42. Aftermath of Guilt

Zemma sat patiently at the bridge and waited for her boys to return. She drummed her fingers, counting by fours to keep herself calm. She decided not to tell Riddick about her encounter. He would be angry, he considered Zemma weak. She snorted. No one was as fast as Riddick, not even Don or Jaron. It wasn't fair to hold her up to those standards, she was half their size. But while Hypatia might be tall, maybe as tall as Don (who had at least two inches on Riddick), she was fairly thin, certainly Zemma had more muscle mass… Zemma thought she could take Hypatia.

Well, Min thought it. Zemma thought she better be careful with those ideas. There was still that wicked smile on her face anyway.

Don pulled a field kit from his belt as he knelt next to Riddick.

"You're a fucking mess, Sir," he said gruffly.

"Lucky shot."

Don didn't bother to retort. He sprayed Riddick's suppurating wound with the antiseptic glue and pressed the wound together. He nodded sternly and pulled one more item from his kit. Riddick didn't brace for it, Don just slammed the ampoule of nanos into the good shoulder. The adrenaline kicked in immediately and Don dragged Riddick to his feet where he stood more or less steadily on his feet.

Riddick only nodded his appreciation and the two set back for the ship.

"You know I didn't touch her," Don started as soon as they exited the warehouse they'd chosen for their trap.

Riddick shook his head, and decided it was a bad idea. "What's 'Deinen' mean?"

"Didn't Zemma explain…?" Don sounded as if he hoped he wouldn't have to.

"I want to hear it from you." And he wanted something to keep his mind off how fucked up he felt for the long walk back through this shitty little town to the ship.

Don sighed. He really did not want to talk to this man about his paternal feelings for Jack, with his complete lack of understanding for Don's cultural references.

"Deinen means godfather, roughly." It was more than that; it was an obligation taken very seriously. Don was supremely embarrassed to have taken the duty of Jack from Riddick. "I shouldn't have done that without talking to you. It was presumptuous."

Riddick was a little confused to hear Don's discomfort. It was why he hadn't yet accepted Zemma's argument that Don could not have initiated sexual contact with Jack… she insisted that Jack must have… Zemma had said Don was like a 'step-father' but Riddick was hearing something more. "Explain it to me."

"Our society is founded on war… most don't really know why since we've never warred with ourselves and we're as far out on the edge of civilized space as Earth." That was saying something. Earth was so far out in the backwaters that its involvement with the universe was still in its recent memory. "There's an old tradition, between… brothers…soldiers… on the battle field… to take responsibility for one another's family if one died."

Riddick slowly looked sideways at Don, but Don was looking firmly ahead. "It was rude of me."

Riddick finally made the connection. Don wasn't apologizing for taking an interest in Jack, but for taking the job away from Riddick… whom Don perceived as Jack's father. "She isn't my kid."

"She might as well be."

So there was something more… something else. Brothers…? Presumptuous? Riddick blamed it on loss of blood when he finally realized why Don was still troubled. Don had assumed a position of Riddick's equal, a breach in protocol for a second. Riddick's attack on him must have seemed like an alpha putting a lesser pack member in its place. This Riddick understood. It was why Don had taken the hit despite being innocent of what Riddick had assumed happened between Don and Jack. He'd felt guilty for something else, just as deeply ingrained.

"Tell me about this Furian tradition."

It wasn't quite true that no one knew why Furians lived in a strict warrior society when there didn't appear to be anyone to war with. There were scholars who knew quite a bit about Furians ancient past. Most simply kept up the old traditions of physical training with body and weapons. It wasn't a waste; no civilization was free of the lawless, antisocial and predatory. Fury was a large planet, so those who wished to live outside the rules had room to leave the bounds of those who assembled under a leader. Democracy was a recent invention on Fury. Landlords had previously held great power, and each other at bay.

But those who bothered to study further, to hone their minds as well as their bodies, those could find all kinds of ancient history that was well documented, if difficult to believe. Don knew of it, but wasn't sure of its veracity.

Old documents that were still fresh and readable as any modern ones indicated there had been some great technological awareness in the past. Those 'papers' spoke of something so unlikely… well, Don explained it in short to Riddick and let him decide what was truth, and what was myth.

"There had once been one ruling race in the universe. That race had been so far and above every other race discovered that it was only natural to make them subservient. However these ancient beings were not overly populous… so they created a policing force: perfect soldiers who would enforce rule over every planet. For a millennia, or more uncounted, they'd done just that.

"But at some point someone rebelled.

"That First Race was destroyed by their own creations. Those perfect soldiers who were left retired as far from the systems they had terrorized as possible. Their old traditions survived. Furians survived. It was what we were created to do.

"One of those customs was Deinen.

"If a man died, his brother was responsible for his family. It needn't be a relative, in fact, it's better if it isn't, so that inheritance isn't an issue. The Deinen must protect his brother's family as if it were his own, unless or until his widow chose a new mate. She was forbidden to choose the Deinen, who often had his own wife and family anyway."

"And if the man wasn't dead?" Riddick's tone was needling.

Don sighed heavily. "I crossed a line, Sir. It was sedition." He continued to look straight ahead as he walked.

Riddick snorted. He'd never before had a 'second in command'. He'd never really counted any man as friend, though the preacher had come close, and Don closer. He'd never intended to have a family, yet it seemed he did, with all the problems he'd never wanted.

Did he need a brother too? His head was rushing from blood loss and adrenaline.

At least he believed Don innocent of molesting Jack now that he understood why Don was putting off guilt like a bad stink.

Jack finally made the nearest prison. They segregated on this planet, so she was lucky the near one was also the women's prison. Now she just needed to get herself arrested. That was never a problem. There was always someone worth stabbing standing near the prison gates. That it happened to be a guard was just the nature of the men who chose that profession. It wasn't her fault bulls were also assholes.

Three of them: One fat, older, and wearing more brass than the other two. Pity. He was probably most deserving, but would also be less challenging. The younger men probably hadn't learned how to really be completely worthless human beings just yet. In ten years they'd deserve what she was about to give their boss.

She walked to within ten feet of the men, who twitched to attention without seeming to notice her. She swayed her hips a bit more just so they were sure she was a girl and not some stupid boy looking for a job.

"Oh, ladies?" She cooed. That usually got their attention. No man could stand to have his manhood questioned so blatantly.

"G'way kid." The fat old one waved a hand dismissively. Maybe he was used to being called a lady?

"Fuck you, pig." Another oldie but a goodie.

"Beat it."

"Hey, don't let me interrupt you if you're that busy whacking each other off…" she shrugged, but didn't turn to go.

"Look kid…" The fat one started toward her.

"I…" she took two steps, one of which propelled her foot into his face. "Hate…" She took hold of his stunned head with both hands and bounced it off her knee. "Being…" As he fell in slow motion to the ground she pulled her shiv. "Called…" He was face first in the dust, so she just stuck the thing into his spinal cord just below the skull. "Kid!" She looked up, barely flecked with dust and blood, at the other two guards.

"Wanna try calling me 'kid' too?" She knew there was a crazy grin on her face, by the look on their faces. "C'mon boys… you can take a little girl, right?"

They couldn't. Jack kinda wished Riddick was here to see her in action. They weren't anywhere near as fast as Riddick or Don or even Zemma, but still, she knew she knew she was something to behold, a slip of a girl taking on two burly rent a cops. She was fast. She was dangerous. She was oh so good.

Two minutes later it was over. She stood panting over three dead bodies, barely breaking a sweat. She felt more powerful than she ever did when she was trying to play it straight. Hypatia was right, she was born to kill. She was good at it. She…

A noise above her drew her look up above the cliff-side prison gate. A woman stood at a balcony there, some kind of rifle in her hands aimed right at Jack. Jack only smiled at her too. Maybe she was finally gonna luck out?

"Do it!" Jack screamed and laughed hysterically. 'Suicide by cop.' Pathetic. Still, better than whatever Hypatia had in store for her…

Jack barely saw the woman's finger slip slowly backwards before she felt the blast hit her full in the chest, slam her into the ground, and into oblivion.