{"id":1033,"date":"2022-03-10T11:49:25","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T16:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/?page_id=1033"},"modified":"2025-09-17T22:01:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T02:01:21","slug":"three-sisters","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/read-online\/three-sisters\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Sisters"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) {\r\n  .su-tabs-nav {\r\n    display: flex;\r\n  }\r\n  .su-tabs-nav span {\r\n    flex-basis: 100%;\r\n    text-align: center;\r\n  }\r\n  .su-tabs-nav span:last-child {\r\n    margin-right: 0;\r\n  }\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"button\" style=\"margin-bottom: 10px;\"><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/fan-fiction\/three-sisters\/\">Return to the Title Page<\/a><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"su-tabs su-tabs-style-default su-tabs-mobile-scroll\" data-active=\"1\" data-scroll-offset=\"0\" data-anchor-in-url=\"yes\"><div class=\"su-tabs-nav\"><span class=\" tabmoji-cover\" data-anchor=\"cover\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Cover<\/span><span class=\" tabmoji-pubdata\" data-anchor=\"pubdata\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Pub. Data<\/span><span class=\" tabmoji-toc\" data-anchor=\"toc\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">&nbsp;&nbsp;TOC<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"prologue\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Prologue<\/span><span class=\"\" data-anchor=\"chapter-1\" data-url=\"\" data-target=\"blank\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\">Ch. 1<\/span><\/div><div class=\"su-tabs-panes\"><div class=\"su-tabs-pane su-u-clearfix su-u-trim tabmoji-cover\" data-title=\"&nbsp;&nbsp;Cover\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4127\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4127 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\">&nbsp;<\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4059\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4059 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#pubdata\">Publication Data \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\r\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/Three-Sisters.png\" alt=\"Cover art for \u201cThree Sisters\u201d by Ardath Rekha\" align=\"center\" style=\"width:100%\" customlink=\"false\" \/>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"4127\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4127 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\">&nbsp;<\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4059\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4059 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#pubdata\">Publication Data \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-tabs-pane su-u-clearfix su-u-trim tabmoji-pubdata\" data-title=\"&nbsp;&nbsp;Pub. Data\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3995\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3995 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#cover\">\u00ab Cover&nbsp;<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4060\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4060 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\">&nbsp;<a href=\"#toc\">Table of Contents \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"1287\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-1287 \">  <h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><b><u>Three Sisters<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <h4 style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 30px;\">By Ardath Rekha<\/h4>\r\n\r\n<span data-post-id=\"4514\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4514 \"><p><b>Synopsis:<\/b> Once upon a time, there were three sisters, professional mercenaries by trade.  And once upon a time, there was a man named Richard B. Riddick.  And every time he crossed paths with one of the sisters, something would go really, really wrong...<\/p><\/span>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><p><b>Category:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-genre\/#fiction\">Fan Fiction<\/a><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><p><b>Fandom:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-fandom\/#cor\"><i>The Chronicles of Riddick<\/i> (2004)<\/a><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><p><b>Series:<\/b> None<\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><p><b>Challenges:<\/b> None<\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><p><b>Rating:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-rating\/#rated-t\">T<\/a><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><p><b>Orientation:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-orientation\/#het-plot\">Het (Plot)<\/a><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p><b>Pairing:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-pairing\/#riddick-jack\">Riddick\/Jack<\/a>\r\n\r\n<p><b>Warnings:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/the-content-warning-system\/#adult-situations\">Adult Situations<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/the-content-warning-system\/#alchohol-drug-use\">Alcohol \/ Drug Use<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/the-content-warning-system\/#harsh-language\">Harsh Language<\/a>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><p><b>Number of Chapters:<\/b> 2 \r\n\r\n<p><b>Net Word Count:<\/b><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a8eebe9c4bde_button\" class=\"su-tooltip-button su-tooltip-button-outline-yes\" aria-describedby=\"su_tooltip_6a8eebe9c4bde\" data-settings='{\"position\":\"top\",\"behavior\":\"hover\",\"hideDelay\":0}' tabindex=\"0\"><sup><i class=\"fas fa-question-circle\" style=\"color:#243a68;\"><\/i><\/sup><\/span><span style=\"display:none;z-index:100\" id=\"su_tooltip_6a8eebe9c4bde\" class=\"su-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span class=\"su-tooltip-inner su-tooltip-shadow-yes\" style=\"z-index:100;background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%);color:#D9ECFB;font-size:16px;border-radius:5px;text-align:left;max-width:300px;line-height:1.25\"><span class=\"su-tooltip-title\"><\/span><span class=\"su-tooltip-content su-u-trim\">In the Read Online section, net word counts exclude cover pages, publication data pages, tables of contents, chapter titles, page links, original post date medatata, and \u2014 in the case of Lyric Wheel stories \u2014 song information and lyrics. In the case of articles, contextual notations are also omitted. Afterwords and chapter notes are treated as part of a text\u2019s overall body.<\/span><\/span><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a8eebe9c4bde_arrow\" class=\"su-tooltip-arrow\" style=\"z-index:100;background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%)\" data-popper-arrow><\/span><\/span> 3,635\r\n\r\n<p><b>Total Word Count:<\/b><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a8eebe9c514b_button\" class=\"su-tooltip-button su-tooltip-button-outline-yes\" aria-describedby=\"su_tooltip_6a8eebe9c514b\" data-settings='{\"position\":\"top\",\"behavior\":\"hover\",\"hideDelay\":0}' tabindex=\"0\"><sup><i class=\"fas fa-question-circle\" style=\"color:#243a68;\"><\/i><\/sup><\/span><span style=\"display:none;z-index:100\" id=\"su_tooltip_6a8eebe9c514b\" class=\"su-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span class=\"su-tooltip-inner su-tooltip-shadow-yes\" style=\"z-index:100;background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%);color:#D9ECFB;font-size:16px;border-radius:5px;text-align:left;max-width:300px;line-height:1.25\"><span class=\"su-tooltip-title\"><\/span><span class=\"su-tooltip-content su-u-trim\">In the Read Online section, total word counts include all text present in the story tabs, excluding forward\/back page links and tooltips. This count tends to be slightly different from the eBook Total Word Count reported on the title page.<\/span><\/span><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a8eebe9c514b_arrow\" class=\"su-tooltip-arrow\" style=\"z-index:100;background:linear-gradient(to bottom, #4474BE 0%, #243a68 100%)\" data-popper-arrow><\/span><\/span> 4,006\r\n\r\n<p><b>Story Length:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-story-length\/#short-story\">Short Story<\/a><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><p><b>First Posted:<\/b> June 9, 2005\r\n\r\n<p><b>Last Updated:<\/b> June 17, 2005\r\n\r\n<p><b>Status:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/browse-by-status\/#incomplete\">Incomplete<\/a><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n\r\n<span data-post-id=\"4466\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4466 \"><p><small>The characters and events of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0296572\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>The Chronicles of Riddick<\/i><\/a> are &copy; 2004 Universal Pictures, Radar Pictures, and One Race Films; Written and Directed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0878638\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">David Twohy<\/a>; Based on characters by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0003117\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ken and<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0923646\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jim Wheat<\/a>; Produced by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0472256\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scott Kroopf<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0004874\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vin Diesel<\/a>. The characters and events of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0134847\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Pitch Black<\/i><\/a> are &copy; 2000 USA Films, Gramercy Pictures, and Interscope Communications; Directed by David Twohy; Screenplay by Ken and Jim Wheat and David Twohy; Story by Ken and Jim Wheat; Produced by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0257259\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tom Engelman<\/a>. This work of fan fiction is a transformative work for entertainment purposes only, with no claims on, nor intent to infringe upon, the rights of the parties listed above. All additional characters and situations are the creation of, and remain the property of, Ardath Rekha. eBook design and cover art by <a href=\"https:\/\/laraklaber.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LaraRebooted<\/a>, incorporating publicity stills of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0341587\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rhiana Griffith<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm1111968\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alexa Davalos<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0808013\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>Blood Ties<\/i><\/a> (&copy; 2007 Insight Film Studios and Chum Television; Produced by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0595913\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Peter Mohan<\/a>; Based on  <i><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blood_Price\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blood Price<\/a><\/i> by <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tanya_Huff\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tanya Huff<\/a>) publicity still of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0184965\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Christina Cox<\/a>, a photo by <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\/users\/lyuchi-13956529\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lyuchi<\/a>, licensed via <a href=\"https:\/\/pixabay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pixabay<\/a>, the \"<a href=\"https:\/\/fontmeme.com\/fonts\/sister-slimes-font\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sister Slimes<\/a>\" font from <a href=\"https:\/\/fontmeme.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Font Meme<\/a>, and background graphics &copy; 1998 Noel Mollon, adapted and licensed via Teri Williams Carnright from the now-retired Fantasyland Graphics site (c. 2003). This eBook may not be sold or advertised for sale. If you are a copyright holder of any of the referenced works, and believe that part or all of this eBook exceeds fair use practices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/contact-me\/\">please contact Ardath Rekha<\/a>.<\/small><\/p><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><small><i>Rev. 2022.10.09<\/i><\/small><\/p><\/span><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3995\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3995 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#cover\">\u00ab Cover&nbsp;<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4060\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4060 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\">&nbsp;<a href=\"#toc\">Table of Contents \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-tabs-pane su-u-clearfix su-u-trim tabmoji-toc\" data-title=\"&nbsp;&nbsp;TOC\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3996\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3996 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#pubdata\">\u00ab Publication Data<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4061\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4061 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#prologue\">Prologue \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"1544\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-1544 \">  <h2 style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 20px;\">Table of Contents<\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <ul class=\"level1\" style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\r\n\r\n    <li style=\"margin-bottom: 20px;\"><a href=\"#prologue\">Prologue: Little Sister<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n    <li><a href=\"#chapter-1\">1. Deception Unravels<\/a><\/li>\r\n\r\n  <\/ul><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3996\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3996 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#pubdata\">\u00ab Publication Data<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4061\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4061 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#prologue\">Prologue \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-tabs-pane su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" data-title=\"Prologue\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3997\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3997 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#toc\">\u00ab Table of Contents<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4064\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4064 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-1\">Chapter 1 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"1548\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-1548 \">  <h2 style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 20px;\"><b>Prologue<br\/><u>Little Sister<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She\u2019d been very lucky to arrive when she did.  Another few hours and Eve would have been dead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Armed to the teeth and laden down with emergency supplies, she\u2019d ventured into the bowels of Crematoria, now mostly in ruins, and had found her oldest sister unconscious, barely breathing.  Once she had Eve stabilized, she\u2019d gone in search of Toombs and found him caged but otherwise unharmed.  Together they\u2019d brought Eve out, boarding her small runner and making their evac.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">In the weeks that followed, she\u2019d tried repeatedly to break into Necromonger communication channels, while Eve healed and Toombs paced and cursed and muttered about money he should have taken.  She barely paid him any attention.  There were only three things she cared about.  One was in stable condition in the infirmary; she needed to find out what had happened to the other two.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Bits and pieces began to come into her grasp, slowly forming a picture for her.  Kyra had been taken by the Necromongers on Crematoria.  Riddick had gone after her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She continued to pry, needing to know more about what had happened.  Finally the systems opened for her completely.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">The Lord Marshal of the Necromongers was dead; long live the new Lord <nobr>Marshal\u2026<\/nobr> Richard B. Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>Fuck.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">He\u2019d gone to the Basilica in pursuit of, so said the reports, \u201cthe girl he loved,\u201d only to discover that she\u2019d already been converted to the Necromonger Way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>Fuck\u2026 <b>Fuck!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">He\u2019d taken on the Lord Marshal, and a battle had resulted.  The girl  \u2013 Kyra by name  \u2013 had joined <nobr>in\u2026<\/nobr> and been killed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>Fuck, <b>fuck, FUCK!<\/b><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She sat back from the panel, now completely obscured by the tears in her eyes.  When she had enough control over herself, she made herself go tell Eve what she\u2019d learned.  The two of them cried together for several hours, and then drank each other under the table as a kind of screwed-up self-therapy.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">It was over.  The Three Sisters were no more.  Now there were only two.  And Riddick had vanished into the heart of something too dangerous and horrible to challenge.  He was lost as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">For some reason, though, she couldn\u2019t leave it alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Delving deeper into the mysteries of the Necromonger Way, as they recorded themselves, she found that she had the tail of some kind of important puzzle.  Necromongers claimed that they were immortal.  Followers of the Way had a place in the Underverse, another universe below this <nobr>one\u2026<\/nobr> and even if their bodies died in this universe, they continued to live on in that <nobr>one\u2026<\/nobr> and <i>could be brought back.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Was it possible?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Kyra had <nobr>died\u2026<\/nobr> but she\u2019d died as a Necromonger.  If this Underverse thing really existed, and she really was <nobr>there\u2026<\/nobr> could she be brought back?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">And what would it take?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She dug further.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Only the Lord Marshal could open the gateway.  Only the Lord Marshal could let the living, of this universe, through into that <nobr>one\u2026<\/nobr> and only the Lord Marshal could bring a denizen of the Underverse back <i>out.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Riddick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Riddick could still rescue Kyra.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She changed the ship\u2019s course, ignoring both Toombs\u2019 and Eve\u2019s protests.  This time she was going to make sure that things went the way they were supposed to.  Nobody was going to make her hide in the shadows anymore.  She was needed on the front lines and the hell with anybody who didn\u2019t think so.  After all, she was almost eighteen, and she\u2019d been a professional merc and the third of the Three Sisters team since she was <i>twelve.<\/i>  She\u2019d earned her stripes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">And she wasn\u2019t at all afraid to stare down Richard B. Riddick.  She\u2019d have done it from the start if she\u2019d had her way; maybe Kyra would have been alive now if they\u2019d let her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">As the Basilica loomed over the ship in the viewscreen, she sent the message.  An envoy was here to see the Lord Marshal, about something he held dear.  She suited up as she waited for the answer.  Overt weaponry for the guards to take from her, covert weapons they\u2019d never manage to find on her.  Just in case Riddick wasn\u2019t happy to see her.  Just in case he wasn\u2019t happy about what she\u2019d done.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>\u201cLogan\u2019s Luck, you have permission to dock.  The Lord Marshal will see you in his audience hall.  An escort will be waiting to take you to him.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cThank you,\u201d she said into the comm, as she finished locking-and-loading, and turned the navigation system over to the Basilica\u2019s auto-dock.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>\u201cOne more thing, Unbeliever,\u201d<\/i> the voice on the other end said.  <i>\u201cThe Lord Marshal says that if this is a waste of his time, he\u2019s going <nobr>to\u2026<\/nobr> <nobr>\u2018ghost<\/nobr> your <nobr>ass.\u2019\u201d<\/nobr><\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cIt won\u2019t be.  I\u2019m on my way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She turned off the comm and headed for the ramp.  Toombs didn\u2019t try to stop her, just giving her a weary shake of his head.  She was rather surprised that he didn\u2019t want to face off with Riddick, too, but his issues weren\u2019t hers, so that was his call.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Without a further word, Jacqueline Logan opened the ramp and strode down it, on her way to meet an old friend who might be <i>very<\/i> surprised to see her alive and well.  She was going to make him rescue her older <nobr>sister\u2026<\/nobr> again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">And <i>this<\/i> time, she was going to make sure he did it <i>right.<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3997\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3997 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#toc\">\u00ab Table of Contents<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4064\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4064 \"><p style=\"text-align: right; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#chapter-1\">Chapter 1 \u00bb<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"su-tabs-pane su-u-clearfix su-u-trim\" data-title=\"Ch. 1\">\r\n<div style=\"margin-bottom:20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3998\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3998 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#prologue\">\u00ab Prologue<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4127\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4127 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\">&nbsp;<\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<span data-post-id=\"1552\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-1552 \">  <h2 style=\"text-align: center; margin-bottom: 20px;\"><b>1.<br\/><u>Deception Unravels<\/u><\/b><\/h2>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Riddick stared at the girl before him.  His usually deliberate taciturnity had given away to shocked silence.  And for a long moment, the girl simply stared back at him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>I must have been more addled by the Quasi-Dead than I thought,<\/i> he told himself, looking her over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She was the same height as Kyra.  Like the other young woman, she had the same willowy build, but with somewhat less muscle.  The dark hair that fell around her shoulders was straighter, and there was something more refined and less feral about the way she carried herself.  But the resemblance was there.  He\u2019d bought Kyra\u2019s story because the resemblance was there.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Faced with the real Jack, though, he wondered how he\u2019d missed all of the differences.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">He\u2019d somehow forgotten that Jack\u2019s face was more of an oval, with a pixie-pointed chin rather than the smaller, cleft chin Kyra had sported.  Where Kyra\u2019s nose had been snub, Jack\u2019s was long and aristocratic.  Other, subtler hints tugged at him and made him feel like he\u2019d been blind and stupid before.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>This<\/i> was Jack.  This, the mystery envoy whose arrival had dragged him out of bed, was the Jack he\u2019d gone seeking in Crematoria.  This young woman with the direct gaze and relaxed combat stance was the girl he\u2019d been mistakenly mourning for <i>weeks.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>What the fuck is going on here?<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">The soft rustle of the hastily-assembled court intruded upon his awareness.  Most of the Lords had somehow heard about the envoy\u2019s arrival and had turned out, wanting to see exactly what would happen, no doubt.  He was suddenly pretty curious, himself, but the urge to get her alone and demand answers  \u2013 to questions too private for this expectant room  \u2013 was overwhelming, too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">He hated figuring out all of this political shit.  Was he supposed to speak first?  Seemed like she was waiting for him to.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cI thought you were dead,\u201d he growled with more anger than he expected, and watched her delicate, arched brows flinch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">The rest of her expression remained calm, as did her voice when she answered him. \u201cDid you think that before or after my sister was killed?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>Sister.  So that\u2019s it.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cKyra was your sister?\u201d Now things were getting clearer.  The puzzlingly almost-familiar mannerisms, the moments when the other girl had seemed so very Jack-like that dissolved into confusing, uncharacteristic behavior, the weird sense that something was there and yet was profoundly missing as well.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Jack nodded, still watching him with that strange, closed expression.  Would she be more open, he suddenly wondered, if he wasn\u2019t occupying the throne of the Lord Marshal?  Or was it the death of her sister standing between them?  Speaking of <nobr>which\u2026<\/nobr><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cMind telling me why she was pretending to be you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cSo you\u2019d spring her from Crematoria.\u201d  Jack\u2019s voice was carefully neutral.  Was he imagining an undercurrent of annoyance, not aimed at him but at something else?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Still, he had the sudden, enraged urge to grab her, shake her, and slam her against the wall.  Did she have any idea how much believing she was dead had torn at him?  It was bad enough that she apparently had access to some chink in his armor, but she\u2019d <i>used<\/i> it against him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">He really needed to talk to her alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Turning his glance meaningfully on Vaako, he made his will known. \u201cI want this room empty except for me and her.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Vaako nodded, making a perfunctory bow.  After a moment\u2019s murmuring, the crowd began to disperse.  Riddick kept his eyes locked on Jack, who was watching him, still and poised, until they were finally alone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">He took a step toward her; she took half a step back.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cAfraid of me now, Jack?\u201d  He couldn\u2019t help the urge to taunt her.  After the shit she\u2019d put him through, he really wanted to shake her up.  Why the fuck had she done that to him?  Why had she let him believe?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cNot exactly expecting a hug or anything,\u201d she replied, wariness in her face and stance.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cMaybe you\u2019d have gotten one if you\u2019d still been at the Holy Man\u2019s house when I got there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Maybe he was imagining it, but he could have sworn that guilt and longing flickered over her elegant, expressive features.  \u201cI hadn\u2019t been there for years, Riddick.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cYeah, he told me you ran away.\u201d  He\u2019d tried to demand answers from her imposter  \u2013 her sister  \u2013 too. \u201cWhy?  You were safe there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Jack shrugged.  \u201cI went home.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cYou were a runaway.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cNo, Riddick,\u201d she told him, shaking her head.  She walked over to the dais, circling him, and sat down on the steps.  \u201cI wasn\u2019t a runaway.  I was a plant.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">For a moment the absurd image hit him, of a child version of Jack wearing a bizarre plant outfit, like the kids in vid commercials about school plays.  \u201cYou were a <i>what?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cI was on the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> to help my sisters steal you from Johns.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">This was the second time, in under ten minutes, that he\u2019d been shocked speechless.  How did this slip of a girl keep doing that to him?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cYou\u2026 and your <nobr>sisters\u2026\u201d<\/nobr> Mentally he made a note to ask her about that plural. <nobr>\u201c\u2026were<\/nobr> gonna steal me from Johns?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Jack nodded.  \u201cI was onboard as a passenger.  After everybody went into cryo, Paris had programmed my tube to release me.  I went to the nav computers and programmed in new coordinates so that the <i>Hunter-Gratzner<\/i> would divert, and meet up with my sisters\u2019 ship in week 23 of <nobr>transit\u2014\u201d<\/nobr><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>\u201cParis?\u201d<\/i>  The story was getting crazier by the moment.  \u201cParis P. <i>Ogilvie?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">A smile twitched over the girl\u2019s lips.  \u201cAntiquities dealer, entrepreneur.  Or, more accurately, bootlegger and smuggler.  We were picking him and his cargo up, too, so that he wouldn\u2019t get nabbed by customs.  Between our cut of his take, and your bounty, that trip was gonna set us up for years.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She really <i>had<\/i> gone merc!  She\u2019d been a merc before he\u2019d even <i>met<\/i> her!  When Kyra had told him the story about signing up when she was only twelve, he\u2019d wanted to laugh in her face; no merc crew ever hired a kid that young.  But Jack was telling the same story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cWho the fuck is \u2018us,\u2019 Jack?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She tilted her head at him.  \u201cYou ever hear of the Three Sisters?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">That stopped him cold.  He had.  He\u2019d heard about them for <i>years.<\/i><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">They\u2019d been gaining a reputation as one of the most competent teams in the business.  Supposedly they were a family operation, a trio of sisters whose parents had been killed in the Wailing Wars.  The oldest was supposed to be a veteran of those wars, hard as nails and beautiful in an earthy sort of way.  The middle sister had a reputation for extraordinary beauty and sensuality, coupled with a powerful contempt of men.  Supposedly she could take down a man twice her size single-handedly.  The youngest, the stories went, was just a kid, but with more intelligence and guts than people twice her age.  It was said that her most powerful weapon was her helpless waif act, which had lured entirely too many marks back into a prison cell.  Big Sister, Middle Sister, Little Sister.  Those were the code names that they went by, and only a few tantalizing hints had ever surfaced about what their real names might be.  Their security was impressive <nobr>and\u2014<\/nobr><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cYou?  You\u2019re \u2018Little Sister?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Jack nodded again.  \u201cAnd Kyra\u2019s  \u2013 she <i>was<\/i> \u2018Middle Sister.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cAnd Big Sister?  Where\u2019s she?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cBack on the ship.  She still hasn\u2019t finished healing up from Crematoria.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">The third face swam into his mind\u2019s eye, and he knew he was right.  She\u2019d hovered over him on Toombs\u2019s ship, seemingly fascinated by him.  He\u2019d been tempted to indulge  her interest; it had been a while since he\u2019d been with a woman, after all.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cEve Logan.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Jack nodded once more.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Riddick remembered hearing whispers about the Sisters even before Johns had nabbed him and started their journey back to Slam.  She really <i>had<\/i> been a merc before he\u2019d met her.  The one everybody had said was probably the most dangerous of the three, just because she was so deceptively innocent-seeming.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cYou were gonna steal me from Johns, and turn me in for the bounty.\u201d  He didn\u2019t know whether to laugh or strangle her.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cThat was the plan,\u201d Jack answered, apparently unashamed.  \u201cYou saw how well it actually worked out.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cSo, what happened, you woke up on New Mecca planning to nab me, found out I was gone, and rejoined your sisters and started looking for me again?\u201d  The urge to strangle was beginning to win.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Jack rolled her eyes. \u201c<i>No,<\/i> asshole.  I woke up on New Mecca planning to get in touch with my sisters, tell them how you\u2019d saved my ass about a dozen times over, and see if we could set you up with new credentials.  But, as you mentioned, you were already gone.  So I waited for them to come get me, and they did.  Your bounty was off-limits after that.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cSo why was Big Sister riding with Toombs?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Jack drew one leg up, hugging her knee.  He\u2019d seen her strike variations of that pose throughout their brief time together, and it brought back the other memories he had of her, the glowing-eyed girl who had captivated <nobr>him\u2014<\/nobr><\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>Who\u2019d been running a scam on me the whole time,<\/i> he reminded himself.  Still, the urge to strangle was abruptly gone.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cTwo years ago,\u201d she told him, \u201cwe had a job that went bad.  Really bad.  We ended up in a gun battle, and an innocent bystander got killed.  The bullet traced back to Kyra\u2019s gun and there was surveillance footage of her firing it.  Most of the time, things like that get pinned on the criminals, you know?  Deaths during the commission of a felony are considered murders perpetrated by the felon in the eyes of the law, and we were duly appointed marshals at the time of the shootout.  But his dad was some powerful Senator, and he decided he wanted the person who actually shot his son to pay.  So they came after Kyra.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Riddick watched the play of expressions on Jack\u2019s face as she talked. Either she was the best actress he\u2019d ever encountered in his life, or she was letting him see some very real, and personal pain.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cWe\u2019d already collected our share of the bounty and had left when they issued the warrant,\u201d she continued.  \u201cWe couldn\u2019t believe it when we <nobr>heard\u2026<\/nobr> and our lawyers couldn\u2019t make it go away.  We went to meet a client, and instead it turned out that it was another team there to bust her and take her in.  The trial was a <nobr>joke\u2026<\/nobr> Senator Orviso just wanted to bury her.  And he did.  Sent her to Crematoria.  We didn\u2019t know what to do.  Nobody would help us.  So I got the idea we\u2019d find you and hire you to break her out for us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">He hadn\u2019t even noticed that he was moving, but suddenly he was sitting down next to Jack, leaning in close.  He wanted to sample the pain she was showing, smell it, maybe taste it, and decide for himself if it was real.  She glanced up at him but didn\u2019t seem at all afraid anymore, continuing with her story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cI got in touch with Imam, but as soon as he realized who and what I <nobr>was\u2026<\/nobr> I guess he decided I was gonna turn you in for the reward if he told me where to find you.  He wouldn\u2019t talk.  So we headed for New Mecca.  <nobr>We\u2026\u201d<\/nobr>  Shame flickered through her eyes. \u201cWe were gonna <i>make<\/i> him talk.  But when we got there a few months <nobr>ago\u2026<\/nobr> that woman Aereon  had already showed up.  He\u2019d told her where to find you and she\u2019d sent a merc team of her own after you.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Riddick nodded, remembering Toombs\u2019 first ham-handed ambush attempt.  \u201cSo?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cWell, we waited around, and I talked to Imam.  He seemed pretty sure that we\u2019d never get you to walk into a prison voluntarily unless you thought <i>I<\/i> was the one in there.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Yeah, Riddick thought, he probably wouldn\u2019t have gone after Kyra, reward or not, if he\u2019d known that she wasn\u2019t Jack.  Probably wouldn\u2019t have been so determined to keep her safe, either.  \u201cSo you got him to lie for you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cEve did.  I was still pretty dead-set on the idea that if I asked you to help, you would.  They all disagreed.  Aereon and Imam were all about how you needed to save New Mecca first, and all, but they admitted that if they thought you wouldn\u2019t rescue one strange girl, the odds of getting you to rescue a planet weren\u2019t really <i>that<\/i> good.  So they agreed to go along with the story about how I\u2019d been sent to prison.  Then we heard back from Toombs that you\u2019d massacred his men and were on your way to us.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Riddick winced a little, remembering the anger he\u2019d felt towards the Holy Man over the idea that he\u2019d been sold <nobr>out\u2026<\/nobr> but the other thought that had floated into his mind.  Would Jack still be with him?  He\u2019d hoped to see this face when he got there.  Suddenly he wondered if, had she been there and asked him to rescue her sister, he might have done it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">The thought tugged at part of him, the same part that kept reacting to those large eyes of hers with nostalgia and strange yearning.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cWhat happened then?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cWell, Eve hooked up with Toombs and joined his team, and I got sent back to our ship.  And then the Necromongers attacked ahead of schedule and everything looked fucked up, until I suddenly heard from Eve that they had you and were heading for Crematoria.  I followed.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cAnd Eve talked Toombs into going back to break you and Kyra out of the prison.  When his ship took off, it was supposed to send mine a coded message letting me know what happened.  But it took off and didn\u2019t send any of them, so I knew something had gone wrong.  I went down, got into the prison  \u2013 you left it a real mess, you know  \u2013 and found them.  If I\u2019d been much later, Eve would have been dead, too.\u201d  There was a hint of an indictment against him in her voice there.  She blamed him for her sister\u2019s injuries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>And probably blames me for Kyra\u2019s death, too, with a lot better reason.<\/i>  He took a deep breath and made himself say the words part of his mind was insisting needed to be said.  \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Jack.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Then the next thought hit him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cIs Toombs with you?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She chuckled, shrugging.  \u201cHe\u2019s back on the ship.  I think he\u2019s got a thing for Eve.  Not sure if I was reading that right or not, but I made a few offhand remarks about places I could drop him off and he didn\u2019t take me up on any of them.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Either that, or Toombs was the one really running the show. \u201cAnd you\u2019re not here to try to take me in, collect my bounty?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Jack gave him a look that made him wonder where he\u2019d misplaced all of his IQ points.  \u201cAre you <i>kidding?<\/i>  You\u2019re the <i>Lord Marshal<\/i> of the <i>Necromongers.<\/i>  Way to get dead fast, pulling a stunt like that, even if I wanted to.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cSo why <i>are<\/i> you here, Jack?\u201d  That was what still eluded him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">She sighed.  \u201cKyra.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Damn.  He should have seen that coming.  \u201cThe Necromongers gave her a formal funeral the day after she died, Jack.  At this point I don\u2019t even have her body.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cI don\u2019t want her body.  I want <i>her.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">\u201cYou wanna explain that, Little Sister?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">And odd smile quirked across Jack\u2019s lips.  Possibly it wasn\u2019t sane.  \u201cI\u2019m doing what I should have done the first time, Riddick.  I\u2019m asking you to break her out of her prison.\u201d  She raised her hand to forestall his next confused words.  \u201cNot Crematoria, this time.  I want you to bring her out of the Underverse.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\"><i>Well, fuck me.<\/i>  Was that even possible?<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">But he knew it was already too late, and he was already screwed.  Because even if it wasn\u2019t possible, there was one person in the universe who had it in her to make him do the <i>im<\/i>possible, and that was the innocent-looking merc girl before him.<\/p>\r\n\r\n  <p style=\"text-indent:.25in; margin-bottom: 0;\">Now he was just going to have to figure out <i>how.<\/i><\/p><\/span>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 20px;\">\r\n<div class='content-column one_half'><span data-post-id=\"3998\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-3998 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\"><a href=\"#prologue\">\u00ab Prologue<\/a><\/p><\/span><\/div>\r\n<div class='content-column one_half last_column'><span data-post-id=\"4127\" class=\"insert-page insert-page-4127 \"><p style=\"text-align: left; margin-bottom: 0;\">&nbsp;<\/p><\/span><\/div><div class='clear_column'><\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n<div align=\"center\" class=\"button\" style=\"margin-bottom: 0;\"><a class=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/fan-fiction\/three-sisters\/#comments\">Leave a review<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Return to the Title Page Leave a review","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":308,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"bgseo_title":"Read Online: \u201cThree Sisters\u201d by Ardath Rekha","bgseo_description":"Once upon a time, there were three sisters, professional mercenaries by trade. And once upon a time, there was a man named Richard B. Riddick. And every time he crossed paths with one of the sisters, something would go really, really wrong...","bgseo_robots_index":"index","bgseo_robots_follow":"follow","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1033","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","no-wpautop"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1033"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6245,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1033\/revisions\/6245"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ardath-rekha.com\/fanworks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}