick. Since he's an escaped mass murderer with a price on his head and I'm a nice, law-abiding bounty hunter."

"Well, you're definitely right about the opposites part," she said flatly as she pushed away from him.

Obviously amused by her response, he grinned down at her and winked.

"Put me down," she demanded. "I can walk just fine on my own."

"Sure, ya can," Toombs agreed congenially, but he made no move to release her.

"I don't need your help," she snipped, although she wasn't completely sure it was true. Her entire body felt leaden and sore. How could I feel this bad just from walking to the car? Damn you, Aereon! she thought.

Jack suddenly realized that she couldn't remember anything after collapsing into the rear seat of the hover-car. She didn't even remember dreaming, which was odd because her sleep had been plagued by nightmares since Aereon had started dredging her mind.

"Where are we?" she queried Toombs, who still had not put her down.

"My ship," he replied with a genuine grin.

She heard a note of deep pride in his voice. Jack looked at her surroundings as his words registered. This wasn't some little shuttle or even a mid-sized freighter. This was a truly large vessel. Her estimation of Toombs went up a few notches as she realized that he wasn't the two-bit make-work mercenary that she'd thought him to be. The size and condition of this ship indicated a much larger organization.

He must have read her expression because he chuckled quietly and asked, "Impressed?"

"Well, it's bigger than I expected," she admitted. Toombs barked a laugh and she realized exactly what she had said. Jack felt her face grow hot.

"I get that a lot," he told her with a wicked grin that made her blush even more furiously.

"Yeah, you wish," Jack snapped, falling back on sarcasm to disguise her discomfort. Then, hoping to distract him before he could score any additional points in their verbal sparring match, she repeated her demand, "I said, put me down."

"You got it, kid," he said and then set her lightly on her feet. He steadied her briefly when her legs wobbled and then reached out and hit a keypad beside the door. "Besides, we're here."

The door opened to reveal a small but well-appointed cabin. It had a comfortable looking bunk, a desk with a computer terminal and a small food prep area. At the back of the cabin was a narrow door, which Jack presumed led to a bathroom of some sort. Toombs ushered her in and the door slid closed behind them.

Jack looked around the room in amazement and then confusion as he ran down the list of amenities. His attitude was brusque but pleasant as he pointed out that the computer system would give her access to the ship's library of books and vids. It was almost like he was giving instructions to a new crew member rather than to a prisoner. Jack furrowed her brow and forced her mind back to what he was saying.

"…you just need to pop the food packs in the unit here and push this button. It'll take care of the rest of the prep. I'll have someone take you to the mess hall later, but right now I've got a meeting to get to."

Toombs finished and then stood regarding her, obviously waiting for some sort of response. Jack frowned at him. "Why are you doing this?"

"What?"

"This!" she said gesturing at the cabin. "Why don't you just stick me in the deep freeze and then thaw me out when you get me to the slam? Isn't that pretty standard procedure for prisoner transport?"

"You wanna go into cryo for the trip, kid?" he asked as he quirked an eyebrow and smirked at her.

"No."

"Then quit bitching, before I change my mind," he said with amusement tingeing his voice. One long stride carried him back to the door of the cabin. "I'm gonna lock you in, but someone will be by later to check on you. Don't bother trying to hack the lock. You won't be able to before someone shows up and if I find out you tried, I'll probably get pissed. Just kick back, eat something and get some more rest. Got that?"

She crossed her arms and stared at him as he paused in the doorway. She knew her expression was petulant, but she didn't care. She wanted to know what was going on and she was annoyed that he wasn't being more forthcoming.

"Got it, kid?"

"Yeah, I got it," she said with the irritation plain in her voice. "And don't call me 'kid'. My name is Jack."

Toombs snickered at her minor defiance. "Sure, Jack . Whatever you say."

He stepped through the door and it shut behind him with a faint pneumatic hiss, leaving Jack on her own. She sat for a few moments studying the room. Well, it's a damn sight better than where you were, Jack. Don't worry about what's coming. If there's anything you've learned is that things can change in an instant. Just take it one moment at a time, she told herself firmly.

Suddenly, her stomach rumbled, loudly. Jack pressed her hand against her abdomen and grinned at the sound. The thought occurred to her that she hadn't really eaten anything since before she was abducted. The drugs from the interrogation sessions had left her weak and nauseous, so the techs had connected her to an intravenous nutrient solution, which had sustained her the entire time she was at the facility. She guessed that they had decided that was easier than risking a repeat of the spaghetti incident. Jack felt grim satisfaction at the thought of how she had used her last meal.

Her hunger pangs jarred her from her reflection with another growl. "Okay," she told her noisy midsection and then crossed to the food prep area. She dug through the selection of food packets until she found one that sounded reasonably edible. Mmmmm… dehydrated chicken with dehydrated vegetables and noodles. My favorite, she thought. She placed it into the food prep unit, pressed the button and waited while it was reconstituted and heated.

After the unit dinged, she grabbed a spoon from the drawer beneath the prep unit and then curled up on the bed to satisfy her hunger. She had only eaten three quarters of it when she drifted back to sleep.


Jack felt herself tumbling and then her feet hit with a muffled, metallic thump. There was a door in front of her, which she quickly recognized as the one from the fresher in Chillingsworth's shuttle. She had been here before many times. Her mind registered that she must be dreaming, but Jack didn't worry about that. This was the dream she had when she needed comfort or strength, both of which she definitely needed now.

Unfortunately, during the drug induced nightmares while she was at the facility, the dream and the strength it gave her had been elusive. Several times, she had found herself here only to find the compartment on the other side of the door empty or worse. She pressed her palm against the surface of the door, willing Riddick to be on the other side. After a moment, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Relief flooded her as the portal slid open to reveal the cabin of the ship with Riddick lounging in the pilot's seatjust where he was supposed to be. Jack felt a broad smile split her face. He gave her his wry half-grin. With the light glinting from his quicksilver eyes, he said, "Hiya, kid. How ya been?"

Jack started across the cabin as she usually did in this dream. However, the dream took an unexpected turn and he met her halfway, engulfing her in a fierce hug when he reached her. She was momentarily dumbfounded. He had never done this before. But she recovered quickly and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him back just as fiercely. "Oh, Riddick…" she breathed into his chest. Then her emotions welled up, forcing her to swallow around the sudden tightness in her throat and blink at the stinging sensation in her eyes.

"I know, kid," he rumbled. He continued to hold her for a moment with one hand caressing her head. Jack noted absently that as always with this dream, her hair was stubble short just as it had been the last time she saw him and her body was that of her thirteen-year-old self. She had never been able to figure that out because in most of her dreams she looked her current age of sixteen. She decided to let the fact slip this time as well. She would ask him some other time. Right now, she just needed him to comfort her, to help her regain some of the strength the technicians had stolen.

"God, I miss you right now, big guy," she said as she finally stepped away from him. "When you were around, even though everything was falling apart, stuff just seemed to turn out okay in the end. I don't think that's gonna happen this time."

Jack shuddered at the thought of what lay before her and an icy dread froze her heart. She'd been through a lot in her life, but she wasn't sure how she would manage to cope with prison.

Riddick, obviously noting her physical reaction to the thoughts, furrowed his brow and placed his hands on her shoulders. His silver gaze held her fast. "What's wrong, Jack?"

"I'm going…" she paused and swallowed reflexively. It was hard to say it aloud, as though speaking the words would make her impending imprisonment more real. She steeled herself and forced the words out: "I'm going to prison, Riddick. They convicted me of Robby's murder. And those bastards from the lab turned me over to a merc to deliver me to slam."

"What the fuck?" he growled as he released her and took a small step backward. His look darkened and his breath came in short irritated bursts. "That isn't funny, Jack."

She'd kept a tight rein on her emotions, not wanting to break down and waste this fleeting time with him, even if it was a dream. Speaking Robby's name called up her grief. She felt it slam into her like an almost physical force. She blinked at the tears, which flooded her eyes. "I'm not joking, Riddick," she said.

"Dammit, Jack! You were supposed to stay with the holy man on New Mecca! You were supposed to have a nice, normal, happy life. Why the hell do you think I left so soon?" he thundered as he began pacing, punctuating each word with the thud of one of his feet. The small size of the cabin meant that he only took a couple of steps in each direction before he had to turn. He stopped suddenly and turned to face her. "You were supposed to be safe, away from me. So you wouldn't end up messed up like me."

"I'm sorry," she gasped as the tears began to slide down her face.

Riddick's entire demeanor changed as she began to cry. His expression was one of profound sadness and regret. She'd seen him look that way exactly once in their too-brief time together, and then only momentarily. He'd looked like that when he told them that Carolyn was gone.

"No, Jack. I'm sorry," he said softly as he stepped toward her and extended his hand. His eyes glittered even more brightly than usual in the dim cabin.

Jack reached out to him, but just as their fingers brushed, the dream shattered and spun them apart. As he was pulled away from her, she heard him yell: "Jaaaaaaaaaack!"


"...Jack," Riddick shouted as he jerked awake. Then he went still, scanning the area for any sort of danger that the yell might have drawn to him. After a moment, he satisfied himself that all was well, and his mind turned to the dream he had awakened from. It wasn't the first time he'd been through this process. Lately, his sleep had been flooded with dreams, nightmares really, of the T2 planet and Jack in particular.

Riddick's dreams of Jack were always very vivid, but this one had somehow been even more real than usual. Her scent practically clung in his nostrils even now and his hands tingled from where he had rubbed the roughness of her scalp to comfort her. He sat up and pushed off the thick layers of animal fur that he used as blankets. The frigid air hit his face instantly chilling the dampness on his cheeks. He quickly wiped the tears away before they could freeze there.

Tears? What the fuck? I don't fucking cry. He took a deep breath and ran his hands over his head. The after-effects of the dream were such that he was actually surprised when his hands encountered long matted ropes of hair instead of the smooth pate he had three years earlier. Goddamned nightmares have me on edge.

"All right. Enough of this shit. Move your ass, Riddick," he told himself firmly. "Got shit to do today that don't involve sitting in bed pondering some fucking dream."


A/N: Once again, thank you so much to everyone who's sticking with me through this story. I am beyond happy at the warm response I've received from everyone, especially given that my story is a little Riddick lite. I hope the little cameo in this chap rings true to the big guy (let me know if it doesn't).