Thanks to:

TotallyRiddickObsessed x2 – well, if my fic can serve as a sort of…excuse the terminology, addiction, then we're even. You guilt trip, I do my best to hold back. Thanks for reviewing.

unable2trace – awesome that you've been following it, if you have questions or critique please don't hesitate

FluidDegree – oh yay! We're picking favourites now!

Chapter XXXVIII: Post-Battle Tension and Decisions

"Damn bitch, ruinin' me plans." O'Calhern muttered, watching the screens in darkness. He had left himself eight men to protect him. At the time he thought he wouldn't need it, but he had underestimated how good a team Liege had. Greatly underestimated.

"Sir, what are we goin' to do?" one of his smarter protectors asked, watching the screen a respectful few feet away from O'Calherns chair.

"I'm thinkin', ye idiot." He snapped back, wondering how much time he had on his hands. Probably five minutes at best. Growling, he stopped the livefeed and rewound it to the beginning of the fighting.

Sighing, he put it on a slower fast forward, figuring he had to save time. Propping one hand up to rest his head on, he kicked up his feet and crossed one over the other, getting a comfortable stretch from having them on the edge of the control panel. Suddenly he snapped at the machine to pause it. Then to start it again, then pause it. This happened about three times before O'Calhern decided he had picked out useful information from this adrenaline-fest of fighting he had witnessed from a movie-like viewing.

He called two men forward, who grunted in response, showing they were listening. Putting down his feet, his swiveled his chair to face them.

"Ye see tha' little lass with the nice rack?" He asked, waving his hand to the screen where the feed was frozen to focus just on Jack and Riddick. The men nodded in reply.

"Get 'er. Don't hurt her too bad, but ye can rough her up a tad. Bring 'er back to me, got it?" He ordered, not needing an answer to his question. To him, his command was all it needed to be done, no explanations required.

As the two men left the room, O'Calhern faced the screen again, feeling slight rays of hope blossom. Perhaps his plan wasn't ruined after all.

"Oh, ye small lassie, tis a shame ye will be the downfall of yer best friend 'n…lover." He finished, not being able to properly decide exactly what Riddick was to this girl.

Jack's bloodied hand slipped between Riddick's arm and his body, curling her fingers around the still tense muscle. That moment of complete peace had fled from him and he was once again the ever-readied warrior. He looked over his shoulder at her as she lightly kissed part of his back that wasn't dripping blood.

"We're ok." She whispered, letting go of his arm and wrapping both of her arms around his waist, cementing herself to his back.

He opened his mouth to reply but instead wiped his hand on his shirt and placed the semi-clean hand over Jacks that were intertwined around his waist. Riddick gave a rumbling growl as a response, making Jack nuzzle her head into his back.

"Jack, ye want to go in?" Liege's voice cut the air. Jack untangled herself from Riddick and stood, watching her friend mount the walkway of the ship.

She might've been surprised at the scene if she hadn't been part of it. It was almost completely dark now, but the moons shone brightly, making the blood on Liege's body reflect. She became a glinting figure, made out of reflection moon rays.

"I…this is your fight, Liege. Your family." Jack decided, not moving from Riddicks side.

"Aye, that be true. Falc, Rick, ye two stay out here with Riddick n Jack. Khan, ye are part of this family as much as McKellern, yer choice." Liege ordered, pointing her two male friends towards Jack and Riddick.

"I will go with you." Khan stated, stepping up on the gangplank. Without words, Kell moved from under the ship and jumped the ramp, landing in a crouch next to Liege. He stood tall next to her, his eyes showing an angry possession.

"Good. Jack if-"

"-something goes wrong, leave right away, regardless of what you think you might be able to do to help. Yeah, I know." Jack finished, smirking.

"Thas me lass. Shall we go in, gentlemen?" Liege asked, gesturing with her arm that they should go first. Khan stepped into the dark ship first, Liege followed and Kell ended the small party.

Liege had her gun at ready, knowing it would be faster to shoot than to throw one of her blades. Holding it down, her finger just on the trigger, she followed Khan who led the small group. She heard Kell almost noiselessly following her, checking doors and passages again after she had.

The ship was completely dark and they barely knew in what part they were in, only figuring it out from memory. Kell now walked next to her, worried for her safety. Suddenly a flare of light went off in a split second and Liege heard at least four gunshots.

For a moment nothing happened, everything was still. Then a few overhead lights flickered on and Liege turned to see a figure slump forward the ground.

Jack jumped and slipped in the blood, startled by the scream that pierced from the center of the ship. She felt two hands on her shoulders, and recognized the grip as not Riddicks.

(A/N: I was totally going to stop the chapter there as a sort of formulated cliffhanger, but then my conscience took over and I decided it wasn't nearly a long enough chapter)-------

As Jack looked up, she saw a man she didn't know and instinctively pulled away but his strong grip wouldn't let her go. Yet time had no proper footing for anyone right now and Jack realized later on that the moment she had felt the unfamiliar grip, he had been torn away.

Riddick had bent down to help Jack up and when he felt the other man next to him, he simply flicked a shiv out and jammed it straight into the man's throat, putting all the momentum from his swing up into it. Sure enough, the blade went deep and Riddick saw the very tip of it at the back of man's throat. Wrenching it to the side, he felt and heard the spine crack and the muscles rip and tear.

The figure tottered a moment then heavily fell to the ground, half of his throat brutally torn open, muscles pumping out blood onto the already crimson stained concrete. Jack stumbled up into Riddick's arms and with his shiv already cleaned and hidden away, he embraced Jack. Suddenly he felt Jack tense and dipping beneath his arm, used him as a solid leverage and kick a man right beneath his head. He had been coming at Riddick and Jack and she had seen him just over the ridge of her convict's shoulder.

He fell back, only to have Jack jump and roughly force him to the ground, her crouched body landing on his chest. Jack barely heard the crack of the sternum beneath her boots, but found no guilt or mercy in her as she watched the pain evolving into unearthly hurt on his face. Stepping back, Jack pulled out a handgun and after a few well-aimed rounds, decided he was dead.

"Jesus, Jack, one shot to the head could've done him in." Rick observed, who had ran with Falc to the unexpected attack scene.

"You're never quite thorough enough yourself, Ricardo, so it isn't wise of you to quickly judge Jack's…methods." Falc reprimanded, still strangely calm at such a sight.

"Shut it, Falc. You aren't my mother." Rick growled, smacking his friend on the arm. "Sorry, Jack." He added quickly, his eyes darting to her large protector who currently had slipped an arm around her waist.

"Thank you God for that." Jack said to no one in particular, her now gun-free hand caressing Riddick's arm. "What about Liege? She screamed and…"

"You said it was her fight, so it's going to stay that way." The familiar rumbling voice stated from behind Jack. She furrowed her brows in response, not wanting anything to happen to her friend.

"She said it, but we didn't." Rick argued, knowing Jack was concerned and so was he. Liege had pulled him out of countless messes.

"But she ordered us to stay with them." Falc noted, his eyes drifting over Rick's body. This was immediately noticed by Jack, who tensed in alarm. Had something happened between them that she didn't know about?

Shaking her head and deciding she would come back to this later, Jack looked into the entrance way where she had heard shots and a scream that was undeniably Liege's. Leaning her head back on Riddick's warm chest, she sighed. He would protect her, that Jack knew, but who would protect him?