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They hopped the next shuttle off of Helion Prime, which happened to be heading to a planet called Tetreon Beta, a repugnant little backwater planet conveniently on the other side of the galaxy. Wretched as it was, it was one of the most populated planets in the known universe, which made it a good hiding spot. Nothing like hiding in plain sight. It took them close to a month to get there, they could've gotten there faster (two weeks faster, actually) on a direct transport but that would have required verifications and background checks and other such hassles that they couldn't threaten or bribe their way around. The ship they were on seemed to be on its last legs, but it was the lesser of two evils. They kept mostly to themselves, and traveling under assumptions of husband and wife kept the questions down. They heard whispers from some of the other passengers that they didn't act like any sort of husband and wife, but the right look of glaring eyes and wicked grins put that nonsense to rest.
Their cabin also left something to be desired. There was one queen size bed that came down out of the wall, one small latrine, which was stuck in an undersized closet, but other than that it greatly resembled an eight-by-eight prison cell, something Riddick was not entirely comfortable with. He gave Kyra the bed, not that he felt he had much say in it, and took the floor to sleep every night. They spent quite a bit of time here, as the ship routinely went on 'lockdown' for some repair or another.
They said very little to each other during the course of their trip. There was tangible tension hanging between them like an iron curtain. Being in such close quarters without their daily battles was taking its toll as well. It was like the training sessions had been a pressure release valve in lieu of all the things they couldn't (or wouldn't) say to each other. Finally, one day in the last week of the trip, the tension broke. They sat in the cramped cabin on 'lockdown' and as usual they were bathed in stressed silence. Riddick was intently sharpening his knives for lack of anything better to do. Suddenly he stopped and Kyra could feel him staring at her. She ignored it.
"I'm sorry," he said it so quietly she almost hadn't caught it and it still took a moment for his words to register in her brain. She put down the lit screen she'd been reading; an ancient classic from the 21st century about the exploits of a boy and his friends in a school of magic. Very interesting, really.
"What?" she looked at him in awe. His eyebrows knitted up like it physically hurt him as the words escaped his lips. He hated repeating himself but he did so through clenched teeth.
"I said I'm sorry…for leaving. I did it for your own good but I never should have left you." Just then the light over the cabin door went from red to green to signal the end of the 'lockdown'. 'Not a moment to soon,' he thought rising hurriedly to leave the cabin. She stood and stepped between him and the door.
"Wait!" She said it sharper than she'd meant to but it made him stop. She didn't have to see his eyes behind the smoky specs to know that he wasn't happy she blocked his escape. "Do you really mean it?" She knew he did, but she wanted to hear it. He owed her that much at least. He growled and lifted his goggles so that she could see the conviction of the words in his shined eyes. He bent closer to her face.
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't, you know that," The tone of his voice was low, but not threatening as she'd expected. She suddenly felt the urge to kiss him, but she wasn't sure. She leaned in closer keeping her eyes on his. There was no change in his expression, so she went for it. Closing her eyes she pressed her lips to his softly, almost chastely. She felt keenly for him respond at all; irritation, disgust, thrill maybe. Nothing. His breathing stayed even, he didn't move. Feeling bolder she opened her mouth slightly and touched her tongue tentatively to his closed lips. He tasted salty and dark, musky like the opium incense Imam used to burn. It made her tremble a little. Still he did nothing. She pulled away expecting to see anger in his eyes, but there wasn't. It was something else entirely. Something she'd never seen there before. He lowered the goggles and gently pushed his way past her and out into the hallway. Kyra's jaw dropped, affronted by both her actions and his response, or, more accurately, his lack thereof.
Why did you let her do that!' The question screamed over and over inside his head as he walked briskly down the hall to…to anywhere but their cabin. He was angry with her, no not her, himself for not pulling away. He hadn't wanted it particularly, although the thought had crossed his mind more than once since returning to New Mecca. In fact it had taken all he had not to grab her and crush her mouth with his own. He licked his lips absently and was shocked that he could taste her there; like honey and warm cognac. What the hell was wrong with him? He had just wanted her to know that he was sorry for leaving her the way he did. He almost felt responsible for the way she was now.
'No no no, she did that, it had nothing to do with you.'
'You just keep telling yourself that.' He shook his head as he entered the mess hall. He walked up to the bar and ordered a shot of bourbon to calm his tense nerves. Things were going to get complicated if this went any further. He downed the shot and ordered one more. This wasn't how things should be now.
'If not now, when? Hmm?' He downed the second shot. Inside his head he battled his thoughts.
'When I'm not being hunted like an animal, that's when.'
'You are an animal, and you know damn good and well THAT will never happen. You'll be hunted until you're dead.'
'No, I'll hide out somewhere long enough to convince the mercs I really am dead.'
'That'll never work. You'll go crazy sitting in one spot with one person for the rest of your life.'
'NO! We'll find a place-'
'A place to what? Settle down? Ha! You're not the settling type, and you know it.'
'With her I could be. She's something else. She's not afraid like all the others, she's never been afraid of me, not even on that God forsaken planet I found her on. She always had faith in me. She always knew I wouldn't leave them there, even when I didn't. She always…' His eyes grew wide as his subconscious drove the point home. She always… loved him. She loved him. She really loved him. No wonder it had crushed her when he left her in New Mecca. No wonder she snapped when she heard he was dead. It all made sense, and he knew it wasn't just because of the bourbon.
Kyra wasn't sure what to do with herself after Riddick left. She paced back and forth for a while mentally kicking herself for giving in to such a silly urge.
'How could I do something so STUPID!'
'It wasn't stupid, he deserves to know how you feel.'
'Hell no! It was just a stupid moment of… of… of stupidity!'
'Well he didn't exactly push you off, now did he?'
'What man would? Look at me.'
'You're so full of-'
'I'm using him, remember? He left me in New Mecca to rot, I can't let some stupid schoolgirl crush get in the way of-'
'Of what? Revenge? You really think you can get one up on Riddick? Ha! Keep dreaming sister.'
'But-'
'Besides, you know damn good and well you care about him too much to ever lift a finger against him.'
'But-'
'Face it! You love him!'
She sat on the bed, confounded by her last thoughts. She did. She loved him. She'd always loved him. She'd been mad when he left her, but she loved him nevertheless. She recalled the feelings of joy and relief that had threatened to overshadow her anger when she heard his voice back in New Mecca, remembered how she'd felt when he stood over her on her bed that night. 'God, it's true, I do love him.' Kyra lie down on the bed and fell asleep with this thought repeating over and over in her mind.
In her dreams she'd heard the door to the cabin open some time later, but lacked the will and motivation to sit up and find out where Riddick had been or what he'd been up to. Suddenly a strange male scent filled her nostrils, and she realized it wasn't Riddick in the room with her. Her consciousness shot to the surface and she was out of the bed in a flash of blankets facing two unknown male attackers. She instantly sized them up; the first one was about six-foot, stocky maybe two hundred pounds. The second, was shorter than the first, but looked to weigh about as much.
"Easy, sweet'art," said the first in a slimy accented voice, "We're not gunna 'ert ya, we just want Riddick, and you're gunna tell us where 'e is." Mercs. Kyra noticed they wore dark blue jump suits like the maintenance workers on the ship. 'That must be how they found us.' Kyra's heart was pounding. 'FOCUS WOMAN!' The first man lunged at her feet, and she easily jumped over him and used him as a springboard to kick the other man in the face, pushing his nose up into his brain and killing him instantly. The first man stood up, dazed at her speed and agility. He glanced at his buddy on the floor noticing his disfigured face and then back at Kyra who stood en garde across the room.
"Why you li'l-" he came at her again this time meeting her heel with his throat, crushing his windpipe and dropping him to the floor to suffocate. The door opened again, and another merc rushed in at her, seeing his two comrades on the floor. She went for him but Riddick rushed in behind him and grabbed him in a headlock, covering his mouth and incapacitating him. He kicked and squirmed, reaching desperately for his shiv, but falling short as he passed out.
Luckily it was late enough most other passengers were either asleep or previously engaged so no one noticed the ruckus.
"Why didn't you just break his neck!" Kyra was pacing anxiously behind Riddick as he tied up the debilitated merc.
"I want to know what he knows, now help me get him up on the bed." Kyra only paced, eyes darting wildly back and forth between the two dead mercs on the floor.
"They came after me, Riddick, I had to defend myself… I had to-" Riddick stood and whipped around to grab Kyra's shoulders and shake her to her senses.
"SNAP OUT OF IT!" he yelled harshly. She stared up at him and then nodded. They got the merc up onto the bed and waited for him to come to.
