XVI.

Hope was just finished with disabling George's ship when Aereon crossed her path.

"Hope, it is time that we have a little conversation."

Hope really didn't have the nerve for that Elemental at the moment but the sooner she got it over with the sooner Aereon would leave the planet; they already had enough problems without her causing some more. So she just nodded. "We'll meet at the lake in ten; I have to talk to Tyr first."

She found him bent over some strategic plans in his office. "Tyr, we've got a problem with George. He isn't allowed to leave the planet and he isn't allowed to use the com room; find him and detain him. I have to talk to Aereon, I'll explain everything afterwards. Take Carlos with you, George is completely beside himself, he could be dangerous."

Tyr didn't even raise an eyebrow at her request; he just checked the weapon in his belt and went for Carlos.

Hope sighed … one problem solved; at least for the moment. Taken care of that she went to meet Aereon. She found her sitting on a flat stone in front of the lake, watching the hounds. Aereon patted on the stone beside her, inviting Hope to sit down. It was a lovely, peaceful place; the lake was deep blue, a soft breeze rippled the surface and sent tiny waves across the lake. Birds sang in the trees and from time to time you could observe them hunting for the colorful insects living in the water's edge. During the hot hours in the afternoon the hounds came here to nap in the shadows of the trees that surrounded the little clearance. It was secluded but not very far from the village and Hope loved that place; it held a lot of very pleasurable memories.

"Hope, I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to be rude but I'm worried about your well-being."

"Never mind, Aereon." Hope nodded. "I have to apologize as well. I'm still angry with him and shouldn't take it out on everybody else."

"But you'll forgive him, won't you?"

"Come on, Aereon, why can't you just drop it? But yes, most likely. I know him and me too well to have major doubts about that. He is a prick but I love him too much to not reconcile." 'After making him eat a lot of crow' she added in her mind. "Satisfied?" And she meant it; maybe her talk with Tyr hadn't been completely in vain at all. Maybe she had needed somebody like him kicking her ass to get over her stupid sulking. And also she never would admit it she hadn't lied when she had told Riddick she was his. She was. Absolutely.

Aereon gave her a warm smile; it's been the answer she had waited for, now she was ready to get the good news. "We most likely have found Taylor."

That short sentence dropped like a bomb. Hope couldn't get out a word at first. Had Aereon really said that they had found Taylor? No, wait … most likely. "Aereon, forgive me if I sound a bit skeptically, but I've heard that before. How much likely?"

Aereon handed her a flexi. "That much likely. We don't have any DNA to compare yet but his records seem to proof it. Don't you think he looks like you?"

Hope's heart beat that fast she was afraid it would explode. She stared unbelievingly at the picture of a handsome tall man with eyes exactly likes hers. "You have found him." She knew it was Taylor, every fiber in her body told her so. She scrolled through the data, tried to read everything at the same time, the rest of the world completely forgotten.

"Hope, Hope!" It was not until she felt Aereon's hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently that she realized that she had totally backed out. "What? I'm sorry, I didn't listen." She also hadn't heard the rustle in the bushes behind her.

She sprang to her feet "Come on, let's give the others the good news! We have to equip a ship! I go to Borean!" Her thoughts ran a mile a minute, George was completely forgotten for the moment. "And I have to hail Riddick!" With a bright smile on her face she ran back to look for Laney and met Kerry on her way. She couldn't help but clasp her in a tight embrace. "She's found him, she's found Taylor!"

They laughed and danced around each other, causing Laney and a few others rushing to the scene. Hope flung her arms around Laney; she was that happy she felt like giving the whole planet a hug. "Aereon has found Taylor! I go and hail Riddick and then we'll get a ship ready. I can't wait to meet him!"

And she couldn't wait to talk to Riddick, to share her happiness with him. She sat down in front of the com station and tapped in the code that would connect her with the Defiant; in her excitement she put in the wrong letter-figure combination and so she had to put in the code again. And again. And again.

"Hope, what's wrong?" Kerry stood behind her, wondering why Hope's mood had changed that drastically; she wanted to go with her and since asking in front of the others was not an option for her she had followed her to the com room.

Hope's face was a mask of hurt and confusion. "He refuses to talk to me" she whispered.

"I'm sure you have put in the wrong code; just try it again. Why would he do something like that? Or maybe there are some solar storms or something like that. I can think of a hundred reasons why you can't hail him."

Hope shook her head. "I've tried it seven times. And each time the computer tells me that the Defiant gets, but refuses to take my call. Why, Kerry? What did I miss?"

"Hope, there is an explanation for it, don't attach too much importance to a simple transmission error."

But Hope knew better; there was no transmission error. "It's all right, Kerry. Please don't mention it in front of anyone, especially Laney or Aereon. I don't want their pity." Or another one of Aereon's death predictions.

Commotion outside let them sit up and listen attentively. "George! Shit, I've completely forgotten about him." They dashed out and towards the noise.

Tyr and Carlos had cornered George in front of one of the houses; he was armed with a gauss riffle and was holding Rita at gunpoint. Hope shoved her way through the crowd, stepping up in front of George.

"George, drop that gun! Now! I mean it."

He gave her a furious look, his gun didn't waver "You have disabled my ship!"

"I'm sorry, but I had to. We have to talk before you are allowed to leave."

"There is nothing I want to talk about with you; you have made your point clear. All I want is leave. My uncle was right with you but I didn't listen. I told him to leave you coz you are not like Riddick but you are nothing better. And now I can't reach him."

"George, I don't understand … you didn't even use the com room; and since when do you have an uncle?" What the hell was he talking about? He must have lost it completely.

"I don't need the com room, I have long range com in my ship. And he's not really my uncle, he was a friend of my father." He sounded pretty whiny-voiced by now.

"Tell me about that uncle of yours, maybe I can help you to reach him. Why didn't you tell us about him?"

"Ha! Nobody knew about Uncle Simmons; we made sure about that. Don't you think for a second that you are the only geek here on Furya. I made sure you could only find what I wanted you to see. We knew about Riddick and the bounty on his head; we could have used the money for the reconstruction! You owe it to me that Uncle Simmons left you. He would only have Riddick brought to slam."

Uncle Simmons!?! Hope had difficulties to breathe, all of a sudden she seemed to be back on that planet, she could feel again the panic she felt when she thought Riddick was dead, feel the anger she felt when she saw that scum with his boot on Riddick's back; and the satisfaction when she saw the life draining out of the merc's body.

"Left me? Your uncle wasn't completely honest with you; he intended to cashier my bounty and take me to slam as well. Didn't you know that?"

"That's not true! He wouldn't lie to me. He promised to leave you for me. What did you do to him? Why can't I reach him? I can see that you know something!"

And then everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Cracking noises, a pack of hounds with a livid Pooh in front of them storming out of the wood, fangs bared, spikes ruffled and murder in their eyes, George releasing Rita and aiming at Hope, Tyr trying to cover her body with his own from a projectile that never left its magazine and eventually an inhuman, bloodcurdling cry.

The creepiest thing indeed was the silence that had fallen over the place, that except of George cries everything happened in utter silence; no barking or growling of the hounds, no sounds of the people watching; the birds seemed to have stopped chirping and even the wind in the trees seemed to hold its breath.

The pack had reached George before he was able to pull the trigger and nobody was able to do anything against what happened then, they were frozen in place and watched in horror the hounds tearing George to pieces.