The Things We Leave Behind, N-17, ch. 14 [PB/COR/AU]

Title: The Things We Leave Behind
Author: Ratatosk.
Chapter: 14/?
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 14: Teeth and Hair

It was still morning in New Mecca when Jack landed. “Jack. Welcome home.” Angela stepped forward, her arms wide. Jack hesitated, then stepped into the embrace. For an instant, it was warm and painfully maternal. “It’ll be alright,” Angela murmured into her ear. “Don’t mind the heavily armed boys and girls.” Without waiting for a reply, Angela swept her away from the gate. The four armed men and women silently fell into step around them.

“What’s going on?” Jack asked, softly.

Angela shrugged. “Just being careful.” She smiled, showing a little teeth. “A judge is giving up her lunch hour to swear you in. There is a teeny chance someone will try to delay us. I threw a little money at the problem.”

Jack felt her back stiffen. “I can pay you back.”

Angela’s hand tightened on Jack’s arm as they went into a bright hallway. “Don’t worry about it. You’re the love of my son’s life. I’d never hear the end of it if I let you get deported.”

Something in Jack melted slightly. “Yunas.”

“Yeah. Sorry he’s not here; I wanted to keep it as quiet as possible. I was worried about all the whooping in joy he’s gonna do. He really likes you, you know.”

“I really like him,” Jack said. She swallowed. “But – those guys who grabbed me. They might go through him to get to me. I’ve been thinking that maybe I should,” she stopped, swallowed again. “Break up with him.”

“Very noble,” Angela said, a strange note in her voice. Then it went away. “And a little grandiose.” Jack laughed, involuntarily. Angela gripped her knee. “Look, life is full of risk. But it’s not like you’ve got an infectious disease and need to stay in quarantine for the rest of your life. And you can’t live your life separate from people love to protect them. You’ll go whacky.”

They emerged into the sunlight. There were two air cars waiting. Without a word, two of the security personnel took one, the other two went with Jack and Angela into the other.

As they buckled in, Jack asked, finally, “why?”

“Why what?”

“Why shouldn’t I worry? Why are you willing to risk yourself and your son for me?”

“Welcome to civilization, sweetie. At least this one.”

“Huh?”

“We take care of our own. That’s why you need to take the damn oath.” She hesitated. “Abu signed the application. I recommend we get this done, then talk about whether you want to sever ties with him. Bringing it up now will delay things. I don’t think that’s in your best interest.”

“Anything specific?”

Angela’s lips pursed. “Yunas, bless him, got a copy of the custody order that day they grabbed you. Good thing too, as the official version was “missing.” It was also nonconforming. You should have gotten notice and an opportunity to object before it was issued. It wasn’t legal.” She hesitated. “I’m still working on this, but it seems that someone has a tap on your name in the system. When I filed the citizenship application, some bot sent a notice to someone in the mercenaries’ guild. Your family on Mercer signed off on having you returned years ago. The custody order was issued years ago. File copy went ‘missing,’ and the copy that went out the building was, as you know, not delivered until they day you applied for legal residency. You know what that tells me?” She didn’t want for Jack to answer. “Tells me who ever was watching you was happy to have you here, as long as you didn’t have any legal rights.”

“Shit,” Jack whispered.

Angela shook her head. “I think it’s a good thing. Says that they were afraid of you getting rights. So let’s get those locked down.” She looked out the window. “My investigator tracked down the clerk who frelled up. She admitted she signed off without giving you notice. She said it was because she felt sorry for your family who missed you so much, and their representative persuaded her you’d bolt again if you got that notice. She swears she didn’t lose the official copy.”

“Do you believe her?”

“Let’s just say that it’s one thing to gloss over paperwork errors to get some runaway from another world back to her putative family. It’s another thing to hand a citizen over to members of the mercenary guild without a full, adversarial hearing. With lawyers.” She grinned.

“The mercs could still take me. Violence is always an option.”

Angela’s lips quirked. “Not those mercs, not without having to face charges. Look, they could try. Last kidnapping of a citizen we had on this planet was in a child custody dispute. It was fifteen years ago, and the girl was gone for three days before they tracked her down. Those microchips under the skin make it real hard to disappear people.”

They made their way to a pillared courthouse near the center of New Mecca. Security was unobtrusive, but omnipresent.

They entered a courtroom during a manslaughter trial. They sat quietly in the back, listening to an expert clinically explain how some man’s negligence had let someone die. Jack wanted to check her messages, but everyone was listening politely. After too long, the judge recessed the court and ushered Jack and her party back into her chambers. “Angela,” the judge said with a smile. “So this is the young lady?”

“Yes, your honor,” Angela said with half a bow. “Thank you so much for doing this.”

The judge shrugged. “A happy thing. Please sit. Tea?”

“Oh yes,” Angela said with a smile.

The bodyguards did not sit. Angela did. After an instant, Jack followed her example. The judge cast an eye over the security personnel, then went to a small teapot. Poured three cups, handed them around. “To a better world,” she said.

“Your lips,” Angela murmured, taking a sip. Jack followed suit, feeling surreal. If Riddick could see me now . . .

The judge smiled at her. “So. Ms. al-Walid. I’ve reviewed your file. Helios would be lucky to have you. You have a brilliant future as an engineer ahead of you.”

Yeah, me, Jack thought. All she said was, “Thank you.”

The judge shook her head. “I need to know that you are doing this with your eyes open. I need to know you know what rights you are giving up,” she paused, her intelligent dark eyes searching Jack’s face, “What obligations you are taking on, and I need to be confident that you are what you appear to be.”

“Okay,” Jack said, uncertainly.

“Who are your parents?”

Do I even fucking know? “Ariadne and Bertrand Parnell.”

“You were born on Mercer?”

“Yeah.”

“Any other immediate family?”

“Why?”

Angela broke in. “Because they might be able to claim citizenship through you. Given the relations between us and Mercer, that could be awkward.”

“Not any more. I had – I had a brother and sister, Radne and Dion. But they’re dead.”

The judge nodded. “I’m sorry, Ms. al-Walid, I am sure this is painful. But I need to hear it from you. I understand you have been adopted?”

“Yeah. I guess. Abu al-Walid. He’s – yeah.”

“You understand that Mercer and Helios formally cut ties about seven years ago. Thus, you are required by law to renounce your citizenship to Mercer to get citizenship here. Do you understand what that means?”

“Not really.”

“It means you have to give up all rights and privileges you have as a citizen of Mercer.”

“I’m good with that,” Jack said.

The judge nodded. “Becoming a citizen of Helios isn’t just about getting a passport and an identity chip. It means you swear to be a part of our civilization. To help build better worlds. To participate. To vote, to pay taxes, to obey the law, to show up when called. Do you understand?”

Do I? Some sort of response seemed required. “Yes. I do.”

“Good. Finally – is there anything we need to know? I’ve read your application. I’ve gone over your school records. It’s clear to me you’re smart, you’re hard working, you have friends and a dog who love you. What it doesn’t tell me is why someone would go to the trouble of bribing people on one world, tricking government officials on this world, and then just watching you for four years until the day you decide to become a citizen. What are we getting into here?”

Angela’s exhaled noisily. “Your honor--”

The judge raised her hand. “I need to hear what Jack has to say.”

Jack looked up at the ceiling. “Look, maybe this is a bad idea. If you don’t want me --”

Angela put her hand on Jack’s arm. “It’s a reasonable question. You can’t live your life in the shadows. It’s much safer in the light. Doesn’t mean you have to give all the gory private details.”

There was silence. Jack looked out the window into the sun drenched sky. “Okay. I don’t know. But I think--” She stopped, took a deep breath, and tried again. “When I was twelve years old, I was on a transport that crashed on some . . . terraforming failure or something. Almost everyone died in the crash, almost everyone else died when it got dark. Except for three of us. Me, Abu, and . . . this other guy. Escaped prisoner. Some merc had caught him and was taking him in. Guess he’s a bad guy. But he saved my life. He saved Abu. He got us here. Those mercs want him. They think we’re in touch or something. There’s a really big bounty on his head.”

“This man is a wanted criminal.”

“Yes.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“I absolutely do not. I haven’t heard from him in five years.” Her eyes prickled. “I think – I think saving us was like his good deed for the decade. Then he moved on. I don’t know if he’s even alive any more.”

The judge took a sip of tea. “Why would they do this?”

“Because they said they were looking for him. Because they cuffed my hands behind my back and dragged me around places they thought he’d be.” She rubbed her right wrist, which was beginning to ache. “Because they had video of me saying goodbye to him when he left here.”

The judge’s eyes were on her wrists. Then they raised to her face. Jack had the feeling she hadn’t really answered her question. “Because they didn’t think I mattered. They thought they could use me as a means to an end because I wasn’t really part of anything.” Her voice choked. “I want – I want to be part of something. Something worth being part of.”

“Well. Ms. al-Walid, I am proud to swear you in. Stand up.”