Chapter IV

Thoughts Connected by Stars

The next few days were very tense, and Jack rarely strayed from the constant news reel. She barely thanked Marius when he brought her food and drink, pushing away the constant parallel she found between the younger version of herself and Marius. She had taken care of Riddick like this after they escaped from the planet, his entire being focused on any hint that mercs were still around and on his trail. Her thoughts were conflicting constantly, like two swords coming together in a clash of sparks and jarring pain. She watched Marius when he wasn't aware of it, maybe just noting her presence but not thinking she was carefully studying him.

"Marius." Her voice was deep, unused and growling. He startled himself into movement, trotting up to the pilot's seat, a book in hand. "Sit."

He sat.

"You know I've killed many in my lifetime, but those were murders, just to get by." She started, gratefully accepting the small bottle of water the young boy produced from seemingly nowhere. "But you've listened to the news, this is more then a petty killing. I've assassinated someone, and not just any old retired political figure. You know about merc rings and packs, don't you?"

"I've…heard about them." He replied softly, unnerved and calmed at the same time by her steadily burning gaze out the window, drawing imaginary lines between the stars.

"Mercs, as a rule, are out only for pay; only beer money, as it were. But there are other kinds of mercs; the kind that do it mostly for the thrill of the hunt." Her face twisted into disgust; it reminded her too much of herself and, more importantly, her silver-eyed mentor. "They belong to a somewhat secret society, or ring, pack, whatever you want to call it. When the pay comes in, they, in all faith, send the money to the leader of that ring. The leader supports them very well, giving them ships, weapons, only dealing out the money as needed. But some of these hunters, as they really should be called, are real sick bastards."

"So what does this have to do with who you killed? The news just keeps saying it was some political figure fallen from fame." Marius said, furrowing his brows, as if he was pointing out the painfully obvious.

"Come now, Marius," she chided, "why would these mercs want anyone to know that their leader has been killed? There is an immediate successor after the leader is killed and undoubtedly he or she pays off all the news. But those who are in the business, both the predators and the prey, know exactly what happened. They know exactly who was killed." She said, glancing over at him, her hair falling from the braid she had hastily put it into. Her gaze was soft, trying her to best to show she held no contempt for the young boy.

"So you killed one of these leaders, and…" he trailed off, unsure of the result. Jack stood, stretching for a moment, her eyes flitting back to the news reel now on mute. Walking away from the pilot's chair, she seemed very interested by her feet and how they stepped on the metal tiles of the floor.

"Two words for you. Loyal supporters." She said, not looking at him.

"Are they going to come after you, drooling for revenge?" He sounded very doubtful, even sarcastic. "Do they even know who did it?"

She stopped at this remark, but the hope was quickly dashed as she remembered the deal with the client. With a quiet snarl she deposited herself roughly into the pilot's seat again, not saying anything but charting in another course. Marius was concerned; was his idol really in trouble? Wasn't she indestructible and impossible to catch?

"They do, Marius." She remarked sadly, sitting back in the chair, feeling the ship move in autopilot on their new plotted course. "When you're hired to kill someone, there is a sort of code that you can ask for. It's like a killer's code, something that everyone in the business of murder and assassination must follow."

"Like the unspoken loyalty the legionaries would have to their general?" He asked, suddenly relieved by the proud smile he only saw in profile on Jack's face.

"Almost; you have the basic gist of it. So this code, I could have asked for it. What it would do is if someone came looking for the asshole who hired me for the job, asked who killed the leader, the asshole would refuse. Even if he was offered bribes, he would keep his mouth shut. It's something very rare, this honor code. Technically, the one who asks for information should respect this code…" she trailed off, her eyes and face darkening.

"But…" Marius pressed, very curious about this whole society of killers he had never really known about.

"There are those who are so loyal, they would do anything to gain the information. This 'anything' ranges from simply physical torture to killing wives, children and lovers of the guy who hires the killer." She grimly nodded at the disgusted and terrified face of her charge.

"And you can't call and ask for this code now?" He asked, his heart almost stopping when she shook her head. "Why!" He demanded, surprising Jack with the strength of emotion in his voice.

"Once the target is killed, the blood has been spilled, the code cannot be requested." She spoke, the eerie rhyme imprinting itself in Marius' head. "And I doubt the man who hired me would properly honor the code, anyway." She remarked, waving it off.

"But you said that-" Marius protested, angry and annoyed.

"It's never a perfect world." She interrupted quietly, and he sunk further down his seat, defeated. A part him of that had been rapidly growing since Jack took him in flamed with rage that he could do nothing to protect her. She would immediately say he should only protect himself, but he tossed this aside as easily as he had the terrible memories of his earlier life.

He didn't realize he let out a small whimper as he pulled his knees up to his chest, looking very downcast. Jack watched this and suddenly felt guilty. She was going to be the death of the boy if she didn't lighten up. Setting the ship on autopilot, Jack stood and closed the distance between the two chairs. Marius barely realized what was happening when she lifted the smaller form into her arms, holding him close to her. He warily wound his arms around her neck, burying his face in her shoulder.

"C'mon, let's get some rest." She spoke softly into his hair, walking back towards the bedroom they shared. She had barely slept, but always checked on him or watched.

For Marius the hallway and the entrance into the bedroom was a blur, his emotions mixing into one terrible, choking feeling. He almost clung to her when he felt them sit on the bed, but Jack didn't force him off. She stroked his hair and waited for him to let go on his own.

"It's going to be ok." She said, shocked when he just held onto her tighter, whimpering something into her shoulder. "What was that?" She asked, her heart touched when she saw the affection he held for her in his eyes. His eyes, the silver pair that would always be in her mind, waiting for her to slip into memories.

"Kid, let go." He said gruffly, looking down at the young, scruffy girl that had cemented her arms around his waist. He wasn't going to pry her arms from around him, he felt a sort of bond with her. A bond that was purely mental, seeing how she took care of the physical part.

"No." She stated, burying her face in his stomach, breathing deeply. Setting a hand on her hair, which was now just long enough to spike with hair gel, Riddick growled quietly. Jack bent her head back and still rested her neck on him, just looking up.

"You do this every night I have a job, kid. I'm going to come back." He said, sounding a little annoyed. Inside, he couldn't have been more happy or touched. No one had ever emotionally and physically connected to him like this; she needed him.

"Yeah, well, just getting all the Riddick I can before you actually don't come back." She said, alarming him. He didn't realize she had been prepared for whenever he did pick up and leave. Breaking away from her, he kneeled and pulled her into a brief hug before he stood and left, his nerves not calmed by the automatic lock of the door.

Marius wasn't sure how to voice his feelings, so he stayed quiet for a while, just glad that Jack was holding him. He didn't think about how strange it was that he felt even more comforted by the dull feeling of the knives that Jack kept around her stomach poking into him as he had his arms wrapped around her. She was surprisingly patient, maybe lost in thoughts.

"What if it's not ok?" He asked again, his voice still a little shaky.

"I'm not immortal; you'd have to survive on your own." She said, remembering that letter she had written. He wouldn't be alone, not if she could do anything about it.

"I'd live on in your name; fight for you and like you." He said, not caring how silly that sounded. But to Jack it was a fine compliment and she smiled sadly at it.

"The Eternal Jack." She mused, pulling herself farther onto the bed, secretly pleased to see that Marius let her go and didn't cling to her like she had done to Riddick. She lay down; her hands clasped behind her head, looking at the young boy who wasn't sure what to do.

He decided on just laying down, watching his mentor. She wasn't too happy about this; he was obviously in need of more comfort. With a growl she pulled him over to her, letting him snuggle against her, keeping one arm around her waist and resting his head on her shoulder.

"Get some sleep." She demanded quietly, and soon, she felt his breathing even out. But she stayed awake, barely noticing the warm body next to her, but wishing that some million stars away Riddick was wishing for her, too.

Thanks to these reviewers:

gbmarie – I'm sorry, there was a definite gap between the 'on' and 'If', could you specify? Thanks for reviewing.

TRO – Whee! Thanks for reviewing both 2 and 3, you make me happy.

Haley – Glad you like the relationship between the two, I'm having issues with how any romance is going to work out, but I usually go R/J, have to say. Thanks, hope it keeps interesting you.

IT – Course you silly thing, thanks for reviewing even though it's like a double review now. Yay for pirate speak!

buecha – Thanks for reviewing, and just so you know, I don't leave stories unfinished, although there seems to be a problem when I write oneshots, people really do think I'm going to continue them. I'm not. Thanks for reviewing, hope you liked the chapter.