A/N: Wow it's been seven months. Gee. My Muse failed me. I had intended this to be a Kyra chapter, but … My Muse is still silent on that. So, change of plans. This is a mixed chapter with a lot of Riddick and Jack. Oh well, I suppose you folks are getting used to the slow pace of this story…
A Passage, 31
Spinning out of Control
Jackie, once known as Audrey, had learned the hard way to take the knocks life dealt her in stride. Hardship, hunger, constant cold, hard work – these things were the stuff her life had been built on because of the harsh conditions as she matured on Sigma 3, a mining world under Company control. Not only had the physical conditions of the world hardened her young soul, but the social strata there coupled with the extreme have / have not dynamics warped her perception about what was normal and what was not. Peaceful life in a loving society like Helion's would have mystified her in the long run, as she was a child of the hinterlands, one that the Company ran like an old-time slavery plantation.
Her mother had come from the Pits. Somehow she'd crossed that invisible line and by whatever grace that existed in the universe she'd brought her young daughter with her. Jackie still didn't know the full story. She suspected that her current situation had more to do with it than had been ever said out loud. Once out of the Pits, Aubrey managed to latch onto the most powerful man on Sigma 3, Carl Johastein. And for whatever reason, Carl had seen her fit to have a large number of children with her. These children were granted the social standing that made them real citizens of the 'Verse, the fabled set of birth papers that gave them interstellar rights against being held in slavery. He never officially adopted the child she already had, instead holding over them both the lack of Papers as a means of keeping them docile and under his control.
Because of the things that transpired before Jackie was old enough to understand, she'd grown up as the oldest child in a large family whose mother was an addict and whose father was abusive. Her mother took pains to make sure that she stayed small and toddler-like for as long as possible, but Carl eventually realized what was going on and forced the issue. Jackie had vague memories of being given more food than she could ever eat and being nearly forced to consume it, 'for her health'. Soon after that stopped the care of the home and children had fallen to her. She'd gotten tall enough to reach the cook surface. Taking care of herself and others was practically second nature, internalized and permanent.
She just shifted her focus from children to a single male, was all.
It seemed a lifetime ago when rain was cold and the ground being muddy was a threat. A lifetime ago when she felt the need to avoid people and keep herself hidden in the shadows unless her mother needed her for something. A lifetime ago when mining and virtual slavery was a fact of existence and a slip of paper was the only thing keeping the classes apart. She could almost forget the threat of the slave pits and being pimped out now. Almost. Only a fool could ignore the faded scars from the nightstick that decorated her back. But she supposed that for the time she had, life was good. She didn't expect it to last, so every day was lived as if there was no tomorrow even though they prepared for it.
But life was good. This was because she'd gotten away from the Company. Her blind flight had been fraught with danger, threats at every stage of the way, even after she'd found him the danger had been there. Sometimes she wondered what her life would have been like if the Hunter-Gratzner hadn't crashed. She'd be with Shazza and Zeke, likely, moving through the ghost lanes from one job to another… Sometimes she missed them. They'd almost been real parents to her, even though they thought she was a boy. Neither of them deserved to die, but then she wouldn't have been forced to make the choices she'd made if the crash hadn't happened.
Maybe it was destiny. The forces of fate pushed the ship out of the heavens onto that world, because there was no other way to make sure that she'd end up here, with him. No other way to force him to let her into his thick protective shell where he needed her to be. She had no regrets. She'd chosen him and him alone. She'd given him her body and her soul. Her full trust. Everything she was focused on his needs and his desires. She'd told him once that she'd follow him to the ends of the 'Verse, and she meant it. She still did.
So he'd brought her here. Jackie paused to scan the small valley with its high ring of mountains and frozen lake. Always her awareness was stretched to the limits, because there were threats here too. Urzo, Saber Cats, even smaller challengers to the fish she'd lifted to the surface through a hole in the ice. An alarm horn sat within reach so that she could put up an alert if she had to flee from the bounty she was in charge of. The dim purple star that was this world's sun was barely above the morning horizon, slowing climbing into a gray but clear sky. The frigid air was still and calm. Faint wisps of icy clouds hovered in the distance, teasing of returning snows. This was a different world from her birth, one where rain was warm, in comparison, at least to the icy snows that fell most of the year. UV6, a world of cold dim ice, a place where she could help carve out a life that was free, if hard.
The weathered young sun-bleached blonde never complained. Not when she mended clothes by firelight, nor when she scraped enough of some plant matter or another together to add to the food supplies. Even now, as she tended to the fishing nets with chilled stiff fingers, she had no reason to moan or groan about her fate. She was, amazingly enough, happy. The thought that soon she'd be back at the cave with a load of fish for the food stores and that shortly after her man would arrive with whatever kills he managed to make, that they were together was all she needed.
It was this sense of bliss that colored her existence here that let her overlook the weakening connections with Furya and the lessened numbers of visions and visits. At one point she might have been concerned at the loss of this lifeline to her old life, but now… she truly didn't need it. Because of this she had not noticed the visions stopping. She'd been too busy to care, really. Rich needed her to be on her toes, aware of the current situation, not mentally stuck on some far-away world with an orange sun. Thus she focused on the here and now with single minded devotion. Perhaps the spirits of Furya couldn't reach her in this mental state.
But on this day, someone else would reach out to her. Jackie stood, head cocked to the side as her mental awareness of the faint psychic touch made the insides of her ears tingle slightly. She shook her head and walked the rest of the way to the small ice-block and skin shelter erected on the edge of the fishing spot. Soon her work pushed the odd pre-warning out of her mind. Over half a day passed, with Jackie alternately hauling up nets and putting them back again, doing some careful storage and crafting while she waited in the little lean-to shelter in between times. It seemed like nearly every other day she'd come out to the lake. But then in the late afternoon something strange happened.
She was out at the cut hole carefully drawing up the nets when she looked across the ice and realized she was staring into her own face… Only it wasn't her. It couldn't be. This was no reflection, and Jackie had never had a waking vision quite like this before. Normally she was transferred to another place and time with her visions, but this… It was more like a window across a vast distance. A smudge in space allowing her to view something that someone thought she needed to see. So she took in the vision as she might any other, carefully noting each detail and locking it into her mind. At first there were no thoughts, no questions, just blank observations of what she was seeing. But soon Jack's rising panic would overflow those few moments of logical calm with a flood of questions that couldn't be answered.
The first thing Jackie noticed was, of course, the face. Same cheeks, same forehead, same eye shape, same lips… different chin? This puzzled Jackie for a moment before a remembered image of her mother floated into her mind. Her mother's chin. Was she seeing her mother? But no… Her mother could never, ever, have that look in her eyes that this woman had. A look that was deadly, sharp, and hate filled. Icy blue eyes. Angered, pissed off, blue eyes. Her mother's eyes had not been blue. Well, not this shade of blue. Not an almost-green, blue. But she knew that color; she'd grown up with it. Those were Carl Johanstein's eyes in her face. Jackie knew that they didn't belong there.
The first tinges of panic were starting to settle in. She pushed the feeling away. She had to remain calm. Just observe. The other woman had hair, gosh, lots of curly brown hair. Her mother's hair. Jackie's own hair had some of the wave, but was much softer in texture. Her father's hair likely, just like she had her father's eye color. Not Carl Johastein. No. Some other male, someone her mother knew in the Pits. Someone who had died to save her. This part of the puzzle she'd been told. Carl Johastein had brown hair too, but it was straight and rather mousy, not this rich color that she was observing even though the hair in question was matted and dirty. When clean, that hair would be stunning.
She took some refuge in the fact that there were recognizable things about this visage, this unknown woman. Her mother shone through clearly. Was this a sibling? One of Johastein's kids? No. She was too old. The next oldest child had been a boy, after all. The panic was starting to rise in Jackie's gut again, filling her with warm jitters that threatened to make her sick. She took in a deep breath of cold icy air and forced herself to not cough from the shock to her lungs. Slowly she gained her feet; hands still tangled in the fishing nets. She backed away and the other figure stayed crouching, fighting nausea back, clearly angered at her weakness over her own body.
Jackie closed her eyes, retreating to the lean-to, nets and fish trailing behind her. The sensation of being trapped followed her. She paused just outside the shelter, unable to force herself to go inside. Not my feelings, it can't be. I'm not trapped. She turned back to look at the image, the window that was still there. The woman, in her stained clothing, was crouched down in such a way that suggested a small space. Jackie knew then that she was feeling the other woman's sensations. Her nausea, her claustrophobia, maybe even her panic. The stained jumpsuit the other was wearing might have been a uniform. The worn boots were a heavy-soled slip on type, no laces. They seemed to stay on with a series of short straps that stuck down somehow. The strange symbols on the front of the one-piece might have been numbers, but not of a language Jackie knew.
Then the woman looked up, her face twisted into a snarl almost like she was saying 'what the fuck are you looking at'. It was at that moment that something clicked inside Jackie's soul. This other person was her, but not her. This was the woman that the wanted posters had shown. They were connected, and they could see each other. Or at least they saw each other's environment. An odd sense of numbness settled over her, like someone else was helping to smother her panic. Jackie swallowed.
This was like looking at a nightmare, a horrible what-if that was turning out to be all too real. She began to back away, rattled by the sight. The other woman's blue eyes hadn't actually focused on hers, seemingly looking past and toward the shelter. Jackie couldn't breathe. The rising panic forced its way through the numbness as the other woman, her twin-that-was-not begun sweeping her eyes over the landscape, taking in the ice and snow and gray sky with it's purple star. Jack knew that it was only a matter of time before those angry, sharp eyes that missed nothing spotted her.
It was worse than just being spotted, though. Jack could have turned away, let the woman see her back. But she was riveted to the spot, unable to look away. The blue eyes darted closer, closer, then up and their eyes met. It was like lightening coursing through her body. There was no doubt that the other woman saw her… The spark of recognition was almost too much, like the other woman was thinking, 'hey, that's me'. Jack almost screamed at the vision that was far more than a vision. Time seemed to stop as they stared at each other, like long lost twins parted. Only she knew she had no twin. And this was more like seeing herself in an alternate reality.
The other woman blinked. Time jumped and started to flow again. Jackie stared at the vision as the other individual slowly registered she was seeing something out of the ordinary. The snarl faded into surprise. Feeling less shocked, Jack studied the figure closer. The woman's pale skin spoke of days without sunlight. Her own nails had torn at her dirty clothes. Able to think and question, Jack realized this woman was almost identical to her mother, likely when her mother had been younger and not so wasted. Under the grime she was pretty. Only now, seeing this younger visage of what her mother looked like did Jackie realize how much she looked like her mother herself. No wonder Riddick had recognized her on the Hunter-Gratzner. Aside from the eye color, the softer hair texture, and the pointed chin she was almost exactly like her mother in looks.
Only, this wasn't Aubrey Johastein of the past either. The blue eyes were the wrong color and her figure was too lean and too toned for that. This woman was a fighter, the sort that struggled to survive and hated being weak. Who was this woman?
Jackie focused on the woman's living conditions. The surroundings looked dismal. Dark, dirty, cramped… Jackie could see behind her what looked like crumbling stone or cement blocks littered with rubbish and filled with rodents. The roof was only a few feet above her folded form. Where was she? The feeling of panic rose again in Jackie's throat. What did this vision mean? If they were seeing each other, what was the actual truth of the 'Verse? Where had she come from? Who was responsible for her being where she was? One of them couldn't be genuine. But who was the fake? The doubts at her own identity was something new, and it bothered her.
The image faded. All she could do was stare at the blank ice and wonder. Perhaps she stared too long because after a while she noticed that it was getting dark. She hurried the nets off the ice and gathered the fish. Her trek back to the cave was a rushed one, relying on her Furyan nightvision. She had just settled the fish down when Richard came into the cave. She swept the fish into the storage hole for it and rushed to help him out of his coat and into the warmer area of the cave.
They shared the tasks of making food, bathing, mending clothes. The swapped tales about their day and what things they had seen. But Jackie never mentioned her vision. And Richard never mentioned his, either. Both of them lived in denial of this one shared trait because neither of them wanted to admit that the time they had was stolen. Stolen time never lasted. And they wanted forever.
That night she tried to forget about the day's happenings, taking refuge in the arms of her other half, focusing on him with an intensity that he rejoiced in. For Riddick this total devotion was something rare, new, precious, treasured. He never asked her why she went into these phases of near worship of him, instead choosing to return the favor the next time she gave him the chance to. Theirs was a rhythm of give and take, day in and day out. Not only together, but also in their interactions with the larger world of survival they found themselves in. Each day had a routine formed by the web of life that they were at the center of.
By morning Jack had forgotten the vision from the day before. She returned to the fishing hole and followed the routine that she'd made for herself. About midday her memory was jerked back when the vision reoccurred. This time the other woman looked quite sick. Instead of feeling panic this time Jack was worried. She sent up a silent plea that the other woman would recover, whoever she was. Then Jackie forced herself to go back to work even though the vision did not fade for hours. The feeling of being watched through the 'window' stayed with her until it faded near dusk.
Once back in the cave, Jack again focused on Rich with an intensity that blew him away. The sex was fantastic, no complaints there. But he knew something was wrong and didn't dare bring it up. Instead he waited until she'd worn herself out and protectively held her tight. Whatever it was, by morning Jack again seemed fine.
On the third day, Jackie was almost waiting for the woman to appear so she could see how she was doing. When the dark haired woman finally did, Jack breathed a sigh of relief even though the other seemed worse off than before. She'd reached through her visions before to heal and help damaged souls. Maybe that was what she needed to do here? Once Jack had the nets settled she tried everything she could think of to somehow reach across the chasm that divided them so she could heal the other woman to no avail. She wasn't even sure that her 'twin' was aware of her efforts.
That night she sobbed but was unable to tell Richard why. Baffled, he tried to distract her after letting her cry. It worked. Again by morning Jack seemed her normal chipper self. Rich offered to take over the fishing for a day so she could stay at the cave but Jackie insisted that she was Ok to handle the nets. Her problem had nothing to do with the fishing. He trusted her and agreed to let her go back to the fishing hole if that was what she wanted to do. Rich clearly knew she was bothered by something. His response to it was to make their time together in the cave as much their time as he could.
Over the next month and a half Jackie had the vision every day and the other woman seemed to be relying on them to save her sanity after she recovered from being sick. Perhaps just being there was enough to help. Then the pattern changed. The visions became sporadic, just as the first snows started to fall. It seemed that her 'twin' had been moved to another location which while was just as dirty was far less cramped. The roof seemed much higher and made of a metallic grill. It also seemed that she'd gotten new clothes. This cheered Jack up some, but she couldn't shake the sensation that the woman was in prison somewhere.
It was a hard thing to not think about it… to not bring the visions to Riddick's attention, especially when she happened to have one in the cave while the storms kept them both inside. She wondered if her 'twin' realized what and whom she was seeing or if she even cared.
Riddick never noticed the 'window', even if it was open while he was there. But he did spot Jack's blank look on occasion, like she was seeing something so very far away. He would, when this happened, settle down behind her and take the work out of her hands. He'd murmur softly into her hair and kiss her neck. And she'd come back to him. He'd try to ground her, to keep the vision away, not knowing what it was she saw and not caring either. All he knew was that she kept his visions at bay while he was with her, just by being there and if he couldn't do the same then he was failing at his duty to her in his own mind at least.
For the first time in Jackie's life she knew what it was to be alive without fear, and living to rules that were forged from nature itself as opposed to mankind's laws. Weeks stretched into months and months into seasons… She felt in her element. And Riddick was at her side… Slowly the memory of the other woman and the strange visions melted into the experience of her life and became normal, or as normal as life could be on such a harsh world.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Carolyn Fry looked up at the woman standing at her shoulder as she studied the information about one Audrey Johastein that had been somehow gleaned from Kovan records. The current Captain of the Quintessan ship Gale had little medical knowledge, but she knew enough to see that this young woman was completely normal. Fully human. "I should tell you something about Audrey. Something that could get her into huge trouble with the law. Please don't judge her until you know everything."
The Elemental placed a calming hand on Carolyn's shoulder, "I've got no authority to condemn anyone. Tell me what you know."
"She's the best computer hacker I've ever seen. I watched her hack into the guild database with a secured guild link-up, through the tightest security, like it was nothing. Give her a computer and Jack can do anything with it. Set off alarms, switch identities…"
"… cause ships to go off course and completely lock out all controls?" Aereon finished.
"Er… yeah. She did that with the Kubla Kahn, to keep them from following us. Look, she had to. That Kovan bitch was insane."
"But Audrey shot her, blew her head off, Carolyn. Why did she need to hack into the Kubla Kahn's systems?"
Fry stood up. "You want the truth? Ok. Antonia Chillingsworth had a gladiatorial pit on that ship of hers and a room filled with frozen trophies. She forced us to fight for our lives. Once we tricked her and managed to get out of her pit she sent 'goll mutants after us. For some reason she wanted Jack. None of us were going to let her put the girl in deep freeze, so we ran. Jack never wanted to shoot Antonia. The plan was that we'd get to the fight deck and flee the ship after Jack disabled it. It was going perfectly, until Smyth opened up the largest shuttle. Antoina was inside it. She shot at him. He fell. Jack shot her after. The girl thought Antonia had killed Smyth. That's why she picked up Junner's gun and shot Antonia. Ok?"
"Yes. I think I'm starting to understand. Smyth is the man Jack left Helion with. He's the Furyan, isn't he? He's Riddick. And Jack switched his identity with the real Smyth after the crash of the Hunter-Gratzner."
"Does it matter?" Carolyn turned away, "It bought them some time, some peace, on Helion. The only peace they've ever gotten and neither of them knew how to deal with it. Oh, please – Aereon I'm begging you – please leave them be."
Aereon sighed. "The fate of the Universe hangs in the balance. You know I cannot. All I can do is promise that if they stop this threat I'll do everything I can to make sure they are left alone after." Carolyn felt the weight of the universe settle on her shoulders. Her older lover walked up behind her, "I'm so sorry. This is my fault, and I take responsibility for it. To restore Furya we must find its Alpha, its king. To save the Universe we must restore Furya. If I could change the past I would, but I can't. I'm glad you still trust me, Carolyn. Can you stand by my side for the rest of the trial to follow?"
It sounded like the older woman was trying to draw strength from her to do what had to be done. Fry looked over at the tired face, lined with stress. She loved this being with all her heart. Slowly the blonde nodded. "I'll stand with you, Aereon."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The last of the snows finally gave way to the short dry period again. It might have been the planet's winter for all they knew. It was their stock up time. Time to hunt and to gather. Time to fish and to trap. Neither Riddick nor Jack paid much attention to anything else. Neither had any idea about the forces moving to flush them out of hiding. They could live their days here and be happy. It was not to say that there was a lack of crises in their new home of course, but at least they had no mercs on their necks.
Jackie could never forget the time Richard sliced his hand open while making a shiv in the cave. The blood had been all over. She'd been able to apply enough healing to keep him from bleeding out, but he'd insisted that she learn how to stitch the wound up. So she had, and he'd instructed her on every step, although he'd been in terrible pain. He joked with her, "This is why you never drink while working with sharp rocks. Got that? Ouch. No, you're doing fine, Jacket. Honest."
She'd used boiled sinew and a hooked fish bone needle to stitch the edges of his flesh together and applied a poultice to it to keep it from becoming infected. He'd forgone hunting for a week to let it heal up, choosing to trap small game and help her fish. Later that dry period she'd stumbled into a Urzo and it's kill when she was gathering moss. The alarm horn had called Richard to her side and driven the creature off. She made sure that she never left the cave without the horn after that.
They were lucky that Riddick knew a fair amount about first aid. Even Jack had those oops moments. Fishhooks through the finger, slipped shiv while skinning, even taking on a predator, in her case a saber-toothed cat, and winning meant being injured. She'd come back to the cave with the animal and a bloody side with deep gashes. The wounds she'd packed with snow to stop the blood flow, but Rich had his hands full that evening stitching her back together. The alarm horn had gotten busted, forcing her to fight. After that he insisted on keeping her in the cave for a few days until he was sure the bleeding had stopped and that the wounds were healing.
But the worse thing happened after the first snows again started to fall. She'd gone out to the trapping grounds with him to help him gather and reset the area. It only took one misstep, a small stumble that put her into the line of fire and set off one of the most deadly traps Riddick had devised to date. She saw it coming and twisted just enough to only have one of the spears hit her. The scream brought him running.
He noticed the fact that the spear had gone right through her shoulder first and that she had the sense to not move backwards along the shaft where he'd added extra barbs to it. "Hang on Jack! I'm here, babe." He touched her head as he looked at the situation. She was kneeling now, having slid down the shaft to get her knees on the ice.
"Oh, hell. I'm so stupid!" Jack gripped the spear handle with her wrapped hands, feeling anger more than pain at the moment. "Snap it off. Push it through."
Riddick nearly smiled at her. "It's gonna hurt like hell."
"It already does. Just do it quick like, Ok?"
He pulled his shiv and cut the bindings where the spear connected to the trap. "I'll pull it through from the back. It's gonna bleed, Jack."
She nodded. This she knew already. She could heal it, if he'd hurry. "Don't worry about that. Just get it out." She felt his hands on the shaft and moved hers to the wound. She took a deep breath, "Now." The movement was quick and painful, like lava through ice. But Jackie didn't scream again, instead focusing on her healing power and trying to knit the wound back together. Behind her Riddick dropped the blood covered spear and settled in behind her. She slowly fell back into him, "'m ok… honest." Her eyes slowly closed as the pain took away her ability to remain awake. He carefully packed the wound and carried her back to the cave, traps and game forgotten.
But aside from these crisis they were at peace. The rhythm of survival suited them. The seasons passed and their connection together became stronger. He knew her cycle of moods as well as she knew his. Alone on this world it would have been easy to just forget that anything else existed. Jackie's ease at adapting to UV6 made Riddick very happy. He had his doubts about how tough she was. After the first harsh winter his doubts were set to rest. After the second winter their life seemed perfect. He allowed himself to begin to think that the universe would leave them alone.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
The Imam shut off the vid. He'd been debating this all along, ever since one Eva Logan contacted him about Smyth and his missing ship "just to confirm some facts." Eva had come off as a nice honest person, honest enough that she'd come out and told him she was an information broker and that Smyth's widow had a lawyer who was contesting things still about the insurance settlement.
Now Carolyn was asking him to meet with Aereon, an envoy from the Elemental homeworld. He knew of her, of course. His contacts had gotten the blonde pilot the job in the first place. But he'd never met her before and doing so meant traveling to her current location. He wouldn't leave his family. And since the Crash, he'd forsworn all travel outside Helion space. Call him paranoid, but he wouldn't risk Cryosleep anymore.
His other option was to get a formal invite for the Elemental to come to Helion. According to Captain Fry that was perfectly fine, if he could do it in three days. Abu closed his eyes for a moment and then dialed up another one of his many contacts, "Greetings. I need to speak with you about a favor. Might Helion benefit from increased contact with Quintessa? I have a contact that believes the Envoy, Aereon, might be in our area next week and a formal invitation to visit would bring her here."
"Ah, Imam. That is brilliant. The Old Colonies have all but faded, only the Elementals remain in force. Kova maintains an embassy here; it only makes sense to have one for Quintessa. I will speak to the president on your behalf if you can promise a response."
"If the invite is issued within the next three days, Counselor, I can promise that we shall have more than a response. Aereon will come to Helion."
"Consider it done. I'll have the invite issued by nightfall."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Kyra had never felt more like a fly in a spider's web. She was trapped and she knew it. But she was trapped near the edge and if she played the game correctly she might have a shot at freedom. The trick was to act passive until the time was right. To the 'Golls she could act passive meek. They wouldn't do the things to her that the mercs had done. They wouldn't force her to fight for every scrap. But they would hurt her, and they would try to force her mind into believing things that weren't true if she wasn't very careful.
First, though she had to get out of the prison. To do that she needed to endure this trial, convince them that she swallowed their crap, so that they would take her out of here. More was at stake than just her mind. She trusted that what she'd been told was the truth and that there'd been only one way that very valuable token had ended up in her hands and not in Charlie's. She knew he wanted out as much as she had. But instead he'd given her the token and she had no idea what he'd paid to get in the first place, nor how much it would cost him in the long run with her gone. For all she knew he'd be dead by nightfall without her there to protect him. But she couldn't ever look back.
The 'Golls hooked her into a device that held her head firm and steady. Her eyes were forced open and misted with a soothing solution that ran in streaks down her dirty face. Kyra hadn't even whimpered when the needle burst into tendrils that invaded her eyes, like a fine spider's web, searching for her optical nerve. It wasn't that there was no pain. No. But rather that in her mind, anything was worth the freedom that this might offer. Even death would freedom in a form, and currently any freedom she could find would do. The advice she'd been given from the white-knuckled man next to her was that quiet would be rewarded. So she was silent as the screams of those around her echoed through the room.
As the sound of screams faded so did the sensation of grayness in her eyes. It became darker. Totally black. Unnatural blackness. The complete absence of light. Then the faint chant started, at first in unintelligible rhythm that was nothing more than noise. Voices murmuring in unison. Then the chant resolved into individual words that spoke of promise and paradise. The darkness was an illusion from the sensor web she was hooked into, designed to make the words being spoken like a lilting incantation more – sacred. It was easier for her to listen to the flow of the noise, to not hear the meaning behind the words, as images formed, a visual echo, faintly at first, of those same ideals, paradise, promise…
She knew it wasn't real. It couldn't be. Such perfection didn't exist in this 'Verse. She doubted that it could exist in any 'Verse. Kyra made a decision. These images would be just light and color; the sermon, noise, music. She'd ride it out. There was no reason to assign meaning to the history of the Rychengoll order that played out for her deep inside her mind. No reason for her to believe these words not born out on her personal experience.
It could have been days, weeks, months, before it was over. Her sense of time had been seriously fucked with in double max anyhow, and the entire ordeal she endured now did nothing to help her. But she rode the entire thing out, watching as the 'Goll histories explained the role of the Brethren, and how she might one day fit into the ranks if found worthy. It might have been interesting, if she'd been paying attention to more than the changes in light and shadow, or the flickering colors that played against her optical nerve.
When the device came off, the room was lit by a single candle. Even that light hurt. She sat on the hard wooden seat for a moment catching her breath and listening to the sounds of boots scraping against the floor. Other convicts were being dragged back out of the room, dead to the world. She found that amusing. Perhaps it was the small ghost of a grin that played on her face as Kyra slipped down onto her knees in exhaustion that was her saving grace. All she knew was that she felt far to rattled to attempt standing. Kneeling seemed so much safer, much less far to fall.
She bowed her head in an attempt to shield her eyes from the candle. Her shoulders trembled so much that she thought her elbows might knock together so she relaxed them almost into a stooped posture and placed her hands flat on the floor. The faint shuffling of feet alerted her to the arrival of one of the 'Golls. Without raising her head she flicked her gaze toward the sound. Two sets of feet. The twin, blind Brethren shuffled closer. Oh, it was hideous, what these people did to themselves. But she had no energy to spare. Even though Kyra hated being touched or having her personal space invaded she was too tired to flinch away, too tired to attack the unwelcome hand that settled in her matted hair. "This one. She Believes. Attend our newest Sister," came the odd twinned voice.
While her mind tried to process this shock, she heard a whispered, "No!" from the white-knuckled fellow that had given her advice. He was gripped by his arms and dragged away. "I passed, I did! I never screamed. I believe! No…" His voice faded as he was evicted from the room.
Kyra tried to remember how to breathe. It was a woman that approached her with a soft, "Apologies, Brethren," as she dipped her head. "May I be so honored?"
"Sister Nyrah," came the twin harmony of the Brethren's voice. "Sister, I know not your name."
"Kyra," she managed to force out, finding her voice difficult to get any volume with. There was a clicking noise behind her. Her arms were shaking violently as the tremors moved down from her shoulders. It took a moment for Kyra to comprehend that her address was not complete. "Brethren-" She felt her arms give way so that she was face down to the floor, presenting her entire back to his fury should he decide to punish her. That bothered her, feeding a fury that smoldered deep inside her belly. She forced it to cool, and her instinct to defend to be still. If she wanted to escape these freaks she would have to play along with them.
Instead, the odd harmony commanded, "Hold your whips. The child is new, and knows no better. Brother Mikal, you are tasked with educating the Sister Kyra. For now, wash the stink of this place from her. Honor her. Worship her that the grace of God has touched." The Brethren shuffled away.
She breathed air as a free woman for the first time in years, thanks to that token. The Rychengolls didn't even tell Willis who it was that they took, only that they had found a true believer. She was given the name of her choice, Kyra, as a sister of the 'Goll order, dressed in new clean soft gray robes after a bath that washed away the grime and dirt of double max. She felt a bit out of sorts, at first. Her hair once again was past the middle of her back, a mass of brown curls that reminded her of her mother's hair. They let her wear it loose, spilling over the hood and down her back.
Brother Mikal was to be her guide. He was a plain looking bloke with a soft voice. He told her that she had to pass tests in order to ascend and become one of the brethren. The first task she was assigned was conversion of 15 souls, from a foreign world. That world would be chosen for her based on her background. Kyra struggled to not look at him like he was crazy, instead nodding meekly like she'd seen others doing. Converting others might take her years. Then again, that might not be such a bad thing.
Nearly a week passed with a whirlwind of medical tests, none of which actually did more than indicate she was malnourished. The 'Golls didn't bother testing her to see if there was a reason why, as the prison was supposed to not allow the inmates to breed. She was given a carefully crafted diet to address her needs though. It was strange that she could sleep in a soft bed that was clean, warm, and dry, without fear of being hosed down by a sadistic guard. She still started when one of the other converts came up on her without warning. One of the other men, a disfigured fellow with patchy gray hair simply barked a laugh at her and said, "Don't let it bother you, Sister. Few get out of that place with their sanity intact. With time, God will heal you." She gave him a typically glassy expression and nodded. Inside though, she wondered how long she could keep up the act and play like she'd been tamed. The only thing she regretted about leaving the prison was that Willis was still alive.
Kyra slowly settled into a routine that calmed her nerves. It was easy for her to hide the changes that were happening to her under the flowing robes. It was easy to deny it, at first. A few pounds of increased weight was nothing more than finally being able to eat and eat well. The fact that she was hungry all the time was simply her body trying to recover from being in prison, she told herself. She expected that her figure would become softer looking because she wasn't struggling for every moment of life anymore. But the first proof of what had happened, the undeniable signs that the weight was concentrated in one spot, sent her into a state of panic for several hours after she noticed the increased swell to her middle. She had been with the 'Golls for month by that point. She needed to get out. She had to get away.
She went so far as to approach a Brethren and beg for an assignment off world. She got down on her hands and knees and pleaded with the creature with as much devout desperation as she could wring from her torn soul. Within a week she was on her way to Helion with Mikal. Once there she would work out of the Kovan embassy and try to convert 15 individuals to the 'Goll faith. Or so they thought. Kyra hoped she could find Imam again, and this time she would stay with him and let him help her. She would do anything and everything he asked her to do, even if it meant hiding in his basement for a year. She just hoped he'd believe her when she told him what had happened.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Three cycles passed on UV6 that were peaceful, not full years, mind, but cycles of weather. Riddick was out hunting Urzo. The local pride of them was becoming bolder, threatening Jack with their attempts to claim the fishing hole. And besides, he needed a new pair of shoes. It was snowing lightly, a freak storm during the normally dry season. He'd headed to the white hills north of the cave where the Urzo tracks were the most often seen. He'd experienced tingles of warnings that his visions were returning. Mostly he pushed them away, ignored them. He'd been able to do this for so long that this particular morning he'd disregarded the warnings and gone out to hunt anyhow. He likely should have stayed in the cave with Jack.
Instead he was several hours walk away, listening and scanning. The Urzo he was after had taken the bait and was behind him. It was a dangerous game of tag. The steps involved tracking and spotting a Urzo and then acting like you were after something else in the hopes that the semi-intelligent creature would follow you to scavenge your kill. To this end it was like leading a bear to a trap while covered in honey. Dangerous to the extreme.
The buzzing he felt was pushed aside. He knew that the bipedal, furry, ugly, mean predator was behind him as he casually 'tracked' something into a large ice cavern. He knew that the Urzo saw with heat, so he removed his furs as a distraction and climbed up out of the creature's line of sight. He was waiting for the Urzo to arrive when the whispers started…it was a momentary distraction as he pushed the sounds aside. He needed to focus. He was luring quarry into a trap, and he needed to be mentally here for the fight. Damn it.
Riddick narrowed his eyes and realized that the creature was just out of the trap… he could still kill it if he moved fast enough. He cut loose like a coiled spring and landed on the creature's chest burrowing in both shivs to the hilt before springing away. The Uzro flew back and landed on its arse before standing back up quite enraged. Riddick inwardly cursed his timing. It should have been a clean kill. The creature lunged at him and he cut into its soft tissue, gutting it.
He was still catching his breath when the voice startled him, "You've learned to use your gift well, Riddick." He spun, looking for the source of the voice. There was nothing in the cave with him to explain the sound, and yet he knew it. that voice. It was her. "But such darkness dwells behind those luminous eyes…"
"These? These were a gift from a slam preacher. Got them a long time ago," he growled at the air. Last time he'd heard her this clearly, in fact. She'd told him then that he would finally begin to see, that his world would become more colorful. He remembered this only after his boast. Shit.
"Funny how one chooses to remember the past…" That was a scolding. He closed his eyes. Why was she talking to him now? There was a long pause and for a second he thought the voice was gone, then it started up again. "You cannot escape destiny, Riddick."
Fuck you. You can't make me go back, I won't leave Jack here. Fuck you all, his mind supplied. But what he said was far less crude, "I can escape anything."
"Like Butcher Bay?" Those words flooded him with memories he'd tried to forget. Pain he'd wanted to lock away forever. Every single instance of strangeness he'd ever experienced played for him again. The orange sun. The fading planet. The ruins. The scavengers picking away at the remains of a lost civilization. His unexplained feats of strength. His mental blankouts. Children crying. Burning. Marching feet. The rapid-fire vision ended with a flood of knowledge that told him they were coming no matter what he thought.
"Butcher Bay…" he looked at the ground. "So the shit starts again, huh?" But the voice was now silent. Shaken, Richard stood breathing in and out while his mind tried to resolve what it saw and deny what it knew at the same time. Time. He and Jack were out of time. He was wasting time. He needed to get back to her, to make sure she was still safe. Now. He hauled the kill back to the cave and staunchly set about making himself a new pair of shoes once he knew she was there. He left the creature in the storage area to drain, but said little to Jackie about what he'd experienced.
Jackie watched him. It had been a long time since he'd been this unapproachable. But she had to bridge this gap. She walked over to him and put a hand on his cheek. He raised his eyes to hers and she knew he still needed her as much as he ever had. Nothing had changed about that. He let go of the tools and the feet and wrapped his arms around her waist. She let him pull her close so that his face was against her stomach. She stroked her hands over his head. "I saw something in the sky today… A vapor trail."
He didn't seem surprised. Instead he tightened his grip on her slightly, as if she might fade away at any moment. "It was likely nothin' babe. Space dust falling from the sky."
She shook her head, "How long we been here, hon? There's never been a vapor trail in that sky."
"What then, smart ass?"
"I think a ship landed today," She got a hooded stare as he raise his face to look up at her. "What happened out there? Are you injured?"
"Bruised, nothing big," his face formed a frown. Both of them had grown wild, dread locked hair and Riddick had a full beard. Jackie watched his expression. "I want you to stay at the cave tomorrow."
"And you? What are you going to do?" His arms released her and she sat down next to him. After a moment she picked up his old boots. "I can fix this."
"Yeah. Fix those. I'm gonna check out the sighting. Which way did you see the trail heading?"
"South. Close to the crash site. Might have been more than one," she started cleaning the boot in question so that she could repair it. Riddick watched her pale slightly. She looked up at him with a look of sadness in her eyes. "Why now, Riddick? Why do they have to be here now?"
"Don't know babe. You tell me what's changed this season…" he stopped and looked at her. They both knew why.
"There can be no future until you reconcile the past," Jackie whispered.
"She been talking to you again?"
"Yes. You know, they bought us as much time as they could. They tried…" Jackie's sob broke her thoughts. Richard's face hardened. He gathered her up into his arms. If mercs had landed he'd take it right back to the source… all the way to the client. He'd kill everyone involved. No matter who it was. Jackie shook in his grasp; her layered furs hiding a softening in her body that had just began to be noticeable. She had finally begun to store a thicker layer of fat under her skin. He carefully hugged her tighter. There was nothing he could say to make this better. The main decision to be made was if he would take her off this world when the time came or leave her here and let her cope with the situation alone. Neither option suited him. She quieted down. "If they hurt you I'll kill them all, hon."
"Babe, you won't… 'cuz they won't. Try to stay out of sight until I determine how many there are and who they are after. Okay?" She nodded, bit her lip and nuzzled his neck. He picked her up and carried her to their bed. Like every other night on this world they indulged in their passion for one another like it was the last night they had. Only this time Jackie felt that it truly might be. She strove for a perfect mingling of souls, taking her knowledge of his body with as much gusto as he took his knowledge of hers. Once was not enough. This night was not enough. They crashed into bliss until neither could rouse to do it again. Then they held each other like the physical contact would merge them closer.
Richard buried his face in Jackie's hair. His emotions clattered through his soul, a soup of everything dark and painful, hate, fear, and anger. He could hear Jackie whispering… "I got you. You're safe here." A tear slipped down his cheek… He had to make good on that. He had to keep her safe. He felt her drift off to sleep. She was his universe now. Everything he invested in was right here, living and breathing in his arms. Sleep refused to come. He took in a deep breath of her scent and ran his fingers lightly over her back until she wiggled and turned in his arms exposing her belly. His hand rested there, feeling the slight swell straining against the hardened muscles. It was so slight that it wasn't visible yet. He imagined feeling a second soft heartbeat there. He focused his attention on protecting. There was no time for grief, or for doubt. They had made it this far… Fine, if destiny wouldn't leave him be he'd just have to meet it head on and kill anyone who tried to mess with what was his.
If the 'Verse wanted to play, he'd play. Only the rules would be his rules this time.
Jackie dreamt again of Furya. This time she stood up and demanded answers. "What are you sending us out to defeat, Shirah? Why are they after us?" She screamed the questions out at the empty landscape, "Shirah!" She was angry. How could she not be?
Shirah approached with care. "They didn't exactly leave their name behind, Jackie. I will show you what they look like."
"About time. Mercs on the doorstep… Why can't the universe just end already?"
The blond warrior woman raised an eyebrow at the healer; "You don't really want that, do you?" She watched as Jackie lowered her head and shook it, "I thought as much. It's the unexpected that makes this hard, Jackie. The determination of life to exist even when conditions make it nearly impossible makes it hard. Like your mate, the life inside you will not be snuffed out easily." Shirah held Jackie's chin with her hand. This half-breed was stronger that she'd originally thought possible. She let go of the young woman's face. "Few remember the crimes that happened here, Reviver. We'll never have those souls back, but we can have this world again, someday." Shirah stepped back and extended her hand forward. The Furyan souls here had accepted Jackie as one of their own and had already begun to give her glimpses of the past. Incomplete, incoherent, bits and pieces of a puzzle that Shirah would now fill in. "Once you remember, you will never forget." Her glowing hand pressed itself against Jackie's chest.
For a second nothing seemed to happen, then suddenly she was there. Pain, agony even, flooded her senses as she felt her genetic memory open to the past. Furya under attack. Soldiers in armor marching against warriors who fought to defend the helpless. Soldiers uncaring about their own lives… massive deaths on both sides. Flashes of the violence, the brutality of infanticide. Of children being strangled as they exited their mother's wombs. Of babies murdered in their cribs. Of schools and nurseries set aflame with the children locked inside… The reality that the Furya where she walked her mind was not the real place… but how the place might look once the bodies left scattered about were finally put to rest. The souls of those that she'd listened to came to her and infused her with their courage. They would aid her now in a more direct way. When it was over she looked at Shirah. "We will have this world again."
She woke up and looked at Riddick's face. He seemed to be sleeping still, but she knew he'd not slept at all. Instead his senses were strained to the limits just incase the invaders found the cave while she slept. All night long he'd stayed alert and garded her. She knew now what he'd survived through. The mark of Furya glowed on her chest for a moment before fading. She could still feel it, but the energy was not visible. He must have felt her looking at him. He opened his eyes. She smiled and whispered, "I love you."
"Really?" he mumbled.
"Yeah." She put her hands on his face and kissed him, "Really."
"I don't deserve it, babe. I'm a mean, horrible man."
She shook her head at him. He put his fingers over her lips and his forehead against hers. She listened. Boots distantly crunched against the icy snow. 'How far?' she wondered. The voices told her that they had time. She and Riddick both grabbed under the furs for their clothes and quickly dressed. He loaded up with several shivs and watched as she snagged her favorite pair. He paused to kiss her and drew her into the storage cave. He pointed up at the escape route. She climbed, using her shivs for purchase in the ice. He wore his old boots. They were cold but sure-footed. Once outside Jackie looked at his feet, pulled out some strips of fur and fitted them over his boots. She looked up at him. The dawn swirled around in the dancing snow. He helped her up and pointed off toward the fishing grounds. "If they don't follow me, lead them onto the thin ice. Or get them separated and take them out one at a time. I'm gonna try to lead them away from you." They had rehearsed this before. She nodded. The white fur hid them both in the snow. She watched as he retreated into the dim morning light until the snow flurries obscured his back. She closed her eyes and listened. One of them was in the cave already exploring. She watched the snow around her and decided to stay put.
Riddick realized that there was a scout inside the cave too. He slipped inside and watched the man study the wall of knives and spears that he and Jackie had made in the time they lived here. He watched as the merc walked into the storage cave and right into a net trap. Riddick moved in. A scout and a stupid one. He cut the man down and hauled him outside. After warning him to keep his mouth shut Riddick melted back into the snow. He tailed the fellow as he headed off toward his ship. Two more mercs met up with him. Riddick watched as money changed hands. Then he quietly killed all three of them. He picked up the UD stack and the communications gear. The mercs who'd brought the stuff here no longer needed it. The ship was easy to find. They worked for a merc named Toombs, but no other intel was in the ship's computers. He checked the date. They had been in hiding for 2 years… only 2 years. He had wanted a lifetime. Clearly the crew had just enough rope to hang themselves with. Riddick ripped the insides of the ship apart and set it to explode. Maybe if the crew never reported back this Toombs fellow would follow another lead. Maybe if he and Jackie moved… Maybe they could have more time.