93) Now I'll Be Bold As Well As Strong

Trigger warning: Brief mention of past underaged sexual assault.

"At least we were in Red Sun anyway, saves fuel," Carolyn commented as she brought coffee to the table.

"Hmm…" River nodded, and Riddick smiled as she took the coffee and sipped without even looking at the mug. "Determined how the mercs found us." She had her cortex on the galley table in front of her.

"Yeah?" Jack caught that as she came into the galley. She and Carolyn were on dinner duty. Riddick was just enjoying a quiet moment working with his shivs in River's company.

"Autopilot allows for eight hours at hard burn," River commented, seemingly apropos of nothing. "Time for a good amount of rest before we must spring the trap." Well, that made a little more sense. That had been something of a concern. Anyone who could track Riddick through the myriad puzzles and riddles and seeming deaths that made up his trail was determined, intelligent and very likely dangerous. Serenity's crew would need to be at their best.

"Figure on filling everyone in at dinner," He made sure all the little scrapings of wood were gathered up from the table's surface.

"Seems wise," River nodded and shut her cortex, moving to sit in his lap. Well, he never minded that. Holding River was one of his favorite pastimes. Jack glanced over at them and rolled her eyes and he smirked back at her.

His little sister was doing a lot better. That talk with Inara had helped her figure out exactly how she felt about her gender and the expectations on her because of it, and her options. As it turned out Jack had no problem being a girl. She liked having longer (if not really long) hair, looking female, though she'd never be a fan of fluff and ruffles like Kaylee, and she felt attracted sexually to men. Riddick winced mentally as he recalled portions of that conversation. Apparently, his little sister liked women too, just not quite as much as men.

A lot of her resistance towards dresses and 'feminine' pursuits sprang from her upbringing and everything she'd seen happen on the streets and to girls who were 'wards of the state'. For all the whole 'men and women are created equal' laws, there were still places, even in the Core, that pushed 'traditional' roles at both genders. Jack wasn't especially talented at anything 'girly' and she'd worn boy's clothing for so long she felt awkward and ridiculous in dresses. She didn't want to play with makeup and curlers or talk about the latest fashions.

River, maybe because she was a Reader, or a genius, had helped Jack take a big step forward in seeing that being a woman, being female, didn't mean being 'feminine' as was traditionally defined by society. Once she'd drawn up a few outfits in her sketch book, things that made the most of Jack's figure without putting her in a skirt, Jack had actually gotten a lot more enthusiastic about clothes. She'd learned to sew a bit, enough to do hems and patches and seams while River did the harder parts that involved tailoring. Riddick hadn't thought he'd ever live to see that.

River had stolen a couple of her brother's old vests, found men's shirts secondhand and pants that fit like leggings but were sturdy enough to withstand the work they did. A vest, tightened over the untucked button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up to Jack's elbows and the tight-fitting pants made it clear that Jack had a pretty nice figure without making her uncomfortable. These days Riddick's little sister wore outfits similar to that one a lot, when she wasn't in cargo pants and teeshirts. She'd said she felt pretty but she didn't feel awkward along with the pretty.

Mal had made sure they had a big birthday party for Jack's seventeenth, and damn, time flies, et cetera, et cetera… Riddick had spent weeks working on a gun belt for Jack, along with wrist and boot sheaths for the knives Zoë and Jayne were teaching her to use. Her delighted expression when she opened the box was worth remembering. Other gifts, piloting lessons, boots, books, fabric for new clothes, guns from Mal and Zoë, and then there'd been Jayne's gift.

Jayne had given her a laboriously written card. It had said that he'd gotten Inara to help him, and they'd found a highly rated brothel that serviced men and woman and they'd pooled their money to get Jack a night's worth of fun. Inara had done the research and Jayne had provided the money with Inara chipping in a bit to make sure there was enough. Riddick was pretty sure Jack was both pleased and embarrassed by the gift, but she'd thanked Jayne, said she would wave Inara and thank her, and kissed Jayne's cheek.

Mal hadn't been thrilled but Jayne apparently had taken him aside and pointed out that it was better for Jack to have fun and experiment with people she didn't have to take ship with and see every day. Not to mention there wasn't exactly any one on the crew who was appropriate for any sort of flirtation. Riddick hadn't been completely happy with Jack going to whores, but he also could see Jayne's point. And if Jack was gonna go, better that she go to a place Inara thought was safe.

That had all been about two months ago, and as far as Riddick knew Jack hadn't been to the brothel but that could be because they hadn't hit the planet yet. And headed out past Red Sun to a system that didn't even have an official name yet wasn't going to make it happen any faster.

Thankfully Jack didn't seem to be in any hurry.

He looked up as Jack put plates down on the table, drawing his attention out of his thoughts and back to the present. Mal and the rest of the crew were trickling into the galley. River slipped out of his lap and began to set the table and he stood and began to do the same. Emma was in a phase of wanting what was on everyone else's plate instead of her own. At a month past the one year mark (another birthday celebrated with Kaylee's signature 'chocolate' protein cake, the baby had turned into a toddler. She used furniture to get around and when she was really in a hurry she'd still crawl. Another reason they kept all the doors shut. Mal had nightmares about Emma getting onto the catwalks and falling.

Funny thing was how Emma talked. Babbling sounds that rose and fell like normal conversation with 'oh', 'ma' and 'ack' thrown in like she actually had something to say. When there was a pause in the conversation, like now, she'd fill in the silence with her own (incomprehensible) comments.

"So, River figured out how the mercs tracked us down," Riddick told Mal once they'd all begun to eat.

"Oh," The Captain frowned thoughtfully. "An' how'd they manage that?"

"Dyton Double Max records, however spotty, of Riddick being turned in for the reward," River shrugged. "Bea still resides there, gave a description that matches Riddick, alive and well when she was marooned."

"That girl's fast becomin' more trouble than she's worth," Jack grumbled.

"So they picked up the trail there," Mal regarded River.

"Not completely convinced," River shrugged. "But according to what she has husked, the last firm lead was the Hunter Gratzner. All others are marked as speculative, hearsay or dead ends."

"You husked their ship's cortex," Simon, who knew damn well what a genius his sister was, still sounded shocked.

"Got their ship ident from the Brisbane docks on New Melbourne," River shrugged. "Last comm buoy left another virus targeting their ship. Transmitted the logs to us along with other outgoing messages."

"Dunno why you sound so surprised," Riddick told him. "We all know that with a little effort and time River can practically make a cortex dance."

"But the important bit of information there is that they're following up on what they think are rumors, not solid leads," Carolyn mused. "We turned him in for the bounty on Dyton. Wouldn't that be marked as firm?"

"Dyton Slam suffers from periodic problems with their cortex due to extreme heat," River smirked. "Records of the processing were scrambled and lost. Alliance doesn't really care until they are audited, once every decade, but the Mercenary Guild cannot record Riddick's presence there as firm unless they find him there. Bea's reports are considered hearsay. Other inmates cannot confirm he was truly there. Only a large man who wore goggles. Could have been a miner convicted of some crime."

"That's actually really good," Riddick smirked.

"Handy for us," Simon nodded, and Jayne chuckled.

Jack and Carolyn looked slightly confused and Mal shrugged at them, "Zoë an' Jayne'll tell you, when a trail goes cold, first step is go back to your last solid lead and see if you can find a different direction."

"So we're leading them right back to where they'd go anyway," Jack grinned her appreciation.

"Will do some husking of their ship cortex, add to the logs once we are on planet and the mercs are taken care of," River was speaking between bites. "Course of action is to explore the caverns underground, see if Riddick is actually hiding there."

Riddick chuckled, "This could actually be fun."

Landing wasn't exactly difficult. Plenty of firm ground near the wreck of the crashed ship. The plan was for them to have the boat wide open, the most harmless people on the ground, supposedly scavenging for useful parts or cargo. Kaylee, Jack and River were the smallest and least (obviously) dangerous, so they were elected as the 'harmless' folks.

River had tilted her head and gone into the wreck, coming out with a badly damaged data pad. She hooked it up to Serenity's comms and worked until the static cleared. Riddick recognized it finally, the log that Billy Johns had kept about his hunt for Riddick. He was surprised that if the mercs had been here before they hadn't found it. But then they might not know where to look or be able to salvage it if they did find the thing.

A day after they'd landed River tilted her head and gave a shout, "Incoming."

That was their cue. Jayne was already set up on the catwalk in his snipers perch, Riddick took his place in the shadows under the stairs of the bay closest to the doors, Mal sat on the side of the ramp closer to the ground, while Zoë leaned against the frame of the cargo bay doors, her shot gun relaxed in her hands. Emma was safely locked in the shuttle, asleep with a full belly and should remain like that for a few hours at least. Simon had taken his place in the infirmary, gunbelt on but ready to render medical aid to any of the crew that might need it. Jack, Kaylee and River worked on a piece of 'equipment' they'd pulled out of the wreck. Everyone looked as harmless as possible. Not that it was easy, but Kaylee had done Jack's hair up in the little panda buns and River's in braids she'd wound and looped so the Reader had her own little buns to match Jack's, albeit with long braided tails. Kaylee's sweet face really couldn't look anymore harmless, but she'd pulled her own hair up into pigtails with flowered bands just to cheer herself up and take her mind off the situation they were in.

The merc ship landed a few yards from Serenity and the wreck, the doors on the side opening, ramp sliding down, and lo and behold, a man who just had to be related to Johns somehow. Brother maybe, or father. Another blonde, female this time, a sister? And two who bore no resemblance to William 'the Conqueror' Johns whatsoever. All of them toting big guns, twelve gauge or more. Must be compensating for something. Lack of spine, lack of dick, who knew (or much cared).

"Help you with somethin'," Mal stood, guns still in their holsters, but definitely out of Zoë's line of fire. "Seems like you're a mite overdressed."

He was right, the four of them wore some sort of armor and dark shirts under it. They'd swelter in this heat.

"Got word a fugitive was aboard your ship," The blond leader nearly barked the words out with self-righteous surety.

"Well, we ain't taken on any new crew in more'n two years," Mal shrugged. "Got no passengers either."

"Funny, we heard you had a new gunhand, man by the name of Richard B Riddick," The rest of the merc crew seemed content to let their Boss speak for them.

"That so," Mal tilted his head. "Seems I've heard that name somewhere." He looked back at Zoë and Carolyn strolled out of the depths of the bay, the merc's log in her hands. The Captain looked over towards the girls, "Kaylee, you an' Jack leave that and head inside. I ain't easy 'bout you bein' around guns."

The mercs didn't seem to think anything of the three girls heading up the ramp, though the men did give them an appreciative eye. Kaylee sounded more than a little nervous, looking back at the mercs cautiously as she talked with Jack about the parts they could use. River moved over towards the ship but simply leaned against the landing gear and looked at the mercs coldly. The contrast between the look on her face and adorable hairstyle would've been a bit unnerving if Riddick didn't know her so well.

"This's why the name sounds familiar," Carolyn's cool voice echoed just a bit as she walked down the ramp and stood beside Mal. Riddick wasn't thrilled with her getting that close to the mercs, considering they'd kept walking forward and hadn't paused until they were less than three feet from Mal and the bottom of the ramp. They acted as if they'd steamroll right over them and walk into Serenity to do a search of their own. "The log we found Mal. Remember?"

"Oh yeah," Mal turned slightly, moving to one side of the ramp as if to help Carolyn with the datapad. "You get it set up?"

"With a little help," Carolyn had a smirk in her voice and Riddick nearly smiled. "Log says it belongs to one William 'the Conqueror' Johns. Mercenary Guild." The blond Boss looked painfully eager, and Carolyn glanced up at him, "Guess you'd like to hear what it says? Seein' as that piece of tin on your chest matches the insignia the merc signs the logs with?"

"Well, it's a little hard, not knowing what to put in the family bible," The Boss returned.

"Ain't gonna be any easier you hear what's on that log," Mal sounded like he was barely holding back a sneer. "I've met a lotta folk, only a few of 'em worse than what's recorded on that thing."

"That's my son," Oh the Boss didn't like what Mal was implying.

"Might want to change your mind on that after you hear this," Carolyn's voice matched Mal's, contempt dripping from her words as she hit the button.

Riddick was glad that River had gone over the contents of the log with him before it became common knowledge among the crew. Because apparently Johns had gotten the details about Riddick's first kill. He listened to Johns' smug voice as he logged his progress in his hunt for Riddick. Day three through day sixteen and then day eighteen. Damn he hated that voice, "Eighteen days out, finally got the particulars on Riddick's first kill. Sent up for murdering his foster mother. Sliced her throat open with a straight razor." Johns' dry chuckle, superior in his knowledge that this would never happen to him, "Seems like she'd been using him as stud service since he was twelve or so. Sixteen when he killed her. Not sure why he'd wanna go and do that. Free pussy. Oughta be heaven for a teenage boy. Guess it just proves how twisted Riddick really is."

Carolyn and Mal's backs had gone stiff, and he knew, could practically feel, that everyone was forcing themselves to not make sympathetic noises. The Boss made a strangled sound and the blonde sister next to him looked repulsed.

Johns' voice continued, unconcerned, "Twenty days out, I tracked him to a market on Aquila Major. Stupid fuck. I caught him trying to hide in the crowds. It's an easy mistake. Thinks there's safety in numbers. Thinks I'm stupid. But every rock has its scum - and scum has eyes. They also get greedy. Now there's three dead bodies here and still no Riddick."

Riddick forced himself to listen, static crackled as Johns spoke about days twenty-five through fifty-five, his voice still somewhat intelligible (though a little slurred) as he spoke about dosing himself, the injuries he'd taken, "Fifty six days out, I got him."

The triumph in that voice sickened him considering what it had cost. Johns didn't give a damn, that much was made clear in the next entry, "Sixty-three days out, I'm leaving the Conga System with Riddick in tow. I would'a never, never, guessed he had such a soft spot in his little heart." That smug voice skewed towards mocking, "Children in peril." And a tiān shā de laugh of derision, "He's fucking stupid like that. Should'a known that'd slow him down too much. I hope that this slam can hold him, and I hope those boys at Tangiers saved their paychecks."

The last entry, Billy Johns sounding so pleased with himself, smug and triumphant, "Seventy-six days out, lucky eighteen," The qīngwā qí de húndàn chuckled, "I'm grabbing a lift from a long-range transport. Uh, Hunter-something. The gǒu niáng yǎng de is finally in cryo."

The mercs had been fairly transfixed by the log, the two men a bit less than the blond man and woman, and the Boss fumbled as Carolyn tossed the log to him while Mal spoke, "Now hearin' that, why in the world would I do anything besides tell you to be on your way."

"We know you've got Riddick on your ship," The blonde woman spoke for the first time. "You may as well hand him over."

"I'd wanna do that why?" Mal could really be sarcastic as hell sometimes. This was definitely one of them.

"Seein' as you don't even have your guns drawn, we can shoot down the only person holding a gun faster than you can draw yours, and there are more of us armed than there are of you… it seems like the wisest course of action," The Boss had that same smug tone to his voice that Billy'd had so often.

"You're sure about that," Nobody did relaxed in the face of threats like Mal. Except for River. But then she was in a class by herself.

"Yeah, pretty sure," The blonde woman actually smiled.

"That's the problem with mercs," River's obviously Core voice drew the gaze of the little armored group. "Always thinking a big gun and shiny armor will intimidate people. Mercs like Johns, they look all stand up, do right, then you cut them open and find out what they're missing. In his case, a spine. Flashing that badge like you're actually lawmen. But you're not," Derision practically dripped from her voice. "Just legalized slavers really. Cowards without honor."

"Little Core jiàn huò," The blonde woman rolled her eyes. "Like you've ever worked a day in your life."

Riddick couldn't (well he probably could but he really didn't want to) suppress the growl of rage vibrating through his throat and chest. Insulting River was guaranteed to get his goat, especially coming from a merc woman who smelled of two different men. Not a problem for him usually but calling his woman a slut was more than a little two-faced and he hated hypocrites. He moved forward, just enough that he was partially visible and stared down at the mercs.

"Thought you said you didn't have Riddick on your ship," The Boss's hands got tighter on his gun. His gaze on Riddick even though he was speaking (accusingly) to Mal.

"Never said I didn't have him. Said I hadn't taken on new crew in a couple years. Said I didn't have any passengers. Asked why I should turn anyone over to you," Mal chuckled. "Never denied havin' the man on the boat. Been a big help. Gotten kinda attached actually."

"Well, you're now interfering with a lawful retrieval of a convicted fugitive," The Boss pumped the forestock of his big gauge meaningfully.

"River," Mal tilted his head.

"Bellybutton," She replied to his unspoken question.

"Huh," The Captain had a smirk in his voice now. "Jayne."

The eyes of the mercs flicked towards Zoë which may or may not have been Mal's intention. Either way, the shot through the dark-skinned man's forehead came as a shock. River's pistol barked twice in her hand, the other not-blond merc crumpled along with his fellow as blood bloomed from his temple. Rivers second bullet hit the female in the belly, through the narrow gap between the plates of her armor, and red spread through the black cloth. River had likely shot her through the liver or abdominal aorta.

Mal took one step forward and one long leg kicked the Boss square in the fork. When the shorter man doubled over, Mal pulled the gun out of his hands and used the butt to smack him across the jaw. "I really, really, dislike bullies," The Captain stated coldly.

Riddick walked down the ramp and pushed his goggles away from his eyes. They'd kept his shine from revealing his location in the shadows of the bay. "Well, you found me. And if you wanna know what to put down in that bible of yours, Billy tried to kill a kid, save his own skin. So, we fought. He tried to shoot me, but he put the shells with morphine in his shotgun. Useless. And the sky sharks that live in the caverns beneath us ate him like candy."

"And now they're gonna eat you," Mal smiled and looked over his shoulder at Riddick and Jayne who was making his way down from his snipers perch on the catwalk. "Throw 'em into that shaft we found, just as they are, we'll set things up how we want after."

Author's Note: So there are plenty of stories (some of them even mine) where Johns and Co are decent people. Obviously that's not the case here. Or maybe it is. I don't think it matters to Mal or Riddick either way. Riddick isn't going to surrender and Mal isn't going to let him be taken.

Chinese Translations:

tiān shā de (Goddam! / goddamn / wretched)

qīngwā qí de húndàn (frog riding bastard)

gǒu niáng yǎng de (son of a bitch (lit. "raised by a dog mother"))

jiàn huò (bitch / slut)