I… hate… school… Jack sat at her desk, her head held up by her ring bedecked hand, her eyelids drooped. They snapped open as her teachers wooden ruler slapped down on her desk, narrowly missing the hand that held her pen. She looked up, glaring into Mrs. Jonsons spectacles. The light from the windows reflected off the glass so all she saw was the sunshine. Three girls, all perfectly blond and petite, sat in the front row and giggled at Jack's discomfort.

"Maybe if one did not stay up until all hours, one could pay attention to Our class." Mrs. Jonson liked to use the royal "We". Jack merely blinked as the bell rang for change of class. She stood, smoothed out the short pleated skirt that was required, and gathered her notebook into her beaten leather shoulder bag.

"Maybe if one wasn't so goddamn boring, We would stay awake." Jack muttered as she passed the "princesses." Mrs. Jonson liked them all because they were like her. They all took perfect notes and sneered at Jack as she passed. Jack didn't bother to sneer back, she could really care less.

She sat in the yard, a sandwich and a mug of juice for lunch as she watched several classmates fool around with an odd shaped ball one of them had gotten from a brother who was based on old Terra. There was a set of rules involving bending over, throwing the ball between your legs and running into who ever ended up with the ball until they could no longer move. It looked interesting, Jack mused as she took another bite. She unfolded the latest letter she'd gotten from Reider. She sent one every month, along with a thick silver ring. Jack studied each one before looking down at the paper. She had seven so far. One was a hawks head, the beak covered the middle knuckle of her right hand. A snake twined around the middle of her left, a thick band with archaic writing on her left thumb, and a simple plain band around her right index. Two of them were identical but for color and made on different planets. Those were on her pinkies, each one set with a gem, blue and green, and surrounded by Celtic designs. The last one, which had come with this letter, was a wolf's head, which she placed on her right thumb, its canny eyes winked emerald green.

"I haven't found him yet… but I will." Jack read.

Reider had left shortly after Riddick, and she had promised to bring the big man back. Jack had still been in a state of shock, so had only managed a quiet nod and a grasping hug before the woman had departed on the next cargo ship. Her craft was still on the first planet, and she needed to get it back.

In the meantime… Jack folded the letter and placed it back into the slim pocket on her long leather boots. She adjusted the buckles and looked up just in time to see the strange ball arch toward her. Instead of being smacked in the head she caught it from pure reflex.

"Girl!" One of the guys shouted. "Toss it over!" Jack stood and brushed off her thick black tights, adjusted her grip over the laces and threw it as hard as she could. The boy grunted a bit as it impacted his chest. He gave her an appreciative grin. Jack smiled back. "Wanna play?" he asked. Jack shrugged.

"Sure."

Riddick sat in a dim bar, his hands locked behind his back, hooked to the legs of the chair. His captors had agreed to take in a drink to toast their victory. While they laughed Riddick yawned and decided to take a quick nap. They really had nothing to celebrate over. There had been twelve of them to start with, and the three who sat at the table where so cut up that they could only use four hands between them, see out of five eyes, and talk from two mouths. Riddick on the other hand was just tired.

Besides, he needed a way into the compound they worked in, some ass had stolen his stash and relocated it in their bosses camp.

"To our fallen comrades," one of them toasted, "and the bigger bounty we all receive because of'em." He snorted into his beer and tapped Riddick's bald head belligerently. Eight months ago that move would have earned him a quick and painful death. But Riddick found his style rapidly decreasing as he traveled around. He refused to believe it had anything to do with Jack, but he found himself in bed at night, reaching for her…

Jack opened the mail box, pulled out a thick envelope and small box. They were both addressed to her, so she tucked them in her bag before opening the door and greeting Imam's wife. She went up to her room and opened the box. In the past few months Reider had been sending her earrings. It had been thirteen months since they'd seen Riddick, and Jack had run out of fingers.

She looked at the tiny skull and crossbones and smiled. She was on the water planet, Jack couldn't remember its name, but remembered that Riddick had refused to take her there because of the pirates. She took the tiny hoop out of the top of her left ear and replaced it with the stud.

"He was here three days ago. There are only a few planets left to try and I think I have a pretty good lead. When I catch up with the bastard he's going to wish he'd never been born." Reider had begun to add threats to her letters. Ones that Jack agreed with wholeheartedly.

"So congratulations, you've found me again." Riddick was slumped in his ships kitchen, obviously a few drinks into the wind. "What are you a fucking bloodhound?"

"You're trashed." Reider took the bottle from Riddicks hand and tilted it. It was the fifth empty bottle she'd seen since she'd opened the unlocked door to the outside, the seventh since she started following his trail from the bar she'd enquired at. And apparently he'd been drinking a bit at that establishment for a few hours before he'd left.

"You know what day it is?" Riddick asked with a goofy grin on his face.

"Yes, I do, and so do you apparently." She tugged him to his feet and let him hang over her. He pressed his face to her neck and breathed in deep.

"You smell good." He mumbled, his arm around her waist, his fingers starting to trail up.

"A-ha… nope." She pushed his arms away and grabbed shoulders before he could fall. "Wow… you know, I don't think I've ever seen you like this before."

"She really, really, really, hates me." His head lolled loosely.

"You idiot." Reider shook her head. "She thinks you hate her!"

"I couldn't hate her… she keeps the dreams away…" Riddick followed her as she manuvuered him into his room. "Or maybe I keep the dreams away…"

"Or maybe both you dolt." Reider mumbled as she pulled his shirt from his waistband and loosened his belt. He'd lost weight in the last two years since she saw him, and led her to believe that he wasn't really eating well; he probably got all his nutrition from the bottles she saw scattered everywhere on her way to his bedroom.

"I miss my Jacky…" Riddick mumbled as she pushed him onto the bed. She grabbed his boots off and covered him with a blanket.

"Not for long." She went to slap off the lights and was distracted by a small white box with Jacks name and address attached to it. Opening it she saw a long silver chain, with a single small medallion on it. Etched on the medallion was an ancient Chinese symbol for luck.

"Well, what do we have here?"