HELLO BEAUTIFUL

Ch 10

Shazza held Jack’s shoulder as she looked past her to the three ships that approached outside; she could feel the girl tremble ever so slightly under her hands. With good reason; the three ships moved in quickly; in a couple of minutes they would skirt the outer edge of the debris field from the first merc ship. “Shazza, it’s going to be all right isn’t it?” Shazza tore her eyes from the front shield to look at Jack; she still held her hands knotted in front of her and her voice was quiet and tightly controlled, but the fear in her eyes was plain to see for anyone that cared about whether she hurt or not.

Riddick moved up quietly and stood beside Jack, his hand touched her arm first; it hurt him to see her so frightened but he didn’t really know what to do for her. Fear was something he understood well, too well; usually he was the one that had caused it, but he could remember what it was like to be Jack’s age, and afraid. His hand touched her shoulder before he ran it down her back to hold her at the waist. He could count the knobs of her spine; she was so thin under her layers of clothes.

Shazza spoke in a clear strong voice as she held onto Jack’s shoulder. “You listen to me Jack; we’re not going to let anything happen to you.” She looked up and held Riddick’s gaze, she still looked so pale but the fire was back in her eyes, “Riddick, she shouldn’t be here for this.”

Riddick felt Jack tense under his hand at the thought of being sent away and he knew he could never do it. “She needs to be here, Shazza. With us. She needs to stay.” Shazza’s hand stroked over Jack’s back and rested on his hand and they held Jack protectively between them for the space of a breath, a heartbeat.

Shazza squeezed Jack again before she let go of her and turned towards the console and tapped out a code; she glanced at Riddick before she uttered the voice control to release Theo’s lockout. “He knows this ship better than we do, Riddick, we could be here another week and not figure out everything he could do with her.”

Theo looked out the window at the three ships and didn’t give it a second thought. “I’ll need a gunner.” He didn’t ask but pointed at Shazza; after all, she had just taken out the first merc ship, she obviously knew what she was doing. “Strap in, this is going to get pretty rough.”

Shazza gaped and looked between Theo and Riddick; she had expected that Riddick would be Theo’s gunner, not her. Riddick had expected that as well, but he also knew that Shazza could do this, that she had already done this. He looked at her and thought of all the times when the chips were down, Shazza did what she had to do, and she did it well. He had absolutely no doubt that she was the right one to do this. “Shazza, you can do this.” He also knew it would hurt her, later, but they didn’t have much of a choice. The space of a heartbeat had passed since they reached the bridge, that’s all.

Another heartbeat. Jack wouldn’t let go of Riddick, the shirt at his waist was fisted in her hand; she clung to him as though he was the only solid, the only real thing in the room. Her anchor. Everything slowed down; he watched Theo and Shazza strap into the pilot’s and gunner’s seats and he held Jack in his lap, the straps to hold them there stretched far to keep both of their bodies together in the small space. He wasn’t about to put her down, even if she would let him, and he doubted very much that she would let him.

Theo had sat in that very same chair first thing in the morning as he drank his coffee, he looked comfortable then, and he looked no less comfortable now. He realized that he belonged there. Riddick watched him now; he had become accustomed to the smell of the other man’s fear; he could smell no fear on him now; Theo’s face was hard, with a small cruel smirk that pulled the corner of his lip up over a canine. Anyone who had ever looked at the two men would have said that they had that look in common. However, where with Riddick it looked dangerous; with Theo it looked shrewd and cunning.

Shazza was ashen with two hectic spots of color high on her cheeks, her eyes overly bright. Riddick hoped for her sake that this would be over fast, he hurt for her; it was a fist that seized his heart and twisted hard. He wanted this over. Fast.

Heartbeat. The ships broke off and circled the Odyssey and still Theo looked unafraid. He didn’t look back to Riddick for permission but spoke in a calm cold voice with Shazza about where to hit the ships and how to distinguish the engine area from the outside; he spoke as though this were the most normal, the most comfortable thing in the world. Riddick listened at first but soon let the voice turn into white noise in his head; to hear what was needed only made him tense up, and Jack picked up on all of it and gripped him harder.

Her heart raced against his chest and all he could hear at first was the sound of it, her fear took up all the space. Jack had thrown herself at him, and he had responded, but he had never really held her, just for her, before. He listened as Theo calmly told Shazza to fire on one of the merc ships when they took a run alongside her; the whoomp against the underside of the hull, the percussive shock, was almost a soft sound. Shazza never shook and she never faltered.

Heartbeat. Riddick could feel her heartbeat right through her back, the span of his hand took up nearly the whole width; he had never really paid attention to how small she was before. He pulled her closer, and tighter, and his hand stroked over her back. He didn’t look to Shazza for help or to relieve him this time. Jack was theirs, and right now he held her. She buried her face in his neck and breathed deeply and her heart slowed.

The front blast screen filled with fire as Theo spun the Odyssey around to take out the second merc ship and moved on through the fire to find the last. Riddick held Jack a little tighter and looked past her to watch Shazza. Her knuckles were white and her hands clenched and released nervously until Theo swept up behind the third merc ship, on the run now. Theo watched her hands shake too, and pulled in even closer so that she wouldn’t miss. All it would take was one miss for her nerves to shatter.

Heartbeat; slower and quieter this time, as Jack shifted restlessly in his lap to look out the window. He watched the color come back into her face as she stared out the window, full of wonder not fear; she still wouldn’t let go of his shirt but now she leaned forward to gaze out at the sky on fire all around them. He found that he liked to hold her, she didn’t pull away from him and she wasn’t afraid of him, not in the least. Jack was fearless in her own way and he admired that. He watched Shazza as she took another deep breath and her hands grew still before she fired on the last merc ship. He saw that she was fearless as well. They both were, his two women.

“That’s enough; we’re getting the hell out of here.” Theo spoke quietly; it was almost a mutter under his breath as he swung the Odyssey around in a tight loop.

Jack wriggled free and Riddick felt a stab of loss as she pulled away but he pushed it back when she moved up to Shazza and knelt down next to her and pried her white knuckled fingers from the seat. Jack didn’t say anything to Shazza, she didn’t need to, it was enough just to hold her hand and let her know she was there. He had never really thought about what that had meant before.

“Where.” Theo didn’t jump when he felt Riddick’s voice grate out right behind him. It wasn’t a question, but it demanded an answer nonetheless. It promised pain for the wrong answer. When he stood closer to Shazza, he realized just how scared she was, and it made him angry enough to kill.

“We’re going to make a run for the wormhole, Riddick. We can’t take on anyone else, and I know at least one of those ships got off a signal before we took them out.” Riddick moved closer up behind Theo to watch as he tapped in the coordinates, he noticed that Theo didn’t have to have the ship aid to plot the course, and he didn’t need to consult with his charts, he knew where they needed to go.

“How long until we get there.” Theo turned to look at Riddick as he loomed over his shoulder and tried hard not to grin.

He kept his voice light as he answered; he was excited about all of this, but it wouldn’t do to show that now. Riddick’s voice was hard, and everything that radiated off him screamed danger. “About three or four minutes.” Theo bit his lip when all three of them turned to him. “We’re close; the wormhole’s just this side of Helion Prime.” He tapped a spot outside of a small moon that was about a day’s journey away from Helion.

Jack brushed just past Riddick, and rested against him so that she could look over Theo’s shoulder as well, all curiosity again. “How come no one’s ever seen this thing before?” Jack shrugged her shoulders and dropped her head to hide her grin when both Riddick and Theo turned to look at her.

Theo tapped out a longer string of code and a deep thrum began in the belly of the ship. “No one’s had the key for over six hundred years.” The hum became more than just a vibration; it became light, a ball of blue light that surrounded the Odyssey.

“This better work, Theo.” Riddick stood up behind Theo and put his arm around Jack’s shoulder; he liked the feel of her so close again, it made everything in him feel calm.

“We’ll all find out in a few minutes.” Theo knew that he should be afraid; no one had done this in over six centuries. He could blow the ship to kingdom come. Or Riddick could just twist his head clean off his shoulders. He didn’t think that was about to happen. He rested his head back against the seat and made himself comfortable. If he was about to die, he was going to enjoy this last ride.

Riddick pulled Jack a little closer; he could feel her excitement as she looked out the window. The disc of light wavered like a coin on its edge. Riddick lowered his hand, to hold Shazza’s; it was cool and trembled slightly, but it was still strong. It was too bright for him to take his goggles off, but Shazza knew that he watched her nonetheless, and he held her hand until the disc of light winked on the other side.

Copyright September 2006 xxxevilgrinxxx