Beastly Bonds
Chapter VII
"Jack!" Litman called out, now accustomed to using that name. They had yet to change their names, but it was a last-minute issue for her, so she let it ride. Turning in her seat, where she had been putting on the final touches for their 'hideout', she looked up to see her strangely jubilant crew. They had all been in high spirits after they had escaped, but right now they seemed particularly happy.
"Look!" He exclaimed, gesturing towards the crew hallway. Tipner trotted out moments later, also looking happy.
"Tipner came out…very exciting, Litman. This is what-"
"NO! Wait! Get that ass in gear, Krent!" Litman yelled down the hallway.
Moments later Krent slowly appeared with his back to Jack, but he glanced over his shoulder and gave her a heartwarming smile. He was holding out his arms, as if waiting for something to fall. Soon after him Jack heard stumbling and unsteady footsteps, like that of a toddler. Yet from the hallway emerged a walking Meth, smiling brightly at Jack.
"I can walk!" He stated to no one and everyone at the same time. Jack got up and walked closer, watching his body movements. It was going to be a long recovery. The med bay's computer had surprised them all when it produced the results on Meth's injury. He had been seriously hurt by the hellhound's bite. Muscles torn and tendons violently ripped from the bone. Walking was a big improvement, but Jack knew it would be a long time before he would be how she wanted him. Invisible. She wasn't going to let him do the stupid shit she had done.
"This calls for a party!" Litman shouted, moving back towards the kitchen.
"NO! LITMAN YOU PULL THAT HEAD OUT OF YOUR ALCOHOLIC ASS AND GET BACK HERE!" Jack shouted, much to the amusement of the crew. She had been tough on alcohol on the ship in general, seeing how she wasn't fond of it. Weakened instincts, reflexes and thought. Not her type of drink.
Grumbling he returned, glaring at her.
"Everyone into the planning room." She stated, making Meth look up in surprise. "Yes, even you Meth. You are part of everyone."
The crew filed into the room and Jack followed, leaving the door slightly ajar. She wanted to hear anything from the main control panels. Seating themselves around the meeting table, Jack stood and waited for them to settle. Neunzhen was her shadow and she felt him right at her side.
You've got your crew, Captain Jack. What are you going to do with it?
"I've made the decision as to where our 'hideout' will be. It's a very long trip from here, but the closest shipping lanes the mercs follow to it are…at least a month away by hyper speed. They won't be tracking us any time soon."
"You sure?" Litman asked, looking up at her hard face.
"Was I sure about the escape?" She replied, effectively shutting him up. "It's in the Earthia system, better known as Old Earth."
A hologram shuddered and blinked into view in the middle of the table, drawing everyone's attention there. It was an orbital system, similar to the ancient Earth one. That system was lost off the charts long ago, but this one was found, so it became Old Earth to those who had never been. One blazing sun in the middle with various planets orbiting around it. Seven planets in total, each one was coloured to its climate.
"We're going here." She tapped the keys. "Caribi."
The third closest planet was enlarged to show it to be a mostly water planet. About 90 of the planet was water, with large islands dotting the seas, smaller ones forming archipelagoes off of those.
"That's a warm climate, with clear waters and very good weather." Meth suddenly said, staring at the picture and changing his gaze to Jack, who gave him an approving nod.
"Very good, Meth. You get second choice in rooming when we get there. I am no expert, but I believe that Caribi is very welcoming to anyone, no matter how strange or shady they are. We are in luck, there is no police forces either. But this means we must work in and support the justice dealt between islands and locals. No picking fights. At all. No insulting anyone or anything, not at any time. We want to be welcomed and liked, not avoided and causing suspicion. I don't even want to ask if I'm clear about that. As threat, I will talk to the elders of the island we will be occupying and give them strict instruction that if any one of you does something slightly out of hand to be directly delivered to me."
"How is that a threat? Send us back to the captain who will let us off." Litman asked and commented, earning a glare from Jack.
"Your punishment will just stop before death, Litman. Neunzhen knows this and I know this. And now, all of you know this. Don't be fooled, I want peace just as much as the elders of the island do." She warned, taking note of the pale faces of the crew, even Tipner.
"Er…Jack?" Krent asked, breaking the awkward silence.
"Yes?" She swiveled her blank gaze to him.
"How long do you think we'll be there? I know you've said two or three months, but really."
"Good question. I'm going to keep a running data list on every single active mercs files, along with bounty listings. This will be on my laptop, which I've revamped completely. It will be on 24/7 and kept in a very secure place. Every time one of us pops up I will be alerted. When I've decided that enough time has passed that we are not mentioned, then I will consider leaving. Now here is your option."
Tipner looked surprised at this.
"You may stay on with me, where you will be undoubtedly safer in hideout for a few months. Or, if you so desire, I will drop you off at a port of your choice, as long as it's in my flight path to Caribi. I sorely hope that those who do leave me will not give away this information of my whereabouts. Regardless of who did it, I will hunt you down and kill you."
"So much of an option…" Litman muttered, sourly grumbling.
"Is everyone in?" Jack asked, knowing for sure Meth would stay. Anyone his age who had been saved by the same person who was offering free protection and a place to stay wouldn't ask to be dropped off on some other planet.
Meth nodded first, followed by Krent and Tipner and soon enough Litman made a dramatic sigh and agreed to stay for the long run.
"There are no cryo-sleep pods here so we're going to have to bear it out. From here we've got at least seven weeks in this shipping lane before we chart our own path, which will take about four. As such I've taken the liberty to decide that I will keep you all in top shape in case something were to happen."
Groans were heard in the room. Even Tipner knew how regimented Jack's training was. In Crematoria the only thing she did was train when she wasn't resting, looking for food or beating up the guards. They were all in good shape as of now, but Jack knew that sitting around in a ship for all those weeks could really get to you.
"Meth gets out of it for now, but I will be making him strengthen his leg. I will train with each of you. One of you each morning and if you're late, we train longer. It's up to you as to who gets to go first and we're starting tomorrow." She finished, smirking.
"Jaaaaaack, this isn't fair." Litman whined, sounding like a small child. As if ignoring what he said, Jack ended the meeting with a comment that was also indirectly meant for him.
"And the training will continue, regardless of hangovers."
The eleven weeks passed smoothly, much to Jack's relief. Litman had realized after quite a few training sessions that drinking the night before was just a horrible idea. She had basically beaten all of them into tip top condition, even Tipner. She wasn't surprised with how lithe and quick his old body was, but still had a brutal comeback. With Krent it was harder because he felt like he had to hold back.
"Krent, stop this. Imagine we're back in Crematoria, you're starved and abused, like the hellhounds. I've taken the first food you've had in days. You're going to try to kill me! Do it!" She yelled, pissed that he was holding back. It reminded her of Riddick, who never let his full beast out. But he had good reason and he was perpetually in amazing shape, so he almost had to hold back.
"But Jack, what if I-" he tried to reason, his figure looming over hers.
"Hurt me? Then so be it. We've got a med bay, now fucking attack me before I have to personally insult you to do it." She snarled, sheathing her shivs. Working with Krent would be like training a punching bag with a brain at this rate.
With a roar, he came at her and she easily sidestepped him and tripped him, like the countless times Riddick had done to her. She taught him everything she knew and they learned more together. He was a very good student and was willing to take the bruises and cuts that came with it.
Jack sat in the her chair late one night and stared out into space, listening to the sleeping breathes of her crew. They had passed a few ships in their time in the shipping lanes but now that they were charting their own course, ships were rare to cross.
Yet earlier that day an unidentifiable ship had briefly had radio contact with her ship. She had been hideously angry for the rest of the day because the captain or passengers of the other ship wouldn't respond. The worst part was that the breathing she heard on the other end was all too familiar.
How could Riddick track her that fast? And that easily, for that matter. Imam had told her that he had hid on a distant planet, to keep mercs away them. Why would he be flying now? They had checked the news constantly and not once had there been a report of a massive overthrow of Crematoria. But it was only a matter of time, that much she knew. Jack had decided to track the ship a little distance, by latching onto its signal and following it. The ship headed in the exact opposite direction that they were going in and seemed to stay that way. She had put the computers on alert when that ship came near again and so far it hadn't made an appearance.
"What the fuck are you doing, Riddick?" She asked into the room, receiving a sleepy growl from Neunzhen, who lounged on the floor right near her. He had been a very good companion for her, especially while she trained. He served as a fighter that she could actually have trouble with. Jack wondered if Riddick had ever trained with something besides humans and decided that she was a step ahead of the game if she knew how to fight off both.
Jack closed her eyes briefly, her hand resting on Neunzhen's head, who had sat up. Flashes of silver eyes tormented her behind her eyelids and suddenly the hellhound's ears twitched backwards. She was up in a second, shivs drawn and facing the dark hallways. Not taking any chances, she immediately alarmed every sector of the ship. Red alarms blared, colouring every surface red every other second while the shrieks violently echoed.
Bootsteps thundered down the crew hall, guns drawn and weapons at ready. When they had all entered the cabin she shut off the alarm and faced them, her eyes icy cold. Neunzhen's scales had turned a bright reddish orange and his many canines glinted in the now normal lighting.
"Jack! What's the meaning of this?" Tipner asked, first to break the silence.
"Someone's on the ship."
"The sensors or cameras don't show anything!" Litman shot back, checking the holographic images of the ship's security.
"Doesn't mean anything." Meth quietly spoke from behind Krent, who had immediately shielded the younger man.
"I don't care if we don't sleep until we get to Caribi. I want every corner of this ship searched. Krent, Meth, take the captain's hallway. Tipner, Litman, take crew hallway. Even search your own rooms for any trace of an outsider. Meet in the kitchen." She ordered, checking her ammunition.
"Where are you going?" Litman asked, checking his as well.
"Cargo hold."
"Alone? That's dumb, Jack. If anyone's here, they are probably there."
"I'm with Neunzhen. NOW LET'S MOVE!" She yelled, startling them into action. She followed Krent and Litman down her hallway and entered the kitchen, pulling up the hidden tile. Placing it aside, she struck a flare across the bottom of her boot, lighting it. The eerie green light fell down into the cargo hold. Jumping in, she heard Neunzhen following her, growling the entire way. Picking up the flair, she held it above her head and looked around, for something, anything out of order.
The minute his ears had twitched she knew someone unwelcome was on her ship. Moving forward, she was comforted by the hellhound's body that moved in sync with her own.
"Come on, where are you?" She the darkness.
Yet while she searched the hold and her crew tore apart their rooms, a small alert showed up on the main control screen. A code appeared beside it, looking like a tracking code. It bleeped for a few seconds before it disappeared. On another nearby screen, the center was the ship and it would track objects within a certain radius of it. A triangular shaped flying object blipped its way across the screen, the same code showing up right above the figure. Yet as soon as it crossed the radius, the controls quieted and the code disappeared.
Thanks to these reviewers:
Iridescent Twilight – We'll see what happens, but this will be finished. And yes, it was intentional that I didn't specify whether this would be a J/R or nothing at all. It all depends on how long I want to make this. It's got quite a bit to go, though. Go to my bio! The picture is there!
ren3017 – A fanfic for my fanfic…wouldn't mind that at all, actually. Although I've been having a few lingering ideas about a sequel to KF, so we'll see where fate takes this.
NightmareWeaver – I hate you and your game! No fair! Grrfh, evil person you. And people who like mythology aren't freaks. I used to have a snake named Medusa and almost all of my stuffed animals are named after figures in Greek mythology. So take that. Look at my bio! You might really like the picture!
creamtoriacon – Thanks for the review but um there is a small blank space after the 'to' part. You send please send future chaps to . Blank. Specify please and I'll see what can be done. Thanks for reviewing.
THE DRAWING IS ON MY BIO. IF YOU MISSED IT LAST TIME GO THERE. LINK IS THERE. YOU COULD BE REALLY NICE AND ADD A HAPPY COMMENT ABOUT IT ON THE NEXT CHAPTER. Or you could email me or something.