Chapter 14: Keenan 4

Over the next few days Kyra got to know Shirah and Jack pretty well. Lalia stayed to herself a lot; which was because Lalia grew up a part of an extremist Muslim group, Shirah told them; which made her extremely shy and nervous around men in particular and people she hasn't known for long periods of time.

Other than Lalia's silence everyone got on pretty well; Shirah took Kyra under her wing and began to look at her like a daughter. Kyra was slightly uncomfortable with the attention since she had been on her own for so long, but at the same time she rather enjoyed it. Jack followed Riddick around constantly although Riddick ignored him for the most part and when he did acknowledge him, it was only when necessary; Kyra continued to watch them, a smile playing around her lips.

Their course was a steady heading toward the planet Furya with only a few slight detours to keep them out of well populated star systems and well known merc shipping routes. The entire trip would take a couple of months. Riddick regularly checked the ship for a tail. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before the mercs were onto him again.

There was a continuing tension between Riddick and Kyra that had first started on Crematoria and had been building gradually ever since. They were two stubbornly independent people who found themselves drawn, in whatever way, to each other and they wouldn't admit it, even to themselves.

Riddick spent a lot of his time separated off from everyone else, he had never enjoyed being on long interstellar flights; stuck in one small area for months. Boredom quickly set in. He was good at waiting, however, and spent most of his time quietly watching the others interact, especially Kyra. He noticed that she often separated herself off from the group, much like him; needing time to be alone. He had noticed a lot about Kyra, trying to figure her out; he found however, that there was very little she did he didn't already know; didn't already understand. They were incredibly similar.

Shirah was also keeping a close eye on the ships inhabitants. She saw the tension between Kyra and Riddick; she saw the way Riddick's eyes followed Kyra; she also saw the way Kyra looked at Riddick, with awe, trust, pride, and something else. Shirah smiled to herself. She was looking at a girl in love. "Does Riddick realize it yet?" she wondered.

Several weeks past with little excitement when Riddick told everyone that they needed to land at the nearby planet of Keenan 4 to refuel and pick up supplies "This ship will draw a lot of attention so we'll have to work fast. Shirah and Lalia will go get the supplies we need. Kyra, you'll stay with the ship and help with the refueling. We'll get in, and get out. Everyone got that?

Three heads nodded, they all understood the importance of speed and drawing as little attention to themselves as possible.

"We'll be there in three hours." Riddick said.

"Unidentified craft, what is your class and purpose?" The radio crackled.

"I found this ship abandoned in the Luna System, we are landing to refuel and stock supplies." Riddick answered.

"Number of passengers on board?"

"Five, including myself." He drawled.

"Permission granted for landing. Welcome to Keenan 4." Came the bored response.

Riddick turned off the radio and prepared for final descent.

Several minutes later they touched down and opened the hatch. "Lets go." Riddick said.

Shirah and Lalia left after giving Jack strict instructions to stay aboard and stay away from the hatch.

Kyra jumped down out of the ship and headed for the refueling hanger. When she emerged a minute later, she nodded subtly towards the ship, giving the okay so Riddick jumped out and headed to the refueling hoses. They worked together quickly, Riddick carrying the massive hoses while Kyra worked the mechanics; men were busy on the other side of the ship loading the hold with the supplies Shirah and Lalia had ordered. Finally Riddick and Kyra were finishing up, carrying the final hose back to the hanger when they saw Shirah and Lalia coming back and entering the ship.

Suddenly there was a shout from the men who had been loading the hold, they were pointing toward the refueling station where Kyra and Riddick were. Glancing around Kyra and Riddick saw a small group of men exiting the hanger; their guns were drawn.

Looking back at the ship, Kyra saw Lalia appear at the hatch calling for Jack in a quietly panicked voice.

"Fuck!" Kyra yelled when she saw Jack standing outside of the ship near the hold. He had apparently climbed out and had been talking to the men, who had then called someone: Security? Mercs?

Riddick grabbed Kyra around the waist and threw her to the ground as shots erupted from the group of men; he landed on top, protecting her from the shots. After the first volley they scrambled to their feet and ran towards the ship.

The men were advancing; bullets were flying all around them. Riddick kept hold of Kyra as he dodged back and forth trying to make as difficult a target as possible.

Kyra could see Lalia still at the hatch, struggling against Shirah who held her fast inside the ship, screaming for her son who was standing a short distance away frozen in terror. Without warning Kyra suddenly dodged to the right, away from Riddick, running straight towards the scared little boy. Grabbing him up, Kyra struggled to keep running to the ship with his added weight.

Riddick had almost reached the ship when he stopped and turned. He saw Kyra struggling to carry a boy who was three quarters her size and get to the ship before the men caught up to them. "Shit!" Riddick ran quickly back to Kyra, tore Jack from her arms as he grabbed her hand and ran back to the ship. He practically tossed them both in before he climbed up himself.

Pushing past a stunned Shirah and a sobbing Lalia who was reduced to a crying mass on the floor, he ran to the command center with Kyra at his heals. Within seconds they had the ship off the ground.

"You do not have permission for take off. Land your ship immediately." The radio snapped.

Riddick ignored them as they continued to prepare the ship to pass through the planet's atmosphere. "LAND YOUR SHIP NOW or we will be forced to launch security ships to bring you in."

"Fuck it!" Kyra shouted as she saw two armed forces ships take off. "Here they come!"