The Things We Leave Behind, N-17, ch. 8 [PB/COR/AU]

[Ratatosk]

Title: The Things We Leave Behind
Author: Ratatosk.
Chapter: 8/?
Fandom: Pitch Black/COR.
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Harsh language, rape, ambiguous sexual situations, violence, intense themes.  
Orientation: het. Mostly.
Pairing: Riddick/Jack.
Summary: Riddick leaves Jack on New Mecca.  She grows up healthy and sane.  Wackiness ensues.
Disclaimer: Standard, except I’m evoking a creative commands license on anything I did create.
Archive: go ahead. Just shoot me an email.
 
Chapter 8: Where the Waters Flow.
 

Jack came down the stairs slowly, Yunas at her heels.  Abu was standing by Riddick’s old room. “Please come into the living room.  We have some people here and some things to discuss.  Perhaps Yunas could take the dogs--”  Balder growled.  Abu stopped what he was going to say.  Swallowed.  Simply nodded at him.

“What’s going on?”

“Please.”

She let him lead her into the room.  Sat on a straight chair, Yunas behind her, the dogs at her feet, alert.  A well dressed man and woman were waiting for them.  The woman gave her a nod.  The man looked her up and down and grinned.  It made her skin crawl.

“Jack, this is Mr. Toombs and Ms. Logan.”  His eyes were compassionate.  “Your . . . family sent them.”

She stared at him blankly.  “I don’t have any family.”

He winced.  “Your family on Mercer.”

“What? ”  Yunas put his hand on her shoulder.  

“These . . . people are here to take you to them.”

“No.”

“Jack, I’m sorry.  They have a court order.”

“How did they find me?”

Abu looked wretched.  “Jack . . .”

Suddenly, far to many things made horrible sense.  “You told them.  That’s why you didn’t get me citizenship.  Because you were in touch with my family on Mercer.”   Balder growled, low.  “I’m not going.”

He didn’t deny it, and the guilt on his face almost broke her heart.  “Jack, I am trying.  But your family had a right to know what happened to you.”  There was a hint of defiance in his voice.  “Telling them was the right thing to do.”

“No.  It wasn’t.”

It’s not forever, Jack.  When you’re eighteen--”  Abu stopped.  “I’ve taken the liberty of buying you an open ticket back to Helios.  You can use it at any time, from any place.”  He put a silver chit on the table.  Jack stared at it.

 “Jesus.  How could you do this to me?”

He swallowed.  “People were asking me--” he stopped abruptly, took a deep breath.  “Your family had the right to know what happened to you,” he repeated.  

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

He spread his hands, placating.  “I thought it would upset you.  And I did not believe they would send for you.”

You thought I’d run away if I knew.  You thought I’d run away, and Riddick would hurt you. She gripped Yunas’s hand on her shoulder.  Toombs leered ever so slightly.  She looked at him.  “You’re quiet.”

“Just here to do a job, ma’am.”  

“I’m not going with you.”

He shook his head.  “I’m sorry, ma’am.  Got a job to do.  Been catching bigger fish than you for a long time.  On your feet or over my shoulder, you’re going.”

“You’re a merc.”

He saluted her ironically.  “Proud guild member, ma’am.”

“Jesus.”

Yunas had taken his hands off of her.  “You jammed the com system.”  Jack swiveled her head around.  He had his pod in his hands.  

“Who you gonna call, son?”

“I was thinking the police.”

“They wouldn’t stop this.”

“They’d delay.  Give my m – give us time to figure this out.”

“Yeah.  I’d like that.  Delay until I’m old enough to get this quashed.”

Logan cleared her throat.  “Ma’am.  This isn’t optional. You can pack a bag if you like.  I recommend you do.  Pack something warm.”  

Jack closed her eyes. If he gets out of here, he could call his mother.  “Yes.  I’d like that.  Yunas, would you take care of Balder for me?  Maybe take him home to your mother right now? ”

“Of course.”  Yunas kissed her on the cheek, headed towards the door.  Toombs hesitated, then let him step past, unhook the leashes.

Yunas stopped.  “May I see the order, sir?”

Toombs stared at him, his brow crinkling.  “Why?”

“He’s her boyfriend,” Abu said.  “I think it’s appropriate.”  

Toombs frowned at him. Then made a big show of patting his pockets.  Pulled a flimsy out, handed it over.  Yunas still had his pod in his hand.  The dogs gave Yunas about four seconds, then began demanding attention.   There was a flurry of papers and dog paws, then Yunas handed the order back.

“You’re coming back?” he said, yearningly.

“I’m not going.”

“If you do--”

“I hope so,” she said.  He flashed her a brilliant smile, leashed the dogs, and was gone.  Her shoulders quivered.  Turned back to Toombs.  

“Would you really use force?”

“Minimum necessary,” Toombs said with a grin.  She glared at Abu.  Behind him, she could see Yunas in the window, talking rapidly to Lajjun.  Lajjun had Ziza in her arms. Ziza waved at her.  She waved back half heartedly. Abu half turned to see what she was looking at.  

Toombs turned too.  “Cute kid,” he said.  

Abu’s face hardened.  “Jack,” he said, and there was something final in his voice.  “Pack a bag.”  





Her big brother was eating raw meat, just to gross her out.   The smell was making her sick.  He kept showing her the meat in his mouth. “Come on.  You’ll like it,” he teased.

“I’d rather eat poop.”

“I can arrange that.”

“You’re sick.”

“You’re a baby.” She got up to leave.  “Sit,” he said, firmly.

She stuck her tongue out at him.  “You’re not the boss of me.”

“That’s what you think,” he said, darkly.  “That’s what this chick thought too.”

Jack looked at the haunch of meat on the table.  It turned into a girl, partially dismembered.  She shoved back from the table.  “Jesus.”

He grinned.  “Oh, tell me you don’t have a soft spot for killers.”  He stood up, knife and fork in hand.  “We’ve got a soft spot for you.”  She tried to back away, but she got tangled in the chair and fell.  He picked her up, laughing, set her on the table.  He poked her in the neck with the fork.  She kneed him hard, hit something that did not feel like flesh.  She jerked awake, heart hammering.

It was very dark. She was in a cryo tube, a needle in her arm.  There was a little puddle of light just barely visible.  Her knee hurt from where she’d hit the plexiglass.

“This is one fuckin’ fast ship,” a familiar voice grumbled, sounding grudgingly impressed.   “Can’t believe how fast we got here.”  Her mind raced. Toombs.

An unfamiliar, educated voice answered dryly.  “One of our best.”

“Maybe I’ll keep it.”

“You’ll have to discuss that with her ladyship.”

“Huh.  You know, I spent a lotta time staring at the chick.  Doesn’t look like anything special.  She like his little sister or somethin’?”

The other voice did not answer immediately.  Then, finally, “All I know is covered in your briefing packet.”

“I’m an auditory learner.”

The other man sighed.  “Her ladyship believes that because of their time together, he is sufficiently attached to the girl, that, at the least, he will pause and listen to our offer.  They have no consanguinity.”

There was a long and thoughtful silence.  Finally. “Huh?”

“He is Furyan.  She is not.  Therefore they are not related.”

“He’s a what?”

“Furyan.  A genetically engineered people.  I believe this was in your briefing packet.”

“Yeah, whatever.  So he’s a freak.”

There was another sigh.  Jack tried to picture the man.  The man who drove them to the space port had a rough and uneducated voice.  Toombs called him Dahlgren.  She had a hazy recollection of two men in beige uniforms meeting them at a ship that was, now that she came to think of it, way too nice for mercs.  One of them?

“As you say,” the other voice responded dryly.  “Her ladyship has gone to considerable effort to find out where he is and what might pique his interest.”

“Peek his interest?  I strip the girl before we wake her up, parade her around down there?”  

“I would not recommend it.”  There was a pause.  “She is awake.”

“Huh?”

There was another pause.  “It appears she is awake.  I have found a satellite.  I would like to bring it in and see if it can give us some information about whether Riddick is in fact here.  May I put her back under?”

“Dunno, she might be fun to play with.  Might keep the twins occupied too.”

Eve made an exasperated sound.  Toombs snorted.  “Yeah, might as well.  Keep her young and pretty as long as possible.”  

Everything went dark again.

[bima140277]

Yeah maybe HE is a freak but he is our freak and he's gonna gut them... well I hope so *feeling a little violent today*

[Ratatosk]

Yeah maybe HE is a freak but he is our freak and he's gonna gut them... well I hope so *feeling a little violent today*

Heh.  well said!  He's our freak.  Or as Neil Gaiman put it so memorably, "no, you think I'm a monster, but you think I'm your monster."

There will be blood, it might be yours, so go kill someone -- no, sorry, that was a Doctor Horrible line burbling up.  There will be blood, but maybe not quite yet. 

thanks!

[Dejah Thoris]

oh man, riddick is going to be ten shades of pissed off at imam for this little slip. who the hell did he think he was, going behind her back? he didn't even ask her about her life and what she might be running from. he's just decided to turn her over like a piece of meat to anyone that comes sniffing around pretending it's for her own good? a merc? shouldn't that be throwing up every red flag possible considering who they're connected to? who riddick is connected to? plus, of course toombs knows she's important to riddick, he was on board that creepy bitch's ship, too.

oh yes, i can smell the blood already. smells good

[Ratatosk]

oh man, riddick is going to be ten shades of pissed off at imam for this little slip. who the hell did he think he was, going behind her back? he didn't even ask her about her life and what she might be running from. he's just decided to turn her over like a piece of meat to anyone that comes sniffing around pretending it's for her own good? a merc? shouldn't that be throwing up every red flag possible considering who they're connected to? who riddick is connected to? plus, of course toombs knows she's important to riddick, he was on board that creepy bitch's ship, too.

oh yes, i can smell the blood already. smells good

Teehee.  Thanks, Dejah!  Abu's got a lot of pulls on his loyalty in my mind, but he does have that tendency that many people in power have of deciding they know what's best for people they have power over.  I was trying to communicate that he doesn't think leaving is for her own good, it's just what has to happen.  Hm.  maybe I need to take another run at that.  I haven't seen Dark Fury in a long time; do you remember if Toombs got a good look at Jack? 

thanks!

[Dejah Thoris]

I'll watch dark fury tomorrow and see if toombs got a look at jack. now that I think about it I'm not sure.

as for abu, it seems that if he'd really had jack's best interest at heart he would have consulted her on her history before going behind her back like this for so long. he had obviously been fishing for her family for a long time. what he did boils down to lying to her, albeit by omission. I want to kick him in the head. and I don't think riddick is going to care for any reason abu had. it's all going to sound like excuses to big bad. you'd think abu would have figured a kid like jack wasn't just a petulent runaway that didn't get her way at home. he should have known her reasons for cutting off contact were good ones.

and letting a MERC take her. danger danger abu walid! danger! 

[Dejah Thoris]

I checked: there's no indication that toombs saw jack with riddick on the merc ship. hmm... wonder if he'll figure it out.

[Ratatosk]

I checked: there's no indication that toombs saw jack with riddick on the merc ship. hmm... wonder if he'll figure it out.

thanks for checking!  I should think about that.  with the Riddick connection, he could sure suspect something . . .

[Stephanie27]

"Her big brother was eating raw meat, just to gross her out.   The smell was making her sick.  He kept showing her the meat in his mouth. “Come on.  You’ll like it,” he teased.Jack looked at the haunch of meat on the table.  It turned into a girl, partially dismembered.  She shoved back from the table.  “Jesus.”


^^^What was that about!?!?! Otherwise this story is great, keep it up please!!!!!!!

[Ratatosk]

"Her big brother was eating raw meat, just to gross her out.   The smell was making her sick.  He kept showing her the meat in his mouth. “Come on.  You’ll like it,” he teased.Jack looked at the haunch of meat on the table.  It turned into a girl, partially dismembered.  She shoved back from the table.  “Jesus.”


^^^What was that about!?!?! Otherwise this story is great, keep it up please!!!!!!!

Glad you like most of it!  That dream, that's . .. foreshadowing.  Mostly.  a little hint into why Jack was ready to bond with a guy like Riddick.  I inserted some family.  Bwa ha ha. 

[Stephanie27]

You evil, evil person grrrr. ::Wants more::   

[Ratatosk]

You evil, evil person grrrr. ::Wants more::   

teehee.  I put it aside to finish up my other story, What Abides.  I'd stopped posting it here because it wasn't getting any interest, but it's over at the vinexperience board and fanfiction.net.