Skabs: Thank you for dropping in, and don't worry I plan to.

Social control: Thank you. You reallylike the changes?

Please review. Doesn't have to be long. I just love to get reviews.

Chapter 5.

What do you think you're doing? She thought. She had no right to demand the information from him. She knew by his reaction alone there was something there, just bubbling under the surface. She needed to know what he knew about Riddick.

He sat there and rubbed his hand over his face, Damn it Kincaid, you were trained to withstand torture. Why are you even considering telling her anything? He opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a small glass.

"What time do you have to get Jackie?" he asked as he poured his drink.

"6, but I can ring Mrs. Davis and tell her I'll be later." She replied jumping to the comm-screen.

"Do that, and we'll have dinner." Then he slammed his drink.

The bar was dark, and stank like stale cigarettes, but Rae Lynn didn't care. Most of the patrons worked the docks, so it wasn't like she didn't know anyone else in there. Melissa saw her and waved. She quickly jumped off the bar stool and made her way over to the booth that Thomas had picked out. It was set in the back corner, with just a dim, almost burnt out light bulb above it.

"Hey sweetie, what are you doin' here?" Melissa asked giving the young woman a hug. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Just chattin' with Thomas. And I'm almost better, thanks Melissa" Rae said softly.

"Hey Melissa" Thomas interjected. "Rae and I need to have a little chat. We'll call ya back when we're done." He finished with a smile.

"Oh and here I thought you were here to relax, Rae. Sorry didn't mean to interrupt." She turned and walked back to the bar.

The waitress came and took their order as Rae and Thomas sat there studying each other. One hoping the other will back down and stop this foolish nonsense; The other trying to hold onto their nerve, and not stop at the foot of the first hurdle.

Thomas spoke first, and Rae Lynn let out a deep sigh.

"Why do you think I know him? What difference does it make anyway? You can't help him. Besides its time for him to pay the piper darlin'."

" I think you know him because your eyes and your jaw clearly said so when I mentioned his name. And it won't make a difference really. I know what he's capable of…Hell, I know first hand what all of you so called 'Company Men' are capable of," she said raising her voice, tears on the verge of spilling down her cheeks.

He set his blue eyes on her and sighed.

"And I know I can't help him, but I told him something once, a long time ago." She paused, remembering his face. "I still want to believe what I said. Is that so bad?" she started to cry. " I just want to believe."

Thomas reached for her hand and placed it in his, "Nothin' wrong with believing, child."

The waitress brought their food and she noticed Rae was crying, "Sugar? Are you okay? What the hell did you say to her Kincaid?" she said glaring at Thomas, hands on her hips.

Rae touched the woman's forearm and smiled softly trying to reassure her, "I'm okay. Really. He didn't do anything."

The woman looked back and forth between the two in the booth, "Alright but if it changes you just holler. Okay?"

"Yeah." Rae replied sniffling.

Rae glanced at the plate of food that was set in front of her. A burger. The blood that leaked down on to the bread implied that it had only a taken few steps away from the farm to make it on her plate. That thought kinda made her stomach turn. Rae gently shoved the plate away from her and watched Thomas.

He was shoveling his food in like it was his last meal. One arm circled around his plate, protecting it as he hovered above. She thought she heard him growl at one point as she waited for him to finish.

Finally done, he took a long pull on the bottle of beer that was brought with their food.

"I'm not sure where I should start, but I guess the beginning is a good place as any, huh?" he asked grinning at her.

"Sounds good to me." Rae smiled back.

"Well, I entered the Rangers when I was 20. Best thing I coulda done for myself at that point in my life. Learned a lot, saw a lot, did a lot. Some of it's worth repeating, some worth ignoring and some, well…some I just wish I never had to do. I retired about six years ago. I just couldn't do it anymore. Not physically, but mentally. We were getting orders for some really bad shit and I didn't want to do it anymore. Just…it just…I don't know…" Thomas stopped talking.

Watching him sit there and swirl the last swig of beer in his beer bottle, Rae knew that he was still trying to come to terms within himself, about what his history held. He looked defeated; His shoulders fell forward as he slouched. He rubbed his face, and sighed. Rae saw just how tired he really was at that moment and she regretted even making him think about the past let alone talk about it.

" I'm sorry Thomas." She didn't know what else to say to him.

He shook his head and smirked at her, "No, don't be sorry.

"You wanted to know about Rick. This is what I know about him. He was good. One of the best soldiers I ever had under my command. Never complained, did what he was ordered. There was this one assignment, it was a huge fuckin' deal. There were thousands of troops on this mission. They were deployed all over this little planet. Our mission was to eliminate everything simultaneously, one big sweep.." Thomas paused as Rae drew in a sharp breath.

"You okay?" he asked pausing.

Rae just nodded her head, unable to find her voice. Knowing that if she did in fact find it right then, she wasn't sure what kind of rage would have been unleashed.

"You said you wanted to know about Rick, so…I'm telling you. Don't chicken out on me now. This is the one mission I really remember."

"G..g..go ahead." It came out as a harsh whisper, "Please."

"Our orders were to move in at night, take them out. Nothing was to survive…"

"Why? What did they do?" Thomas barely heard her.

"Honestly, I really don't know. We were given orders, and we followed them. That was our job. We let the higher ups handle the specifics of why, while we handled the how." He continued as he watched her head fall to her chest, silently sobbing.

"It was sad really. These people had nothing in the way of defense, planetary or otherwise. It was just awful; I know I personally felt disgusted by what we had done, but I had orders…we eliminated an entire fucking planet of people, in three hours. The Company was happy; the people were gone, and there were very few casualties on our side.

"Rick's lieutenant, Wiffman, was one of those casualties. He carried him back to the ship, and after he set him down…" Thomas came back to the present realizing that Rae was all out crying now.

"Honey, what…" The crushed look in her eyes stopped him cold, a chill ran through his body and he shuttered.

"I fucked up," Thomas muttered.

Rae looked at him questioningly, "What? No, I…wanted…to…hear."

Softly he said, "That's not what I meant…It's why I remember Rick in all this. He kicked Wiffman, and looked at me and said 'I fucked up' He had felt guilty for getting the lieutenant killed."

That made Rae laugh. Not just a chuckle, but a full out roar. "It's not what he meant, Thomas."

Quirking his eyebrow, he couldn't believe her. What brashness.

"What? How do you know that?" he asked curiously.

"He fucked up and made the wrong decision. And I know because… Riddick and that stinky fucker, and even you Thomas… killed my parents, my friends. My home." She spat through her sobs.

He was confused. How the hell? Now it was Thomas' turn to sit and listen to her story of Riddick.